Page 46 of A War of Embers

“Is that a yes?”

Nodding in confirmation, a hint of a smile creases the corner of his mouth.

“Good. Take off your pants then. I want to get a good look at all of you.”

Shimming out of my pants, I kick them off towards the chair where the rest of my clothes are. When I glance back towards Rowan, he’s shuffling out of his ruined shirt. Next his shoes are kicked off, quickly followed by his pants until we’re both facing each other naked.

He motions with his hand to follow him towards the open doorway off the kitchen. When we step through, I barely have enough time to glance around at the plain room with an ensuite door propped open before he lifts me and tosses me on the bed.

I bounce a few times, glaring at him as he moves towards the end of the bed. “You could have asked for me to get up here.”

“Then it wouldn’t have been any fun,” he replies smoothly. “Open your legs.”

I huff instead of complying. “Has anyone ever told you that you’re quite bossy?”

His black eyes flicker with something but I can’t distinguish what. “Once or twice.”

“Well you should work on it.”

Rowan props his shoulder against the end post on his bed. “You didn’t have any objections about my terms when I was feeding you my cock.”

I tilt my chin up despite being lower than him. There’s no reason to be picking at him right now, but it feels like I need to push his buttons and see what he does. “I didn’t get the option to object.”

Rowan snorts. We both know it’s a lie. “Tell me you didn’t like it then. Go on.” He smirks when I say nothing. “Thought so, little monster. You like when I rule you.”

Before I can scoff at his comment, he climbs onto the bed and roughly spreads my thighs apart. His head dips down, but he doesn’t immediately drag his tongue through my folds.

Instead Rowan draws his nose over my hip bone, inhaling deeply as he goes. The ominous rattle in his chest happens again. Then he strikes, his tongue plunging inside before licking up towards my clit. He sucks on the nub, tearing a scream from my throat as he assaults all of my senses.

The pleasure quickly becomes too much. I can barely contain any thoughts in my head as he feasts on me like an animal. Over and over again, I cry out. My voice barely audible amongst all the noises. Then, when I can barely take the monumental pressure of his mouth ravishing me, I explode into a thousand pieces.

As I float back down, Rowan climbs my body, hooking his arm in the bend of my knee until my body is open to him. There’s no moment of recovery before he slams his hips forward, impaling me on his cock.

Over and over again, he builds a spiral of need inside of my body until I feel like I’m as strung out as I can be. My fingers tangle in his hair in one hand while the other clutches onto his shoulder for stability.

He drops his weight, a glorious rush of sparks tightening my body further as I feel his muscles ripple as he leans into me. For a moment I can only see sparks in my vision, but then I notice movement.

On the back of Rowan’s shoulder is the snakelike tattoo twining up his spine. It heads directly for my hand in a move so fast, I don’t have time to pull away or warn Rowan of its destination. It slithers onto my skin, a cool texture moving around my body, a sharp contrast to the heat fissuring between us.

“Rowan!” I choke out his name as I explode once again.

His cock continues its punishing rhythm as he chases his own release. His hand tightens around my thigh, prying open my body even more for his assault. My toes curl as the pleasure continues to cascade through me at his advance. A moment later he roars my name, the sound deafening to my ears.

Several seconds tick by. His weight feels delicious resting on me. I don’t want him to move away, even though I know it has to be done. A minute later, he pulls out, lifting his body off mine in the process as he retreats to a sitting position on the side of the bed.

His deep voice comes out even lower, causing goosebumps to break out along my skin. “Feel cooler now?”

Now that he mentions it, I do. Glancing down my body, I spy something that wasn’t there before. Jackknifing upright, I stare at the tattoo design, barely noticeable in its white color, slithering along my skin in a direct counterpart to Rowan’s black ink. “What–” I start to ask, but he interrupts me.

“Fucking helps diminish the effect the Haze can have on your body. You might be warm again, but not to the same extent as before.”

Icy water feels as though it’s been doused on me and I forget about mentioning the snake-like tattoo. “You fucked me to make the heat stop?”

His suddenly mossy green eyes lock on me. Gone are the pools of black they were mere seconds ago. Rowan’s brow furrows. “What else did you think this was?”

I…I don’t know. Logically I know neither of us is interested in a relationship. Obviously my wanting to die hinders that ability. Still, this felt like something beyond a you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours.

He frowns at me. “Keres?”

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