Chapter 27 Non #2
A breathy moan from the back section almost made me jump out of my skin. I turned towards the living area of the tent to see a back door of sorts open, and two large figures entered.
Panicking, I ducked behind the large wooden table at the centre of the room.
Which was a stupid idea, really, as the underneath was made up of open shelves that did virtually nothing to hide me.
The only saving grace was that the section of the tent I hid in was dark enough that if you weren't focusing, you might not have noticed me.
Once the two males had stepped further into the makeshift bedroom, I could see their focus was elsewhere.
The shorter of the two by only a few inches was peppering kisses down the neck of the taller male.
The moan I had heard seemed to be coming from the one doing the kissing, who in the flickering candlelight was devastatingly handsome.
His jawline looked like it had been chiselled out of stone, and every feature on his face was perfectly symmetrical.
Even his stubble was shaved into straight lines, and each long dark lock that fell from his head was adorned with gold beads.
“Iorwerth, this isn't—” a familiar voice grumbled.
Iorwerth silenced the taller male by pressing their lips together. But even from my obscured view behind the table, I could see the other male go rigid as he did so. He placed his hands on Iorwerth's chest and shoved him away.
Letting out a grunt of frustration, Iorwerth grabbed the other male by the front of his black habit and pushed him onto the bed, slamming their lips together again.
My cheeks flushed at the thought of potentially being stuck in this tent as these two might have ended up fucking. Although something about the way the other male reacted physically to being touched didn't seem right.
Both my feet had gone numb from the awkward squat I found myself in behind the table, and as I shifted my weight from one foot to the other, my knee hit something on one of the shelves in front of me.
A metal tool clanged against the ground, startling me enough that I lost my balance and fell back on my arse.
The two men snapped their heads in the direction of the noise. A few beats of silence passed as I lay frozen in fear of being found on the floor. Eventually, Iorwerth spoke.
“You've got mice in here again, Dyl.”
My heart hammered against my chest when I realised why the other voice sounded so fucking familiar.
This was Dylan's pabell.
Dylan made a non-committal grunt and shoved Iorwerth off him, for the second time. He moved towards the back of the tent, Iorwerth on his heels. I only let the breath I'd been holding out when I heard the noise of running water.
I should have left then. Taken the window of opportunity and run back to the summoning circle and pretended like I hadn't seen a thing.
But an acrid taste in my mouth that felt an awful lot like jealousy made me want to stay and confront Dylan.
I wasn't sure how much time passed, but eventually the noise of running water stopped and gave way to silence. Peering around the leg of the table, I couldn't see Iorwerth nor Dylan anywhere and wondered if they'd left or gone to bed.
“Didn't have you down for someone who liked to watch and not participate.”
Dylan's voice caused me to jump out of my skin. I shot to my feet in an instant. The lingering pins and needles caused me to sway forward, and my hands slammed into a very wet, very muscled, and very bare chest.
“Are you naked?” My voice came out breathier than intended.
His shoulders bounced with amusement, and I realised I'd been subconsciously running my hands through the damp auburn curls on his chest.
I snatched my hands back, tucking them under my armpits.
Dylan's hair hung in loose, wet curls down his shoulders. The rivulets of water that dripped off the ends, running down his chest, reminded me of the first time I'd seen him in training. My mouth felt bone dry as my eyes tracked down his stomach to the deep V of his abdomen.
I was unsure if it was a good thing or a bad thing, but the cream towel wrapped tightly around his hips meant I was obstructed from seeing any more of him.
“You say that like it's a surprise. Shall I remind you that you're the one who snuck into my room?”
My mouth opened and closed in an attempt to respond, but honestly, I had nothing I could say to that.
I cleared my throat and began backing up towards the door.
“I was just coming to take up your offer on…never mind, I can see that you're busy. Enjoy your evening.” I hated how bitter I sounded as I pushed through the fabric door.
An arm snaked around my waist, and I was hauled back into the dark tent, a damp body pressed against my own.
“And where are you going exactly?” Dylan pressed his lips to my ear as he spoke.
I tried to wriggle free from his embrace, but in doing so, I only managed to rub my arse against his crotch, which was only separated by my thin leggings and his towel.
He gripped my hip with his other hand to stop me from moving.
“Gods alive, Non, are you trying to fucking kill me?”
Looking up over my shoulder, his jaw was clenched, and I could have sworn I saw the faint flicker of a cobalt light come from somewhere.
I tried to put space between us, but Dylan only tightened the grip he had on my hip.
“You seem annoyed, cariad?” he asked mockingly.
“Look, whatever you do behind closed doors is your business. I just don't appreciate being kissed by someone who's clearly spoken for.”
Ugh, I hated how jealous I sounded.
Dylan scoffed. “You think I'm spoken for?”
“Spoken for, situationship, whatever you want to call it,” I said as I finally managed to free myself from his grip.
But Dylan was in front of me in an instant, and my back bumped against the table. When he stepped forward into the light, his expression was grim.
“I'm not sure how much of that you just witnessed, but I can tell you with absolute certainty that I didn't want any of it.
Iorwerth has a problem with the word no, and the conversation concluded with me telling him if he puts his hands on me again when I've explicitly said no, then I'll do him a favour and remove them altogether.”
My already flushed cheeks felt like they turned a few shades brighter along with the rest of my face. I'd thought in the moment that the person Iorwerth was trying to seduce seemed rigid, but clearly my pettiness had clouded my better judgment.
Idiot. I was an idiot.
I dipped my head and began fiddling with the ends of my hair.
“I'm sorry that he thinks he can touch you without consent like that.”
Dylan considered me for a moment, like he was waiting for me to divulge more, but there was no way I'd ever be able to say out loud that I'd experienced a similar situation.
“Not the first time he's done it, and likely won't be the last. We were in a situationship, as you said up, until a couple of months ago. But I broke it off, and clearly, he's not taking it very well.
“More importantly,” Dylan went on, “you mentioned taking me up on my offer. I take it you finally came to your senses and realised that you needed to give yourself a fighting chance in the Anoethau?”
I started to deny it, but Dylan leaned his hands on the table at either side of my body, caging me in.
For a brief second, I began to panic. I felt like I was back at The Pig, and Elis was the one caging me in. But then a rush of leather and the sea air filled my senses, reminding me that the person caging me in hadn't given me a reason to be afraid.
I wasn't in The Pig.
There was a glimmer in Dylan's eye that told me I only needed to say the word, and he would have let me go. No questions, no hesitation, if this wasn't what I wanted.
But I did want this, even if my mind was a scrambled mess of incoherent thoughts.
There was no denying how my body reacted to his close proximity.
Right on cue, I found myself arching into him.
Dylan let out a deep growl of satisfaction as my hardened nipples brushed against his chest. The thin fabric of my habit meant the sensation was electric.
He angled his head towards my neck, and for a second, I thought he was going to devour me. Instead, his breathy voice spoke in my ear.
“Was it the world-stopping kiss that made you change your mind, or the jealousy?”
I pulled away to see the cockiest grin I'd ever seen on his face. I swatted at his shoulder, but he dodged it and strode past me into the bedroom section of his tent.
“I won't blame you if you sneak a few glances while I'm getting dressed. I didn't get the title of best arse in the Cyngor Blaen for nothing.”
I turned around, facing the door again, and let out a noise to show how disgusted I was, but I couldn't fight the small smirk that played on my lips.
“Please. You have no competition!” I called over my shoulder, and the deep laugh that he let out was nothing short of infectious. Even my own smirk turned into a chuckle.
Training with Dylan was going to be…interesting.