Chapter Nine
Rinna
“Sources damn it!” Chief Rinna Jass growled and tossed down the metal ingots she'd been trying to converge. “Something is messing with my convergence!”
“How is that possible?” Laroc was sprawled on their joined cots, looking delicious in only his pants.
His golden-brown wings spread behind him, trailing onto the ground, and his long, red hair hung down his hard chest, playing peek-a-boo with his nipples.
His legs hung off the end of the cot so his boots wouldn't dirty their bedding, and it made him look rakish.
One powerful arm propped him up, biceps bulging.
“What?” Rinna dropped the misshapen ingot.
Larocran grinned, his eyes twinkling. The rest of him, as fabulous as it was, faded for Rinna as she stared into those amazing eyes—deep blue centers merged into gold edges, the gold striations feathering with the blue.
And the gold was metallic. So, when Laroc's eyes twinkled, they really twinkled.
It felt odd to be sharing a tent with him while working.
But lots of soldiers shared rooms in the fortress, so what was the difference?
The general's assistant preferred it. It meant they only needed one tent instead of two.
But that wasn't the source of Rinna's unease, was it?
It was Laroc. He had saved her. Only her.
When the Nethren had invaded, Laroc was the only one to realize they were absolutely fucked.
Instead of trying to be a hero, he found Rinna and got her to safety. Maybe that made him her hero.
Rinna would have stayed and fought if not for Laroc.
He forced her to see the truth—that the battle was already lost. He probably would have carried her out if she had fought him.
That's how intent he was on saving her. If not for Laroc, Rinna would be imprisoned by the Nethren or dead. Probably the latter.
No lover had ever shown her such devotion.
“That's enough for tonight, sweetheart.” Laroc held his hand out to her. “You've been working nearly nonstop for a week. It's time to get some rest.”
“If I don't converge this device, we'll never get into the fortress.”
Laroc bent his fingers, motioning her over. “Rinna, come here. You're too upset to converge. That's why it's not working. You need a good night's sleep.”
“You do not have sleep on your mind.” Still, she sauntered over to the Aethari warrior. Her Aethari warrior.
Laroc sat up and then stood up to tower over her. “I have you on my mind. As always.” He pulled Rinna into his arms and folded his wings around them. “Rinna, I . . .”
Rinna looked up into his handsome face. Those eyes were the focal point, but there was so much more to look at.
His strong nose, leading down to those soft lips.
The angle of his jaw. His square chin. Even the thick slashes of his eyebrows were fascinating.
But Rinna had been with handsome men before. Why was she so enthralled by this one?
It was all of Laroc. Not just his pretty face or glorious body.
Not his wingspan or his smile. It was how he smiled and when.
His humor. His bravery. His absolute disregard for anything he didn't love.
And he loved her. That's what he wanted to say.
Rinna could see it in his eyes. But her big, bad warrior was scared.
It was probably her fault. She had pushed him away from the start, even as she physically pulled him closer.
Rinna had expected Laroc to be like all the other Aethari, interested in a Medean for sex alone.
So, she had pretended that sex was all she was after as well.
Despite that, they'd grown closer. They had spent most nights together, slowly becoming a couple.
Still, she had denied any emotional ties to him.
She'd been so certain that Laroc would do his required service and then return to one of the Aethari sky cities without a backward glance.
Now, she was certain of the opposite. And didn't that change everything?
Rinna had never been shy. Even as a child, she had boldly wandered her world, demanding what she wanted and then, when she was big enough, getting it herself. Now, she wanted Larocran Ader. So, as he stared at her, the words lodged in his throat, she said, “I love you, Laroc.”
With a broken exhale, Laroc fell to his knees and buried his face in her belly.
Rinna stared down at him in shock as his shoulders began to shake. Is he crying? Holy fuck! Her hands went hesitantly to his shoulders. “Ah, there, there.” She patted him.
With a burst of laughter, Laroc looked up at her.
“There, there? Do you think I've fallen at your feet to weep?” He laughed harder at her grimace.
“Woman, you have led me on a wild chase.
Frankly, you act like a man. You've driven me mad with all your nonsense about keeping things casual. Casual!” He burst to his feet.
“We have never been casual! But I've gone along with it because I knew we'd be incredible together. I knew you were special.”
“Then why are you laughing?” She crossed her arms.
“Because I'm fucking exhausted!” Laroc chuckled as he sat on the cots.
“I had to save you from a Nethren invasion, fly to the coast with you, and then come back here to lay siege to our fortress, all to get you to admit that you love me. I fell to my knees to thank Source you had finally gotten over your issues.”
“My issues?” Rinna put her fists on her hips. “You're an Aethari. I'm a Medean. Your people fuck mine and leave them. That's what you guys do. I don't have an issue with it. It's simply a fact.”
“What other Aethari do has nothing to do with me. You should have known that early on. I'm friends with Thaxvarien, for fuck's sake. I stood beside him even after he and Liria declared themselves. I would have done the same with you if you hadn't assumed I was a dick.”
“Oh, I don't think so, buddy.” Rinna narrowed her eyes. “Don't act as if you're some honorable man whom I should have trusted from the beginning. You have a horrible reputation. You're a slut. The whole fortress knows it.”
“I am not a slut!” He surged to his feet. Then he grimaced. “I was a slut. Until I met you.”
Rinna snorted. “We've both had affairs. Many, many affairs.”
Laroc glared at her. “All right now, I don't need to hear about your conquests.”
She snorted again. “As if yours don't outnumber mine.”
“I don't know, and I don't want to know.” Laroc sighed. “Let's leave that in the past.” He cupped her cheek. “I love you, Rinna. I don't know when it happened, but it's done. Final. No going back. You're it for me.”
“What about your home? I can't go with you.”
“Fuck the sky.” He shrugged. “If you'll have me, I'll stay grounded forever.”
For an Aethari to say such a thing was akin to blasphemy. To do so with such nonchalance was shocking. But that was Laroc. He did what he wanted and didn't care about the consequences. Which kind of made them perfect for each other.
“You'd give up the sky for me?” Rinna whispered.
“I'd give up my left nut for you, babe.”
“Just the left?”
“I need at least one to make my love juice. How would I keep you happy without that?”
Rinna grimaced, but it turned into laughter. “You're an asshole.”
“But you love me anyway.” Laroc grinned.
“I do. I guess we're both fucked now.”
“Only if you let me keep one nut.”
“You can keep them both,” she said magnanimously.
“My lady is so generous!” He fell to his knees again and unbuckled her belt. “How tired are you?”
“I'm feeling wide awake.” She grinned as she helped him slide her pants and underwear down.
Laroc pulled off her boots, then her pants and panties.
Bare from the waist down, Rinna felt like a goddess before him.
It was the way he set his hands on her outer thighs and stared up at her face.
His beautiful eyes held love, but also amazement.
Laroc had never expected her to love him back. Even so, he had loved her.
“Rinna!” Laroc surged to his feet again, and his hands went to her face.
“What?” She scowled at him.
“You're crying,” he whispered and bent his head to brush his lips over hers. “I don't think I've ever seen you cry.”
“I'm not crying!” Rinna swiped at her eyes, shocked to find them wet. “Oh, fuck! I'm crying!”
Laroc burst out laughing and pulled her into an embrace. “What a sight we must make. Me laughing and topless, and you crying and bottomless.”
“I am not just bottomless.” He held out his arms to show off his nudity. Then his expression softened. “But it sounds as if we complete each other.”
“You're damn right we do.” And then he kissed her.
As if the kiss was a battle cry, they went wild together, hands grasping and pulling at her remaining clothing.
Fabric went flying, and then they were wound together on the cots, the wooden bars digging into Rinna's side.
Putting two camp cots together was not the same as pushing two mattresses together.
But Rinna didn't care. All that mattered was the man above her, his hair falling onto her chest and his wings spread over them like a shield.
With a start, she realized he was her shield and always would be.
It didn't matter that she could protect herself; every warrior needs a shield. And Larocran Ader was hers.
“Laroc.” She pulled back from his lips.
He had just shifted between her legs, his cock pressed against her sex. Laroc looked up and met her gaze. “What is it, love?”
Rinna went still. Love. He called her that with such casualness. As if he had always loved her. Maybe he had. Maybe she had always loved him. They just hadn't known it until they met.
“Laroc, what are we going to do?”
Even with his hardness nestled against her heat, ready to unite them, Laroc settled himself on his forearms and took the time to consider her question. “Do you want to stay at the fortress? I mean, if we regain control of it.”
“I . . . what other option is there?”
“We could leave. Join Thax and Liria at Middle Ground.
No one will come after me for not completing my service.
Not if I join Thax. We could be a part of this change.
Rin, we could be an example to the Aethari, just as Thax and Liria are.
We don't have to be destiny-bound to be together.
They've given us that with their marriage.”
“Then . . . you don't think I'm your . . . what do you call it?”
“Destra?” Laroc swallowed, his throat bobbing. “I don't know. I felt drawn to you from the moment we met. Maybe we are destined. Maybe we aren't. It doesn't matter to me. Whether or not Source sees it, I've made you my destiny. I won't have anyone else.”
“When the fuck did you become so damn romantic?”
Laroc smirked. “You bring it out of me.”
“Ugh! Who are you? You're creeping me out!”
He chuckled and nudged his shaft against her, slicking himself with her desire. “Am I? Should I leave?”
With a groan, Rinna lifted her hips and angled herself to receive him. “You're not going anywhere, you romantic fool.” She grabbed his ass and pulled.
Laroc lowered his head as he eased into her. “No, I'm not. You're stuck with me forever now, Rin.”
“I know. And stop calling me Rin.”
“Damn it all! I was trying to give you a cute nickname.”
“Liria calls me that. I want you to call me something special.”
He went still, his shaft throbbing inside her. Pushing deeper, until he was pressed tightly against her, he whispered, “How about . . . Rinnie?”
Rinna was lured by his deep voice, her channel clenching around his flesh. Then she heard that name. “Eww!” She jerked her head back. “No!”
Laughing so hard, he vibrated inside her, Laroc said, “Well, I'm a little limited here, love.”
She smiled up at him. “You just said it.”
“What?” He frowned. Then his expression shifted. “Oh! Love? You want me to call you love?”
“It's better than Rinnie.”
“As my lady commands.” Laroc bent his head to kiss her while drawing out of her body, but only to slide slowly back in.
In and out, Laroc moved within Rinna, taking her ever upwards, into the sky, though they never left the ground.
She was looking forward to a future full of this kind of flying.
Rinna Jass, the wild one who was untamable, had finally given away her heart.
Not that she didn't believe in love. She was simply waiting for more than a tingling feeling or butterflies in her belly.
Rinna wanted real love. The kind that would carry her away from a battle, risking a prison sentence for desertion, just to keep her safe.
Love that told laws, reason, and entire armies to go fuck themselves.
Love that only Larocran Ader could give her.
Rinna had finally found what she was looking for.
With Laroc braced above her, his body drawing pleasure from hers, she was glad she had waited.
Unlike those who gave their love casually, over and over, Rinna was doing this once.
As far as she was concerned, her heart was gone, out of her chest, never to return.
Thank convergence for that.