Chapter 27 Raith
RAITH
Iwoke with a woman in my arms for the first time in years.
I lay on my side with Rose in front of me, my body curled behind hers.
Her bottom was flush against my hips, while my hand rested on her thigh.
The feel of her naked skin against mine was already stirring my cock to attention.
I couldn’t help but slide my fingers along her soft curves while I pressed a kiss to her shoulder.
Even though the sun was peeking inside the bedroom curtains and a thousand tasks awaited me, I had no desire to move.
Hang the kingdom, I could spend a few more minutes with my wife without it all falling apart.
She stirred and turned her head toward me, giving me a sleepy, seductive smile.
I captured her mouth with mine before she could say a word, while my fingers tightened around her thigh, pulling her against me.
She pushed back toward me, no doubt feeling how hard I was for her, surprising me with how quickly she succumbed to desire.
I let my lips trail across her neck while moving a hand to her breasts. I couldn’t help myself, not when her naked and willing body was pressed against mine. All I could think about was being inside her again. That taste of her last night hadn’t been enough. No, it had just been the start.
As I sucked and nibbled on her neck, she became pliant under my touch, tilting her head back as she moaned.
My fingers slid down her stomach, along her hips, and then made their way between her thighs.
She hitched her leg up, parting wider for me, and knowing she wanted this only made me need her even more.
She was already so wet for me and let out a soft moan as I slid one finger inside.
I knew we should wait, that she might be tender after last night, but I couldn’t stop myself, not when she was begging for me to claim her.
I aligned my cock with her entrance and slid inside in one smooth thrust. She gasped, and for a second I worried I’d hurt her, but then her hips pushed back against me, taking me deeper.
Wild lust filled me at the feel of being within her again and at her obvious desire, and I grabbed her leg and hooked it behind my own, spreading her wide.
The perfect position for me to use my fingers to please her while filling her from behind.
We didn’t say a single word as lust took control of our bodies.
She reached back and tangled her fingers in my hair as breathy moans escaped her lips with each thrust. I rubbed her clit at the same time, heightening her bliss, while I claimed her body as my own.
All she could do was push her hips back against me and accept the pleasure I gave her.
I took her harder and faster until she was calling out my name and tightening around me, her body shuddering with release.
Her soft cries pushed me over the edge only seconds later, and I clung to her tightly as I let go with one final thrust. I buried my face in her hair and caressed her breasts, as lingering traces of pleasure shuddered through us both.
Only when my lust was sated did I realize I’d been crushing her body against mine, and that I’d been rougher and more forceful than I’d intended. I withdrew from Rose’s body and cradled her in my arms. “I apologize. You must be sore. I simply couldn’t help myself.”
Silena had been sore after our wedding night. Of course, I’d been a lot younger and less experienced then. I hadn’t yet known how to please a woman properly or how to prepare her for my entry. Silena and I had learned together after that night.
Silena. The thought of her was like a dagger in my heart.
I’d pledged myself to her forever, and now I’d slept with another woman.
Even though Silena was gone, it felt like a betrayal.
I shouldn’t even be thinking about her while I was in bed with Rose.
Guilt wracked my body with a shudder and conflict warred within me.
Not only guilt for sleeping with Rose, but guilt for thinking of Silena at a moment like this too.
My heart was torn between the two women who owned it.
The one I’d lost, and the one I was terrified to lose now.
“I’m not sore. I feel amazing.” She pressed a kiss to my jaw, oblivious to my tormented thoughts. “We should stay in bed all day. No one would miss us.”
“We both know that isn’t true.” I let my fingers tighten around her thigh for the briefest moment, but then I eased away from her. “As tempting as your offer is, I must be going.”
With a sigh, she asked, “Already? It’s barely dawn.”
As I stood, my gaze wandered slowly across her beautiful naked curves, and I was tempted to climb back in bed with her.
But no, the conflict within me was too great, and the urge to escape too strong.
Even Rose’s lovely smile and tempting body couldn’t overcome the burden settling over my shoulders.
“I’ll see you at supper,” I said, before turning away.
I went through the connecting door to my bedroom, where I quickly washed up and donned some clothes, my thoughts tormenting me the entire time.
I couldn’t go on like this, torn between my two wives.
And avoiding Rose wouldn’t work—I’d tried that already and failed.
Even if I could withstand the temptation to be with her, I needed an heir soon.
My fists clenched at the thought of my cousin.
He wanted to take my kingdom, and Rose with it.
Let him try. I’d burn off every inch of his skin while he was still alive so he could smell himself going up into flames.
Silena’s blood was on his hands, and even though Rose wanted to use him to get knowledge of future plots, all I could think of was revenge. No, not revenge. Justice.
I stormed through the castle, my mood so dour all the servants shied away from me at the sight of my face. Even Oren kept his distance.
There was only one place for me to go to ease my troubles.
I teleported outside to a secluded part of the garden I rarely visited. The sun had barely breached the horizon, casting faint light across the stones in front of me. I slowly walked among them, the tall grass brushing against my cloak as I gazed down at the graves.
My mother.
My father.
My wife.
All of them buried here, along with previous members of the royal line. My entire family. All of it...until now.
I kneeled in front of Silena’s grave and stared at the headstone. Red roses had grown up around it, despite my insistence on removing them from the castle’s grounds. The irony was not lost on me.
I let my hand brush over the grass covering her grave. “Forgive me,” I said, closing my eyes as emotion became a torrent inside me. Grief, guilt, regret, anger, and love burned me from the inside out.
“There’s nothing to forgive, Raith,” Silena’s voice said, in my mind. I could easily picture her as if she were still alive, as if not a day had gone by. She’d flash me her serene smile, her golden hair sparkling under the morning light.
“There is. I’ve taken another woman to bed.”
“She is your wife,” she’d say. Silena had always been practical, and little had riffled her feathers. She would have made an excellent queen.
I nodded, bowing my head. “I care for her too. I’m sorry.”
“You still love me, do you not?”
“Of course. I always will.”
“There is room in your heart for both of us.” At this point she would take my hands and smile up at me.
“Raith, you’ve lost so much in your life, and I understand why you’ve closed yourself off to love and surrounded yourself in darkness.
But perhaps it’s time to allow yourself a bit of happiness and light for a change. ”
I could hear her voice as clear as if she was standing in front of me, and when the roses fluttered under the breeze, I felt her words in my heart.
Even though it was all in my head, I knew Silena would tell me to move on.
She would want me to be happy. She would want what was best for Ilidan.
And she would have liked Rose a lot. But could I truly move on?
Could I accept love again and live with the threat of losing it a second time?
The darkness was all around us, growing stronger every night. How could I offer my heart to Rose knowing the danger we faced and what I might have to sacrifice to stop it?
Only when my kingdom was safe could I entertain the thought of loving Rose the way she deserved.
I couldn’t afford to be distracted by her right now, not with so much at stake, and I couldn’t let her rush into danger again.
She was headstrong and reckless, and even if I trapped her inside the castle, she’d find a way around my magic eventually.
There was only one option—I had to find the Shadow Lord and stop him before he could hurt her too.
Tonight this had to end, one way or another.