Fated Magic (Claimed by Wolves #1) - Callie Rose Page 0,36
you ever again.”
The truth in his words sends a little shiver up my spine—a mixture of fear and something else I can’t quite name. He means it.
I don’t know how to respond to that, so I let silence fall between us as he continues cleaning up the little scrapes on my knees. His big hands are surprisingly careful as he dabs the disinfectant over each little tear in my skin.
When he’s done, he sets everything on the coffee table beside the couch before looking up at me, his big palms resting on my thighs just above the knee. He gives a soft squeeze, and I feel one corner of my lips tilt up into a smile.
“Thank you,” I murmur.
“Of course.”
He gazes up at me for another long moment before he finally moves. Sitting beside me on the cushions, he slides a finger beneath my chin and tilts my face up toward his.
“You don’t have to do this.” His gruff voice is gentle, and his gaze sweeps my face as if he can see right through me.
Hell, maybe he can. From the moment I woke up here, he’s been able to sense my fear, my panic, and calm me down. Now, I’m sure he can clearly sense my thoughts and just how stressed I am over this extremely odd situation. Like every other action he’s taken in my presence, his statement is one more way in which he seems determined to protect me.
Warmth unfurls inside me, and I lean into his touch. His protection feels like a force-field, cutting me off from the storm brewing inside me. I focus on the heat of his finger on my chin, way too aware of his closeness and his breath not far from my lips.
I could take him up on this offer. Back out now. But there’s something in me that can’t do it. Instead of my usual instinctual need to flee, I want to stay right here forever with his finger on my skin and his warmth radiating over me. As long as he’s there to comfort me, I’ll be all right.
“Thank you. But I’m going,” I say resolutely. “I—I want to.”
The tension in his forehead melts away, and the corners of his lips turn up, making his ruggedly handsome face even more beautiful. “Good. I’m glad.”
We stare at one another for so long that I feel like I’m going to drown in his eyes. When his gaze drops to my lips, my stomach flutters, and the warmth inside me unfurls further.
He brushes his thumb over the line of my jaw, making every nerve ending in my body sing. A sound escapes me, and I sway toward him a fraction of an inch, lost in him.
Entranced by him.
Drowning in the strange connection I can neither understand nor deny.
“I’m so glad I found you that night, Sable,” Ridge murmurs. “I wish I’d found you long before then.”
I think I know what he means, even without him saying it. He wishes he’d known me long enough to keep the bad things in my life from hurting me. To keep me safe.
I could tell him that he would’ve had to have met me when I was a child for that to be possible, but I don’t want to ruin the sweetness of this moment. I don’t want him to stop looking at me the way he is, with hunger and tenderness all rolled into one.
My body shifts toward him a little more, and Ridge mirrors the movement, closing the space between us…
The front door bangs open.
I jolt, leaping nearly half a foot off the couch as I flash back to the day Lawson and his cronies burst into this same room. Luckily, no raging bullies enter. Just Trystan and Archer, who I think aren’t bullies. At least, I hope they don’t turn out to be, though I guess right now anything is possible.
Trystan pauses just inside the door, his gaze hardening as he surveys the scene they just walked in on—Ridge and me sitting so close together we’re sharing the same air, with his hand still touching my face.
“Are we interrupting?” Trystan drawls, his voice dark. Archer peers over his shoulder at us, and a muscle tenses in his jaw.
I quickly scoot away from Ridge before this turns into a dog fight. I’ve built a kind of… friendship, I guess, with Ridge. But I can’t forget that these other two shifters are absolutely certain I’m their mate. I really don’t want to have to referee three