Chapter 28 #3
A narrow bed, barely large enough for one person, stood against the long wall of the room.
That should be interesting. The bedroll had been cozy enough. This would be torture.
But what the space lacked in size, it more than made up for with a bathtub.
While I eyed the furnishings, Seren slid her pack from her shoulders, then unfastened her sword holsters and bandoliers. She set them down on a chair, her face flushed.
Her hands trembled as she unlaced her leather vest, as though all she wanted was to rip off the restrictive material, but her shirt was still missing below it.
I crossed my arms, leaning against the door. “What’s wrong?” I asked, though I already knew.
Seren’s head snapped up, eyes blazing. “What’s wrong?” she repeated, her voice tight, trembling. “You can’t be serious. Look at my life, Rykr!” Her breath hitched, and for a moment, I thought she might cry. But she didn’t. She braced herself, holding it all inside like a dam ready to burst.
She unbraided her hair swiftly, shaking it loose over her shoulders.
I struggled to concentrate on her words after she’d untied her hair like that.
Her dark, gold-streaked tresses cascaded over her shoulders in soft waves, reaching the middle of her back.
In her normal braid, she looked fierce and untouchable, but this softened her, made her more human, more fragile.
Seeing her like this reminded me of why she’d risked everything to save me. She carried burdens too heavy for her slight frame. She wasn’t weak but her strength came from a place I was still learning to understand.
My hands burned with the urge to run my fingers through her hair, coil my fingers through it at the base of her neck and draw her head back. Kiss her until she forgot the weight of the world pressing down on her.
Fuck.
The ale, however minimal, was messing with my judgment.
I can’t get involved with her.
She was fucking forbidden fruit in every way, and right now, the only thing I wanted was a taste.
I dragged my gaze from her, my fingers curling around my biceps as my arms tightened closer to my chest, as if that would keep me from reaching for her.
When I didn’t respond, her expression shifted, and she looked away. “I get it. Your life is in shambles, too. I’m sorry.”
Shambles was one word for it.
The exchange was enough to break the trance I’d fallen into, and I went to the edge of the bed and sat.
“You’re right. We have to start trusting each other more,” I said, almost as much to myself as to her.
“It’s the only way either of us is going to survive what’s happened to us, and what’s coming.
” Even if I couldn’t tell her the whole truth.
I removed the boots as she turned, her face drained of color.
“I never should have saved you,” she whispered, her voice trembling. “I j-just couldn’t … I wasn’t strong enough to l-let you die. And now it doesn’t matter because we both know I won’t survive the Skorn.”
Her words hit me like a punch to the gut. She was blaming herself—for saving me, for not being ruthless enough to follow the Viori way.
Standing, I gently pulled her into my arms. She didn’t resist. She sank against me instead, like she belonged there.
“You are strong, Seren.” I rested my chin atop her head.
“Stronger than anyone I’ve ever known. You didn’t let me live out of weakness, you did it because you’re better than they are. ”
Her arms slid around my neck and she stood on her tiptoes, her lips skimming my throat. I closed my eyes, tormented by the feel of her pressed up against me—the quiet, warm tremor of her breath.
She clung to me like I was the only solid thing in a world that kept shifting beneath her feet.
I tightened my grip, not knowing how else to steady her when everything else seemed to be falling apart.
As her lips crept up my neck, feather-soft, drawing closer to my jawline, the tension between us shifted into something else, more instinctive, more necessary.
It would be so fucking easy to slide my hands beneath her shirt, to palm the curves that had distracted me more than once over the last few days.
But she was vulnerable and had downed her ale as fast as I had.
Still, with her body pressed tight against mine, her mouth grazing my jaw, want took over rational thought. My cock hardened at the feel of her pushed up against my hips, my mouth aching to consume hers with the type of kiss that chaste peck in the wagon had stirred in my imagination.
My body was primed for something I shouldn’t take.
Fuck. Me.
A taste wouldn’t hurt. Just one small taste of those fucking full, luscious lips. One sip of her tongue …
Fire consumed me as her lips inched closer to my mouth, heat flooding my body.
“We shouldn’t,” I managed, even as my fingers skimmed the lacing of her vest, sliding onto her bare waist.
She let out a throaty laugh, her breath hot against my skin. “Really, Rykr?”
Well, fuck, I sound like a prude.
“If you don’t want it, we can stop,” she whispered in my ear as her hand slipped down over the bulge in my pants. “But your cock is telling me otherwise.” Her tongue darted against my ear. “And I like a man who takes what he wants.”
A guttural groan tore from my throat. My mind was spinning.
“Want has nothing to do with it,” I said in a low growl.
Want had everything to do with it. Wanting her was dangerous. Wanting her was also all I could focus on. Her softness, the velvet silkiness of her skin as my fingers glided up her spine.
Those legs I wanted to bury my face between.
“All that bragging, Rykr. Are you a tease, after all?”
“Fuck, solwyn.” Pushing my hand up to the nape of her neck, I drew her head back and searched the deep pools of her eyes.
Our mouths were a whisper apart, all rational thought now gone.
Then she wet her lips with that tongue, waiting.
My mouth descended on hers as I forced myself to be slow.
Gentle. Even as hunger roared inside me, demanding more.
Demanding I shove her up against the wall, push her pants off her hips and take her hot and fast, right now.
She tasted like salt and sweet ale—something forbidden. Something I would fucking die for.
But I can have control.
Her full lips melted against mine, a sizzling heat breaking through the surface of my skin, my want for her intensifying to an inferno.
Not want. Need.
I fucking need this woman.
I angled her head, holding myself steady as she leaned her weight farther into me. Her lips parted and my mouth slanted over hers, my tongue seeking hers in soft strokes. Her body yielded, fitting against me in a way that felt inevitable.
My mouth worked over hers, my hand slipping around her waist, and moving up until I palmed one perfect, full breast—
A knock rattled the door. “Seren?”
Amahle.
Seren tore away from me, her fingers brushing her lips as if she could erase what had just happened. She turned, moving past me without another glance.
“Wait.” I grabbed one of her blades.
Seren gave me a baffled look as I sidled up to the doorframe, back against the wall.
“If the barmaid was spying, someone might be waiting to take us. We can’t take chances.”
Seren paled, then cracked the door open. “Hey,” she said, her voice overly bright. Her posture relaxed. “Just her.”
My grip loosened, then I crossed toward the bed, removing the leather kilt above my trousers.
Amahle’s voice was softer than usual. “You all right? I’m sorry about Ciaran bringing up Esme.”
“It’s fine.” Seren gathered her hair over one shoulder. “It’s just been a long day. I think I’m going to bathe and then go to bed.”
Over my shoulder, I flicked a glance at Amahle, who studied me with that keen gaze of hers—like she saw too much but chose to say little.
“I’m right across the hall if you need anything. Ciaran’s room is next to yours, but you might want to keep it down.” Amahle met my eyes. “For his sake.”
I smirked, thankful for Amahle’s honesty.
“Noted. Only the necessary noises. I’ll do my best to control myself but hopefully the bed doesn’t squeak.” I pulled off my leather vest, tossing it on the ground beside my boots.
Amahle rolled her eyes, then left again.
Seren shut the door, still facing it. “Swiver.”
I chuckled. “I aim to please, solwyn.”
She ignored me, climbing on the bed and pulling a book from her pack. “Why don’t we take turns with that bath? There’s warm water. It’s one reason I like this inn.” She nodded toward the tub. “You can go first.” Curling her legs onto the bed, Seren opened the book.
“Is this your polite way of saying I stink? You didn’t seem to mind so much a minute ago.”
Her eyes flicked to me for half a second—just long enough to see me unbuckling my belt—before she stubbornly returned to her book.
I bit back a grin. “Don’t worry. I won’t use up all the hot water. Just most of it.”
Seren rolled her eyes, but the faint curve of a smile betrayed her. “Go ahead, Rykr. You can wash off all that arrogance while you’re at it.”
That’s it then.
We were back to pretending. Back to ignoring the kiss that had left us both breathless.
So be it.
That was safer. She’d run to the bed like a frightened rabbit who’d almost been ensnared.
But sleeping next to her—because there wasn’t really space on the floor—was going to be its own kind of battle. And if I lost that battle, neither of us would come out unscathed.
Because I’d been wrong. One taste of Seren Ragnall would never be enough.