43
“Assyria,”
a voice echoed from the distance. The sound reminded me of rolling thunder, how it vibrated against my chest as it boomed through the sky. Something slipped under my back, and I groaned. When my head lolled, I opened my eyes. Rokath was curled over me, helping me to sit upright. Our gazes collided like a lightning strike, and then, more alertness slid into me, though my mind remained partly cloudy, like that storm had finally rolled through but wasn’t quite finished with me yet.
“I need to give you some more medication,”
he explained.
I nodded wearily. “What time is it?”
“Early,”
he replied, gingerly retreating. I yawned, then attempted to roll my shoulders, only to be met with a sharp pain. Right, my shoulder. Glancing down, I found my right arm still bound to my side.
The ache in my calf had lessened, at least.
“Drink this,”
Rokath said, reappearing with a vial of green liquid.
“What is it?”
I asked as he flicked off the cork.
“Liquid pium. It will speed up your healing significantly.”
The bed sank as he crawled onto it. Sitting cross legged, he faced me. I shuffled so I was in a slightly more comfortable position, then took the potion in my left hand.
I threw it back, pulling a face at the sharp flavor that crossed my tongue. It was nothing like the tea I’d shared with Kiira. With a cough, I handed it back to him. Rokath produced a glass of water, and I readily gulped it down. The liquid soothed my parched throat, drier than the desert that surrounded us. “Can I have more?” I asked.
“Aye,”
he said, retreating and using the large pitcher on the bedside table to refill it.
I drank the second glass to the dregs too.
The pium was working its magic, though, because the soreness in my calf abated further, and the throb in my shoulder turned to a dull ache. I groaned and tipped my head back, resting it against the canvas. “Why are you being so kind, Rokath?”
He shifted his weight and looked away from me. “No one else can take care of you.”
The bond tightened as if it hated the thought of anyone but Rokath touching me.
“Because they can’t, don’t want to, or you won’t allow them to?”
I quipped. Between the pium and the water, I felt more normal than I had when I’d awoken before, and that was certainly coming out in my barbed words flung in Rokath’s direction.
He cut his attention back to me, and a muscle ticked in his jaw. He snatched my cup from me and rolled it between his palms. “Do you think you can ride today?”
I rolled my eyes since he, of course, didn’t answer my question. “Oh yes, because what’s most important to you is pressing forward with the army. No consideration for my injuries.”
A warning growl slipped out of him. The bond vibrated with anger. “You still don’t realize what’s at stake.”
“It’s kind of hard to care when my entire life has been one shitty situation after another,”
I snapped back. “I haven’t decided if being with you is the worst one yet, but I’m getting close to making a decision.”
Rokath’s grip tightened over the glass. “I already know this is the worst situation I’ve been in, and I’ve been fighting those fucking overzealous Angels for centuries.”
I bared my teeth at him. The bond pulsed as fury pressed from both sides. Yet underneath that, it begged us to touch one another. To let the fire burning between us consume us whole.
“I fucking hate you,”
I snarled, the fingers of my left hand curling into the blanket pooled around my waist.
“Not as much as I hate you, little imposter.”
Rokath’s eyes darkened, though if it was in fact abhorrence or lust, I wasn’t sure. Knowing him, it was probably both.
My heart hammered against my ribs as we continued our staredown, the bond pressing, prodding, pushing us closer. Rokath trembled, like he was trying to restrain himself from pouncing on me. That only served to flex each of his generous muscles. He was carved by the Fates themselves to be their unholy weapon, and there was no denying the power that emanated from him. A cascade of arousal slicked my thighs as I followed the chiseled lines to his groin.
We hadn’t coupled since the day we departed Uzhhorod. Sure, he’d given me an orgasm after he spanked me, but neither of us had come since. The bond was growing more insistent as we remained suspended in this moment, neither of us surrendering control.
Who would break first?
Glass shattered and I was on my back, Rokath’s strong arms braced on either side of me, trembling as he held himself just enough off me that he didn’t crush my shoulder.
With a moan, our mouths collided with the force of an explosion created by a Destructor, and the world fell away. All my pain, all my confusion, all my fear, melted, just as I did beneath Rokath’s expert hands.
One grasped my breast and squeezed, lifting it before rolling the nipple between his fingers. A pinch a moment later had me crying out against him.
With my free hand, I grasped for purchase on the hard planes of his inked chest, then with a futile groan, I wrapped my legs around his waist and tugged him closer. A hiss slipped out as the movement pressed against my sore calf, but I didn’t care as his tongue swept into my mouth and claimed my own.
Rokath’s hardness dug into me as he rolled his hips, and I couldn’t smother the sound that pulled from me. He did it again, and again, not entering me, when I wanted nothing short of his massive cock stretching me like he had the first time.
I wanted him to replace my pain with pleasure.
The bond thrummed with the intensity of our moment, begging Rokath to claim me, begging me to let him. Rokath reared back, breaking our kiss and stealing a cry from my lips. One large, calloused hand circled my neck, squeezing just enough to cut off my air. Fire danced in his eyes like midnight burgundy pools, and the barest hint of a snarl curled his lip.
“Do not ever run from me again,”
he growled, flashing those severely pointed canines to add to the threat.
“Why? Because you love me so much you can’t bear the thought of me leaving you?”
I snapped around his hand. He crashed into me again, grinding so furiously he tore another cry from my lips. My hips rose to meet his, and he rubbed just the right spot to send sparks shattering through my veins.
“I hate the terror that gripped me when I realized where you’d gone. I hate that your wit and intelligence distracts me from my duties. I think far too much about sinking my cock into your cunt when I’m supposed to be waging a war. I hate that I can’t stop thinking about you, no matter how hard I try. I hate that I can’t stay away from you.”
Yet underpinning those words was so much passion that my core wept for him. His tongue swept against mine, and I sucked it between my teeth. A masculine groan vibrated in his chest.
“I hate that,”
he said, but the way his dick pulsed told me otherwise.
So I did it again, loving that I found something to drive him wild. It was almost like I’d yanked some of our struggle back to my side. “I hate that you are the reason my family is dead. I hate that you killed Izgath. I hate that my last thought before that cobra struck me was that I didn’t want to die. Because of this fucking army, I feel alive again. Sometimes you make me feel that way too. And I want nothing more than to continue to chase that feeling.”
The confession surprised me. Maybe it was the potion blurring my reality, making me admit what I otherwise wouldn’t.
Rokath broke our kiss, staring down at me with an intensity that made me want to squirm beneath him. “Last night, you were on the brink of death. Let me show you exactly what you would have missed had the Reaper taken you away from me.”
My breath hitched. The tight way my body was coiled told me I’d snap the moment he entered me, succumbing to shockwaves of pleasure.
His hand disappeared from my throat, finding my center and cupping it. I arched into him as he spread me and nudged at my entrance. He curled closer so all I could see was his wicked eyes. “I should punish you, you know. For running. I should flip you over and spank you so hard you can’t ride out later. I should do any number of things to you, Assyria, but right now all I want to do is fuck you into oblivion. So get a grip on something because I am not taking it easy on you.”
He slammed into me so hard stars coated my vision. A scream ripped through me as I bowed into him again, but my body was not airborne for long. With a growl, he pinned me beneath him and set a brutal pace, much like the first time we’d coupled. The ecstasy of him inside me, stretching me, filling me, so hot and thick and throbbing, robbed me of all thought. Pleasure rippled through me, building to such a quick crescendo that I didn’t realize I was coming until my toes curled and my head tipped back, exposing my neck to him.
Rokath seized the opportunity and bit into the base of it, sucking the skin just over my fluttering pulse between his teeth. “Rokath,”
I moaned, breath coming in short, choppy waves, much like my orgasm as it subsided.
“We’re not close to done,”
he growled, his pace never slowing as he released my neck and leaned back again. Lifting my uninjured leg, he deepened the angle, and I cursed.
“You’re too deep,”
I half-moaned.
“You will take it,”
Rokath rumbled. “You will do exactly as I say because you did not last night and you almost fucking died.”
He stilled, and I slammed my eyes open, mouth popping with a protest. But the riotous tumble of fury and guilt in his eyes silenced me. “I am your master. I am your Halálhívó. I am your Fate.”
Something primal purred inside of me at his words, and as he dragged himself all the way out of me, I nearly wept.
He slammed back into me, sending stars shooting again. “Pray to me and beg for my forgiveness for your sins.”
Wetness gushed between us, making slick sounds as he slid out. “Now,”
he ordered, hips spearing into mine.
“Oh, fuck!”
I gasped at the sensation of him being so thick and so deep inside me.
His hand gripped my throat and half-lifted me off the bed. “I will not ask again. Pray.”
What he was asking was so fucked up, and yet I dripped for it. Heat scorched my cheeks as I opened my mouth and wetted my lips. “Please forgive me for running.”
A growl rumbled through him as he released me back to the bed. Then, he pulled out again and slapped his dick on the sensitive nerves at the apex of my thighs before swirling his head over them. Ecstasy coursed through me, and I pushed back into him, wanting, needing more.
A warning noise had me stilling my movements. “Keep going,”
he instructed, running the tip along my slit now. My walls clenched, wanting him inside me again. I was so close to the edge from this exchange of words alone.
“Rokath, please let me come.”
I wasn’t above begging for pleasure, not after the indescribable orgasm he had given me during our first coupling.
The head slid into me, and a feral grin tugged at the corners of his mouth. “Beg me for more. Beg me for every inch.”
“There are too many, it would take too long,”
I whimpered, trying to scoot down so he’d sink deeper inside me.
A masculine sound slipped out of him, and he spread my legs wider. “Then I suggest you hurry before I decide we need to move out for the day.”
My mouth popped open. “You wouldn’t.”
“Oh, I most certainly would, little imposter. You deserve a punishment, and denying you another orgasm seems like as good as any. In fact,”
he pulled out of me but kept my legs pinned open. He lowered his head so it hovered mere inches from my core. “I think that is the course of action I will take now. After all, you came after your punishment last time, and I did not.”
Shadows swirled from his palms, wrapping around my legs and pinning them. They snaked up my torso and around my uninjured arm, securing it as well. I struggled against them, but it was no use. With a cruel grin, Rokath fisted himself and pumped, watching me fight against his magic restraints.
“You are the biggest asshole in all of Keleti,”
I snapped, trying to lift my hips to where his cock hovered.
“Tell me something I don’t know, little imposter,”
he growled, working faster over his hardness. The tip beaded and dripped onto my core, the disturbance of air from his movement only winding me up more.
“This isn’t fair,”
I groaned.
“You already came once,”
Rokath gritted out, balls tightening.
Fates, he’s huge.
Suddenly, the restraints fell away, and I was lifted, flipped, turned, until I was on my knees, propped up by his shadows with my face a breath from the weeping tip. “Open that smart mouth,”
Rokath commanded.
I slammed my lips shut and glared. “Make me.”
Dark fire ignited in his burgundy eyes. “You have no idea what those words do to me.”
Strong fingers gripped my jaw and pressed. A gasp fled me as my mouth dropped open. I tried to pull back, but Rokath was stronger than me, and between his hand and his shadows, I was locked firmly in place.
Vagach had never taken me this way. I’d never had my mouth around a male before, and I wasn’t sure what to do—not like I could do much of anything with the way Rokath restrained me.
“No one before me?”
he rasped, his voice rougher than the rocks I’d raced across during my escape attempt.
“Never,”
I whimpered, a tremble overtaking me.
“Fuck,”
he swore, tipping his head to the ceiling and closing his eyes. “You are too perfect for me, Assyria.”
When his focus snapped down again, he caressed the side of my face with his knuckles. “Prepare to feel alive.”
Then, he cupped my chin and pressed his fingers into my jaw. The taste of my release and his cock filled my mouth as he shoved into me. His other hand moved to my hair, wrapping the braid around his fist. I could scarcely breathe around the girth filling my mouth.
Rokath was merciless, using his hips and his grips to fuck my mouth. I gagged as he hit the back of my throat, and my nose wasn’t even close to his belly. Tears streamed down my face as he went deeper, deeper, until I thought I would suffocate.
And yet, a wicked thrill swept through me, and everything but the feel of him across my tongue vanished.
“That’s it, cry for me, Assyria, while I punish your smart mouth,”
he growled, hips jerking faster. Impossibly, he thickened in my mouth, and my stomach lurched as he buried himself to the hilt. Ropes of hot cum slathered the back of my throat, and Rokath held me there, ensuring I took every last drop he had to offer me.
Only when his cock stopped jerking did he pull out, keeping me suspended by his shadows. Serrated air dragged through my lungs and the room slowed its spin. Chest heaving, sweat rolling, he backed away from me, though the darkness in his eyes had not abated.
An icy shiver swept down my spine, and I got the sense we were far from done.
He strode toward the basin across the room, dipping a rolled towel into the water and wiping himself clean. Then, he returned to my side and cleaned me too. Only after he’d retreated again did he release his magic.
If I wasn’t so turned on and reeling from our interaction, I would have been impressed with the control over his shadows.
“Get dressed, we need to get moving,”
Rokath growled, pulling on a pair of discarded pants.
All I could do was blink at him. “That’s it?”
He cocked his head at me as he buttoned them. “Would you like there to be more? Because I am more than happy to take your punishment to the next level and let the entire camp watch me fuck your mouth next time.”
My teeth snapped shut with an audible click. I hurled a glare at him so filled with hatred that I hoped it would burn him. Still naked, I slid off the bed and searched for my bag. Having one immobile arm made it impossible to open. I braced a foot above the buckle and yanked on the strap with my good hand, but it didn’t budge.
With a sigh threaded with annoyance, Rokath nudged me aside and opened it for me, pulling out pants and the short sleeved leather tunic. “Unfortunately, you’ll need my help to dress.”
“I’d rather die than let you touch me again,”
I snarled.
Rokath crossed his arms over his chest and regarded me like a petulant child. “If you’d like to ride at the front of the Demon army naked, then by all means.”
His threat was an idle one, for the moment the last word crossed his lips, something that felt a lot like jealousy speared down our bond. A slow, challenging smile spread across my face. “I suppose I will.”
As I suspected, a flash of rage crossed his eyes, and a muscle feathered in his jaw, visible beneath the thick scruff that adorned it. His stare was as icy as the spray from the Graz River. I could almost see his mind working over what to say, what to do next.
Internally, I patted myself on the back for backing him into this corner.
Externally, I crossed my arms extra tight, ensuring his attention momentarily flicked to my breasts.
A growl, menacing and low, tore from his throat. “You’ll burn under the sun, and I can’t deal with any more pain down our bond at the moment.”
Shadows swirled again, and I stepped back, releasing a taunting laugh. “Just admit that you can’t stand the thought of another male admiring my figure, Rokath.”
“No,”
he snapped.
I shot him a saccharine smile. “I can dress myself then.”
He tossed the clothes onto the bed, but didn’t claw back his magic. “Try, then.”
Rather than turn my back to him, I eased my way to the leathers, first finding the underclothes and attempting to shimmy the panties up my legs. With the thin fabric, it was far easier than when I tried to do the same with the tight pants. Stuck just past my knees, I wobbled, then pitched into the bed, catching myself in my injured shoulder.
“Fuck,”
I hissed as pain lanced up my arm.
Rokath’s patience snapped and he stalked forward. “Lie back.”
I fucking hated that I obeyed and let him pull the pants up and fasten them for me. Hated him even more for the tender way he fastened every scrap of fabric to my body. A grumble slipped out of him as his hands moved to the wrap that immobilized my arm. “I have to undo this part momentarily so you can slip the tunic on. Hold still and I’ll support your arm.”
I ignored him and let him work over me, since my injuries were mostly his fault anyway.
I wouldn’t have run if I felt like I was wanted. I wouldn’t have run from Izgath in the same situation.
Again, the thought of him renewed my hatred for Rokath. I couldn’t let myself slip into this lust-fueled fantasy that we’d live happily ever after at the end of the war.
At least Rokath worked quickly, and before long, he finally got the fuck away from me. I glanced at the clock on the bedside table and nearly choked when I saw the day and time. “I slept for three days?”
“More like two and a half, since it was late when you ran and it is early now,”
he pointed out, pulling on the rest of his clothes and strapping the black metal armor over his legs.
I could only blink at him. All Rokath cared about was rejoining the rest of the army, and yet, we’d stayed in place for multiple days because I was unconscious. And I’d been an asshole to him about it before when he’d asked me if I could ride today. Guilt knotted my stomach. “What about–but–you wanted–”
“I didn’t want to leave your side,”
he grunted, fastening the clasps on his shoulder. “I sent most of the army ahead, since we can travel faster with a smaller group,”
he added, grabbing his helmet and settling it over his brow. Then, he found a scarf and tossed it in my direction. “The sun will be strong today. I suggest you drape accordingly so your arms don’t burn either.”
Without another word, he left me sitting in stunned silence, not even the hounds to keep me company. From beyond the walls of my prison, murmurs drifted into my ears, followed by sharp whistles I’d come to know as the signal to start packing up. When a young male stuck his head in, I finally rose and let him ferry our belongings to a waiting wagon. Blaeze was tied there as well, and I went to my sturdy steed, petting him on the nose while what remained of the camp broke down.
Rokath wasn’t lying when he said the sun was strong. Even in the early morning, it scorched my skin, and I wrapped the scarf around my head in such a way it covered most of my shoulders and arms if I tucked them close to my body. Unfortunately, my mate had to help me onto Blaeze’s back, and I tried to ignore the fire where our skin touched as he settled me in place.
Tried even harder to ignore him as we rode for the day.
Tried my hardest to ignore the tangled mess of emotions about my entire situation.
Did Rokath want me or not? Did I want him to want me? Did I want him?
I knew one thing for certain, though, as pain flared with every jostle of my arm or squeeze of my calf. I would not try to run again.