Page 13 of Ranger’s Oath (Lone Star Wolf Rangers #5)

GAGE

T he steel door shudders again, vibrating through the floor, and every muscle in my body locks into readiness.

My pulse spikes, the adrenaline sharp and merciless, and my wolf claws at the edges of my control, howling for release and blood.

The urge to tear into whatever waits beyond that barrier is nearly overwhelming, but I force it down.

The only thing worse than failing the mission would be failing her.

If they break through, Cassidy and Sadie are finished, and the thought of Sadie’s body lying still on the ground is enough to burn through my restraint.

My job is to hold this line, to stand between them and death until Rush and the others cut the bastards down, no matter what it costs me.

Then, just as suddenly, the pounding stops.

Silence, heavy and absolute, smothers the room.

This was not the core operation, not the hand that planted trackers or doctored glassware.

Tonight’s attackers were subcontracted muscle, a mid-tier crew paid to poke the bear and bleed us if they could.

Disposable men sent to test the perimeter, not the ones holding the leash.

I keep my weapon trained on the door, ears straining.

Seconds stretch, long enough for the siren to sputter and die, long enough for the only sound left to be Sadie’s quick, uneven breaths behind me.

That sound makes the wolf inside me restless, makes me ache to turn and shield her with my own body.

When the all-clear crackles through the comms, my grip loosens, but my body doesn’t.

The adrenaline is still there, a razor's edge sliding along the frayed endings of my nerves.

I open the door, gun sweeping the hall, only to find Dalton and Deacon already dealing with the dead men on the floor, smoke curling in the air.

It’s over—for now. The stench of blood lingers, bitter and metallic.

One of the team is already shifted and is patrolling the perimeter in wolf form, a dark shadow circling the ranch.

The remaining two are stripping the bodies of weapons and loading the dead into a pickup, grim work that will end with deep graves far from here.

Sadie glares at me, her eyes blazing. Relief, fury, and something hotter flickers in those eyes, and my control begins to shred.

Cassidy has already gone to Rush, safe in his arms where she belongs, leaving me with the one woman who tests every wall I’ve built.

Sadie’s alive, flushed from fear and fire, and the sight of her is enough to wreck every boundary I’ve drawn.

“Next time,” she snarls, voice trembling but strong, “don’t lock me away like I’m breakable.”

I close the door behind us, forcing her back against the wall.

The scent of her skin, warm and wild, clings to the air between us.

“You're a wolf-shifter, but that doesn't mean you're immortal. You are harder to kill, but a bullet to the brain or through your heart will still kill you. And if I hadn’t kept you in there, you’d be bleeding out on the floor like the bad guys.”

Her chin lifts, eyes sparking with defiance. “You think I can’t handle myself? You think I’m some society princess who needs saving?”

“No, I know you’re not. You're a major pain in the ass, and that’s exactly why you’re dangerous... to me.” My voice comes out rough, lower than I intend. Every word is a confession and a warning rolled into one.

Her lips part, ready to fire back, but the words die when I close the last inches between us.

The air bristles with heat, alive with tension that wraps around us like a snare.

The fight outside hasn’t drained me; it’s stoked the hunger higher, until every heartbeat feels like a countdown to ruin.

My pulse slams in my throat, wild and relentless, syncing with the rapid rise and fall of her chest until it feels like our bodies are locked in the same dangerous rhythm.

“Gage,” she whispers, her tone softer now, but still edged with danger. That single word holds accusation, plea, and challenge.

My hand slides to her jaw, tilting her face up to mine. The heat of her skin sears my palm. “I should walk away. I should let this burn out before it destroys us both.”

“Then do it,” she dares me, voice low, breathless.

But I don’t. I seize her mouth with mine, and the world burns away.

The kiss is brutal and consuming, fire and teeth tangled in desperation.

She bites my lip, copper flooding my tongue, but the sting only drives me harder.

Her fists twist in my shirt, dragging me closer, and the growl that rips from my chest vibrates against her.

Her body molds to mine as I lift her, her legs wrapping around my hips in a fevered lock, her heat pressed tight to me. Every step to the bedroom is a battle against losing all control, her breath hot against my jaw, her nails scoring my shoulders as I carry her like something already claimed.

On the way she pulls back just enough to whisper against my mouth, “You think this changes anything?”

“I know it changes everything,” I mutter, before I take her lips again.

The second her back hits the mattress, the leash on my restraint snaps. I rip at her clothes with frantic urgency, needing her bare beneath me, and she answers me stroke for stroke, fierce and shameless.

Then, with a sudden twist of strength, she pushes me back, rolling until I’m on my spine and she’s above me for a breathless moment, eyes blazing with wicked delight.

Her ragged laugh spills out as she tears the last of my clothes away, leaving me stripped and raw under her gaze.

Her eyes roam over me like a touch, molten with hunger, and the heat there makes my blood thunder, every nerve lit with need.

“Still think I’m breakable?” she challenges, voice husky, wicked.

“Not a damn chance.” The words rasp from me, half growl, half vow, as I reverse our positions and once more she is on her back.

My mouth drags from her throat down across the swell of her chest, tasting salt and skin, and her gasp spills out sharp and needy.

I linger, worshipping her curves with deliberate kisses and teasing bites, each press of my lips drawing a shiver from her body.

When I reach her belly, I map every inch with slow devotion, my teeth grazing lightly as her muscles twitch beneath my mouth, quivering as though each kiss lights a fuse under her skin.

When I spread her thighs wide beneath me, the sight nearly undoes me.

The heat radiating from her, the flush of her skin, the faint tremble of anticipation—it’s intoxicating.

I bury myself between her legs and savor her taste like a starving man finally given sustenance, my tongue stroking, circling, plunging as she writhes beneath me.

Her heels dig into the sheets, her thighs clamping tight around my shoulders as if she can hold me there forever.

The sweet, intoxicating flavor of her floods my mouth, thick and overwhelming, every swallow branding me.

When her fingers knot painfully in my hair and she cries out my name, raw and broken, the sound strips me down to something primal, pulling me closer to the edge than any battle or bloodshed ever has.

She pushes against me, pleading and demanding more. I hold her hips down with my hands, making each stroke of my tongue soothing as she trembles, shaking with the force of release. I continue until she nudges my shoulders gently, gasping for air.

I move back up along her body and kiss her fiercely so she can taste herself on my lips. Her pupils are blown wide open, and her chest heaves with each breath. "Gage," she moans, saying my name like it's a sinful indulgence.

I enter her slowly and deliberately, feeling the stretch as she clenches around me.

My vision blurs from the sheer force of it, every nerve set ablaze by the overwhelming sensation.

It’s brutal and primal, the relentless crash of hips colliding, the sting of nails raking my skin until I burn with it.

Each thrust is a vow I can’t put into words, each kiss a reckless promise carved into flesh and breath.

She clamps her legs around me with desperate strength, hauling me deeper, her body demanding I give her everything as we drive together in a rhythm that feels as inevitable as the pull of gravity.

Our bodies slide together in a relentless synchronicity, sweat-slicked skin creating a desperate friction that makes every movement more incendiary. The slap of flesh on flesh echoes through the room, raw and unrestrained.

Her nails score deep lines into my back, sharp crescents of pain that drive me harder, while her teeth nip at my shoulder, the sting sparking another surge of lust. She writhes beneath me and then against me, every thrust met with equal hunger, her eyes locking onto mine with a blazing challenge that dares me to push her further, to wring every last gasp of pleasure from her body.

"Harder," she gasps.

I comply, driving into her with the force I've been restraining.

The bed creaks beneath us; the headboard thuds against the wall, but nothing can mask her euphoric cries as her body constricts around me, pulling me along with her into a shared climax.

I struggle to stifle the roar that threatens to escape my chest. Biting down on my lip, I taste blood and fight the urge to sink my teeth into her throat and claim her in the way my wolf desires.

But I won't steal that choice from her, not again.

We collapse in a tangle of limbs, skin hot and slick with sweat, our chests heaving in a frantic rhythm that slowly finds its sync.

Her body quivers against mine, tiny spasms running through her as aftershocks ripple, and I gather her close, refusing to let the world intrude.

I bury my face in her hair, breathing her in as though I can brand the scent and taste of her into my memory.

The salt of her skin lingers on my lips, her heat still clinging to me, every heartbeat a reminder that I’ve taken her and can’t make myself let go.

The words slip out before I can stop them, raw and quiet against her skin. “I’ve wanted this since the moment I saw you.”

In the silence after, guilt slides in beneath the satisfaction. I’ve crossed a line, taken what I swore I wouldn’t. My hand drifts down her back, restless, unable to let her go. I press a kiss to her temple, fierce and tender all at once.

“Gage...” Her voice is a whisper, worn but certain. “Don’t you dare regret this. I'm on birth control, and I know your kind...”

"Our kind," I say without rancor.

"Fine. Our kind don't carry the risk of disease or infections that humans do."

My chest tightens, torn between the guilt gnawing at me and the feral satisfaction still coursing through my blood.

I already regret crossing that line, and yet the craving for her only intensifies.

Always more, never enough. The hunger doesn’t fade; it sharpens into something savage, a relentless ache that keeps my body hard, straining for another round.

Every breath I take is filled with her scent and makes the urge fierce. I know if she even whispers the desire, I’ll be inside her again, pounding into her until neither of us can move.

Before I can answer, a low crash sounds in the hall, sharp and sudden. Every muscle snaps tight, instincts roaring back. I roll off the bed, grabbing for my weapon, my body still humming with her heat. Whoever thought the night’s fight was over was dead wrong.

The bedroom door handle rattles, slow and deliberate. The sound carries a weight that sets every nerve on edge. It’s not the easy touch of a teammate checking in, but something heavier, watchful, intentional. Whoever is out there knows exactly where we are—and they want us to know it too.