Page 83 of The Duke and the Disciple

“Ah,” he said, half under his breath. His next words were meant for her to hear. “You are as imitable as the stars in our interminable sky.”

Her breath shuddered to hear him repeat the words she’d wondered, in her most raw and helpless moments, if he’d forgotten saying it at all. But he hadn’t. And this time, they’d been the confession of a lover.

Rahn clamped his firm hands to her hips and guided her, showing her how he wanted it, which turned out to be exactly how she liked it too. She shed the last of her innocence, the last of her silly fears she wasn’t pretty enough... wasn’t as sexy as the glamorous, infamous women he’d been with on Duncarrow.

It didn’t matter.

He’d chosen her.

Perhaps not forever.

Perhaps not even tomorrow.

But in the celestial realm, Rahn Tindahl belonged to her the way she belonged to him everywhere, always.

They stayedin the celestial realm all day and into dusk, returning to the real world occasionally as a precaution. But all they found were trays of food left outside their door.

Aesylt slept on his bed in the real world. She’d earned her sleep, as insatiable as she’d been. Three times they’d had sex, though Rahn had only finished twice.

She’d fallen asleep in his arms, but after an hour of staring at the rafters, he gently extricated himself from her tangle of limbs and walked to the courtyard for some air.

He passed a nod at Hal, wondering if the guard—if any of them—could read the truth in his anxious gaze.

There was no longer any going back. His relationship with Aesylt was irrevocably changed, and only time would reveal whether it was for the better. His greatest fear all along had been losing her. As his friend, his partner... from the moment he’d met Aesylt Wynter, he’d felt a chasm in him close, one he’d assumed would always remain open, a wound incapable of healing. A wound he couldn’t even think about without losing himself.

Sex complicated even the strongest bonds, and no matter why they were doing it, it would complicate theirs.

Still, it wasn’t regret he felt. It was the muted shame of knowing he’d gotten exactly what he wanted—and he wanted more. Of all the women... No, there had been none before her, because the memory of every peak and valley of Aesylt Wynter’s body was emblazoned in his mind, replacing everything that had come before, just as it had the night he’d brought her to climax with his mouth. Her fingers digging into his back... her soft heels bouncing along his spine. The way her nose curled up whenever she whimpered from overwhelm.

There wasn’t a chance he could come again that night, but everything inside of him was screaming to prove that wrong.

Gods, he was a lost man.

When he returned to the tower room, she was awake, staring at the spot where he’d lain. She looked up with a soft smile, but it faded to apprehension. “What’s wrong?”

Rahn chuffed and shook his head. “Nothing at all.” He sat beside her and smiled. “How do you feel?”

“Like if I have to go ask the kitchen for ice, and they make me explain why, I’ll be sent to a monastery for wayward women.”

Rahn laughed. “Do you need ice?”

“Will you put it on for me?”

Why,whywas even that sensual? “If you need me to.”

“Hmm.” She slithered under the blanket with a yawn and a stretch. “I feel alive, Scholar. That’s how I feel.”

As do I. For the first time since I washed up on the shores of Duncarrow with horror in my heart.“Then no ice?”

“Oh, I definitely need some ice.” She winced and made a playfuloofsound. “But I told you, I’m not afraid of pain. If I was, I could just return to the celestial realm and heal myself. It’s... Well, I suppose I should save this for my notes, yes?”

“If you prefer,” Rahn said carefully. He didn’t just want to know how she was feeling; he needed to know. As the ranking member of their cohort?—

Just stop. Just fucking stop. You desired her. You had her. You want more. If you’re going to lie, at least don’t lie to yourself.

“But you can also tell me,” he said, finishing the thought.

“You won’t look at me the same,” she said with a sideways glance.

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