Broken Bond - Callie Rose Page 0,49

think. My wolf growls, urging me to rip her clothes off, to sink into her and claim her.

Fuck caution.

Fuck everything else.

I want to.

But instead, I tilt her head back as our tongues dance. I slide a hand behind her, gripping her supple ass, pulling her against my hard cock so she knows what she’s done to me. This isn’t Sable the witch. This is just Sable, the woman I’ve wanted since the moment I laid eyes on her in the woods. It’s so clear right now where the delineation is, what the difference is between the two aspects of her.

I’m tangled up in Sable, my fingers in her hair, my hand cupped to her ass, our lips bruising with the force of our kiss. I don’t want to move from this spot or think about anything else. I don’t want to ever fucking let her go.

But as my hands roam over her body, sliding up under her shirt to tease her bare skin, the hairs on the back of my neck prickle.

Even though they move as silently as the predators they are, I can still sense them behind me.

Archer, Trystan, and Ridge have arrived.

Goddammit.

It takes every bit of willpower to tear my lips away from Sable’s, and she yelps in surprise when she sees the three men behind me. I don’t think she felt them approach like I did.

“Um… We were just, uh, talking.” She shifts awkwardly, her cheeks turning pink, and I hate that she feels embarrassed about being caught kissing me. As if it’s something she shouldn’t be doing, instead of the most perfect, most right thing in the world.

It’s my fucking fault. I know that. I’ve pushed her away even as my wolf begs me to get closer to her. I’ve run so damn hot and cold it’s a miracle she hasn’t given up on me completely.

If I don’t get my fucking head on straight and keep it that way, I’m gonna wreck things between us badly enough that at some point, they won’t be fixable.

“Right. Well, I think we can call it on the training session for today,” Archer says, smiling at her as she slips away from the tree I had her pressed against. “You had a big breakthrough, and I don’t want to push too hard. We’ll pick up tomorrow where we left off.”

“Sounds good.”

Her gaze flicks to me, her expression softening for a moment. Then she ducks her head, following after the other three shifters as they head back toward the village. I stare after her for a moment before finally forcing my feet into motion.

Wait for me, Sable. Please fucking wait for me. I’m doing my best to come back to you. I promise.

17

Sable

I wouldn’t say I ever look forward to practicing my magic, but over the next few days, my training sessions get a bit easier. It still doesn’t respond every time I try to call it up, and I live in terror of drawing a sigil wrong or accidentally unleashing a blast of raw magic.

But my control is increasing. Slow and steady, as Archer reminds me over and over. That’s the way I’m going to make this work.

A few days later, we’re finishing up breakfast before heading to the training barn when there’s a knock at the front door.

Archer doesn’t get many visitors. We wake up in the morning and eat, then we go to the training barn for a few hours. In the afternoons, he often goes to visit with his father and check that things with the pack are going all right.

Malcolm does as much leading as he can from his bed, but there’s a lot he still needs Archer for, and their close relationship is amazing to behold. Sometimes I go with him, and sometimes I give him privacy. It’s become a routine, one I’ve thoroughly begun to enjoy—especially as our training sessions have helped me hone my powers and become more comfortable in my skin.

Archer excuses himself and pads to the front door in his bare feet. He looks soft and rumpled this morning in athletic shorts and a thin t-shirt, his golden hair mussed from bed. I watch him disappear from sight and lift my coffee, listening to the low rumble of voices at the front of the house. Ridge is reading a book and sipping his coffee, while Trystan and Dare are arm wrestling in between their empty plates. I cup my mug and smile at them all, stunned all over again by just