Page 13 of Desecrated Reign

I expect her to ream me out, but she shrugs her shoulders and steps back before turning away from me. She’s quiet for a moment, lost in her head, but then she twists back around, tongue clamped between her teeth.

In the next breath, she stands straighter, tipping her chin up and holding her head high as she asks the last question I expected her to. “Did you kill him?”

Closing the distance between us, I grip her shoulders with both hands, holding her steady as I look directly into her eyes, allowing her to see way more of me than I should. “I wanted to. I really did.”

“But you didn’t?”

“No.”

Little by little, her gaze crawls deeper, glimpsing at a part of me I never wanted her to see. Then, as if she’s filling her light with the shadows I hide in, she raises a sinister brow. “What stopped you?”

Since transparency seems to be the theme of this conversation, I lay it out for her, hoping she’s strong enough to hear it. “Because I didn’t want to take another thing from you.” I rest my forehead against hers, our noses touching. “He hurt you, and trust me, I want to kill him more than I want my next breath.” I pause, dragging my bottom lip between my teeth. “But you once asked me to do something for you, something you said you needed, and I haven’t forgotten that.”

Her breath hitches. “What was it?”

“The night of your strength trial, when we were in the ring together, you asked me never to take your power away from you. So I didn’t. I wanted you to have a choice, to know that if you wanted to, I would stand down so you could be the queen you were born to be.” Her nostrils flare like she’s holding her emotions at bay, but I continue, needing to lay every move I made on the board. “Donnacha stole some of your power from you, and I wanted you to be the one to reclaim it. Either way, the choice is yours.”

Her hands roam along my biceps and then over my shoulders until she finally guides them up my neck, settling them at the nape, her fingers teasing their way into my wayward strands of hair. Then suddenly, she captures my mouth with hers, and I lose the battle I never stood a chance at winning—keeping her at a distance until I was sure my darkness was tucked away. But that’s the thing about Saoirse. She wants the good, the bad, and everything in between. Little does she know there’s not a fuckin’ thing in this world I wouldn’t give her. All she has to do is ask.

So, I lose myself to her as she pours everything she’s feeling into every stroke of her tongue, showing me she doesn’t fear the monster inside me. Instead, she feeds it, breathing life back into him when she digs her nails into my skin like she can’t get close enough.

Bending at the knee, I grip the back of her thighs and lift her off the floor. I lower her onto the bathroom countertop, never allowing my lips to leave hers. We become a flurry of roaming hands, two souls starved by the absence of one another. It’s been weeks since I kissed her the way she deserves to be kissed, both of us unsure of the line Liam’s death created. But right now, none of it matters because we’re finding our way back to a place where our hearts beat in sync, and the battles we face should be fought together.

The need to be inside her claws at me from the inside out, and before I can convince myself to stop, I pull my mouth away from hers and drop to my knees. My hands glide up her thighs until they curl around the waistband of her tiny, tempting gym shorts. With a greedy tug, I tease her shorts and panties over her hips while she steadies herself by gripping my shoulders.

“Rohan.” My name falls from her lips, airy, breathless, and dripping with hunger. “I need—”

“I know, mo bhanríon. I always know exactly what you need.” Discarding her clothes on the floor next to mine, I waste no time taking what I want most. Hands on her thighs, I spread them open. My tongue slides along my lower lip when I see her glistening cunt ready for me. Then, hooking her legs over my shoulder, I dot hungry kisses along the curve of her thighs.

“Don’t tease me, Rohan. Take what you want.”

“As you wish, love.”

Kneeling at her altar, I worship her until the only god she’s calling out to has my fucking name.

8

SAOIRSE

I thread my fingers into Rohan’s hair as he dips his head between my legs and trails his tongue along the inside of my thigh. He moves higher and higher, igniting a fire beneath my skin. Then, without warning, he sinks his teeth into the crease of my groin before sucking on the sensitive flesh, sending a shock wave of shivers to my core. My body bows at the sensation, head tossing back as his name barrels past my lips with a needy cry. “Oh, God… Rohan.”

Releasing the skin with a pop, he soothes the sting with the pad of his tongue, driving me fucking crazy with need. My attention falls back on him because I’m unable to help myself where he’s concerned. “Don’t tease me, Rohan. Take what you want.”

He looks up, grinning like the devil. “As you wish, love.” He wastes no time drawing his tongue along my slit with a torturously slow stroke. My eyes roll back, and my breath catches in my throat. His hands roam over my hips before gripping my arse cheeks, kneading the skin as he pulls me closer, giving himself better access. Flattening his tongue, he laps at my opening in a figure eight motion. His eyes stay focused on mine as he nestles deeper, teasing me by circling my clit with his nose. The sensation of both his gaze and his touch has me squirming and panting for more.

“Oh, fuck. That’s it, Rí. Right there.” My chest rises and falls with heady breaths, chasing the high I know is coming.

“Do you like me kneeling for you, mo bhanríon?” His voice holds a filthy undertone—devious, melodic, and dangerously hypnotic. “Say the word, and I’ll spend forever worshipping you.”

“God, yes!”

How I ever thought I could resist Rohan is beyond me. Every move he makes is precise, and every word is delivered with a confidence I can’t ignore. He draws me in, and I go willingly every fucking time, craving his touch more than my next breath. I don’t care that blood taints his skin or that there’s a dark shadow behind his evergreen eyes. I want him, every enigmatic piece.

Sensing my need for more, his fingers skirt over my thighs with a feather-light touch. He draws them between my legs, guiding them towards my opening. Sliding his tongue upward, he circles my clit. Lost to each stroke, it takes a second to recognise he’s spelling his name, punctuating it by grazing my clit between his teeth. R.O.H.A.N. K.I.N.G.

With an airy breath, a greedy cry escapes as he pushes two fingers inside me. “Oh my… fuck!”

“Good job, baby. That’s it. Clamp down on me,” he praises as he curls his fingers, rubbing against my G-spot. He bows his head again, massaging my clit with each stroke of his tongue.

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