Finaan #3
I hate it when this Wregen appears, and he’s showing up much too often in this world.
If I didn’t know better, I’d think he was trying to manipulate me.
But his emotions have shifted. I sensed the moment he yielded, replacing frustration with something that feels more like deference than this cruel male would ever want to admit.
It’s hard to keep my shields up when he reminds me there’s a decent elf buried in there somewhere. It’s deep, but it’s there. My chest throbs a bit as I watch him, emotions I refuse to acknowledge stirring inside me.
“Fine,” I agree as I dig out my key, “but don’t get near me again. I won’t be pulled around like an animal. I deserve better.”
I turn to look at him as I open the door, and my breath catches in my throat. He’s so fucking beautiful. Dark eyes gaze back at me, one lip tugging up to reveal the dimple that weakens my knees every time I see it.
He watches me for a moment, and then gives me a full smile. “You do deserve better, my skjaldmaer, and there’s a small part of me that’s sorry the fates stuck you with a mate so detestable. But it’s a very small part, not nearly enough to save you from the rest of me.”
“Because you’re a selfish bastard and you won’t change?” I ask, reminding myself as I do.
He shrugs. “That’s right, Finaan,” he agrees. “Make no mistake.”
“Come in anyway,” I respond as I shove the door all the way open, “and tell me whatever it is you dragged me here to say.”
He strides in, looking around before heading to the window and standing next to it, arms over his chest.
“What do you want?” I ask as I walk to the other side of the room, lean against the wall, and stare at him.
In an instant, the old Wregen is back, all hints of humanity dropping away from his face. “I told you to stay away from him,” he gripes. “I do not like being disobeyed.”
I cock my head at him, wondering if he’s serious. But his eyes are hard as steel, lips smashed together. Even his jaw seems angry, shifting as he seems to struggle to control himself.
“And I don’t like being given orders,” I snap. “The best way to get me to do something is to forbid it.”
“Do you think I demand this out of cruelty?” he bellows, arms flinging up. “I know him. You don’t. You will stay away from him. I won’t argue about this with you.”
“Or what? You’ll punish me? Are you going to flog my back like you did Svend’s? Do you actually believe I’d ever let that happen?”
“When I punish you, my skjaldmaer, it will be nothing like what I do to Svend.” Wregen pushes off the wall, stalking toward me like a predator pursuing prey. “But you will grow to crave my punishments, the pain that tells you you’re alive.”
“You promised you wouldn’t get near me,” I remind him as I straighten my back and reach for one of the blades I’ve stolen since we got here.
“I’m a liar,” he counters with a shrug as he closes the distance between us. “One of my many sins.”
I lift the knife, positioning it at his neck as he gets closer, but he smirks, leaning in far enough for the sharp edge to nick his skin. He lifts a finger, wipes the drop of blood rolling down his skin, and lifts it to his lips.
“Just say what you came to say and get out, Wregen,” I tell him with a frustrated sigh. “I’ve had an exhausting day.”
“With him?” Wregen demands. “Did he show you around town? Maybe buy you a meal?”
“What the fuck does it matter?” I snipe, anger at this presumptuous bastard setting my nerves on fire. “It’s none of your business. If I took him out behind a tavern and fucked him, it still would be none of your business.”
Wregen stills, even his chest motionless as he watches me with eyes that would burn me where I stand if their fire could escape. And then he lifts his fucking hand so fast he knocks the blade from my grip, and grabs my throat.
“If he ever touched you,” he murmurs, his lips nearly brushing mine, “I’d flay him alive, and then tie you to my bed until you swore your fealty to me. You are mine. I will never share you.”
“Gods, you’re frustrating,” I bitch as I push his hand away. “I’m not yours. I never will be. As soon as we free my dragon, we’re going our separate ways. That isn’t going to change.”
“How the fuck are we going to free your dragon if we’re trapped here with that bastard?” Wregen demands, his voice rising. “He’ll never let you go once he realizes we’re bonded. You can’t let that happen.”
“Good thing we’re leaving tonight then, isn’t it?” I smirk, digging the key to his manacles from my pocket.
His eyes blow wide as he leans back, gaze roaming over me as if he’s seeing me for the first time. “What have you done, my crafty skjaldmaer?” he purrs, lifting his head to look at me.
“Not that it’s any of your business,” I tell him, “but I spent time with Balin to figure out where he kept these. Rata got them for us. Ruxi found the cavern, so we know where to go. We’ll wait until it’s late enough to slip away, and she’ll carry us back down.
” Now I smile, because as pissy and frustrating as he is, I still love it when he’s happy. It settles something inside me.
“Well, why didn’t you say so?” he asks, a grin creasing his cheeks and crinkling his eyes. “It’s about time we got the fuck out of here.”