Chapter 12
“T hat was reckless, brother,” I said sternly.
Why had I followed him willingly?
Why hadn’t I waited until he forced me to go with him?
If he wanted to get himself killed, it should be no concern of mine.
I was between his legs, feeling the tip of his shoulder carefully, peeling away his shredded shirt to dab a wet cloth on the claw marks. They bled a bit as I dabbed them, then smeared a heavy, odiferous salve on them. I’d already done the same thing to where Ronan had sunk a butcher knife in his calf. It had been a deeper wound and was now tightly bound.
“I cannot wait until I see you on that land,” Rhyder said, bending his head to nip gently at my neck. “We can’t fail with the Allfather behind us.”
My nerves felt frayed and flayed open, the adrenaline at his reckless behavior on Ronan’s lands still clawing at me.
“What does it matter where I am?” I snapped. “You’ll just make me do whatever you want like you always do.”
Rhyder seemed to still.
“What do you mean?” he asked, frowning. “Why are you still acting like you don’t want to be here with me?”
There was something else slicing through there, too.
“I don’t,” I said, swallowing past the huge lump in my throat and turning away.
I moved to walk away from him. But he was behind me, big, powerful, impossible to escape from.
“Temperance,” he growled. “Why are you being like this? We belong to each other.”
“I don’t know, Rhyder,” I said. “Maybe because you’ve dragged me away from freedom in the city.”
“Freedom?” he said harshly, flipping me around to force me to face him. “They aren’t free there. They’re shackled by sin.”
“What about me?” I said angrily. “Am I shackled by sin, too?”
“Of course not, Temperance,” he said. “You could never be. I cover you. I cast my righteousness over you. Ever since you were taken I have followed all his words and his will so my righteousness would cover over anything that happened in the city. You are covered, sister. I love you.”
His big hand was gentle, and his eyes so filled with desire as he curved his hand around the back of my throat.
“No, Rhyder!” I said. I suddenly felt furious, spittingly angry with him. “I don’t want that. I don’t want your righteousness.”
In the light of the glimmer of weak February sun, his face went white.
“You don’t mean that.”
“I definitely fucking do,” I said, shoving at his arms and trying to knock them aside. “I don’t want to be with you.”
For one fucking second I almost regretted it as I saw the raw pain slicing through his eyes.
“You don’t—you don’t mean that. I know you love me.”
I raised my hand and slapped him across the face. “I wish for fucking once that you’d leave me alone!” I screamed, feeling tears start to my eyes.
“You’re a part of me!” he ground out, his chest heaving up and down, his eyes looking wild and feral. “We’re two halves, twin souls. I love you past fucking madness, Temperance. Your blood is in me and mine is in you.”
“I wish it wasn’t then,” I said, stupidly grabbing for his knife like I was going to cut myself. “I wish I could cut every part of you out of me.”
That did make him angry, knocking the knife away so it clattered on the ground.
“Stop it, Temperance!”
I turned and ran.
He chased. He always chased. He had never, ever, let me go. And I knew he never would.
Was there even any point to running from him?
The dawn broke over the trees and for a moment I was free, slick skin on my belly, hair flying around me, my arms pumping hard, air under my bare toes as I fled down the hill.
Then I tripped on the slick ground and fell, and Rhyder caught me before I even hit the ground.
Like it had always been. My twin behind me, there with overpowering, suffocating protection.
“You will love me,” he said with harsh finality. “You will fucking love me now , sister.”
His mouth hit my sticky neck, his lips closing over my skin as he pushed me to the ground.
“Rhyder, stop! Get off me!” I cried, trying to wiggle away on my belly through the cold wet leaves.
But he yanked up my shirt, holding me easily down with one hand on my back, his big body caging me in, one massive leg on either side of me.
“Rhyder, no!”
But I felt the weight of his heavy legs pressing on mine, then his dick on the cold skin of my ass.
“I want to feel you again,” he grunted in my ear.
I tried to escape away, but of course it was no use.
His cock was between my thighs, his hands yanking up on my hips and then he was guiding the head of his big cock into my sore cunt.
I began to complain and thrash about. The incense had receded, leaving my core unbearably sore and achy.
But Rhyder drove his cock past my sore lips and I felt his sigh on my muddy neck.
How much did Rhyder want from me?
There would be no end to his insatiable hunger.
His lips were on my throat, his hand reaching up to cup my hair.
“You know why I tattooed the End of the World Serpent on you?” he asked as he thrust inside me. “Because you have the power to either save my world or end it. I want your fucking submission to me. I want your love sister. Now , godsdamnit.”
“Why?” I whimpered. “Why, Rhyder?” the cold mud was seeping through my skin, smearing across my mouth.
“Because you’re mine,” he said, his pace picking up painfully, and I winced as his cock slammed in and out of me. My legs ached from being held open.
His breath was harsh and loud, his hands pressing me painfully down into the dirt and mud as I tried to struggle away.
“Fucking love me, Temperance.”
I knew he wanted another orgasm out of me, but I felt wrung and sore and furiously cold and trapped.
He thrust harder, in a frenzy now, my face ground painfully into the dirt and I winced at his overpowering dominance, his cock punishing me for daring not to love him.
“ Give it to me.”
He felt explosive, unendurable, and I arched my back to try to take him, ease the pressure on my cunt and core, and he came hard inside me, his big hands gripping my hips so tightly I felt the ache of a new bruise on top of the old.
How the fuck could he have this much cum left?
It poured into me again, endless hot jets of it coating my insides with his obsession.
“I love you, sister,” he breathed in my ear as his cock pulsed inside me, his hands and mouth all over me.
But I turned away from him, resting my aching cheek on the cold mud of the forest floor.
The noise my brother emitted was more animal than man, low unearthly moan of pain, and his lips were on my hair again, suddenly noticing that hard roots and branches were digging into my face.
“Shit, I’m sorry, did I hurt you?”
I ignored him as he rolled off of me.
For a moment, he was on his knees breathing heavily.
Then he was scooping me into his arms again, clutching me to his chest.
“What happened?” he said. “Why did you keep it from me?”
I didn’t pretend not to know what he meant.
“It was only because of what they gave us to drink,” I said dully.
My skin stung from him, cunt aching from how much and how hard he had taken me. I tried to struggle to my feet, my brother’s arms instantly around my waist, helping me up.
“Get away from me,” I said, and then I threw up on the ground, unpleasantly vivid and nauseating from the drug.
Rhyder held my hair as I vomited, and I felt like I could have happily ripped his throat out.
But I felt weak and limp, and when I was done throwing up, he gathered me in his arms and moved through the silent trees.
I was asleep by the time he stopped for a few hours’ rest, his big arms pulling me tight against his chest, his smell filling my nostrils, old leather and the raw masculine musk.
It was cruel but familiar and I fell asleep, cradled in his arms.
“I love you,” he whispered again in my ear. “I love you so much, sister.”
I said nothing, my vocal cords feeling frozen.
His release dripped down my thighs, soaked into my skin.
But at least he didn’t have my love.