My Convicted Wife is My Mate (Bella and Kane) novel Chapter 50

chapter 43
BELLA’S POV

Kane leaned in so close that I could feel the warmth of his breath against my skin. His scent wrapped around me, stealing every bit of air from my lungs.

His face dipped into the curve of my throat. My body was hot all over. My breath hitched, and I forgot to breathe.

The heat radiating from his body did something to me. His lips brushed lightly against my neck. It wasn’t even a kiss, just a small graze of skin, yet it sent a full-body shiver rolling through me.

I clenched my fists. My nails dug into my palms until I felt the sting. I was holding myself together by a thread. Every instinct screamed to reach for him, to pull him closer, to feel his body pressed against mine, but I didn’t move. I couldn’t.

But I wanted him so badly. I had never wanted anyone like that before.

He drew in another deep breath, inhaling my scent. My heart stumbled.

He did it again slowly. His breath was steady against my throat. He was reading me. Every reaction. Every tremor. Every unsteady heartbeat. Wolves could sense everything, and I knew he could feel my desire even if I never said a word.

Heat rushed to my cheeks. I knew exactly what he was learning from me right then—how my body responded to him, how much I wanted him even though I shouldn’t. I should have stopped him, told him to move away. But I didn’t. I couldn’t.

He finally drew back. When I looked at him, the world seemed to slow down. His deep green eyes held mine. I lost myself in them.

It wasn’t just his beauty that drew me. It was what lay under it. His quiet strength, the scars I could sense even when he hid them. He was the kind of man who had walked through fire and come out stronger. And yet with me, he was careful.

I saw it then in the way he had always protected me, the way he had defended me even when he didn’t have to. The way he didn’t look at me like I was broken.

He leaned closer until his lips were a breath away from mine. My heart slammed in my chest. I tilted my chin up without thinking. He closed his eyes, and I knew that moment could change everything.

But instead of his mouth claiming mine, his lips pressed softly to my forehead.

I let out a small, almost painful sound. I felt something between disappointment and disbelief. I let out a deep breath slowly, forcing myself to smile even though my chest ached.

His kiss wasn’t the one I wanted, but it was tender. It was kind.

He stepped back, looking satisfied.

“Come, sister,” he said in that deep, calm voice that always seemed to command the room. “Let me serve you a meal for once.”

I followed him into the kitchen. The place smelled like herbs. He moved around the space with ease, like he had done it a thousand times before. He poured me a glass of water, then poured stew into two old ceramic bowls.

From a wooden drawer, he pulled out two small rounds of crusty bread.

I sat down at the table, trying not to stare. Watching a man like him—strong, dangerous, cold—do something so domestic felt strange. It felt intimate.

We ate in silence at first. The stew was delicious, but my thoughts kept drifting.

I couldn’t stop thinking about that almost kiss we’d had.

I shouldn’t have wanted that kiss. He was my protector, my friend. I should have been grateful for that—for once having someone in my corner. But instead, my heart ached for something more. Something selfish.

I should have gotten that thought out of my mind. He would never see me that way. The thought almost made me laugh.

Why would a man like Kane want someone like me anyway?

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