Page 40 of Far From Sherwood Forest (Far From #3)

I just ate my own cum from Robin Hood’s ass in the middle of Sherwood Forest.

If I was still at risk of having an existential crisis over my recent life choices, now would be the time.

But that’s not going to happen.

When I saw my cum leaking from Robin’s ass, there was no questioning what I had to do. I had to taste my claim on him. I had to consume it. I needed it to be as much a part of me as it was of him.

And, fuck, did my claim on him taste fucking divine.

I peer at the side of Robin’s face where his head rests on my shoulder. There’s a sheen of perspiration across his brow, and we’re both still trying to catch our breath. I continue holding him for as long as I can.

Kissing his temple, I say, “Come on. We should get going.”

I help Robin to his feet and move him so he can lean against the nearest tree.

He’s still a little shaky on his legs, so I get his pants back up before worrying about mine.

His eyelids are still heavy, like he’d love nothing more than to take a nap.

I’d drag him to my bed so we could both take one if I could.

“At least we got you dirty enough to sell our ruse,” I point out.

He looks down at himself, the front of his shirt caked with dirt. One side of his face is smudged with it too.

“They’ll all believe you chased me through the forest before we had a good old tussle instead of, well, you know…” He meets my gaze and smirks. “Had a good old tussle .”

I laugh, and his smirk turns into a happy smile. I lean forward and kiss it.

Picking up my sword from the ground, I return it to its scabbard before reaching behind me and retrieving the small bundle of rope tucked into my belt. I look down at it and swallow hard. “I’m not exactly looking forward to this next part.”

“Are you going to be able to go through with it?”

I snap my gaze back up to see a deep crease between his brows. “Of course I will. Why wouldn’t I?”

“Well, the prince hates me as much as the Sheriff once did. Meaning he’s not going to go easy on me. He and all his guards are going to want to hurt me.”

Something ice cold settles in my bones.

Fuck. How had I not thought of that before?

“And considering you were just worried you were too rough with me…”

I take a step back from him, stumbling over my own two feet. I shake my head as my heart beats in my throat. “We need another plan.”

“It’s too late for that, Henry,” he says, following after me.

Getting in his face, I growl, “I won’t let them hurt you.”

He places his hand on my chest, his fingers teasing my bare skin through the hair that peeks out from the collar of my shirt. His touch soothes me, but it’s not nearly enough.

“If we’re going to do what we need to do, then you might not have a choice.”

Again, I shake my head. “I can’t let them hurt you, Robin.”

“Just do what you did this morning. Get in the mindset of the Sheriff. Channel him. He used to love hurting me, and he wouldn’t give a fuck if anyone else hurt me too.”

“It’s not that easy,” I tell him, my irritation growing. “I can’t do that now.”

“Why not?!”

“Because I’m fucking in love with you!”

The words hang in the air, sudden and raw and now suspended between us, like a step off a ledge, not knowing if there’s anything solid beneath.

Robin’s hand falls, his eyes wide.

The echo of my confession folds into the thick silence between us. The only sound throughout the surrounding forest is that of harsh, heavy breathing. It’s mine because Robin isn’t breathing at all. Fear replaces his touch, clawing at the place where his hand just was but from the inside.

“You…”

His shaky voice dies like it gets stuck somewhere on the way up, and the uncertainty of what he wants to say crawls through my veins like cold smoke. It curls up and coils around my throat like the phantom touch of a noose…

I turn away, unable to bear the weight of that rope a second time. I get two steps before Robin’s voice returns to stop me, slightly more steady than before.

“Don’t you fucking dare.”

I made him a promise.

So I come to an abrupt stop, but I can’t bring myself to face him.

“Don’t you dare say that to me and then walk away. Look at me.”

I can’t.

“Henry, look at me!”

That fear keeps scratching and biting, making my insides bleed. I just handed Robin my heart, and now he has the power to crush it, to string it up and let it fall. He could destroy me so easily, and this time I don’t think I could survive it.

Even though those words came spilling from my lips before I could catch them, I meant them.

I love him.

I don’t know when it happened. I don’t think I even knew it had until I heard it come from my own mouth. While I thought he was only taking up more and more space in my mind this entire time, it turns out he was carving himself a home in my heart too.

Swallowing hard, I turn and face him.

His eyes are wet. His lower lip trembles. He moves forward slowly, like he’s gliding.

When he stands in front of me, he places both hands on the sides of my face, and I have to stop myself from shattering right there from his touch. A beam of sunlight peeks through the trees, turning his eyes the brightest shade of green I’ve ever seen them.

“I’m so fucking in love with you.”

The next breath I take is easy, like I can finally breathe as his words soak into my lungs.

“Not halfway, not in pieces. I meant it when I said I’m all in, Henry, and that includes my heart too.

” The more he speaks, the less his voice wavers, like his words are giving him strength as much as they are me.

“And I love all of you . The cracks, the rage, the softness you try to hide. Every single jagged edge of you. I don’t care how long it takes or how much it costs me.

I will tear down every wall you build if it means you’ll keep me and let me guard your heart. ”

Each word pierces through me, as though he sews them straight into my chest where they weave into silk thread that stitches me together, making me whole.

This time, Robin is the one to save me from the noose I put around my own throat.

Grabbing him by the front of his shirt, I pull him to me and kiss him. It’s hard and fast and so far from graceful. It’s messy, like we don’t know where the edges of each other are anymore. My heart’s pounding. I gasp into his mouth as our tongues slide together.

His hands glide down to the sides of my neck. My skin prickles, as if each of his fingertips is a match, striking along every one of my nerve endings that spark to life as though they’re reawakening. My pulse hammers so hard I swear he must feel it beneath his thumbs.

When we finally break apart, I’m still holding his shirt in my fist, both our chests heaving. I rest my forehead against his so he can feel the intensity behind my gaze.

“I’m keeping you forever, Robin, because you’re fucking mine,” I tell him as we share each other’s air.

“I never want to know what it feels like to be without you. I never want enough time to pass to the point that I forget your touch. Or how it feels to need you and have you there. I don’t want to go back to the version of me that didn’t know what this— you —feels like. ”

A tear slips down his cheek as he inhales a shuddering breath. “Never, Henry. I’ll never leave you. Not again. I swear it.”

I kiss him once more, slower this time.

I’ve never felt this weightless, like nothing bad can touch me because I have his touch instead.

He’s struck me like one of his arrows.

And I plan on keeping him in my heart forever.

After we track down the horse I stole this morning, I tie Robin’s hands together behind his back with the rope. He decides to be a cheeky little shit and rubs his ass against my crotch.

“This feels familiar, Sheriff.”

Reaching around him, I grab him by the throat, pulling him back against my chest so I can growl in his ear, “Careful, Robin Hood. I’m a very impulsive man.”

“Oh, I’m aware.”

I bite the shell of his ear, causing him to gasp. Chuckling, I hoist him up onto the back of the horse before climbing up behind him.

Since we traveled so far from Robin’s camp, it takes us twice as long to make it to the outskirts of Nottingham. We can see the tops of the spires of Prince John’s castle as I bring the horse to a halt just outside of town.

It’s quiet. No sign of Will and Alan.

“Do you think…”

Robin’s voice trails off, not wanting to speak both our fears out loud.

“I’m sure it’s fine,” I reassure him. “We’re actually a little early. Let’s not start worrying yet.”

However, as we settle in to wait, our combined worry hangs heavy in the air as the sun hovers directly above us.

Robin starts feeling restless, evident by the way he squirms in the saddle.

I keep my hand on his hip and give it a gentle squeeze every time his agitation grows.

It makes me think about last night and the way him warming my cock calmed us both enough that we were able to get some sleep. Too bad we can’t do that right now.

It’s probably been over twenty minutes when the sound of hooves reaches us. We both peer down the path until two horses come into view, galloping toward us.

Alan and Will ride beside each other and come to a stop in front of us. They look a little worse for wear, their clothes and hair sticking to them with sweat. There’s a dark red patch on the sleeve of Alan’s tunic from what looks like a graze with a sword.

They stare at us without saying a word.

After too many seconds of that, I start getting pissed, mostly because I feel Robin’s tension as he holds his breath, and he’s already stressed enough as it is.

“Well?” I bark at the two idiots.

Slow grins spread across both their faces before Will answers, “The king’s alive.”

Robin exhales and drops back against me, his bound hands lightly gripping the front of my shirt in relief. “Thank God.”

“And?” I ask.

“We did what you said,” Alan says. “We told him the attack came from a band of outlaws but that we suspect they were hired mercenaries. Since he’s been gone so long, he has no idea they were meant to be disguised as us .

Since we saved him by warning his guards and aiding in the fight, he allowed John and Tuck to join his escort. ”

I nod, just as relieved as Robin. “Good. We’ll have our signal when we need it. How long do we have?”

“We got as far ahead of them as we could. The king should be arriving at Nottingham Castle within the hour.”

Robin peers at me over his shoulder. He may be anxious, but he gives me a steady smile and a sharp nod to let me know he’s ready.

We never finished our previous conversation, which is probably a good thing. I’ll play my role as convincingly as I can, but there are lines I’m not willing to cross. I’m the only one allowed to hurt him.

I place a soft kiss against his cheek. “Time to introduce the prince to the famous thief of Sherwood Forest.”