The snowstorm had eased into a soft whisper by the time Luka finished securing every window and door for the fourth time. Talia watched him from the couch, wrapped in one of the thick wolf-fur blankets he'd given her. It was warm, softer than anything she'd touched, but she knew the real heat came from him.
Luka moved like someone who wasn't used to being confined indoors, all restless muscle and prowling shadows. Each time he crossed the room, she swore the air shifted. The fireplace crackled. The lights he'd hung warm golden fairy lights, carefully draped for her sake reflected off his bare forearms as he checked the locks again.
He was acting calm.
He was absolutely not calm.
The lodge felt too small for both of them.
Talia's heart, traitorous, beat faster every time he got close.
When he finally stopped, Luka turned toward her with that look the one that pinned her to her seat even from across the room. Alpha gaze. Hungry. Never inappropriate… but intense enough to steal her breath.
"Everything's secure," he said, voice low and smooth. "You're safe, little bunny."
The words slid over her skin like heat.
She swallowed. "Safe… from the vampires?"
"From everything," Luka promised. "As long as you're with me."
Her chest tightened. She didn't want to admit how good that sounded.
He crossed the room and sat beside her. Not too close, but close enough that the couch dipped under his weight and her thigh brushed his. A tiny, accidental touch except nothing felt accidental with him.
"You're staring," Luka murmured without looking at her.
"I- I wasn't."
"Yes, you were."
She blushed so hard she felt it in her ears. "You…you just… take up a lot of space."
He chuckled, deep and amused. "Is that what we're calling it?"
She buried her face deeper into the blanket. The worst part was that he was right she had been staring. How was she not supposed to? Luka's shirt clung to him after earlier repairs, his torso solid and sculpted under thin fabric. His jaw was shadowed, like he'd been too preoccupied keeping her alive to bother shaving. His hair brushed his shoulders in wild dark waves.
He looked like danger carved Into a perfect shape.
He stretched an arm along the back of the couch. "You're tense."
"I'm trapped in a lodge with a man who fights monsters for fun. Of course I'm tense."
"Not monsters," Luka corrected, voice low. "Vampires. And only because they came for you."
She stiffened. "You don't even know me."
"I know enough."
"What does that mean?"
He turned his head toward her fully. His amber eyes warmed, softening for the briefest moment. "It means you're important."
The words reached too deep, too fast. Important? Talia had never been important to anyone except her cousin and maybe her boss when she brought good coffee.
"You barely know me," she whispered.
"Knowing you has nothing to do with it," Luka said. "My wolf chooses what it chooses."
Her heart beat once, painfully.
Then again.
Then again.
He noticed.
Of course he noticed. His eyes tracked the movement under her collarbone like he was watching something sacred.
She forced a shaky breath. "Luka… this is insane. I shouldn't be here."
"Yes," he agreed softly. "But you are."
And somehow that made her shiver.
The tension in the room thickened until it felt like a third presence heavy, warm, impossible to ignore.
Luka spoke first.
"You're scared of me."
"Of course I'm scared of you," she blurted. "You growl. You drag me around like I weigh nothing. You throw yourself at vampires. You"
"You look at me like you want me," Luka finished gently.
Her entire soul froze.
Talia's mouth parted, but no sound came out. She felt hot, embarrassed, and… exposed.
"I don't I mean you're this is"
He leaned in, not touching her, but close enough that she felt the heat of his breath at her ear.
"Little bunny," he whispered, "your heartbeat gives you away every time."
Her knees nearly gave out despite sitting down.
She tried to pull the blanket higher, shielding herself from the intensity of him. "I don't… want you to read me like that."
"But I do," he murmured. "I hear every flutter."
Her breath caught.
He was too much.
Too close.
Too Luka.
Talia tried to push off the couch. She needed space even a few feet but Luka's hand came up slowly, gently, brushing her wrist.
Not holding.
Not stopping.
Just… reminding.
Her body reacted before her brain.
She sat back down.
"I won't touch you unless you ask me to," he promised.
Her heart ricocheted. "I'm not asking."
"I know." His voice vibrated with restraint. "That's why this is killing me."
Talia's eyes widened. "Killing you?"
Luka leaned back slightly, running a hand through his hair. His muscles tensed like he was physically restraining himself.
"You smell like warm sugar and fear," he admitted. "My wolf wants…" He clenched his jaw. "It wants to pull you onto my lap and keep you there."
Her stomach dropped.
The air heated.
Talia whispered, "Luka…"
He exhaled shakily, shaking his head as if trying to break free of his own thoughts. "But you're human. Fragile. I can't risk scaring you more."
Her chest tightened with something hot and confusing.
Fear.
Attraction.
Curiosity.
All tangled together.
"You're not scaring me," she said quietly.
Luka looked at her with such fierce tenderness it stole her breath.
"You're trembling, little bunny."
"Because you you're overwhelming!"
His lips curved. "Good."
She glared. "Not good!"
"Very good," he corrected, a low rumble in his voice. "Because it means I affect you."
She sputtered. "Of course you affect me! You …you say things like that!"
"Do you want me to stop?"
She opened her mouth.
Closed it.
Opened it again.
"…No."
He inhaled sharply.
Talia looked down at her hands, heart racing. "I know this is stupid," she murmured. "You're a werewolf. I'm… me."
"You think that matters to me?"
"You're dangerous."
"And you're drawn to danger."
She jolted. "I am not!"
"You're still here, aren't you?"
Her mouth opened but she had no argument.
Luka leaned in again, lowering his voice. "Tell me to stop."
She whispered, "I can't."
He brushed a stray lock of hair from her cheek, barely touching her. Just the edge of a fingertip.
Her breath shivered out of her.
Luka's tone went soft dangerously soft.
"Little bunny," he murmured, "if you look at me like that again…"
"Like what?"
"Like you want me to ruin your calm."
Her face went entirely hot. "Luka!"
He laughed under his breath, not mockingly delighted. "There it is. That spark."
She hid her face in the blanket. "Stop reading me."
"Impossible," he said.
Their eyes met.
Something shifted.
Slow.
Inevitable.
Electric.
Luka's hand hovered near her cheek again, not touching. "If I kiss you," he said quietly, "I won't be able to pretend we're just role-playing anymore."
Her breath stopped.
Kiss.
He wanted to kiss her.
Talia's entire body tingled with anticipation, confusion, longing she didn't want to admit.
She whispered, "Then don't pretend."
His breath hitched.
For a single heartbeat, Luka's control cracked she saw it, felt it, the wildness straining behind his ribs.
But then
He pulled back.
Slowly.
Painfully.
"No," he said, voice strained. "Not yet."
Talia blinked, stunned. "Not yet?"
"If I kiss you now," Luka murmured, "I'll claim you without meaning to."
She swallowed hard. "Claim…?"
He nodded once. "My wolf already thinks you're mine."
Her pulse stuttered.
"And that scares you?" she whispered.
"No," Luka said. "It terrifies me."
There was a beat of silence.
Then
A howl echoed in the distance. Too close. Too cold. Too sharp.
Luka's head snapped toward the window. His entire posture changed in an instant from sultry to lethal.
"Talia," he said softly but urgently, "come here."
Her heart jumped. "Why?"
"Because someone's watching the lodge."
Her blood froze.
Then Luka reached for her hand, tugging her gently but firmly into his side.
Protective.
Possessive.
Warm.
She didn't resist.
His voice brushed her ear.
"Stay close, little bunny. I mean it."
She swallowed. "I trust you."
Luka's hand tightened around hers just enough to tell her exactly what that meant to him.
Too much.
Everything.
Then he whispered, voice deep and shaken:
"Don't say things like that… or I won't be able to resist you."
And Talia stupid, love-struck Talia whispered:
"Then don't resist."
Luka exhaled like she'd stabbed him.
"Bunny… you're going to be the death of me."
But he didn't let go.
He held her tighter.
As danger circled outside.
As tension thickened inside.
As their hearts beat in sync, impossible to ignore.
And the attraction between them…
Became undeniable.