Page 74 of Ecliptic

He pressed his hand against my chest, right where my heart galloped at his touch. He shifted higher, his palm widening to encircle my throat.

Though his touch was light, a spike of fear and adrenaline shot through me.

“It is that look that haunts me,” he breathed, leaning in close to trace his nose along my jawline. I released a shuddered moan, exposing more of my throat to him.

“You won’t hurt me,” I said as my whole body flushed.

Rowen pressed his thumb to my quickening pulse. “Your body believes otherwise. Your pulse quickens like a hunted deer.”

Even though I could barely think straight, I suddenly knew what haunted him. “That night in the cave, you weren’t yourself,” I said, remembering his fevered hallucinations induced bylaith venom. He’d thought I was Fou, and he had tried to strangle me.

“It torments me how I hurt you,” he said, his voice a tortured moan. He used his hold on my neck to tilt my gaze to his. “I could have killed you.”

“But you didn’t,” I whispered, my pulse quickening beneath his fingertips. He could easily withhold my next breath if he wanted to, press a little harder or squeeze a little tighter to make me see stars. My body told him that I would like it, that I trusted him.

His breath fanned across my collarbones and erupted goosebumps on my skin. “I’ve touched one other this way . . . this coarsely. I hate that this memory is hers. I want you to claim my every thought, you to own every experience this body can have.”

“Then let me take it, Rowen. Let this memory be mine,” I said as his forearm rested between the rise and fall of my breasts. “Be coarse with me.”

The growl he emitted sent a rush through my blood as he backed me up and caged me against a tree, his hand still collared around my throat.

His lips crashed onto mine, easing my mouth open with his tongue. He applied the most delicious pressure on my throat as he deepened the kiss, stealing my breath in more ways than one.

He nudged his knee between my legs, forcing them apart as he pressed up at the apex of my thighs. I moaned as he pushed me to my tiptoes, causing my weight to center on my clit. I was pliant and buzzing as his kiss untethered me from my body, my thoughts, my worries. He pinned me in place as he rocked his knee against me and squeezed my neck just a little tighter.

He tilted my head to the side and lowered his mouth to bite and nip at the curve of my neck. “Tell me,” he rasped against my skin. “Who do I belong to?”

“Me,” I panted as a whirlwind fluttered in my head. “You belong to me.”

I moaned, arching into him. I couldn’t care less that his fingers were wrapped around my throat or that I was high-centered on his knee in broad daylight where anyone could see.

“I told you to be careful with her,” a voice said, snaking through my senses and jolting me back to my body.

Still pressed to the tree, I blinked out of my daze to find Maddock staring at me with his arms crossed and his eyes narrowed. He was dressed in dark, fitted trousers and a loose, clay-red shirt.

Pia and Xala had worked their magic yet again. The subdued and earthy colors enhanced his high-contrast features.

Rowen chuckled. His hand left me with a trailing touch down my chest as he gently lowered me to my feet. “Be careful with her while you train and see how she likes it.”

“I’m training with you today?” he asked, his voice hitching with excitement.

I reined in my ragged breathing. “You did hold up your end of the bargain.”

His eyes narrowed suspiciously. “Why are you being nice to me? I’m scared.”

Rowen kissed my temple. “That’s my cue to leave. Try not to beat each other to a pulp,” he said as he turned to leave, and I watched his back muscles shift in the most riveting way beneath his shirt.

“Are you really going to let me train with you?” he asked, his voice not quite clearing the euphoric buzz in my head, but the subject matter did.

My gaze shot to his. “Erovos could escape at any moment. You need to be prepared just like the rest of us. I think we can put the past behind us, don’t you? A world eater on the verge of escaping seems a little more pressing. Besides, you earned thisfair and square,” I said, understanding what Rowen had meant about going easier on Madds. Before I knew Rowen and I were soul flames, I’d felt the intensity of our connection through my whole body, and I’d had to fight it. “And thank you for holding up your end of the deal. That must have been hard.”

I knew the struggles Maddock faced, and while I wished he would disappear, a part of me needed him beside me. My feelings toward him may be stolen, but there was nothing I could do about that now. I needed to keep the host of my Light and bond safe.

“Well, all right then,” Maddock said with a faint smirk as we walked to the weapon rack and selected our weapons.

Dyani approached us, her strides confident and assertive. “So you’ve finally decided to join us, Madds?”

“Yes, even though I’m scared of you,” he said, holding a short blade. “You weren’t very nice to me the first time we met.”

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