He glanced away toward the shimmering water. "Because…it would have been too hard to let you go." The honesty in his voice was like a blade.
She inhaled slowly, watching him. "Why did you let me go? A year ago, it wasn't too late."
That one landed. His nostrils flared slightly. "Because you do not belong in my world. You cannot handle my world. You are too fragile, too…" His voice trailed off, and she could hear the word he didn't say—weak. But he swallowed it, perhaps knowing how she'd take it.
Her chin lifted. "You don't know me well enough to believe I am fragile, Mr. Kade." There was an edge in her tone now, a stubborn defiance he remembered from before.
He tilted his head slightly, studying her, and then his mouth curved. "I'm sort of torn when you call me that. On one hand, it makes it seem like there is this big distance between us. On the other, no one has ever said it as sexy as you do."
The way he said sexy slid over her skin. The pool's quiet ripples filled the silence that followed, but the air between them had shifted.
May wanted to giggle—truly, she did. That sly, dark compliment had almost broken her composure. But she caught herself just in time. She was engaged to another man. That line of conversation was dangerous territory, a cliff she wasn't sure she could climb back from if she slipped. And yet… the treacherous heat that rushed to her cheeks betrayed her.
Which brought her to her next question. She tilted her head slightly, eyes locked on his. "Why can I not seem to stop you when you touch me?" The words felt like a confession.
"Once again, I wish I could tell you."
The deliberate choice of wish instead of can't made her chest tighten.
She narrowed her eyes, studying him. "Does this have something to do with being soul mates?"
That made him raise a brow. It was subtle, but his wolf was in his eyes now—alert, watchful, almost wary.
"Miss Nelly mentioned something earlier about soulmates, sounded intriguing."
Kade's gaze didn't leave hers. "Is that what you feel? Like you found your soulmate?"
The question lodged in her chest. She looked away for the first time, eyes tracing the ripples on the water instead of his face. "I love Mark… and yet, I cannot explain what it is about you that makes me feel like I am a terrible woman."
That made Kade turn fully to her, his body now angled toward hers as if the conversation had just crossed into territory he could no longer pretend didn't matter. "Don't ever think that. It's… it's not your fault." His hand moved before she could protest, large and warm against her cheek, the rough pads of his fingers a stark contrast to the tenderness of the gesture.
His thumb brushed over her skin. "And if it makes it easier on you, I will leave tomorrow. Before you are even up, I'll be gone."
The promise was supposed to sound like mercy, but it felt like a threat. Because even as he said it, neither of them moved away, and the air between them was thick enough to drown in.
May leaned into his touch and looked at him, wantonly—open, hungry, unguarded in a way she didn't dare be with anyone else. Her entire body betrayed her engagement, her morals, her carefully crafted composure. All it took was one brush of his skin against hers for her to lose all control. This wasn't normal. It wasn't safe. It wasn't human.
Her lips parted slightly, breath quickening, and her voice—when it finally escaped—was a whisper as scandalous as it was raw. "I want you to touch me like you did that night."
The words shocked her as much as they clearly shocked him. Where the request came from, she had no idea. She didn't know where the audacity came from either—maybe from the dangerous warmth of his hand, maybe from the way his eyes darkened when they landed on her, or maybe from that primal pull that had been gnawing at her since the moment they met. Her gaze, almost of its own accord, dropped to his lips.
His reply was ragged. "I shouldn't… and yet, I want to."
She leaned in, closing the already thin distance between them. "Just one more time, Mr. Kade. Once."
Her use of his name—Mr. Kade was a provocation, a dare. She inched closer and let his lips capture hers, the kiss searing in its first contact, as though they had been holding it back for centuries.
He deepened the kiss with a creeping hunger, one hand cupping her jaw while his thumb stroked her neck—right in the dip where his mark would go… should go. His wolf stirred under his skin, pressing against the fragile wall of his self-control.
Her lips were so damn tasty, he wondered—just for a sinful moment—how good they would feel wrapped around his cock. But he couldn't wonder that far away. Even this far was already too much. His blood pounded, and every instinct screamed to take, to claim, to mark her so thoroughly she would never again think of another man.
May moved closer, her soft chest pressing fully against his hard frame, their feet tangling together in the water. Kade braced himself with one arm behind him, the other moving with a slow, deliberate intent.
He let his hand roam—over the line of her throat, down the curve of her collarbone—before finding the rise of her petite breasts. His thumb brushed over one hardened nipple, teasing it through the thin barrier of her top. She gasped softly.
'You have no idea how much I want to ruin you, May. One word from you and I will.' He thought.
He wanted to go further—no, needed to. Every instinct in his body roared for it. The scent of her arousal teased him, demanding to feel the heat between her thighs. His hand almost moved there of its own accord… but Nelly's warning echoed in his thoughts: "I will not let you make her a cheating woman."
He broke the kiss, tearing himself away even as she sought his lips again, brushing against him. Her quiet whimper nearly undid him all over again.
"I can't do this to you," he rasped.
May opened her eyes slowly, confusion and a flicker of hurt swimming in their depths. She pulled back an inch, enough to meet his gaze, and she understood exactly what he meant. It was restraint. "Why do I feel this way?" she whispered, as though asking him might somehow dissolve the gnawing hunger in her bones.
"You cannot help it."
"Why?" she pressed, desperation creeping in.
"I wish I could tell you," he repeated once more.
"You keep saying that!" she snapped softly, the frustration finally breaking through the desire. Her heart thudded in her chest, and she didn't know whether she wanted to slap him or kiss him again.
"I'll leave in the morning," he said instead, staring off into the distance. It was a sentence he'd already condemned himself to. The only thing he could do was run away. Just as he had a year ago.
*****
When Kade arrived at the fortress the next morning, the high walls loomed over him. The air here was different. He passed two guards who dipped their heads in acknowledgment but said nothing. His stride was brisk even if inside he still felt the echo of her lips against his.
He went straight into Alpha Lucas's office to report his arrival. The door creaked open.
The man behind the desk looked up from his computer, a slow, knowing smile spreading across his face as Kade entered. "Chicken!" Lucas teased, leaning back in his chair.
Kade froze mid-step. "What?"
"You said you were going to spend a week." Lucas's grin widened, eyes glinting with smug amusement. "It's been two days. What happened? Pull was too strong for you to handle?"
"No… she got engaged." The words were bitter in his mouth.
"Oh…I'd hug you, but Ava's the only one good with that shit." His grin softened just a fraction. "What I can do is offer you strong whiskey. The kind that burns on the way down and keeps burning until you start questioning your life choices."
Kade exhaled slowly, forcing his thoughts away from the image of May's ring-clad hand. "I'd rather get to work immediately, Alpha."
Lucas raised a brow at that, his eyes studying Kade. "Suit yourself," he said finally. "But I still don't understand why you choose to torture yourself this way…So… she's human?"
Kade's gaze flickered briefly toward the window, where the fortress walls rose against the distant forest. "It's complicated, Alpha. Telling you complicates it even further."
"Hmmm…You know, I owe Ava a couple thousand dollars because of you."
Kade's brows drew together. "Why?"
"We had a bet," Lucas said, far too pleased with himself. "I told her you wouldn't be able to fight the mate pull. She says you're a stupid, stubborn fuck. Looks like she's right."