Page 9

After a long, restless night, I woke to a clean room.

The canopy was re-hung, and the fabric swooped around me in a sheer embrace.

The bookshelves were restored and decorated with his books, knives, sketch pads, and journals.

He’d even hung up a few of his favorite sketches.

The wooden frames contained drawings of mountains, forests, and the streets of his hometown, Viltarran, before Aliphoura destroyed it. But most of them were of me.

“How did I sleep through all of this?” I asked in amazement, hearing Rowen move about the dome.

It had taken me forever to fall asleep. I worried all night that I would accidentally brush up against him and stop his heart. When I did manage to sleep, it was haunted with dreams of black holes, bloody noses, and dying trees.

“Once I got out of bed, your tossing and turning stopped, and you slept like a hibernating mawcat,” he said, bringing in a tray from outside.

His thick beard was gone, trimmed down to a perfect stubble.

“Drooled like one too.” He grinned as he placed a colorful platter on the bed; the aroma of fresh bread, berries, and amber syrups made my mouth water .

“At least I don’t snore,” I rebutted.

“You do that too.” He grinned.

I wrinkled my nose. “Do not.”

Rowen grabbed a note from the tray. “It’s addressed,” he said, his eyes scanning the letter. “It’s from Takoda. He says to enjoy and to get your rest. No visiting the training grounds or the prisoner.”

“They may as well throw me in the cell with him,” I replied, tearing into one of the brown loaves. “It’s no less than what I deserve for last night.”

Rowen’s brows furrowed as he folded the note and lay beside me, resting his weight on his elbow.

“He most likely wants us to avoid high-stress situations,” he said, digging into the delicious spread, our fingers careful not to touch.

“And seeing you locked behind bars? Well, let’s just say that wouldn’t be a good thing for either of us. ”

“Do you know what the prisoner looks like?”

“I have not seen him.”

My chest deflated. “Whoever he is, he used my Light against me.”

Rowen’s jaw tightened, and his eyes darkened.

“And I’ve done nothing but rest for months.

It’s the last thing I want to do right now,” I continued as I plopped a ripe berry in my mouth.

The flavors exploded on my tongue in a burst of earthy sweetness, and a moan slipped past my lips.

The food landed in my empty stomach, and I realized I hadn’t eaten in months.

I hadn’t needed to, but the jarring thought made me realize how hungry I was.

I devoured another berry and moaned again.

“If that isn’t one of the most beautiful sounds,” Rowen said, his eyes softening as they locked with mine. “Your absence took the joy from my world. Made everything less . Less beautiful, less colorful. Less flavorful. Everything tasted of stale wood chips. ”

I chuckled. “Glad I could help your appetite.”

“In more ways than one,” he said, giving me that lopsided grin that melted my insides.

“Ugh,” I groaned in frustration. “We can’t touch. We can’t train. We can’t visit the prisoner. What can we do?”

“We could try resting. Just for today,” he suggested noncommittally.

I knew Rowen was worried about me, and I couldn’t blame him. The way I’d lost control terrified me too. Despite our smiles and laughter, the memory of last night lingered like a storm cloud, casting a pall over our morning.

I could lose control at any moment. It was a miracle no one was hurt from my dangerous panic attack last night.

I would try the healer’s suggestion, and if nothing worked, I would have to leave the village. I couldn’t risk hurting anyone. Takoda said even one more touch could kill Rowen.

I threw myself back on the bed. “Okay, now what?”

“Now, we lie here,” he said, his voice deep and caressing, and I flushed as I recalled how he’d guided me through my self-given orgasm. Remembering how his words had been penetrating, powerful, and commanding.

I watched Rowen through half-lidded eyes, my bare breasts heaving as his tongue darted out to lap at the berry juices dripping down his fingers.

I was entirely mesmerized, wishing it were my finger he sucked between his lips, and a desperate moan escaped me as my hands tightened in the sheets.

We lay side by side, our chests heaving from the palpable tension.

“This is torture,” I said, scooting off the bed through the curtains. The memories of all the ways Rowen had touched and claimed me in these sheets were too potent to push aside. “How is anyone supposed to rest like this? ”

He ran his hand down his newly trimmed beard, letting out a pained groan. “Resting is shit, isn’t it? How about we go for a run?”

I perked up, immediately loving the idea of his company in an activity I’d always done alone. “Tell me more.”

He sat up and watched me through dark lashes. “You mentioned you liked the competition of it.”

“You want to race?” I asked, a shocked smile spreading across my face.

“By the spirits, I’ve missed that smile. I . . . I’ve been wracked with grief, Keira. When I woke up, you were nowhere in sight. I searched the village in a panic, turning murderous when Ven told me what you’d done. What Demil had done.”

“I wonder how Dyani is,” I said, curious how she’d been dealing with her twin’s betrayal.

“I’d say she trained as hard as I did. Who do you think I sparred with?

She wanted me out of the village and challenged me to a duel.

She blamed me for what happened between you and her brother.

I wanted to hate her, but I recognized her suffering.

Our pain wasn’t so different, hers and mine.

We battled for hours with no clear winner, fighting until our injuries were too great to continue.

Neither of us said a word as we limped off to tend to our wounds.

We just met the next day and repeated it all over again, channeling our shared grief into every strike of our blades. ”

My heart ached as I listened to Rowen describe how he’d endured my absence. “I’m glad you weren’t alone. Though I’m sure you two put on quite a show.”

“We did end up attracting a crowd,” Rowen said as a glint of violence flashed through his eyes, recalling the desperate measures he’d taken to cope. And at that moment, I realized I would go to any lengths to ensure his happiness.

“So, about that race?” I asked, moving to give him a playful bump with my shoulder. But my whole body recoiled with an unnatural, against-all-laws-of-physics jerk as I stopped myself.

Rowen noted the unnatural flinch of my body and said, “Let’s get the fuck out of here.”

I dressed in a woodland-blue vest, fitted leggings, and boots.

I tugged at the material rubbing against my skin, realizing I hadn’t worn proper clothes in months.

Though the garments were soft, I found the fabric restricting and uncomfortable.

Would I ever get used to being human again? Or whatever the hell I was?

I knew there were changes to my new body. I could feel them. But Rowen, being patient and understanding, knew not to rush me to face them. His willingness to distract me with one of my favorite hobbies filled me with gratitude.

Rowen, dressed in his usual form-fitting pants and loose linen shirt rolled up to his elbows, led me to a secluded section of the village.

As he fidgeted with the flint stone he’d pulled from his pocket, I studied his adept hands, missing the trail of his fingertips along my skin.

Though he’d made me pleasure myself last night, my slim, smooth fingers hadn’t been enough.

I needed his rough, calloused palms scratching my skin and his broad fingers entering me, curling up, and stroking my?—

“Keira! I can practically taste your arousal in the air,” Rowen said roughly. “Let’s begin the race before I do something foolish, like commanding you to ride your own hand right here, where anyone could see you.”

“Sounds tempting,” I said as my mouth watered and my thighs rubbed together. My body didn’t seem to understand why it was deprived of Rowen’s touch, and I bit my lip as I warred against every fiber of my being.

“By the spirits, Keira. Don’t do that. It makes me want to take your lips in my mouth and taste you before tracing my tongue along every inch of your body. Pleasuring you until I drop from exhaustion.”

I released my lip with a moan, ignoring the bone-deep desire to be reunited with him in every way. To claim and be claimed. “I guess I will just have to find other ways to exhaust you,” I said, desperate to turn the conversation away from my aching core. “Should we make bets on who is faster?”

“What would you like to bet?” he asked with an inquisitive arch of his brow.

"Loser has to serve breakfast in bed for a week.”

“The last time you went to get breakfast in bed, it took you three months to return. With no food in hand, I might add.”

“Okay, so that’s out,” I said, picking up a small branch and drawing a line in the sand. I tossed the stick and wiped my hand on my pants. “Where should we race too?”

“There,” he replied quicker than expected, pointing to a tree in the distance.

“Sounds good,” I said, lowering into a crouch.

“Copeland, what are you doing?”

“I’m getting into a runner’s start. You might want to pay attention,” I said as I settled into position. “Place your hands along the line and get into a nice, balanced base. When I say ‘set,’ you raise your hips. Like this.”

I felt Rowen’s eyes tracing over all the wrong areas of my demonstration, not observing the angles of my knees or the placement of my feet. “I do enjoy watching your ass in the air like that,” he said, confirming my suspicions.

“Focus. I don’t want any excuses when I beat you.”

“Apologies. Please, continue.”