Page 107 of A Hunger Soft and Wild

I turn to her, heart already beating faster. “Anything.”

She looks at me then—reallylooks—and I swear the heat of the fire has nothing on the warmth in her eyes.

“No more running. No more goodbyes in the dark,” she says, voice steady but laced with something raw beneath. “If something happens—if the danger comes back—we face it. Together.”

She pauses, and I see it—feelit—the flicker of pain behind her calm. “But if you leave again… if I wake up and you’re gone, I won’t survive it twice, Aria.”

The words land like a stone in still water, sending ripples through every inch of me. I think of the note I left her. The hollow ache that followed me in every step after. The look on her face when she found me again—relief buried beneath heartbreak, like she wasn’t sure she should let herself hope.

Sheneedsto know I won’t do it again. That I won’t shatter her like that.

I reach for her hand and squeeze it tightly, grounding both of us.

“I promise,” I whisper, fierce and certain. “I vow it. I won’t break it. And if there’s a next time… I’ll run to you. Not away.” My voice shakes, but I don’t look away. “I’ll choose you, Roan. Every time. Even if the world turns against us. Even if I’m scared. Especially then.”

Her fingers tighten around mine, but I press on, needing her to hear it all.

“You were the one who stayed when I had nothing left. Who taught me to fight—not just with blades, but tolive.You never asked for my trust, but you earned it. And you held it, even when I didn’t deserve it.”

My throat thickens. “So I swear to you… no more running. No more silence. If danger finds us again, I’ll stand at your side. I’ll fight for this. Forus.Because I want a life—with you. Not in spite of everything that’s happened… but because of it.”

Roan’s eyes shine in the firelight, and for once, she doesn’t speak. She just leans in, forehead resting against mine, and in that quiet, I feel it—

The vow settling into something sacred between us.

Roan exhales, slow and quiet, as if she’s been holding her breath since the moment I returned. Her shoulders finally ease.

“Good,” she murmurs. “Because nothing—no amount of danger, no shadow from your past or mine—could ever keep me from you.”

Tears burn at the edges of my eyes, but I manage a smile, soft and trembling. “I know…I love you.”

Roan’s expression shifts—goes soft, open in a way she rarely lets anyone see. The world narrows down to the warmth of her breath and the quiet between heartbeats.

“I love you too,” Roan murmurs, voice so raw, so real, I know I’ll remember the sound of it for the rest of my life.

I close my eyes, imprinting this moment into memory—the firelight dancing over her skin, the strength of her fingers laced through mine, the feel of her mouth as it brushes over mine, gentle and lingering. But it doesn’t stay soft for long.

Her fingers flex against mine, and she shifts closer, her thigh pressing against mine, her warmth chasing away the chill of night. The kiss deepens without either of us meaning to, like we’ve both been holding back and the dam finally gives.

She kisses me like I’m something sacred. Like she’s starving for something only I can give.

A soft sound slips from my throat as I slide my free hand up the curve of her arm, to the back of her neck. Her skin is warm, her pulse strong beneath my fingers. She tilts her head, deepening the kiss, and I feel her sigh against my mouth—rough and low and aching.

The fire crackles beside us, but I barely hear it. Nothing else exists except for her—the slide of her lips over mine, the way her thumb strokes absent circles on the back of my hand, grounding me even as she sets my body alight.

When she finally pulls back, just enough to look at me, her gaze is dark and hooded, her breath uneven. “Tell me if you want me to stop,” she says, voice thick, hoarse with restraint.

I shake my head, already chasing her mouth again. “Don’t stop,” I whisper. “Please don’t ever stop.”

Her hand leaves mine, sliding up my arm, my shoulder, then down—slowly, reverently—over the curve of my waist.

She draws me into her lap, and I go willingly, straddling her thighs. The new angle makes everything sharper, hotter. I can feel her under me, strong and steady and wholly mine.

“You’re sure?” she asks again, but this time her voice is a little more frayed, a little less composed.

I answer with a kiss—deeper this time, full of hunger and aching need. My hips rock once, unthinking, and Roan groans softly into my mouth, gripping my waist with both hands.

Her touch stirs something raw inside me—a hunger soft and wild, nothing like the monstrous cravings I’ve known before.

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