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‘I want you,’ she whimpered, rolling her hips, guiding his cock down the centre of her.

He shifted beneath her and notched himself to her entrance, sucking in a breath as the overwhelming urge to drive into her took hold.

‘Wilder…’ she warned.

His blood heated at the needy note in her voice, and she arced against him, her thighs widening around him, demanding more. He reached between them and toyed with her clit, and with a loud cry, she writhed under his touch, water sluicing over her breasts as she panted.

‘Wilder.’ A demand this time.

Satisfaction bloomed at that, and he was more than happy to oblige. He took her mouth with his in a searing kiss, and he slid home.

Inch by inch by inch, he took her, and the moan that escaped him was pure carnal need.

‘Fuck…’ he groaned as she tightened around him and he savoured the wet heat. Gods, he would never tire of this, of the feel of her.

Wilder slid out, only to thrust back inside her, hard, sinking even deeper this time, to the point where his vision blurred from the force of it. He fell into an uninhibited, unapologetic and relentless rhythm, Thea’s nails digging into his back with every thrust, unleashing something feral within him. He wanted to mark her. He wanted to possess every part of her.

‘You’re mine,’ he told her, teasing her nipples, slamming into her to the hilt. ‘You always have been.’

‘Yes,’ Thea cried, clawing at his back. ‘More —’

He gave it to her; he gave everything to her. With every rough cant of his hips he built that pressure from within, hitting that spot deep inside of her.

‘Wilder, I’m going to —’

Just the words pushed him past the point of no return, and he increased his pressure on her clit and thrust into her with a moan, feeling the first waves of his climax edge closer as she clenched around his pulsing cock.

And as they came apart in a final rush, they did so together.

Panting, Wilder rested his brow against hers and for a moment, simply breathed her in. Even in the hot springs she smelt like sea salt and bergamot, like home. ‘I love you,’ he whispered against her lips.

Thea kissed him, slowly, luxuriously, as though she were memorising the taste of him before she broke away. ‘I love you, too,’ she said, shifting her hips.

Wilder felt himself grow hard again almost instantly, always ready for her, always wanting her. He felt Thea not only against his body, but in his bones, in his blood. She was a part of him now and forever.

Wilder slid inside her again, this time in a torturous, gradual glide, relishing how she opened for him.

He looked into her eyes, loving every flicker of that untamed storm within. ‘I always said you’d be the end of me,’ he told her, throat bobbing. ‘But I was wrong. You’re the beginning.’

EPILOGUE

THEA

Three months later

The Laughing Fox tavern was just as full as it had been before the war, and just as raucous, if not more so. A musician played the lute on the small stage at the far end, filling the room with an array of slightly off-key melodies, accompanied by the bawdy singing of patrons. The rich scent of the tavern’s famous roast boar wafted from the kitchens, along with the malty aroma of spilt ale.

The dartboard and billiards table were occupied, as were all the booths and tables Thea could see. The bar at the centre of the vast room had a line three people deep all around it.

‘Good to know some things don’t change,’ Wilder murmured in her ear with a note of amusement.

Thea smiled at that as she watched a trio of friends dance arm in arm, nearly knocking over a tray of drinks with their enthusiasm. The warm, inviting atmosphere of the Fox wrapped around her like a blanket, and she realised why Kipp came back time and time again. Even when she was on official guild business, there was a comfort here. Not to mention the place was home to some of her fondest memories.

But as the door swung closed behind Thea and Wilder, the hair on the nape of her neck stood up, her skin prickling as the room fell silent. Her hand drifted to the pommel of her sword and Wilder tensed beside her, poised for a fight.

The letter had come from Audra, so Thea didn’t know who to look out for in the crowd – perhaps Esyllt, or one of the women commanders —

Suddenly, a warm hand clapped her on the back. ‘Albert! A round for the returning Warswords!’ a familiar voice shouted, the tavern roaring back to life around them.