Page 39 of Thorns & Fire
It had beenwar.
And for the first time, war feltgood.
Rough, wild thrusts hitting that spot deep within had her calling out his name, clawing his back, biting his shoulder.She rode the waves of pleasure he offered, climbing higher and higher towards her climax.
‘This means nothing,’ she gasped between each pound of his hips.‘Less than nothing.’
He hauled her onto his lap, driving into her from underneath.‘Prove it,’ he growled, reaching between them to circle her clit with his thumb.‘Fuck me like you hate me, Embers.’
Wren had woken to find her hand wrapped around Torj’s cock, and her body wet and wanting – an ache she feared only the Warsword could sate.
Then he’d gone and overpowered her, a trick she wouldn’t stand for, not after training so hard with Thea.Trying to forget the hard imprint of him against her core, she’d fled the tent, anger and arousal entwining to form something dangerous, something that might see her control slip.
Outside, Wren wrestled her damp clothes over her heated skin in the brisk morning air, cursing the Bear Slayer and his delectable warrior’s body.Her mind wandered back to the conversation she’d had with Thea and now, more than ever, she longed to get her hands on that damn book her sister had revealed.When she was back at Drevenor, she’d go to the archives.She’d find a copy there and make sense of it all.
For now, she would pretend none of it had happened.Denial.Always a healthy course of action, she decided.
The storm had passed, and before her, the lands were carpeted in dew, sparkling beneath the sun’s rays.The horses grazed happily nearby.Behind her, the canvas rustled, and Wren turned to see Torj emerging from the tent, his muscular form silhouetted against the greying fabric.He squinted against the day’s brightness, one hand shielding his eyes, the other pushing back his tousled silver hair so that the morning light played across his chiselled features.His strong jaw was shadowed with stubble, and the uncertainty in his sea-blue eyes was quickly replaced with a hard expression.The thin shirt he’d hastily donned clung to his broad shoulders, hinting at the warrior’s physique that she’d more than glimpsed just moments ago.
Wren caught herself staring and quickly averted her gaze, reminding herself of the fury that still simmered within her.Yet she couldn’t entirely quash the traitorous flutter in her chest at the sight of him.
‘Figured you’d want this back,’ he said gruffly, holding something out to her.
Wren looked down to see her hairpin between his large fingers.Careful not to touch him, she took it, twisting her hair up from her nape and securing it in place.
When she was done, she turned back to him.‘I should check your wounds from yesterday.Clean them—’
‘They’re fine,’ he grunted.
‘Burns can get easily infected.Or if they don’t heal properly, they can limit your range of movement,’ she argued.
‘I said they’re fine.’
‘Gods, you’re a stubborn fool,’ she muttered.
‘Takes one to know one,’ he replied without looking at her.
She rolled her eyes.‘If you’re sofine, then we need to hurry,’ she told him.‘The others will be waiting.’
‘Hopefully.’Torj nodded.‘Go eat something.As soon as I pack the tent away, we’ll be on the road.’
‘I can help—’
Torj waved her off.‘Best if I do it myself.’
Wren didn’t know if that meant it would be quicker without him having to instruct her, or if he simply couldn’t stand her proximity.
That makes two of us,she thought bitterly.
They rode in silence for the entirety of the morning.The creak of saddles and the soft whinnies of the horses were the only sounds as they crossed field after field.Wren stole glances at the Bear Slayer, noting the muscle twitching in his jaw and the rigid set of his shoulders.She caught him returning the favour several times, his gaze lingering over her white-knuckled grip on her reins and the flush across the tops of her cheeks.
She couldn’t help it.With those broad shoulders ahead of her, her mind took her back to when her nails had cut crescent moons into them as the weight of the Bear Slayer was braced above her.The cool morning air did nothing to soothe the heat washing over her skin, and no matter how many potion ingredients she rattled off in her head, she couldn’t stop certain images dancing before her.
Torj looked back sharply, just as a particularly erotic memory flooded her senses, and the blaze in his stare was like he could sense exactly what she was remembering...But as he twisted in the saddle, she saw the wince he failed to hide.
She urged her mare alongside his horse and reached for his reins, drawing them both to a halt.
‘What do you think you’re doing?’He gaped at her.‘You can’t just—’
