HAPTER 15
Rowan hadn’t thought she’d be able to sleep, considering the sun hadn’t even set. But as soon as she was in bed next to him, his skin still warm from the bath, his cool, masculine scent surrounding her, she felt such relief. This was where she belonged, curled into the curve of his body with his heartbeat against her back. Sleep came upon her quickly; it had been a busy day, after all.
When she woke to faint morning light creeping through the curtains, Aidan’s arms were still around her, but when she turned, he smiled at her. “Good morning. How long have you been awake?” she asked, slipping her arms around his neck.
“A little while,” he said. “But after thinking I would never see you again, I couldn’t bear to leave. If I let go, you might disappear like a dream.”
“I won’t leave you ever again. So, don’t even think about trying to get rid of me. I’ll just come back,” she said, frowning at him.
“Never again,” he agreed, and he kissed her, deep and gentle, until she had no breath left. Just that was enough to make her body ache for him, but as he had just been injured the day before, it felt like it would be rude to demand more. She started to pull away, but he held her close. “I have no intention of letting you out of this bed for several more hours,” he said, his voice a seductive purr.
Her face burned. “I wasn’t sure you would want…”
He laughed. “I would have to be on death’s literal door not to want you, Rowan. You healed the worst of it yesterday. I would be completely better already except that the poison has slowed my natural healing abilities.”
He left a trail of kisses down her jaw to her neck, making her shiver. “In short, I have missed you terribly, and now that you’re here, with your body pressed so close, I think if I don’t make love to you this minute, I will expire.”
“Well, we can’t have that,” she said somewhat breathlessly, hooking her leg around the back of his knee. When his mouth met hers again, she traced her tongue over his lower lip, and he let out a soft moan.
He returned the kiss fiercely, nipping her with his teeth, and then his body was pressing her into the mattress, his hands pinning her wrists above her head with one hand while the other slipped under her shift. She felt helpless before him in way that she did not dislike.
He kissed the hollow of her throat as he massaged her breast, and his mouth moved up her neck until he sucked at the skin just below her ear. It sent a shudder all the way through her; her back arched into him as she said his name, more of a moan than a word.
Aidan chuckled under his breath and released her hands to slide her shirt over her head. He kissed the peak of each breast, and his fingers whispered over her stomach, making her shiver in anticipation. When his hand reached between her legs, he smiled when he found her slick with need. Then, he rolled her onto her stomach.
Somewhat confused, she might have even protested except that his hand was between her legs again, this time brushing his fingers over the sensitive bud with a feather light touch. She could hardly speak, only uttering a mewling cry of want that deepened to a moan as he pulled her hips against him and entered deep inside her.
She rose up onto her hands, almost by instinct, and felt him shudder at the completeness of their joining. He rocked his hips, frustratingly slowly, and his fingers resumed their ministrations between her thighs.
If she had thought the times with him before were the height of pleasure, this was something else entirely. It came upon her slowly, a warm ember low in her belly that flared brightly each time their bodies came together.
But she felt her body growing tighter, hotter, thrumming with pleasure, and then it was like a dam broke and she was drowning in a flood of bliss. And it didn’t stop; Aidan moved inside her, faster now, and the press of his finger was relentless, wave after wave of ecstasy until she howled and shivered, feeling like she would cease to be if it went on a moment longer.
She heard his strangled cry as he found his release inside her, and they collapsed into a boneless, sweaty heap. After a moment, he curled his body around her, pressing a panting kiss to the back of her neck.
Rowan could do nothing but hum with approval. She was so sated that she might have even gone back to sleep. Aidan pulled her close against his chest and stroked her hair. “I feel more honored than I can say that you would choose to spend your life with me. I promise I will do everything I can to keep you safe, no matter what comes.”
She turned to face him, brushing her fingers over his cheek. “I know you will, Aidan. But I want to fight by your side as your partner. Tell me what you think is going to happen.”
He smiled. “You would’ve been wasted on the mortals. My warrior goddess would never be a meek little housewife. As for what comes next, I’m sure Niall will lodge some sort of formal complaint, outside of whatever personal revenge he might have planned. I can’t be sure of his exact plans until he takes action, but we may both be called up before the Council to defend ourselves.”
“Can’t we make a counter-claim? Surely his attempt to poison you is a punishable offense.”
He shrugged. “Not really. If he had actually killed someone or injured me permanently, I could have demanded restitution. But, especially because he attacked outside of Court boundaries, he’s not violating any laws. The Otherworld is a violent place, and our laws tend to encourage the strong to exploit the weak. I would like to change this, but first we have to subdue my brother into accepting it.”
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exactly Niall’s claims would be wasn’t clear until later that day when a messenger for Lord Kennet brought the official summons. Teague brought it to them when Fenella delivered their quite belated breakfast. Rowan had just been trying to convince her friend to leave it for an actual maid.
“Listen, compared to being a spy, this job is fantastically relaxing. It’s not as if I have to clean things by hand. And I get to treat you like my very own dress-up doll. It’s a win for everyone. Maybe now that you’re officially staying together, Aidan will let me dress him too?”
“Is there something wrong with the way I dress?” he asked with an arched eyebrow. Fenella opened her mouth, probably to tell the prince exactly what she thought of his fashion sense, but Teague’s arrival spared them all this fate.
“Lady Rowan has received an official summons to the Court,” the bard said, handing Aidan a tightly rolled scroll sealed with wax.
Aidan didn’t appear to be terribly surprised, but he gave the scroll to Rowan. “You’re the only one who is permitted to break the seal.”
Rowan could feel the hum of magic as she cracked the wax between her fingers, but nothing happened, except that she could unroll the parchment. “It says my presence is required in court tomorrow. To answer the charge of ‘interfering in a duel of honor.’”
“That is what I expected,” Aidan said, letting out a breath. “At least he didn’t feel the need to produce a list of misdeeds.”
“What else am I supposed to have done?” she exclaimed, indignant, and the prince laughed.
“I was not accusing you, my love,” he replied, and hearing the casual term of endearment was more than enough to mollify her, but he continued. “He might have complained that you injured him in the duel, though I suppose he is too proud to want that to get around.
I was somewhat concerned that he would blame you for the disappearance of Polaris, but I might have been overestimating his capacity to care for creatures other than himself. Besides those, there are many things he might have claimed you had done which would have been difficult to disprove.
He has chosen, thus far, to stick to the unvarnished truth, and I find that at least a little encouraging.”
“Then what are we going to do?” Rowan asked. Aidan took her hand in his.
“I will send Teague and Fenella to the court ahead of us to gather information. I’d like to gauge the attitudes of the councilors who will be sitting in judgment Although my father can always override the will of the Council, he does not like to do so, and I would rather not have to rely on him. However, you and I can do little but await the appointment at court. So, I thought we might go somewhere else to take your mind off things.”
It was true that Rowan couldn’t help but worry about what was to come, and so she nodded, and listened to Aidan give his instructions to Teague and Fenella. They left immediately, promising to bring back news as soon as they could.
“We will be at the other house, but will return this evening,” he told them. “Unless there is an emergency, you should wait for us here.” Rowan felt a small swell of relief, remembering the little tower at the edge of the mountain lake. If there was anywhere she would be able to truly relax with everything going on, it would be there.