Page 46 of Eclipsed Heart

I should’ve had a guard down there or something in case she needed help.

“You areher.” Bodey’s anger ebbed as his forehead creased. “I see so much of that girl in you, and yes, there are some things that you can’t access, but your parents still impacted you.”

I scowled. He didn’t get to be all growly and mean and then change his tune. That wasn’t how this worked, even if he had good intentions. My strange little habit of kissing my fingers and lifting them up to the moon reemerged.

“See, that right there.” Bodey pointed at my hand and continued, “That was something your dad did. He said he was asking the gods to bless a person for their good intentions even if they were misguided. They’re still a part of you…even if you don’t know it.”

My legs nearly gave out. I’d never known how I came up with that gesture, and the one time Zeke had seen it, he’d snapped at me for no reason. Maybe it had reminded him who I really was.

“You don’t get to be mean and then kind.” My voice broke, my vision blurring.

He pulled me into his arms. My traitorous body melted into him as the thrill of our bond helped ease my hurt.

“I’m sorry.” He breathed against the top of my head and said, “It’s just…seeing you jump in front of that spell to protect me scared the shit out of me. And then when I saw you go after the witch while I was debilitated...” He pulled back and winced. “Ican’tlose you, Callie. I wouldn’t survive it.”

“And I can't lose you.” My voice broke as I buried my face into his muscular chest. “You're the only person other than Stevie who took care of me before my wolf broke free.” I lifted my head, a tear trailing down my face. “I can’t live without you either.”

He caressed my cheek with his palm. “You could, and you would. You're the strongest person I know. I can’t think of anyone who would have suffered like you did and still wound up being so strong, empathetic, loyal, and funny.”

“Maybe I could survive, but, Bodey, the truth is, I wouldn't want to.” The thought of losing him sent a chill down my spine. “And I don’t regret jumping in front of you. If I hadn’t, we wouldn’t both be here to fight about it.”

His brows furrowed, but he pressed his forehead to mine. He murmured, “That’s true, but that was damn risky, babe.” The icy tendrils of his fear coursed through the bond and into my veins. “I thought that I was going to lose you.”

“But you didn’t.” I leaned back and cupped his face with my hands. I linked,And now we’re going to figure out the next steps together.I kissed him, his lips molding to fit mine perfectly.

We haven’t resolved anything,Bodey linked but didn’t break our kiss.

True. He didn’t like that I’d protected him, but I wouldn’t agree not to do it again.It’s an agree-to-disagree situation. Because if you ever jumped in front of me like that, I’d be angry with you as well.

The corners of his mouth tipped upward, and he nipped at my lips.Yeah, but in that case, that would be the right thing to do. Today—

I poked my finger into his stomach and growled, “Watch it, bubba. I’m still not over how you spoke to me.”

“Whoa.” He inched away so he could see my face. His brows shot upward. “Did you justbubbame? I don’t even know what that means, but I don’t like it.”

“So don’t be a jerk again.” I booped his nose and placed a hand on my hip. “Then we won’t have any problems.”

He bent down, lifted me up, and cradled me in his arms. “I’m sorry, but I won’t apologize for not liking what you did.”

I nodded. “That is acceptable, noted, and now promptly disregarded.”

He tossed me on the bed, jumped on top of me, then straddled me. His irises lightened to cobalt. “Then I guess I’ll get my revenge the best way possible.” He tickled my sides, forcing me to laugh.

Unable to hold it in, I couldn’t catch my breath until he relented.

“There. If you ever try that again, next time, it’ll last longer.” He waggled his eyebrows, and I could feel him harden against me.

My breath caught, and my wolf pressed to the fore, eager for the two of us to connect, especially after that fight.

But the voices downstairs grew louder as if they were arguing.

We’d already stayed up here too long. I pouted because my body was heating up in a way only Bodey could satiate. “We need to go downstairs.”

He huffed but nodded. “Now I’m going to have raging blue balls.”

“Until tonight.” I leaned forward and pecked his nose. He thrust against me once more, making my mind foggy. I sighed. “Or we could—”

“We aren’t making any decisions until Callie gets down here,” Michael said loudly, pulling me back to the moment.

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