Page 28 of Star Crossed Delta

Saba flinched at the sting of his words, but before she could respond, a soft fluttering sound caught her attention.

A tiny dove had fallen from a nearby tree, struggling to find its wings.

Mak moved fast, crouching down to inspect the creature with care. ‘It’s a fledgling,’ he muttered. ‘Trying to fly. They’re vulnerable at this stage.’

Saba studied him, amazed by the tenderness in his touch, the concern in his gaze.

It was a side of him she hadn’t often seen, gentle, protective, caring, and it shifted some of the doubts about him aside.

Together, they returned the fowl to its nest, where the mother bird greeted it with a soft coo.

For a moment, the tension they shared eased.

Mak turned to her then, a small, almost imperceptible smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. ‘Good teamwork,’ he said, his timbre rough but sincere.

Saba smiled back, a diminutive, fleeting gesture of hope. ‘Maybe you are the man I need you to be.’

Mak’s brow furrowed. ‘Even when I tortured you the other night?’ he grated.

Saba’s gaze softened, and she took a deep breath. ‘I was a willing participant, to some degree, Mak,’ she murmured. ‘However, for us to exist, we need to move forward. We can’t continue punishing each other for the past.’

Mak scoffed. ‘Can’t I?’

Saba looked at him, her heart aching with all they had been through.

‘You can do whatever you want,’ she said.

‘But if we keep this up, we’ll never find the love we deserve.

We must be kind to one another. I’m not my sister.

I never wanted to hurt you, and I don’t believe that deep down inside you want to do the same to me. ’

He studied her for a long beat, his gaze intense.

He sighed, reaching out to take her hand. ‘Consider me part persuaded,’ he said, a slight smile playing on his lips.

Saba’s heart skipped a beat as she took his hand, a sense of cautious hope blooming.

They walked out of the garden together, the tautness easing, if only for a moment.

They climbed the ornate staircase, and he led Saba to her bedroom door.

She opened it and strolled inside.

She was turning to say goodbye when he came up behind her.

His arms went around her from the rear, and he bent.

One arm went under her knees, and the other banded across her back.

Pulling her back, he lifted her.

Saba gasped as he kicked the door shut with his foot.

He strode to her bed and, kneeling, placed her onto the covers.

In moments, his hands were at her waist, tugging her trousers off.

Her underwear followed.

She pushed up on her elbows, staring down at him as his eyes glittered with desire, and took a shaky inhale.

Bared to him, he stared down at her, wet and waiting for him.

His eyes traveled north, over her chest and heaving tits under her tee, and to her face, flushed with need.

He jerked a chin, and she nodded.

He sank to his knees and widened hers further.

Then he dove for the prize.

The instant his hot lips fell on her slit, she bucked, so pliant, so gone for him.

This was no gentle touch of his lips to her most vulnerable pulse point.

It was savage.

He ate her with a hunger so wild she thrashed, wanting to escape it yet welcoming each second of it.

His tongue worked, flicking, licking, and plunging.

His fingers, too, joined in, thrusting deep into her.

She threw a hand over her mouth to stop from wailing and jerked her hips so he’d take more of her.

White hot desire traveled from her soul and along her limbs, lighting up her veins, so that she felt like she was glowing from every point on her body.

In response, Mak’s spectral wolf glimmered into view.

It rose above them in a dazzling array of electric energy, flickering and pulsing, its head raised in a silent howl.

However, it was when his elongated canines flicked over her clit, switching temperature from scorching to cold with each brush and nip that undid her.

She clapped her hands over her mouth as her orgasm ripped through her.

She bucked as bliss hit her like a wild tempest, flooding her nerve endings and inflaming her.

His mouth softened, and his licks continued, this time more, as she came down from her high.

Her thighs stopped shaking, and she relaxed.

He sat back on his heels, his expression unfathomable, his chest heaving in apparent desire.

His eyes narrowed on her glowing skin, one brow arched.

His hand went to her neck and encircled it, his thumb stroking her wolf sigil, from where the glow originated.

Her hands wrapped around his wrist as they stared into each other’s eyes for a heated, scorching moment.

With a press of his lips, he pulled himself together with tremendous control, his face shuttering, his soul withdrawing from her, his lycan spirit glimmering from view.

He rose to his feet, not hiding his erection but not giving in to it either.

His gaze flamed over her nakedness, and then he gave her a slight smile of that beautiful, sensual mouth, turning to stride away.

‘Sleep well, Saba.’

‘You too, my ?ar .’

He raised a hand to acknowledge her ragged whisper as he stalked off, mighty, striking, always enigmatic.

Saba fell back to her bed with a silent scream, then took a frayed breath at the stab of disappointment that went through her.

While he had taken to heights unimaginable, what she craved at this moment was more than a truce or the occasional orgasm.

Her heart ached for him to stay, yearning for his arms and legs to remain entwined around her, for a shared love and understanding, the chance to adore him, to soothe his soul’s battle scars.

It was not to be; he wasn’t ready for more, not yet.

He still didn’t trust her, but Saba sensed a sliver of hope growing, a tiny bridge of connection extending between them.

Even as her traitorous, impoverished, ravenous soul yearned for any morsel that he threw her way.