Chapter Eighteen - The Pull Between Us
1388 Words
Rose’s POV
Ethan took two slow steps toward me, and I backed away instinctively, the air between us thick and wild, like the moment before a storm hits the forest. His scent grew sharper, spiced with raw want, and it made my wolf stir under my skin, a low growl rumbling inside me. My thighs hit the edge of the bed, and I fell onto it, the mattress sinking beneath me like soft earth giving way to paw prints. My body trembled, torn between the instincts to submit and to fight.
He stopped. Those ice-blue eyes locked on mine, a predator measuring his prey, or maybe the mate his wolf was claiming.
“Don’t move,” I said, slapping my palm against his chest. His muscles tightened under my touch, solid and alive. Instead of stepping back, he tilted his head slightly, like an animal resisting restraint. The soundless growl in his throat vibrated through the air, and for a second, I wondered which one of us would break first. I’d imagined this too many times to trust myself with him this close. His nearness burned, heat radiating from his body, calling my own to wake.
His hand found my chin, firm but careful, like velvet over claws. He lifted my face toward his, and my breath stilled. His scent, earth, rain, and something dangerous—wrapped around me until my veins pulsed with something old, something hungry. His lips hovered inches from mine, eyes roaming my face before locking back onto my gaze. The look in them was devastating.
“I go wherever I want,” he murmured, voice rough as a growl, his breath brushing my skin like wind through fur. I shut my eyes, unable to hold that stare any longer. “Your father already paid me for bringing you back. Killing me is the last thing he’ll do.”
“What…” I swallowed hard. “What was the payment?”
“You’ll have to ask him yourself.” His thumb brushed along my cheek, slow and deliberate, heat spreading through my skin in its wake. “For now, tell me what you know about Samuel.”
“Nothing,” I whispered, my voice cracking. My wolf denied it with a low snarl inside me, but my body trembled with the truth, or maybe the lie.
“I don’t buy that. Why do you think he took you?” His other hand slid up my side, fingers pressing against my ribs, testing, claiming. I jerked at the contact, bumping my nose against his. The sudden closeness was dizzying, his scent tangled with mine, wild and intoxicating, too intimate to resist.
I pushed myself back onto my elbows, trying to breathe, to get away from that heat rolling off him. Ethan didn’t follow. He just watched me, eyes sharp, searching for secrets. He respected the space I took, but barely. His control felt like a thread ready to snap.
“I’ve never seen that man,” I said quietly, forcing the words out. “Or his soldiers. I don’t know why I was taken. If I did, I’d tell you. I just want this over with, I want to go home.”
Ethan’s stare didn’t waver, and my pulse quickened under his gaze. He looked at me the way an Alpha studies his territory, eyes that stripped away every wall, every hidden thought. The look should’ve made me shrink, but instead, it made heat crawl up my spine. When Andrew had looked at me, I’d felt nothing but disgust. But Ethan... Ethan made something in me ache.
I’m losing it, letting him see me like this, exposed, trembling, my wolf howling for his touch. I glanced around for Emily’s scent, for any reminder that I wasn’t alone. But she was gone. It was just me and Ethan, the tension crackling between us like static in the dark.
He placed a hand on either side of me, lowering himself without touching, the air growing heavier with each breath we shared. His scent, spiced, masculine, alive, filled me up until my chest ached.
“You’re not going home,” he murmured, his lips hovering near mine.
“What?” My voice came out breathless.
“Nevada’s still under attack. Until your father sorts it out, you’re staying here.” His nose skimmed from my cheek to my neck, his breath setting my nerves on fire. “With me.”
Then his lips parted, teeth grazing my skin. Not enough to hurt, just enough to make me gasp. Heat flared under my skin, the faint sting spreading through me like a claim I couldn’t accept but couldn’t deny either. My body jerked against his, and the spark between us exploded.
“Have you lost your mind?” I pressed against his chest, but he didn’t move. His heart beat hard beneath my palm, steady, dominant, infuriating.
“Just a taste,” he whispered near my ear, his voice a low, dangerous purr. “Of what’s mine.”
The spell shattered. Reality hit me like cold rain. My father’s warnings echoed in my head, the danger, the bloodline, the secret that couldn’t be exposed. I’d forgotten all of it in seconds. Forgotten who I was supposed to be.
“I’m not yours,” I whispered, my voice shaking but firm. My wolf, though, wasn’t so sure.
Ethan smiled, a slow, dangerous curve that made my stomach twist. “I like your rebellion. Makes me want you even more.” His fingers traced my jaw like a promise.
“You’re insane. My father would never allow this.”
He just smirked, unbothered. “I always get what I want, Rose.”
Someone called his name from the hallway. Ethan exhaled, frustrated, a low growl rumbling through his chest before he turned away to open the door.
I sat there, pulse racing, trying to remember how to think. My world had been simple once, my father, Niger, Steve. Familiar, safe scents. Ethan was something else entirely, danger and temptation in one impossible man. He made me want things I wasn’t allowed to want.
I have to talk to my father. I have to go home before I lose control, before my wolf howls for him and dooms us all.
If Ethan ever learns the truth... we’re finished.
“Are you okay?” Emily’s voice pulled me back. Her scent, warm, comforting, filled the room like sunlight through clouds.
“I’m fine,” I said, though my voice still carried the tremor of what just happened. “He just wanted to mess with me. Ready to leave?”
“Maybe you should stay another day,” she said softly, looping her arm through mine, her touch grounding me.
“I need air. Why’d you leave when your brother walked in?”
“He locked me out.” Her sigh was heavy. “I hate when Ethan acts like a caveman.”
“Does he ever act any different?”
“With me? Always,” she said, tugging me gently toward the door.
I thought back to how he’d taken care of me during the rescue, how his roughness could turn into gentleness without warning. It made something in my chest tighten painfully. I needed to be careful. Falling for him would only end in ruin.
We stepped outside. Ethan and Daniel were waiting. Emily froze for half a second, and I caught the subtle change in her scent, sweetness, tinged with want. Did she… like him?
Ethan didn’t notice. He was all cold edges and bottled frustration. Daniel stood beside him, jaw tense, hands clenched, eyes flickering toward Emily like looking at her hurt.
“Where are we going?” Emily asked, voice soft but uneasy.
“Home,” Ethan said, flat and final.
“Wait,” I called, his scent still clinging to me. “Can I speak to my father first? I need to know what’s happening.”
“Later,” he said, his tone turning to ice. Whatever warmth had been there minutes ago was gone.
I shouldn’t have cared. But I did. I watched his back as he walked away, my chest tightening, my wolf restless beneath my skin.
Because no matter how much danger he carried, Ethan Tanarro was a storm I couldn’t seem to stop chasing.
- Writer
