This time I leaned in and pressed my lips to his mouth, kissing him deeply. We had done our duty to our people. We were owed this moment, no matter how brief it might be. Without breaking the kiss, Rowe scooped me up in his arms and carried me out of the stream to gently lay me down on the soft earth of the bank. He pulled back and looked at me laying beneath him in the pale moonlight. My black wings were thrown out to either side, like two dark glistening sheaths of night, while my pale white body shone like a grounded star. A small sharp pain intruded into the moment from my wounded wing, but I paid it little heed as I focused on him.
“I’ve watched you grow as a warrior,” he said. “I’ve admired your determination and your strength, but I never for a second expected you to be so beautiful.”
Kneeling beside me, careful so his knee did not crush any of the feathers on my wings, he drew his hands slowly over my naked body. His fingertips danced over my thin waist and cupped my breasts, drawing a soft moan out of me as my back arched.
Rowe pulled away from me for a second to remove the last of his clothes and then gently spread my legs so he could kneel between them. My heart pounded in my chest as a mixture of fear and longing raced through my veins. I had never been with a man. I wanted his touch more than I wanted my next breath, and yet at the same time I feared what was about to happen. What if I couldn’t perform as he hoped? What if I disappointed him? What if . . .
Everything will be fine. There was a slight chuckle of amusement lacing his words, but there was also warmth and concern.
His hands resumed their roaming on my body, but this time there was a new sense of urgency. His mouth followed close behind his fingers, washing my body in a series of long wet kisses that left behind a trail of fires. My legs shifted around his waist, pulling him closer to me. His hand finally dipped between my legs as one of his fingers slid deep inside me, wringing a low moan from me in the sound of his name. My body writhed beneath him as he moved his finger slowly in and out of my body.
“I’m trying to take this slowly for you, Nyx, but you’re breaking what little willpower I have,” he said in a rough voice.
In response, I reached out with one hand and slid it down his body until I finally reached his hardened member. My fingertips grazed the tip and his whole body jerked between my legs.
Yes, he hissed in my mind with near desperation.
Rowe put his free hand beside my head, moving his body closer to me so I could more easily reach him. I wrapped my fingers around him, slowly stroking him, drawing a low groan out of him that seemed pulled from his very soul. He was rock hard within my hand and yet the skin was velvety soft. None of his scars reached past his waist, leaving him perfect, but only for me to see.
“I can’t wait any longer,” he moaned as he once again shifted his position between my legs. Grabbing both my wrists, he held them over my head as he slowly guided his body toward the entrance of mine. He pressed slowly inside and then pulled out again, bringing a whimper of need from my throat. I didn’t want slow. I wanted him inside of me. I needed this feeling of desperation to be squashed and his body deep inside of mine.
“Rowe,” I moaned, shifting beneath him in an attempt to press more of him inside of my body.
“You’re going to be the death of me,” he groaned before plunging deep inside me. There was a flash of pain as my body struggled to expand enough to accommodate his size. He paused, unmoving inside me, as he leaned down and kissed me. His tongue swept through my mouth until I was moaning again. It was only then that he started moving, sending the first waves of pleasure through my body.
“Release my hands,” I pleaded, squirming beneath him as I raised my hips to meet each of his thrusts. It took me only a second to catch his rhythm, driving a fresh moan from his body.
Rowe forced out a chuckle and shook his head, sending his long black hair cascading around his face. “If you start touching me, I’ll lose what little control I do have.”
“I need to touch you, Rowe.” My breathing grew heavier and my eyes closed as I concentrated on the feeling building between my legs. “Rowe?” I said in a fractured voice.
“Just let it come,” he whispered in a husky voice. At the same time, he picked up his speed, pounding inside of me a little harder. He released my wrists and let his hands sweep down my flushed body. Each touch only added to the feeling, until the dam finally seemed to break. A scream was ripped from my throat and my body arched beneath him. Muscles clenched around him as he slid in and out of me, sending fresh waves of pleasure through my frame.
As the last ripples of pleasure ran through my frame, Rowe let out a low groan. I could feel him expanding within me before he finally exploded with a gush. He fell forward, his hands on either side of my head as he finally grew still inside me. His breathing was heavy and a bead of sweat trickled down from his temple. A slow grin grew across his face as he leaned down and pressed a slow kiss against my lips.
“So that’s what sex is like,” I murmured, feeling completely relaxed.
“You haven’t been missing much,” Rowe teased, kissing me again before slowly pulling his body out of mine.
I sat up as he sat beside me, flexing my wings. The pain was gone from my right wing completely, allowing me to slowly and carefully dissolve them into a fine black dust. I reached across and touched his arm with my fingers, drawing him out of thought. I wasn’t sure what this meant between us, if things had changed forever or if this had simply been a release of built-up tension.
“Things are different,” he admitted.
“Do you just live in my thoughts?” I demanded, pinching his arm.
A crooked smile lifted his lips as he looked over at me. “That time I wasn’t in your mind. It was just a guess because I was wondering the same thing. Things are different between us now. I’m not sure what’s going to happen, but I do know that I’m not going to let you out of my sight. Unfortunately, for now, we have a new duty before us.”
“Cynnia,” I murmured.
“And the defeat of Aurora. We can’t be free until Aurora is gone.”
“I know. You’re right.”
Rowe reached over and took my chin between two fingers, turning my face toward him. “But that doesn’t mean we can’t steal a few moments to ourselves when we can.”
I smiled as I leaned in and pressed another kiss to his lips, my fingers straying across the scars that crisscrossed his beautiful face. The Fire Starter was right. There was something evil about this one-eyed naturi, but I welcomed that sinister grin and his nimble fingers.
We finished dressing but lingered by the side of the stream, watching fractured bits of moonlight dance across the water as it splashed within its banks. We talked softly of our time apart, of the years that had passed, separated on two different worlds. Unfortunately, there was one reoccurring thought eating at my mind. I was reluctant to bring it up and spoil our companionable moment but afraid that it had a bearing on what we faced.
“What happened to Nerian?” I found myself softly asking when a long silence settled between us.
“The Fire Starter killed him.”
“I know how he died, but I am more concerned with how my brother lived. I spoke with a couple survivors of the first trip to Machu Picchu those many years ago. They told me how Nerian tortured Mira, and deep in my heart I can’t fault her for wanting revenge.”
“If you’re going to pity Mira, then you should know that Nerian wasn’t alone in her torture,” Rowe stiffly said, looking over at me with a stern expression. “We needed her to be our protection when the nightwalkers came. And as it turns out, we needed her more when it came to opening the door.”
“I know about your role in Mira’s torture as well,” I replied in a soothing voice. “You and I are no different in the duties we’ve had to fulfill during our long lives. However, the others spoke of the twisted joy that Nerian took in Mira’s torture.”