Page 70 of Wicked Fate

The disappointment running through you is like a fucking freight train.

Needing him to not only feel my emotions but to hear my tone, I switched to speaking out loud. “I’m not mad. I’m… worried.”

He flinched, like that word hit harder than anger. “Because I tried to cloak myself again?”

“That, and because you keep carrying all of this alone.” I walked over to him and continued, “You’re trying to protect us by cutting yourself off. That doesn’t make you stronger, Ryker. It just makes you more likely to break. And I hate that you felt like you had to try to cloak your soul again instead of relying on me to help you.”

He looked down, jaw flexing. “You shouldn’t have to carry that burden.”

“You don’t think that I get it?” I patted my chest. “You lost people. I lost people. You blame yourself. I do too, because I ran while my pack got slaughtered. But we’re here together, and I want to help you handle your pain. You don’t have to hide it from me. I want us to be together in everything.”

The silence stretched between us. Then he leaned forward and gripped the edge of the towel at my hip, just enough to anchor himself.

“You felt it, didn’t you? When I slipped.” He hung his head.

“Yeah.” I dropped to my knees in front of him. “Our bond was affected.”

He rested his forehead against mine and linked,I didn’t mean to. I just… I wanted to make it stop. Just for a second. The guilt, the memories. Every time I sleep, I see them. What was left of them.

My throat thickened, and I took his hand. “You’re not alone in this. We’ll carry the pain together.”

His breath hitched. “I don’t deserve you.”

“Too bad,” I whispered. “You’ve got me anyway, and now you’re stuck.”

He huffed a small laugh. The kind that didn’t quite make it to a smile, but our bond flooded with warmth toward me all the same. He lifted his head, and for the first time in hours, something unguarded flickered in his eyes.

“If this is what being stuck feels like,” he murmured, brushing his nose against mine, “then I’m the luckiest bastard in the universe.”

My lips parted on a shaky breath as love, deep and all-consuming, wafted from him like smoke wrapping around me. It was heady. Raw. Real.

I kissed him with as much passion as possible. My fingers tangled in his hair while my heart drummed against his chest. His arms wrapped around me like I was the only thing keeping him grounded.

But just as the hunger sparked between us, he pulled away.

The loss hit like a slap. My heart stuttered. “What—”

“I need a shower.” He panted, forehead pressed to mine. “Give me a minute. I’ll be right back.”

I blinked, lips still tingling from the kiss. “Oh.”

His thumb traced the edge of my jaw before he pressed a kiss there. “Don’t move. I just want to rinse the blood and dirt off before I touch you the way I really want to.”

Heat rushed to my cheeks. “Okay.”

He made his way to the bathroom, and the water turned on a second later. I grabbed one of Ryker’s shirts from the nearby dresser and then had to search to find some pants that would fit me.

Before I could even put the clothes on, the bathroom door opened.

And Ryker stood there.

Naked.

Steam curled behind him, and his golden skin glistened with moisture. His dark hair stuck to his forehead, water trailing down the muscles of his chest and stomach. His gaze raked over me like I was the only thing in the universe that mattered.

My breath caught. Heat pooled low in my belly.

He stalked across the room and reached me in two long strides. He snatched the clothes from my hand and tossed them on the wooden floor. Then his lips crashed against mine, stealing every thought from my head. His kiss wasn’t gentle. It was possessive and desperate.

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