Chapter Nine #3
I rolled my hips up, causing him to arch his back and briefly close his eyes.
He came back down, his body flush to mine, and claimed my mouth for another scorching hot kiss.
Sparks shot through my bloodstream. His skin ran hotter than my other men, like he was made of fire, and as we grinded together on the grass and kissed, that fire seeped into me.
My head spun. With arousal as my blood rushed south. With the heat of him. I wanted to sink into that heat and let it consume me.
“Breathe, little treasure,” he murmured against my lips before pulling one between his teeth. “Or you really will croak like a toad.”
I sputtered out a laugh. “Was too excited to breathe.”
“What are you, a damn virgin?” He grazed his teeth along my jaw and rolled his hips, grinding against my erection. “Because I remember fucking you in a tub only a few days ago.”
“Been too long,” I said with a pant, my chest squeezing tight. I inwardly cursed the clothing separating us. Cursed the damn inventor of clothes while I was at it. How dare they.
“You had a cock in your ass last night.” He exhaled against my neck. “Several, in fact. Hasn’t been long at all since you’ve blown your load.”
“One in my ass, sure, but I want my cock in you.”
Rowan lifted up just enough to see my face. “My, my. What a nasty mouth you have. You should know I’m a gentleman.”
I laughed again. “My gentleman thief.”
“Always.” He brushed his lips across mine but didn’t join them. “You’re my home, little treasure. As long as you’re safe, the rest of the world can burn for all I care.”
Spoken like a true morally grey hottie—one of my major weaknesses when it came to book boyfriends. That and villains with sharp jawlines.
After kissing me hard, he trailed his lips to my chin, then down my neck. His hands roamed my sides before meeting at the front of my trousers and unfastening the strings that held them together.
“Out here?” I asked in a harsh whisper, glancing at the castle behind us. “Where everyone can see?”
“I doubt anyone can see us.” He smirked. “But if by some chance they can, I’ll be sure to make it a good show.”
“Rowan,” I groaned, equal parts horny and mortified.
He slid down my body, biting at my tunic as he went, and stopped once between my legs. My erection sprang free as he pushed my trousers down my hips.
“Mm.” He ghosted his mouth over my cock. “Mine.”
“Yours,” I said, sucking in air between my teeth. His lips were so close but not quite touching. The warmth of his breath gave me chills. “You’re the only bottom for me.”
“Good.” Rowan gripped my base and peeked up at me. “’Cause I might just have to kill anyone who tries to ride you. This seat is mine.”
Unlikely he was joking. He had no trouble sharing me with other men, but he’d staked his claim on my dick. He moved his hand to my ball sac and softly rolled them in his hand. My shaft jerked in response.
“You’re trembling,” he said, the edge of his mouth lifting.
“Well, you, quite literally, have me by the balls.”
As my favorite tooth made its appearance, my body warmed for a different reason. I loved him so much it hurt. And it both broke my heart and pissed me off that anyone had ever made him feel underserving of that love.
“You must have me confused with someone else.”
Just because I’d called him beautiful.
“Ro.” My sternum squeezed. “I—”
He took my cock between his lips, and a small sound cut off my words. Words that would’ve made him feel awkward anyway, probably—or make him revert to that snarky and playful attitude he showed the world when hiding what he really felt.
I watched him take me in and out of his mouth, my chest rising and falling quicker with each glide.
He swirled his tongue over my crown before licking down the underside.
The wet trail he left behind ignited more chills, but the heat of his mouth created a delicious balance that had me fisting the grass beneath me.
“Take those hands off the ground,” he said, lifting his heated gaze to mine. “And put them in my hair instead.”
I did as he said and slid my fingers through the auburn strands, following the up and down motion of his head as he continued to suck me.
A warm current moved down my spine and gathered at my base, eliciting a flurry of hot tingles that spread to all my limbs.
The sensation had me dropping my head to the grass and closing my eyes, gripping his hair tighter.
“Gonna come already?” he asked with a pleased lift in his voice. “Guess you’re a little virgin after all.”
“It’s your fault for being so good at this.” I moved my hand down the side of his hair, following the braid he kept in place with a golden cuff. He took me to the back of his throat, and my hips jerked. “Fuck.”
As he pulled off me with a wet pop, a satisfied gleam showed in his eyes.
The look awoke something in my core. A feeling I only had when with him: the sudden urge to possess. To dominate. But this time, it was different.
I wanted to make him feel cherished. Treasured. Just like how he made me feel.
With a spark of determination driving me, I sat up, grabbed him by the shoulders, and rolled him to his back on the grass.
Before he could say a word, I captured his lips, kissing him long and deep.
His legs wrapped around my waist, and he grinded up into me.
He still wore pants, but I felt the swell of his cock through the material.
What he also wore? A leather belt that had a billion and one things attached to it. His dagger—that he’d managed to hide from Seraphina and Borus—a flask, and a weighted pouch. I dropped my hands to the belt and undid the leather strap, the metal buckle clinking.
“Evan,” he said on an exhale, breaking from the kiss. “What are you—”
I fused our lips back together and tossed the belt aside before returning my hands to his trousers and pulling them open.
As I reached inside and took hold of him, he made a small sound against my lips.
Nearly every time we’d had sex, he’d rarely let me prep him.
He’d gotten me worked up before pinning me down and riding me hard.
Not this time.
I kissed down his body and took him into my mouth.
A surprised grunt left him before he burrowed his fingers in my hair.
Pride filled my chest with his every sharp intake of air and soft groan.
I licked across his slit and massaged his base, giving a little twist of my wrist as I then stroked upward.
“S-Stop, you’re gonna make me come,” he panted.
“That’s kind of the point, Ro,” I murmured against his cock head.
“Not like this.” He swept his fingers through my bangs, moving them out of my eyes “I want you to be inside me first.”
“But we don’t have any oil,” I said. And I’d be damned if he thought I’d fuck him dry using only my spit or something. That would hurt him.
“You sure about that?” Rowan smirked before reaching for the belt I’d tossed aside while tearing off his pants. The sneaky devil had stashed a small vial in the pouch attached to it.
I snatched it from him and coated my fingers. He watched me, his brow tapered and lips parted, as I scooted farther down on the grass and lifted up his hips. The sweetest sounds left him as I worked him with one finger, then a second, taking my time.
“Shit.” He arched his back, muscles tensing. “Enough. Just fuck me already. I… I can’t… I need…”
After slicking my cock, I settled between his legs and lowered my lips to his, kissing him softly. That softness seemed to shatter something inside of him. His responding whimper had him wrapping his arms around my neck and clinging on tight.
As I eased into him, he pushed his face against the cuff of my shoulder. Something wet seeped through the fabric of my shirt. I pretended not to notice. But when I grabbed his face and slammed our mouths back together, my chin shook. His did too.
Beneath a starry sky and surrounded by glowing flowers, a pond bathed in moonlight, and fluorescent trees that released a faint musical chime as a breeze rustled the leaves, we lost ourselves in each other.
A muffin lord and his gentleman thief.
***
When Rowan and I snuck back through the window later that night, our men were in bed and fast asleep. The fire burned low, in need of stoking and an extra log. Carefully, I slid off his back and tiptoed across the room.
My eyes were adjusted from having been outside in the dark, so at least I wasn’t blind and bumping into everything. Not that I had good balance in broad daylight either.
Lake lifted his head and looked at me with sleepy eyes. He slept beside Briar, the two of them on the side closest to the window.
I waved at him and continued toward the washroom. After rolling around in the grass and being balls-deep in a certain spy, I definitely needed to clean up before slipping between the sheets. As I passed the foot of the bed, I made out Callum on the other side of Lake.
But no Maddox.
Halting in step, I peered closer just to be sure. Yep. He was nowhere to be found. I checked the table near the hearth, not finding him there either. My lungs then did a weird crackle thing, causing me to cough. I threw my hands over my mouth.
“Love?” Briar sat up and searched for his glasses on the nightstand. “Are you all right?”
“Yeah,” I croaked, hand on my chest. “Sorry I woke you.”
“Don’t apologize.” He slid out of bed and came over, wearing only an oversized tunic and nothing else. The sight of his long, slender legs caused heat to pool low in my belly. God, he was hot. Once in front of me, he cupped my cheek. “You’re still recovering from your injuries.”
“I’m okay,” I told him, nuzzling his hand. “I promise.”
“Tell that to your lungs.” He narrowed his eyes at Rowan. “I suspect you’re at fault. The chill in the air must’ve aggravated his condition.”
“Or maybe you’re just too protective,” Rowan countered. “His lungs are fine. You think I’d put him in danger?”
“Please don’t fight,” I interjected. “Honestly, I’m okay. Just kinda winded.”
“You haven’t taken your medicine in days.” Briar frowned and guided me over to the bed. “Sit and rest. I’ll pour you a glass of water.”
Following my attack, Briar had administered a daily tonic to help my lungs heal. The healing elixirs he normally crafted weren’t powerful enough on their own to mend the damage inflicted by Stryder’s fire spell.
The bedroom door opened. A large, dark shape stepped across the threshold before closing it again. My rising worry instantly soothed. I recognized those steps.
“Sweetheart?” Maddox neared the bed.
“Hey, you.” I smiled up at him. “Where’d you go?”
He brushed his thumb over my bottom lip. “I needed to take a walk. To clear my head.”
No reason to ask why. He may have suspected that Onyx was one of my fated mates before I’d told him the truth, but having it confirmed hit different. His lack of emotion earlier was proof. He had slapped on a mask to hide intense feelings—ones he didn’t want to show anyone, not even me.
“Did it help?” I asked. “The walk.”
Another soft glide of his thumb. “It did.”
Some of my worry trickled away. He knew the truth now, and while he seemed in his head over it, his behavior toward me was a good sign. I hadn’t lost him.
“Did you enjoy your time with the thief?”
I nodded. “We saw glowing fish in the pond. They—”
A cough broke off my words. Guess some of the heaviness in my chest throughout the night hadn’t just been from anxiety. My lungs weren’t happy.
“Here, love.” Briar handed me a cup of water he’d poured from the pitcher on the small table. He placed his hand on my chest. Heat radiated from his palm, soothing some of the crackling feeling in my lungs. “It won’t help much but should tide you over ’til morning at least.”
“Thanks, Doc.”
“Into bed,” he told me, then eyed Maddox. “You too.”
“Ordering me around, physician?” Maddox wrapped his arms around me and placed me into bed beside Lake.
“Someone has to.” Briar snapped his fingers and pointed to the spot beside me.
A tiny smile touched our captain’s lips as he obeyed.
“I can’t go to sleep yet,” I said with a yawn. “I stink.”
Maddox released a low chuckle and buried his face into my hair. “You smell fine to me. Like home.”
Pressure squeezed my heart, and an ache that had nothing to do with my cruddy lungs filled my chest. “I love you, big guy.”
“And I love you.” He pressed a soft kiss to the side of my head. “Nothing will change that.”
“Nothing?” I whispered, heart heavy. My nerves had been in turmoil since we’d returned from dinner: not knowing his true thoughts. Or if this would be the one thing to push him away. “Even if a certain demon lord is one of the seven?”
Maddox softly inhaled, as if breathing me in the same way I did to him and the others when I needed to ground myself. “Even then.”
It was the last thing I remembered before falling asleep.