Page 106 of The Fated Hunter Wolf

“This okay?” he asked, voice low enough to almost disappear between heartbeats.

I answered by pulling him back to me. The kiss deepened—a kiss that learned rather than claimed. His thumb brushed the edge of my jaw, tracing a path that felt both promise and apology. For a moment the bond flared, silver and gold twining so tightly I could feel his heart beating inside my own ribs.

When we broke apart, we were still close enough to share breath. I almost told him what it felt like, how the world had gone weightless, but the words would’ve broken it.

Instead, I watched his lips. He smiled, the corner of his mouth curving with a hunger that set me on fire.

The door drifted shut behind us, cutting off the corridor light.

“Finally,” he said. “I’ve been waiting for this for longer than I knew.”

He scooped me into his arms and carried me to the massive king-size bed. Then he laid me down with such delicate precision that I started to believe I was a princess.

Me—the head enforcer of Crux—turning to putty in the arms of my mate. I let out a long exhale and knew without any shred of doubt that this was exactly where I was supposed to be.

With him.

37

RHYS

Her expression softened as I climbed onto the bed beside her, my arm sliding beneath her neck. I brushed a lock of hair from her face and watched her expression turn to wonder. To curiosity. To love.

Goddess, how did I end up with this incredible woman?

It wasn’t enough to say it to the Goddess in silence. Sable needed to hear it. Now. I looked out the window for some inspiration. How was I supposed to start? I was about to seal a bond with my fated mate, a woman Ineverin my craziest dreams would have imagined would be for me. Yet she was wholly mine, and I was so fucking madly hers there wasn’t even a question anymore.

Despite everything I’d put her through.

The hotel room was floor-to-ceiling glass, Dallas stretching out forty stories below—highway interchanges and high-rises, the whole city grid lit up like someone's circuit board.

But I didn't give a shit about the skyline. I neededwords.

Sable lay on the bed where I'd just placed her, her hair fanned across the pillow, eyes dark with desire and trust. Thattrust—it made my chest tight. She reached for me, her fingers curling in invitation.

"Tonight," she said softly. "We seal the bond."

I stayed at the edge of the bed, not moving closer. "Yeah."

Her brow furrowed at my hesitation. "Then come here." She sat up, reaching for me again. "I'm ready, Rhys. I want this."

"Sable—"

"I'm not going to change my mind." She moved to the edge of the bed, close enough to touch. "We can talk about anything in the morning."

"No."

She froze, pulling back a fraction, eyebrows raised in question.

I stayed where I was, even though every instinct screamed to close the distance. "We're not doing this."

"Doing what, exactly?"

"Sealing the bond and hoping that fixes what I broke."

Her jaw tightened. "I said I forgive you. That it was as much me as you. I'm here, aren't I? What else do you want?"

"I want you to let me say it." The words came out rougher than I meant. "All of it. What I did. Why I did it. Why I was wrong."