The storm didn’t hit until we’d made it out of the city. The trees rose up high as we left civilisation behind, ducking underneath the twisting branches of the Autumn woods. Thunder rumbled overhead as bulbous clouds beat down hail the size of oranges. Rourke pulled me to the ground and launched himself on top of me, shielding my head from the onslaught of the brutal ice.

My heart hammered hard in my chest as I clung to the ground, fingers digging into the soaked earth. The storms were growing worse. The hail was violent and unrelenting. Lightning shot through the sky, and a cry of fear ripped from my throat. I couldn’t help but remember what had happened to the Summer guard. This storm could grow worse, and it could grow worse very fast. And we had nothing but the trees to keep us safe.

“We need to get out of this storm,” Rourke murmured into my ear. “Do you trust me?”

Widening my eyes, I twisted my head to face him. “Of course I trust you.”

Rourke’s warm and comforting body was suddenly gone—he was on his feet within seconds. As the hail slammed into the ground all around his, he bent over and scooped me up into his arms. His feet began to pound against the pockmarked dirt as his lithe and impossibly fast body twisted and turned, dodging the furious attack from mother nature.

Up ahead, a small stone building melted into view. Rourke sped straight for it, throwing open the steel-encased door and storming inside just as a heavy, unrelenting rain poured down from the skies above. He heaved in great breaths as he lowered me to the floor, and then turned to latch the door behind us.

All I could do was stare at him. Rourke, as it turned out, was impossibly fast. I’d seen flashes of it before but never like this. The way he could move…my eyes slid down the back of him, and I gasped. From where he’d been protecting me, he’d taken a heavy beating from the hail. The ice had sliced through his cloak, as well as the shirt underneath. Blood was smeared everywhere, so much so that it was impossible tell just how badly he’d been wounded.

I stood on shaky legs and crossed to where he was bent over, his forehead pressed against the hard stone wall. “Rourke. You’re hurt.”

“I know. But at least you’re safe.”

My heart flickered, and I reached out to place a timid hand on his shoulder. I expected him to flinch. He always did. But not this time.

“My safety is not more important than yours.” I took a small step closer. “Please let me look at your wounds.”

He stiffened and shook his head. “I know what you want to do, and the answer is no. I remember what happened when you healed Kael. It made you impossibly weak, Norah. You’ve already put yourself in danger enough because of me.”

Oh, Rourke.

“At least let me clean your back,” I said. “The normal way. No magic allowed.”

For a long moment, I didn’t think he would agree. But his body had began to tremble, a sign that he wasn’t as immune to his wounds as he wanted me to think. Rain had soaked through all our clothes, and a chill had come along with the storm. His wounds needed some attention, or things were going to get a lot worse.

“Okay. Just cleaning though.” He pushed away from the wall and eased down onto a burlap canvas that was spread across the floor. With trembling fingers, I leaned over him, carefully pulling his matted shirt away from his back.

He flinched, but that was the only sign of pain. His back, on the other hand, told a far different story than the calm, controlled expression on his face. He’d been cut—badly—in at least three places. I used his shirt to gently wipe away some of the blood, but the wounds kept pouring, no longer how many times I dabbed them dry.

“Rourke,” I began.

“Norah, don’t.” He leaned up on his elbow to face me, his golden chest glistening under the pale light streaming in from outside. I know what you’re going to say, but you can’t.”

“I don’t think we really have a choice here. You’re losing a lot of blood. If I don’t stop it, things are going to get a lot worse.”

I didn’t know how worse exactly. I wasn’t a doctor. I didn’t know how this kind of thing worked. Would he pass out first? Would he be able to walk? Or would he just…slowly fade away if we didn’t stop the bleeding? I’d never read a manual on this kind of thing. All I knew was, nonstop, profuse bleeding would lead to terrible things.

Before he could make another argument, I placed my hands on Rourke’s skin. He stiffened, and his eyes went round. When he finally spoke, his voice was rough. “Norah.”

I closed my eyes and breathed heavily through my nose, sucking in the leafy scent of him. Healing was never easy. It had consequences. The magic of world demanded a price. It required energy and life, just not the life of the one being healed. The magic wanted mine. I zeroed my thoughts in on Rourke, focusing my mind on the horrible gorges on his back. Heat poured down my arms and pooled into my hands. I whispered something out loud, but I didn’t know what.

And then the heat left me. It entered Rourke, fleeing from my very soul. Sucking me dry. Leaving me with nothing….but darkness.

* * *

My head felt split in two when I awoke to the sight of an ancient stone ceiling and the roaring sound of rain and thunder. Firelight danced along the walls, and I groaned as I pushed myself up from the floor.

Rourke was sitting just beside my feet, his back—now free of marks—curved as he drew aimless circles into dusty floor. He glanced up when he heard me move, his eyes sad and hollow.

“You should rest,” he said quietly. “It’s going to take some time for you to recover from that.”

“You seem angry.”

A heavy sigh. “Anger is the wrong emotion for what I feel. I asked you not to heal me, Norah. The last thing I want is to cause you pain, and now look. I can see you’re in physical grief from the look in those eyes of yours.”

“It’s just a headache.” I winced when my skull throbbed. Okay, so it was a bad one at that, but I didn’t want him to feel guilty for my pain. “Besides, it was my choice. I couldn’t very well let you bleed out all over the floor.”

I pressed my hands harder against the floor when a new wave of pain shot through my skull. Shivers followed soon after, engulfing my wet skin. Rourke frowned when he saw me shaking, and he was by my side within an instant, cradling the back of my head.

“You need to rest,” he said, more insistently this time. His eyes flicked over my body as he frowned. “You’re shaking. Are you cold?”

“Well, we did get caught in a downpour,” I tried to joke, but the words came out through clenched, chattering teeth.

“Right. We need to get you out of those clothes.”

My cheeks flushed, though that did little to chase away the chill. “Do what now?”

His hand trailed down my neck and pressed against the damp shirt that was clinging to my skin. “Your clothes are soaked through. It’s only making it worse. We need to get you out of these clothes and wrapped up in one of these pieces of burlap. I can try to add some more fuel to the fire. Heat things up in here.”

“No.” The word popped out of my mouth before I could stop it. “I’m…embarrassed.”

Rourke’s eyes softened, and he shifted closer to me. “Norah, you don’t need to be embarrassed in front of me.”

“I just…” I blushed, hating that my thoughts were betraying me like this. “What if you don’t like what you see?”

His palm cupped my cheek. “Is that what you worry? Oh, Norah. There is absolutely no chance I would ever not like what I see, not when it comes to you. You are the most breathtaking female I’ve ever seen in all my years in this realm. No one has ever caught my eye before. No one has ever made me constantly imagine ways in which I can get her alone.”

He took my hand and pressed it to his chest. Underneath my fingertips, I could hear his heart beating wildly, almost as fast as my own.

With gentle fingers, he reached down and lifted my shirt from my damp skin, pulling it over my head and tossing into the corner of the building. I shivered underneath his gaze and at the heady spark in his eyes. He smiled and traced a line down the center of my chest, making me tremble at the strange ache that began to grow within my core.

He stood and motioned for me to follow. Swallowing hard, I pressed up from the floor and held my body still as he slid my pants down my legs. Next came my underwear and my bra, and then he removed all his clothes, until there was nothing between us but air. My chest heaved, and my body quaked. Rourke’s hands slipped around my back and caressed my shoulders, my butt, my thighs.

Desire shot through me like a comet. I let out a soft moan and leaned against him. His lips caught mine, and the heat of him almost took my breath away. Our limbs entwined as his tongue explored my mouth, teasing me and tasting me and driving me wild with a need I’d never felt in all the years of my life.

With a heavy groan, he pushed me back onto the burlap and pressed his slick body on top of mine. I spread my legs, hooking my ankle around his thigh. The hard length of him pressed against me. He was so close, so agonisingly close. I arched my back and pressed myself harder against him. An ache built inside me so much that it was painful how much I needed this beautiful fae.

With a shudder, Rourke pulled back and gazed adoringly into my eyes. “Are you certain this is what you want, Norah?”

“I’ve never wanted anything more,” I breathed.

He shuddered again, and then pressed his hardness against my slick thighs. He went slowly and carefully, keeping his eyes locked on mine, as if he wanted to make sure that I enjoyed every second of this moment with him. And oh, I did. The feel of him inside me made the entire world drop away. He was mine, and I was his, and I never wanted this moment to end.

Our hips began to rock together. We crashed into each other, the power of our need growing with each passing beat. As my pleasure began to build, all of the tension in my body began to melt away. My moans grew louder, and my movements faster. I wrapped my arms around Rourke’s golden body and dragged my nails down his back. I was losing myself to him, letting all my inhibitions drop away so that I could experience the full pleasure of Rourke.

As we reached our climax together, Rourke caressed my cheek and dropped his forehead to mine. My heart swelled at what I saw in his eyes. This was more than just lust. This was more than just a passing moment in time. He was my mate. I was certain of it. More certain than I’d ever been of anything in my life.