Chapter Thirty-Two Wren
Chapter Thirty-Two
Wren
Stealing another’s gift is punishable by death.
—Aurilian decree
He stayed.
I woke tangled in his hold the following morning, my head resting on his arm, my leg flung over his body. The shy new day slipped through the window, its rays highlighting the form beside mine in shimmering gold.
Damien was so handsome when he slept. His brow smooth, free of worry, his lips slack. Peaceful.
My eyes ran across the expanse of his bare skin, too afraid to run my hands down his muscled chest and wake him.
But look I did, and what a glorious sight it was.
The muscles of his abdomen were pronounced and hard, and a few scars dotted the flesh, silvery in the light.
The sheet spread across his lower half hung low, the defined muscles forming a delectable V that I yearned to trace.
I’d spent the night with a thief. With a man who exasperated me as much as he enthralled me.
And I didn’t regret a single second of it.
There was no remorse as I brushed my eyes over his beauty, memories of last night playing in my mind like my favorite song.
He’d been different than what I expected, and a small smile lifted my lips at how he’d worshipped me as I fell to pieces around him.
“Are you going to continue to stare? I do like the attention.”
I flinched at the sound of his raspy morning voice, deep and inviting. A lazy smile played on his lips, his usually dark gray eyes bright and welcoming, sparking with silver.
“I wasn’t admiring you, you cocky bastard,” I said far too quickly, though we both knew it was a lie. “I was analyzing your wound.”
“Ah, so you were being considerate,” he rumbled, the arm around my body hauling me closer, pressing me tightly to his chest. His fingers dipped below my chin before forcing me to meet his stare.
“Will you allow me to be just as considerate?” he all but purred, his hand smoothing down my side, grazing over my curves. I shuddered in reply.
I couldn’t speak. I’d lost the ability to. He gazed upon me with renewed hunger, fiercer than the night before. In a sudden movement, he slipped from me and shifted toward the end of the bed. I gasped when he ripped off the sheet to expose my naked body.
“Damien!” I whisper-hissed. “I’m cold.”
He grinned wickedly. “You won’t be for long.”
Fates. I’d thought last night was life-altering.
“I need…”
“You need what?” he asked, climbing back over me, his hair dipping into his eyes.
“Tell me exactly what you want.” His fingers leisurely ran up and down my body, lowering until they met my thighs.
I think I said his name, but my eyes fell shut when his warm breath tickled my ribs, his mouth lowering slowly down, down, down.
“Damien,” I murmured, and he pressed his mouth to my skin, tickling the inside of my thigh.
He was dangerously close to setting me alight, and his ensuing chuckle proved he knew what he was doing to me.
I hissed when his teeth grazed my delicate skin deliciously, and my fingers raked through his hair. “I need you—”
The door banged open, wood striking the wall. A small scream sounded.
Damien cursed, grabbing the flimsy sheet hanging halfway off the bed and covering us. We turned to the door to find my sister standing at the threshold, her cheeks as red as roses, both of her hands smothering her cries.
“Callie! Please close the door!” I all but yelled, praying she would oblige. Praying no one else would come stumbling down the hall and bear witness to my state. I cursed myself for not locking the damned door, but in all fairness, we’d been in a state of shock, and then…
“What on earth are you doing?” Callie asked as she locked us in.
“Not that I…not that this is wrong, but…” She couldn’t seem to find the words, her stare flicking between me and Damien, who continued to shield my body with his, even with the sheet.
“I just didn’t expect this…” she finally said, her eyes wide.
I wasn’t thrilled that she’d walked right in on me naked beneath Damien, but at least it was her and not Father.
“I didn’t expect it either,” I admitted, wanting to hide while gripping the sheet for dear life. “But you can’t tell anyone, Callie, please. Especially not Father.”
Callie’s shoulders drooped, her stunned expression softening. “I would never,” she said, tone harsh with offense. “Your life is your own. But lock the door next time, Fates, Wren!”
I sighed with relief, though my body was strung tighter than any bow. My sister still stood in front of me and Damien, both of us bare beneath the sheet, tangled in each other.
“All right,” I groused, silently communicating with her to leave, my eyes aiming for the door. “I’ll lock it after.”
Callie sucked in a deep breath. “Oh, yes. Sorry.” She smoothed her dress, her movements nervous.
“I get the hint, but I came to tell you something important,” she said, glancing at the floor and avoiding Damien entirely.
He seemed content to pretend she wasn’t there either.
“Those ledgers I worked on the other night? There are missing containers from almost every ship belonging to a lord. Some go to the palace, and others end up at an address Father blacked out. You asked if there was anything off, and there it is.” She waved her hands around.
“All right, I’m leaving now—Fates.” Callie made it to the door before looking at me. “Lock it.”
She slipped out into the hall. As Damien rubbed at his face, I sprang out of bed and twisted the lock.
“That was unpleasant,” Damien groaned, an arm over his head in shame. “If she’d walked in a few seconds later…”
“Yes, I know,” I replied, cringing. Heat erupted across the tips of my ears. I sat on the edge of the bed, my heart beating an anxious rhythm.
Aside from the embarrassment of my sister walking in on me and Damien—which I might never get over—she added some support to the theory that the shipments were being split and shipped to two different addresses.
Meaning we’d been correct to fear the possibility that there were two different enemies at our backs.
“Wren?”
I peered over my shoulder, Damien’s face scrunched in uncertainty.
“What is it?” I asked, thinking he was worrying over Callie’s words as I was.
His hand reached out for me, only to run gently down my spine. “Do you regret—”
“No,” I said. “I don’t.” He was idiotic even to ask if I regretted our night together. It had been my choice, and one I felt no remorse over. But looking at Damien now, I knew he craved confirmation.
We’d both needed to heal yesterday. After everything we’d seen and been through. But it wasn’t why we’d collided. Why we were currently in each other’s arms.
Lying back down, I snuggled into his chest, pressing my face into the crook of his neck. “I don’t regret a single thing. You weren’t absolutely horrible, I suppose.”
I peeked up with a soft smile and he flicked my nose. “Maddening little thing.”
“In fact, I rather hope we can repeat it.” I internally cursed at myself as seconds ticked by and silence reigned.
Maybe I shouldn’t have said—
His arms wound around me tight. “I don’t regret it either,” he whispered. “I regret so many other things, but not that. And I certainly would love to repeat it. Next time without any interruptions.”
I frowned, thinking about his other regrets, but before I could pester him, footsteps echoed from the hall.
“That would be my parents,” I said, heart racing.
I cursed—a habit I’d quickly been forming thanks to Damien—and dove out of bed.
Snatching my dressing gown and flinging it on, I ran a hand through my hair while looking into the mirror attached to my vanity.
Just as I thought. The evidence of last night showed everywhere; from my wild hair, to the darkened love bite on my neck, to the glassy look in my eyes.
Rustling came from behind me. Damien yanked on his pants and made quick work of buttoning his shirt. I winced, hating the rush of it, but knowing he couldn’t stay. If my parents found him he’d be arrested on the spot.
Damien finished dressing and strolled over to me, an unnamable emotion swirling in his stony eyes. His face, which had been bright and smooth seconds before, was now fraught with strain, and while he promised he didn’t regret anything, my eyes weren’t deceiving me.
He was hiding something.
“Damien—”
He placed a finger at my lips, his focus on the door. Slowly, he leaned down, his warmth skimming the shell of my ear. “I’ll see you tonight, sunshine,” he vowed, right before he gave my lobe a nibble that had my toes curling.
When he drew back, that same odd look marred his face, but he crept backward toward the window. With ease, he lifted the glass and edged onto the sill. I made a face when he lunged for the tree, his injury not hindering his grace.
I held his stare until he broke it and vanished down the trunk.
No matter my joy, I couldn’t help but feel like the other shoe was about to drop. That something dire lay on the horizon. That was how life worked, after all.
Or maybe the other shoe had dropped already, and I’d been too busy with Damien to take note.
Either way, I couldn’t shake the feeling the rest of the morning.
The more I had time to ruminate over the peculiar feeling, the more restless I became. The house was empty, and like always, I felt akin to some ghost haunting it, pacing back and forth in my room. I had no occupation, no husband, and no purpose. It had never been as apparent as it was now.
But that was before. Before I learned the truth of the missing people. Of the lords who presided over our city, acting like kings. My father—Fates, my father was the worst among them.
I had a purpose now, and while it could end with my death, I wouldn’t stop until we uncovered the truth and helped set things right.