Page 37 of Third

Not rationally. Not sensibly. Her body, her soul—whatever the bracelet had touched inside her—screamed forit.

He felt ittoo.

She could see it in the strain rippling through his massive frame, the way his hands flexed against his thighs, the way his breath sawed in and out of his lungs like each inhale was a battle. His eyes—still faintly lit with that impossible violet glow—locked onto her, and for one harrowing second, she thought he might lose the last thread of control holding himback.

Tor’Vek shifted closer, his movements sharp and deliberate. His large hand came up, hovering near her jaw but not touching. His restraint was palpable, carved into every tight line of his body. But the bond between them pulsed harder, demanding, aching.

Anya swallowed hard. “What’s happening tous?”

His voice was a ragged rasp. “The bond is escalating.”

“Ican feel it,” she whispered.

The need clawed at her, raw and unrelenting. She wanted to touch him, to press against him, to ease the roaring ache tearing throughher.

His hand dropped to his side, fingers flexing once before tightening into a twitch of barely suppressed violence, atremor of rage running through his entire arm. He exhaled a hard breath through his nose, the effort of holding back evident.

“If I lose control,” he said, his voice low and vicious, “there will be nothing gentle aboutit.”

She knew. God help her, sheknew.

Still, she whispered, “Then don’t.”

The words cracked something insidehim.

With a growl that sounded ripped from his chest, he closed the distance between them. His hands found her waist, his grip rough but trembling with restraint. He yanked her closer until there was no space between them, the heat of his body searing through the thin material of her borrowed clothing.

Anya gasped, her fingers flying up instinctively—not to push him away, but to steady herself against the solid wall of his chest.

Tor’Vek dropped his forehead to hers, his breath hot and ragged against her skin. “You calm it,” he whispered. “When you arenear.”

Her heart thundered against her ribs. “Then stay close.”

A low sound escaped him, half anguish, half triumph. His arms tightened, hauling her more firmly against him as though sheer proximity could relieve the storm of rage still burning beneath hisskin.

Anya’s craving surged so violently it left her breathless—abrutal, desperate need to tear away the last barriers of clothing between them and feel him, all of him, skin to skin. She wanted to drag him down over her, have him take her again and again until the hunger inside her was nothing butash.

The bracelets pulsed again, adeep throb vibrating through their bodies, syncing heartbeats and breaths into a chaotic rhythm that crashed through them like a tidalwave.

Anya squeezed her eyes shut, trying to block out the world, the danger, the terror—and the staggering need building between them. Aflash of guilt twisted through her, fear whispering that if she surrendered to this craving, she might lose more than her body—she might lose herself.

Tor’Vek’s lips brushed the shell of her ear, atouch so light it sent a shiver skimming down her spine. “If I give in…” he began, but the words broke off, as if he couldn’t voice the fear clawing insidehim.

“We survive first,” she whispered back. “Everything else... later.”

For a moment, neither moved, their need to endure pressing down on them harder than the gravity of this alien world. Then, reluctantly, Tor’Vek loosened his hold, enough to shift them into a more defensive position beneath the rocky outcrop.

Anya sagged against him, her body trembling from adrenaline, exhaustion—and something deeper. Something terrifyinglyraw.

Tor’Vek remained alert, his arms partially around her, every muscle tense in readiness. The heat of his body radiated against her side, and the slow, ragged pull of his breath grazed her ear, each sound a sharp reminder of the tension pulsating just beneath the surface. Protecting her. Centering himself.

Their battle wasn’t over. It had barely begun.

“We must find a safer location,” Tor’Vek said at last, his voice low and rough against her ear. “This position is too exposed.”

Anya nodded, not trusting herself to speak. Her whole body still hummed with want, but the urgency of survival gave her a tenuous grip on focus.

“How far?” she managed to croak.

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