Page 67 of Hungry As Her Python

Then, slowly, he smiled. It was a knowing, almost smug smile—the kind a man gives when he’s been waiting for someone to finally grow the balls to say what needed saying.

“Then you have my blessing, Python,” he said, clapping a broad hand on my shoulder. “She is stubborn, but she is worth it.”

The crowd murmured, a ripple of amusement and approval passing through them.

Bella’s cheeks flushed pink, but she didn’t run.

Didn’t deny it.

Didn’t tell me to shut up.

And for now, that was good enough.

Then, she stepped closer, her arm brushing mine, and whispered, “You’re impossible.”

“Damn right,” I murmured back, dropping my head so only she could hear the next part. “But I’m yours, sweet Witch. Always.”

And as far as I was concerned, that was the end of it.

The town knew.

Her people knew.

Now it was just a matter of time before she admitted what I already knew in my bones—Maribella Strega was mine.

Not in the casual, oh yeah, we’ve been seeing each other way.

No. This was bone-deep. Blood-deep. Mate-deep.

The Python in me already recognized her, claimed her, marked her in ways she probably didn’t even realize yet.

And the man in me? Yeah, he was just as far gone.

If anyone so much as breathed wrong in her direction, I’d be right there. Slaying Demons, fighting Dragons, wrestling rogue Shifters into the dirt—hell, I’d even sit through a Warlock HOA meeting if it meant keeping her safe.

And it wasn’t just because my Python was that freaking awesome—though, for the record, he was.

It was because this woman, hell, she owned me. Entirely.

She had my Python.

My fealty.

My loyalty.

My heart, mind, body, and soul.

All of it.

Maribella didn’t just sneak under my skin—she built a damn condo there and hung curtains.

She was in my blood now, in every beat of my heart, in every instinct that told me I’d be less than a man without her.

There was nothing I wouldn’t do to ensure her safety.

My sweet Witch had the biggest heart. And I vowed to keep it safe—no matter what.

I’d already made peace with the fact that I’d kill for her.