Page 142 of Rain of Shadows and Endings

“Exactly,” he confirmed, swiping up another fry and swallowing it down before he leaned towards her. He gripped her chin between his thumb and forefinger. “Let me be very clear, Tessa. I do not want an Eviana. I do not want a pet who follows me around and caters to my every whim. I want someone people fear as much as they fear me. Do we have a bargain?”

Her eyes widened at the formal words. If she agreed to the bargain, they would both bear Bargain Marks. If either of them broke the deal without the other releasing them, there would be unspeakable consequences, some type of curse.

“Theon!” Luka barked, but before he could say another word, Tessa cut him off.

“It’s a bargain,” she said quickly, and he felt a prickling along his torso. He looked down to find a sun and stars along one side of his ribs. He glanced over to find Tessa had her shirt raised with a similar Mark along her torso. She met his gaze once more and swallowed thickly.

He nodded towards her plate. “Finish eating, then you need to get ready.”

She held his gaze a moment longer, suspicion still shining in her stormy eyes, before she pulled her plate back to her and took another bite of her burger. Luka and Axel were staring at him from across the table. Axel looked shocked, and Luka’s shoulders were rigid, his mouth a thin line.

No one spoke for the rest of the meal, and when he’d finished his own burger, Theon pushed back from the table to go shower. He let the hot water run over his body, bracing his hands against the tiled shower wall. This was going to work. It had to. This wasn’t him forcing her into submission. This was her choosing it when it mattered most. This was her meeting him halfway, and in the process, she’d unwittingly feed the bond, little by little until she’d given into it without even realizing it. She’d never want him gone. She’d crave him the way he craved her.

And gods, did he crave her. He couldn’t understand how she was resisting any of this. Every minute of every day was an exercise in control, and every time he slipped up, it only made him want her more.

When he truly kissed her for the first time atop the dining table.

When he had her beneath him, arguing about running.

When he’d helped her wash after the gardens.

His hand was already wrapped around his length, a groan of frustration slipping from his lips as it grew impossibly harder in his hand with each image.

Holding her in nothing but a robe.

No undergarments under that godsdamn dress.

Caressing her thighs while she stood between his legs in nothing but his shirt.

The tendons in his forearm flexed as he pumped, gripping himself harder. Tighter. The ache in his balls was nothing compared to the agony of not being able to claim her in every possible way day after day.

She had been so fucking mouthy last night, and he hadn’t been lying when he’d told her he wanted his cock down her throat to silence her. Her hand. Her tongue. Her cunt. He’d settle for anything she’d give him at this point. Anything to not be coming in the godsdamn shower yet again.

His cock throbbed in his hand, precum leaking from the tip and mixing with the water dripping down his flesh. There was no rhythm to his movements anymore, each stroke of his hand harder and more frantic than the last.

Water cascading down her body when she stood from the tub.

Sitting in the middle of the bed this morning, his shirt bunched around her thighs, glaring at him.

The feel of her grinding herself against his thigh.

The moans of need as she gripped his hair.

The feel of his power running over her, searching for her magic, feeling it just out of reach.

But none of that was what had his balls drawing up even tighter, his breathing so fast he was practically gasping.

That was her willingly curling into him, her fingers brushing along his skin.

That was the quiet mornings when she slept on his chest, seeking him out in her sleep.

That was when she said she’d needed him. Because whether or not she wanted to admit it, that hadn’t been a lie.

He slapped his other hand against the tiled wall, water spraying into his face, and a low moan rumbled from deep in his chest as he came, his entire body seizing with release. His cock pulsed in his hand, his abdomen caving in, and he wrung the last of his orgasm from his shaft, squeezing.

“Godsdamnit,” he growled, his brow dropping against the wall as he tried to catch his breath.

So godsdamn tired of fucking his own hand, but the mere thought of finding another female to sate the need made something in his heaving chest twist.

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