Page 79 of Dance of the Phoenix

And when it was just Ragnor and me, just the two of us, it all finally hit me, and I let myself fall apart in his arms.

Chapter 41

Aileen

Before the battles, we had planned to celebrate tonight if—or when—we won.

And yet, while we’d won, the losses we suffered had been too severe. Nobody was in a festive mood.

So instead, everyone went to sleep early, and Ragnor invited me to spend the night with him in his room.

It wasn’t very spacious, but it was much cozier than the packed dorms. It also had a private washroom.

Once Ragnor locked the door behind us, he pulled me into his arms. “Let’s go wash together,” he said, squeezing me tight.

I nodded, leaning back a bit to look at his face. He seemed exhausted. But he still pressed a kiss to my lips and engulfed me in his heat.

The washroom included a bathtub large enough for two. So once it was filled with water, Ragnor and I entered the tub together, with me sitting with my naked back to his bare chest.

His arms wrapped around me as he leaned his head on my shoulder. “Don’t blame yourself for what happened,” he said suddenly, making my sore throat and eyes almost burst out in another wave of uncontrollable sobs. “Death is inevitable in the Hecatomb.”

I leaned deeper into him. “Logan died because of my own stupidity,” I whispered, and saying these words out loud made it feel even more real than before. So real that a fresh wave of tears fell down my face. “I insisted on changing the plan. I underestimated Eleanor. I was a fucking idiot, Ragnor.”

He took a deep breath. “There was nothing you could’ve done better,” he said. “You’ve done the best you could, considering the circumstances.”

“But it wasn’t enough,” I hissed, turning to look at him. “Logan died because of me. That’s the fucking truth.”

Ragnor caught my tears on his finger, his face grave. “Blaming yourself won’t bring him back to life, Aileen,” he said softly, cupping my cheeks. “So grieve him, mourn his death, take as much time as you need, but once done, do not dwell on it.”

I leaned into his hands, wishing I could redo everything. I never knew how much it hurt to lose so many people I cared for in one day.

Was it karma, finally catching up to me? Was it God’s way of retaliating after I’d helped my father take so many innocent lives?

“Hey.” He raised my head so my eyes would meet his. “I’m here. You’re not alone in this.”

And just then, I knew exactly what I needed.

So I leaned forward and kissed him.

He kissed me back at first, but when I came to straddle him, feeling his hard cock under me, he paused and pulled back, looking at me with unsure eyes. “Aileen, maybe we shouldn’t—”

“Please,” I whispered, caressing his face as I pressed my lips against his throat. “Just for tonight, help me ... help me forget it all.”

Ragnor did not deny me again. Instead, he pulled me into a long, deep kiss that left me heady with desperate desire.

I placed my pussy over his erection and shoved myself down on him at once.

We both cried out at the friction, and my heart thudded in my chest as electricity filled my body, making me clench around him, causing him to groan.

Then I moved, riding him, taking him inside me over and over again, while he fondled my breasts and sucked on my nipple, and I held on to him by his messy wet hair.

He filled me up so completely, so good that all I could think washis heat, his touch, his lips.

But it wasn’t enough.

I wanted—no, needed more.

So I pulled back and got out of the bathtub. He followed me, and, as if he knew exactly what I needed, he pressed me against the wall, grabbing me under my knees, and buried himself back deep inside me.