Page 212 of Rain of Shadows and Endings

“But you’ll never be mine!”

Her head tipped back, her eyes falling closed, and he could tell by the look on her face she hadn’t meant to say that. That it had slipped out of her because she was a mess of want and denial.

“Tessa—”

“Gods, Theon,” she snapped, her eyes flying back open and flaring brightly with streaks of violet. “Either fuck me and give us what we both want or just let me go. Please.”

He stared at her for a long moment, the echoes of her anguished words ringing in his ears, before he pulled his fingers from her. He saw the flash of disappointment before it morphed into acceptance. Then he was scooping her up and hauling her out of the dressing room.

“Theon—”

But she was cut off when he tossed her roughly onto the bed.

He’d been right. Everything had changed when they got home, but not in the way he’d been expecting.

Not as he looked down at her naked with her hair fanned across their bed and eyes wary but still a little glazed with unsated need.

He curled over her, bracing himself with one hand while the other gripped her chin. “The next time we do this, you will tell me you’re mine, Tessa.”

“There won’t be a next time,” she spat, her hips already rising and seeking him out.

He hissed as he felt her slick cunt slide along his length. “There will be, Tessa, but not until you believe this is more than a bond. Not until you fully understand that you are mine.”

“Then there will never be a next time,” she repeated.

“We’ll see,” was all he said, before he gripped her thighs and yanked her to the edge of the bed. He pulled them wide before finally sinking into her.

38

TESSA

Her breath stalled in her chest as Theon filled her without warning.

But gods, was it everything she had been needing for weeks.

The burn of being stretched. The feeling of being full. The pleasure that drowned out everything.

“Breathe, little storm.”

The words were murmured into her ear and had her sucking in a sharp breath as he smoothed hair back from her brow. She hated she was swallowing down tears to keep them from pooling. She hated herself for finally giving him this. For being so godsdamn weak that she’d given in. For being so desperate to not feel after the events of the last two days. Mother Cordelia. The river and the vampyres. The constant guilt and embarrassment of Theon and his fucking shadows. The running. The training. The sitting through endless events with Theon. Being shunned by the other Sources before they tried to use her. The confusion and turmoil over what Tristyn had said to her.

Destruction or salvation. Your choice, wild fury.

This could destroy her or save her, and tonight, she’d let it save her. Tonight she’d take from Theon, and she wouldn’t regret it when it was over.

“Are you all right?” he asked, some type of concern filling his emerald eyes as he straightened. He still stood at the end of the bed, towering over her, his cock deep in her aching center.

“I’ve fucked plenty before, Theon,” she replied, rocking her hips in a testing movement.

He hissed, his brow pinching. “Stop moving, Tessa.”

“Why? You said tonight I get what I want.”

“I just need to make sure you’re fine before—”

She bucked against him again with more force. “As I said, I’ve done this plenty.”

“With mortals,” he retorted, a hand gripping her hip to keep her still. “It’s different with a Legacy.”

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