Page 55 of Scorched By Fate

She huffed, pulling a small pouch from her belt. “Not the point.”

The unexpected sting of her fingers brushing near the wound rattled something in me, and not from pain. She was so careful it hurt—like she assumed I’d break apart under her touch.

“It’s not bad,” I said at the growing line of panic in her frown. “Stop worrying.”

Her lips thinned into a line as she continued, a damp cloth already pulling the stickiness of blood away from the torn scales. “Worrying’s part of the job,” she shot back, voice tight. “Especially when wounded warriors decide they’re too tough to tell anyone about their injuries.”

I almost laughed. Survival instincts choked it back.

When she finally pulled a roll of bandages from her kit, I caught her wrist lightly, fingers grazing the soft edges of her pulse. She froze, her gaze snapping to me.

“Selene.” My voice dropped low, her name heavier this time. “It’s nothing.”

Her eyes held mine longer than they should have. The air thinned. For a brief flicker of time, the weight of the rock aroundus didn’t press quite so hard. There was only her—brilliant, stubborn, impossible.

And, gods help me, mine.

But I let go, forcing the tips of my claws to unhook one by one. She kept watching me for a moment longer before dropping her gaze, her hands moving mechanically now as she wrapped the bandage. The heat of her fingers barely touched me. It wasn’t enough.

“Done,” she said, brushing residual dust from her palms and stepping back. “You should have told me sooner. What if you’d weakened during?—”

“What? The flight?” I interrupted. “I would never drop you.”

“You don't know that.” Her tone was frustrated, her teeth worrying at her lower lip. This wasn't only a medic's training resonating beneath her skin. It was more.

I couldn’t resist pushing. Couldn’t resist tugging at the unspoken.

“Why does it bother you,Zhyvarin?” I asked.

Her breath hitched. But she didn’t answer.

For all her control, all her intellect, she faltered. And the warmth it lit through me melted the last of my restraint.

My hands slid to her hips, easing her backward until her back met the rock wall. The pale glow of light painted shadows across her cheek, catching the edges of her features. For a moment, she still radiated tension—that stubborn refusal to surrender.

So I didn’t give her the chance.

My mouth captured hers, and there was nothing gentle about it. This was possession, pure and unfiltered. A claiming I’d held back from for too long, and now, with her warm and alive in my arms, I could hold back no more. Her lips parted on a startled gasp, her hands gripping my shoulders, but she wasn't pushing me away.

I let the growl rumble deep in my chest, my wings flaring against the narrow confines before folding tightly back. Her heart beat against my ribs, insistent and wild, as I tilted my head to deepen the kiss, my tongue flicking past her lips.

Her taste wasn’t just sweetness. No, it was spice and fire—a challenge that dared my control as much as it unraveled it. My claws flexed against her hips, careful not to pierce but tracing every soft curve beneath her clothes like map lines.

The kiss turned hungrier. My tail coiled around her ankle, the underside brushing bare flesh as it slid upward. She moaned into my mouth, low and throaty, sending lightning ripping through my control.

Restraint? Never heard of it.

Her fingers clutched the raised grooves of my scales. When her nails caught against the sensitive edges of my neck, I groaned. She wasn’t shy. Not here. Not with me.

This was a firestorm.

“Selene,” I said. My forehead rested against hers, sweat and heat mingling. My claws framed her shoulders, bracketing her wrists lightly against the wall. Gods, I didn’t want her steady.

Her bottom lip caught between her teeth, swollen and glistening, and I had the urge to reclaim it, to lick and nip and taste until she dissolved entirely.

“Fuck,” her voice was raw, eyes shining with something fiery and unreadable. “This is insane. We can't.”

I let the smallest smile tug the edges of my mouth. “Then tell me to stop.”

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