Page 125 of Song of the Dark Wood

“Are you happy now, little Red? You’re so tight and slick. I could fuck you like this all night,” Conor grunted, nipping at her earlobe.

She whimpered his name. He slid his hand between her legs so he could rub her along with each thrust. Her hand slapped down to the bed, tangling in the sheets as her legs trembled.

Everything spun out of control, the two of them driven to a fever pitch. He kissed over the mark Valen had left on her neck, and then she felt the sharp glide of his teeth over the same spot. It was primal and possessive, like he was trying to wipe out the memory of what had happened—like he wanted to leave his own mark on her.

“Yes,” she murmured.

He bit down, not enough to break her skin but enough to send a spike of startling pain through her that drove her into such an intense climax that her toes cramped and her whole body trembled violently. Conor kissed away the pain from the spot as he continued to move.

Perhaps it was just the magic, but Rowan wanted to be consumed. She wanted him to touch and own every part of her, and she wanted that same ownership over him.

“Rowan,” he croaked. His voice had a panicked edge, and she knew he was fighting devouring her.

“Don’t fight,” she said. “Take what you need.”

He cupped her face, pulling her into a kiss as he moved.

“I can’t,” he sighed, tucking his face into her neck.

“I want you to. I’m giving it willingly,” she said.

In her heart, she meant it. She trusted that he wouldn’t take too much, but beyond that, she wanted to prove to Conor and to the world that he could change. She didn’t want the world to define them—Conor a villain and she a martyr. She wanted both of them to live and fight another day.

She wanted to live to see Sarai happy with her love in a world that could not hurt them. Rowan wanted to help her friend break their fractured world completely and rebuild it better. They couldn’t do any of those things if another god of death cameto power. If Conor couldn’t contain whatever sinister force was rising, the world wouldn’t be a place worth saving anyway.

Magic pulsed around them, but instead of his usual silence, a strange, mournful melody buzzed around him. She felt a sharp tug on her own magic, the same magic that pulsed through her when she sang. Her impulse was to cling to it, to fight, but she forced herself to let go and give it willingly, and the melody shifted as it ran through both of them. It flowed between them like a song she’d always known, familiar and lovely. Instead of feeling drained, she felt soothed, energized, and powerfully connected.

Conor’s movement became jerky, and he groaned her name as he pulsed inside her. He quickly rolled off of her and turned her over so he could kiss her.

“Are you well?” His face was pinched with concern.

She laughed at how serious he looked. “I’m fine. Honestly, I feel pretty amazing.” She stretched and felt pleasant, shaky fatigue in her muscles, but her body buzzed with a strange, ecstatic energy.

“You don’t feel tired?” He looked her over as though trying to see through her.

“No more than I should be, considering,” she teased.

He kissed her, weaving his hands through her hair. “You are something else. I swear you have no sense of self-preservation,” he said, shaking his head between kisses. “Are you sure that you’re okay?”

She smiled. “I think you know I am very okay.”

“How can that be?” he marveled. He drew back, staring at her as if he was trying to see some definitive sign that she was really okay.

“Conor, I’m fine. I swear. I’m just a little hungry.”

Conor sprang out of bed and threw on his pants, kissing her again before he disappeared into the hallway. He came back afew moments later and tossed her his robe. “Put this on. I want Charlie to look at you. He’ll be able to see if your aura is faded.”

Rowan nodded as she pulled on the robe.

Charlie appeared at the door a moment later with a tray of food in his hands and a sly grin on his face. “Oh, hello there, lass. Happy to see you’re in one piece. I wasn’t so sure with all the screaming,” he teased.

Rowan covered her face with her hands, feeling the heat of her cheeks.

“Well?” Conor asked impatiently.

Charlie studied her carefully. “Are you sure you took something?”

Conor nodded. “Positive.”

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