Page 92 of Brutal Birthright

And in that moment, a miracle occurred. One side of his mouth lifted into a wry smile, and her entire world flipped on its axis.

A smiling Rowan was absolutely soul-destroying. She was irrevocably fucked now.

He playfully slapped her ass. “I’m practically a deity of patience compared to you.”

Her mouth opened and closed to try and protest, but he cut her off with a stern and yet somehow completely filthy look.

“Tell you what… I’ve got an idea. Use your magic to make two blades.” He nodded towards her hands where they still pressed against his chest.

“Is this another game where I get to bleed for you?” She raised an eyebrow at him. Another swat to her ass made her clench around his length.

Rowan hissed and gave her a warning growl.

“Fine. Will this do?” She produced two short golden throwing blades—her favourite kind.

He wrapped a big palm around each of her fists and then raised them, still holding the blades so that they pointed upright between their faces. Ri shot him a confused look. What the fuck was this about?

“You want reassurance when we’re out there.” He inclined his head towards the big window. Only the faint outline of trees was visible in the near-dark outside his cottage. “Well then, just know, if I do this…” He proceeded to move her hands to touch the tips of the two blades together with a light tap.

Ri watched on, utterly confused.

But Rowan was looking back at her with heated eyes. “If I do that, just know that in my mind, this is what I’m really doing.”

He ran his nose up the column of her throat, dragging wet lips across her skin and inhaling deeply with a groan somewhere deep in his throat. Then he crushed his mouth to hers. Devouring her with lips and teeth and tongue. Long languid strokes told hold as Ri could do nothing but allow the blades to drop to the floor beside them and pant breathlessly against his mouth. Shifting her weight to begin rocking back and forth, riding his cock with little undulations of her hips.

When they briefly came up for air, she swallowed heavily. “Duly noted, brute.”

Which earned her another smack on her rear while his teeth pressed against her throat.

And that’s when he proceeded to really fuck her. Again. And again. Through so many orgasms, she lost count. Until the early light of dawn began to creep over the horizon, and the birds started to chirp as the forest awoke outside.

Where, once again, reality crept in and stole away the moment they’d been able to hide away in so perfectly.

Chapter 28

Of all the things Ri expected when she made her way to training a week later, it was not for Rowan to be missing.

They’d continued to steal moments together whenever they could, but there was no guarantee they could always sneak away to his cottage. So, on the morning when she woke up in her own rooms without the usual cocoon of Rowan’s warmth and heavy arm trapping her against his body, the sense that something was amiss cut straight to her core.

A cold foreboding in the air sent shivers down her spine. Ri made her way to the training arena early, hoping she might find him there. If not, perhaps he’d taken off to the lake on his own, as he sometimes did as part of the pre-dawn patrol he still maintained. But somehow, she felt like she already knew the answer.

Low mist clung to the ground, shrouding the academy in a dense fog. Blanketing everything it touched with the unmistakable heavy kiss of dew. It set her nerves on edge and her spine tingling with a sense of dread.

Rowan was a creature she had begun to understand in layers. Just as she peeled away one, there were more beneath that took a lot longer to reveal their secrets. She certainly didn’t expect him to spend every moment of every day by her side—no matter how much her stupid bitch of a fated bond squealed with delight at the idea.

No. There was no reason for her to expect Rowan to behave like anything less than the lone wolf he was so used to being.

Honestly, the fact he even welcomed her into his bed, or stayed in hers the handful of times they fell asleep in her rooms was nothing short of a miracle.

Ri was undeniably addicted to the forbidden moments when he gagged her and fucked her quietly up against the door inside her room, knowing other students were milling in the hallway right outside.

But instead of finding his familiar broad shoulders or blue eyes when she arrived at the training arena, she was only met with Finn’s wide smile and dancing eyes. Looking fresh and unbothered as he always seemed to manage to do. Honestly, there was something eerie about the way that man always seemed to bounce around with so much enthusiasm.

“You’re here early.” He tossed her a wink before ducking back into the armoury.

Fuck, she really didn’t think this through. She couldn’t exactly ask outright if Rowan was here now, could she?

But her silent hesitation was cut off when Finn re-emerged, holding out a bow and quiver full of golden-tipped arrows for her.

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