Fated Magic (Claimed by Wolves 1)

“About me being a shifter. If I’ll ever shift. Maybe I’m not really one of you,” I say, voice small. Until saying it out loud, I never really gave that particular fear too much power in my mind. Now that I have, I realize I really am worried this is all a fluke. Maybe it’s been nothing but a huge misunderstanding.

I’m not a shifter.

None of these men will ever belong to me.

All of this is just a brief moment of blissful peace and happiness, a short interlude before I’ll have to figure out what to do with the rest of my life.

How to survive on my own.

But Ridge shakes his head adamantly, his other hand lifting to touch my chest, right over my heart. “You’re wrong about that, sweetheart. She’s in there. I can feel her, and I know she’ll come out soon.”

His smile is so gentle, so kind. Just as he’s been every step of the way with me.

There’s something else there too, beneath that comforting relationship we’ve formed. The thing that always lingers between us, demanding more.

More.

Our fingers are still entwined, and his palm rests between my breasts. Amora was so generous to give me clothes for this adventure, but she only gave me one bra. And it’s hanging over the shower curtain rod to dry after I washed it in the sink this morning.

If he moved his hand just a couple inches…

Desire swirls inside me, and I blush at my own wantonness. Step away, I tell myself, trying to force my feet to move, but it’s too late. I watch, mesmerized, as Ridge smells the change in my body chemistry.

He stiffens, his hand hot on my chest. His pupils expand, and his lips part.

I’m too attracted to him to care that he knows my inner desires, too swept up in the heat building strong and fast inside me. I can’t stop imagining his hand shifting to the right, our bodies coming together, and dammit, I want him to make the first move because I’m a coward.

But he won’t. I know he won’t, because he’s Ridge.

He’s a good man.

Too good.

It’s that thought that unsticks my feet from the floor. He is good, and that’s why I’m coming to care for him so much. But right now I want him to let go of that goodness, that protective worry he has for me, just a little bit.

I want to be bad. And I want him to join me.

I take a small step toward him, angling my body just enough that his hand slides over my breast. The moment he realizes I’m braless, his expression darkens with unfiltered desire.

“Sable…” He mutters gruffly, letting my name trail off. I love the sound of my name on his lips.

Arching my back, I close my eyes against the way the fabric bunches around his fingers, scraping over my nipple. Ridge hasn’t moved a muscle, even as my nipple pebbles beneath his fingertips. There’s something in his expression that says he’s just as surprised at my behavior as I am.

Suddenly, his fingers tighten over my swollen nipple, and I gasp at the way the pinch goes straight to the wet heat between my legs. Ridge curses, his nostrils flaring.

And then his lips crash into mine.

This kiss isn’t as frantic as the one I shared with Dare on the bank of the stream, but it’s just as consuming. I go hot in his arms as he shoves me back against the kitchen counter, grinding his hips against mine. His hands move lower and then he lifts me onto the counter, opening my legs around his hips.

My arms wrap around his neck as I clutch at him a little desperately, my legs hooking around his waist like I’m trying to pin our bodies together. To bind us so closely nothing can pull us apart.

I’ve been wanting to do this for longer than I could ever admit. I’ve needed this for fucking days.

His lips part, and his tongue dances with mine as his hands slide beneath my shirt. When he cups my bare breasts with his calloused hands, I moan into his kiss, my head whirling from the rush of adrenaline and arousal in my veins.

After several moments, he pulls away, both his hands emerging from beneath my shirt to cup my face. He looks into my eyes, breathing heavily, his own cheeks flushed.

God, I like him like this. I love the sight of him coming a little bit undone, and I love knowing that I’m the one who made him that way.