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They’d only been travelling for five days when Aelin decided she’d reached her limit.
Five days of heated glances and stolen kisses that made her dizzy. Five days of sleeping next to Rowan, sneaking off with him into the trees. Five days of him whispering obscene things into her ear–and then leaving her hanging.
Aelin thought she might die.
She had never wanted someone so much in her life. Actually, she’d never wanted anything as much as she wanted him. And she knew why–of course, she knew why. But having insight into why resisting him felt like torture didn’t change a thing. She needed him.
Or else she was going to die.
So that afternoon, when they stopped early to make camp because the heavy summer rains had turned the forest floor to mud, Aelin decided to take things into her own hands.
If her companions noticed her bouncing on her feet while she used her magic to dry the ground beneath Rowan’s shield, they didn’t say. If they noticed her cheeks aflame with lust and anticipation, they politely ignored it. And if Rowan knew she was holding herself back from tackling him to the ground and having her way with him right there for anyone to see, he was doing an infuriatingly good job of feigning obliviousness.
Until she saw that smug sparkle to his pine-green eyes, watching her from across their camp.
Aelin raised an eyebrow at him, invitation and challenge. They weren’t alone right now, and the last thing she wanted was for her cousin to hear her propositioning her lover.
Seeing exactly what was on her face, Rowan smirked at her. Was there something you wanted, Princess?
Bastard. She’d come to learn that he enjoyed toying with her. Perhaps she should have known what was in store for her after his teeth and tongue comment, but it turned out that promise had just been the beginning.
And she couldn’t even take care of herself. If it were only the two of them travelling to Orynth, she might have dared touch herself while they slept, just to see what he’d do. Just to wipe the smugness off his face.
But it wasn’t only them, and now Aelin was never alone because Aedion insisted on an around-the-clock security detail–regardless of her ability to melt them all to nothing. Even right now, her cousin was not ten steps away, showing Evangeline how to properly brush the horses while Lysandra unrolled their bedrolls.
So she was simmering and repressed, and it was about damn time that Rowan took some responsibility for his hand in that.
Beautiful day for a walk, don’t you think? she finally shot back.
Rowan huffed a quiet laugh and looked pointedly at the rainy sky before his incredulous eyes landed back on her. A walk? In this weather ?
She rolled her eyes. He knew exactly what she was asking. If you’re not interested, I’m sure I can find some other male to ravish me in the woods. There’s a village not twenty minutes away.
At that, they traded facial expressions. Aelin adopted his triumphant smirk, and Rowan’s face turned predatory.
She could toy with him too.
In all fairness, she was just as jealous and possessive as he was. Even when Lysandra–one of her dearest friends–had first seen Rowan and had scanned him over with an appreciative eye, Aelin had wanted to claw her face off. And that was before she knew what he was to her.
She crossed her arms impatiently. Well?
Lead the way.
______
Rowan had her pinned against a tree the second they were outside of Aedion’s hearing range.
His green eyes, hungry and dark, were the last thing Aelin saw before his mouth was on hers. Every glorious inch of his body was flush with her own, overwhelming her thoroughly and completely as his tongue parted her lips. It wasn’t how you kissed someone when you knew you were going to stop–it was how you kissed someone when you couldn’t . And Rowan kissed her like his life depended on it.
He pulled her onto her tiptoes, touching her hips, her waist–everywhere. He withdrew briefly, breaking the kiss, changing their angle, and coming back in. She shuddered a breath when his hand found a breast, grateful that Rowan was holding her up because her knees had gone weak.
If she hadn’t known better, she might have wondered if his magic was the reason the air seemed to have disappeared from her lungs. Even through the kiss, her breathing was as ragged as if she’d never run a day in her life. She gasped out another breath as his knee pushed between her thighs, bringing their bodies even closer. It was addictive and she knew with all her heart that he’d ruined her. There would never be anyone else. Nobody else’s touch would ever compare. Every kiss had been wrong until now.
They broke apart and clashed together, building the kiss up until it was rough and claiming, practically shouting the words neither of them had yet dared to say: You are mine .
Aelin tried to follow after him as his mouth moved to her neck, nipping and licking at the sensitive skin there. She moaned into the cool, evening air, rapidly losing her sense of time and self while his tongue made promises for more.
One hard press of his hips had her eyes rolling back into her head.
She’d explored his body only a little. Not nearly as much as she’d have liked to. And in all the times they’d devoured each other in the woods, she’d never touched him there . They’d always kept their hands safely above the waist.
But this time, she couldn’t handle it. Couldn’t bear to not be kissing him for a moment, even with him currently worshiping her skin like it was the best thing he’d ever tasted. She couldn’t handle him so near but not inside her, not giving her everything she wanted. Aelin gripped his hair with both hands and tugged his lips back to her own. Then she bucked her hips, drawing him in further. His answering groan sent a shiver down her spine.
And she needed to know what it would feel like to have all of him.
Aelin released her grip on his hair so that her hands could snake around his waist. She found the hem of his tunic and slipped her fingers underneath. He tensed as she started tracing the line of his spine–but not in a bad way, not at all. It was the way he was always tense when he was trying to control himself.
None of that, she thought, reckless and desperate.
Palms flat against his waist, she dragged them around and down until she reached the buckle of his sword belt.
His body jerked–involuntary and mesmerizing as he responded to her touch. Rowan seemed like he might pull away completely, abandoning their kiss for a fraction of a second–but she caught him. She chased after him and recaptured his lips, and he pressed back in with a groan, surrendering to her once more. She didn’t need boundaries or concern or control. She needed him.
She started on the buckle, got as far as the top button of his pants before suddenly, her hands were pinned next to her head. Rowan’s head dropped down onto her shoulder with a despairing groan.
“Aelin.”
“Yes?” She said it with the most innocent of tones as she leaned forward to lick the shell of his ear. He may have her hands, but her mouth was willing to pick up the slack.
Another groan. “You’re killing me.”
“Really?” she answered coyly, satisfied at how hard he was breathing. “That’s not what I’m trying to do.”
He finally lifted his head, green eyes blown out with desire. He was still close enough for his breaths to ghost over her lips, close enough to kiss–which she then proceeded to do.
Rowan melted again, letting her hands free. His arms wrapped around her waist so tight that she could barely take a breath. “Then what are you trying to do?” he whispered between kisses.
She pulled back and looked him straight in the eye. “I’m trying to fuck you.”
His head was on her shoulder again in an instance. He loosed a pained laugh. “Definitely trying to kill me,” he muttered onto her neck.
Despite his words, a flicker of doubt registered in her chest. “Do you not want to?” she asked, voice smaller than before. He’d said he had, but maybe he’d changed his mind–
Rowan looked at her like she was insane. Laughed an almost deranged laugh as he pushed his hips against hers, hard and direct. “Trust me,” he ground out. “I want to.”
Aelin smirked and trailed a finger down his chest–would have gone lower had there been space between their bodies to allow for it. “Then why aren’t we doing it?” Even she was impressed by the sultry purr her voice had become.
Perhaps feeling the effects of that voice, he finally withdrew, stepping away and leaving her cold. She was about to drag him back and demand answers when his hand came up to cup her cheek. “Aelin, I’m not taking you against a tree the first time.”
“Why not?” she grinned. “I don’t mind.” He could take her anywhere at this point. Anywhere.
“That doesn’t surprise me in the slightest,” he chuckled–more to himself than to her. “But I want … Aelin … ” Rowan paused as he struggled with the words. “You deserve better than this.” He gestured to the general wilderness around them.
“Would it help if we found a nicer tree?”
That at least got a roll of his eyes and a big smile. But he didn’t answer the question. Instead, he took her hands and pulled her forward into a hug. “Please,” he breathed as she coiled her arms around his neck. “Let me do this right.”
Her resolve to break his resolve crumbled.
It wasn’t that she’d been treated poorly by her previous lovers–not in this sense anyway–but something about the way Rowan spoke, the devotion and tenderness, had her swallowing back emotion. So she whispered, “Okay.”
He just held her tighter.
Slowly, the heat of her magic retreated, the heat in her core calmed, and the cold trickle of rain had them separating.
Rowan offered a hand to lead her back to camp, but she couldn’t resist making his eyes bulge out of his head one more time–
“Are you sure there’s nothing I can do to … convince you?” She bit her lip and let her gaze drop down pointedly between them. She’d never gotten on her knees for a male before, but she’d happily do it now if it meant she got to taste him.
He looked like he was about to combust. “You’re a menace.”
“So that’s a no?”
Rowan just laughed and started walking them back. She got the distinct impression that his magic was making the air around them colder.
“What about a meadow?” she asked as they went.
A snort. “Let’s aim for a bed.”
“Will you take me against a tree the second time?”
“If that’s what you want.”
“I’ll let you know.”
Aelin continued her questioning until they found their companions again, Rowan indulging her the whole way. And she vowed that tomorrow, she would find them a bed as quickly as possible.