Page 43 of His Temptation

Not the men outside the estate. Not the war brewing on the horizon.

This. Him.

Because he wasn’t just claiming her body. He wasn’t just binding them together through the bite on her neck or the vows they had exchanged. He was making himself the one thing she had never allowed anyone else to be—her protector.

And God help her, but she wanted it. Somehow she knew she’d always wanted it.

His hand moved from her waist to her jaw, tilting her head back. His gaze dropped to her lips, and for a second, she thought he would kiss her.

But he didn’t.

Instead, he leaned in, brushing his mouth against her ear, his voice low and unyielding. “You don’t run, Siobhan.”

“You can’t keep me.”

His lips curved against her skin. “I already have.”

She shuddered, unable to deny the truth in his words.

Because no matter how many times she told herself she would run, that she had to leave before she lost herself completely—she wasn’t moving. If she was being truthful with herself, she knew that time had passed.

Daragh inhaled deeply, his grip easing just enough to let her breathe. “Get some rest.”

Siobhan closed her eyes, trying to steady herself. “I won’t be able to sleep.”

Daragh’s thumb brushed over her cheek. “Then don’t.”

She looked up at him, something breaking open inside her. “What if I can’t stop wanting you?”

Daragh’s gaze turned molten. “Then stop pretending you never did.”

Siobhan swallowed hard, her throat tight. She was in trouble. Because this wasn’t just about survival anymore. It was about him.

Siobhan’s heartbeat hammered in her chest, a traitorous rhythm she had no control over as Daragh’s fingers tightened on her jaw. His touch wasn’t painful, but it commanded her attention, ensuring she couldn’t look away. Not from him. Not from the truth she’d been trying so desperately to ignore.

She was his. Everything inside her rebelled against the thought, but no amount of denial could erase what had happened tonight. What had happened every night since he had stolen her away. She had fought him, clawed for any measure of control, and yet, when the moment had come, she hadn’t hesitated. She had stepped between him and a bullet, as if her instincts had known something she wasn’t ready to admit.

She wasn’t just his captive. She wasn’t just his wife. She was his fated mate.

Daragh’s thumb brushed over her lower lip, his voice like crushed velvet and steel. “Say it, kitten.”

She swallowed hard, her throat working against the truth clawing its way to the surface. “Say what?”

Daragh’s grip shifted, sliding into her hair, tugging her head back just enough to bare her throat to him. The claiming mark on her neck pulsed, an ever-present reminder of what he had already taken. “You know what.”

Her pulse pounded beneath his fingers. “It changes nothing.”

His chuckle was dark, lethal. “It changes everything.”

Siobhan clenched her jaw, willing herself not to tremble. “I never agreed to this.”

“You didn’t have to.” Daragh leaned in, his breath hot against her skin, sending a shiver down her spine. “You feel it, don’t you? The way your body reacts to me? The way you ache when I’m not inside you?” His grip tightened, his dominance pouringover her like a tangible force. “Deny it all you want, kitten, but I know the truth. Your body knows. Your panther knows.”

She sucked in a sharp breath, her nails pressing into his chest. “That doesn’t mean I want this.”

Daragh’s lips ghosted over her jaw. “Then why haven’t you run?”

Siobhan hated that she had no answer. The truth was, she didn’t want to leave.

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