My hand slams into the dirt, grounding me as I throw my head back and roar into the storm above. Lightning rips the sky, thunder trembling through the air as the rain continues.
I shudder, spilling inside her, every pulse, every violent thrust feeding the chaos in my chest.
“Take it,” I growl. “Take all of it. Every single drop. I want you full of my cum for days.”
I tilt my head back, breath heaving, eyes locked on the stars scattered above us like broken glass. The storm has finally passed, but the sky burns bright—and for the first time in what feels like forever, there’s silence in my mind.
She did that. She gave me that.
I pull out slowly, the heat of her still clinging to my skin, my cock still hard, twitching with the need to take her again. But that can wait.
We have been out here long enough, and the last thing she needs is to catch a cold.
I’m thoughtful like that.
I lift her effortlessly into my arms, and she lets out a soft, breathless protest, half defiance, half amusement, and I can't help the dark laugh that rumbles from my chest.
“Don’t even try to sass me, little witch,” I kiss her temple. “I’m not done with you. Not even close.”
I carry her towards the cottage, already picturing her pinned against the shower wall, water running over her perfect body as I fuck her again. And again. And again—until neither of us can stand, until our bodies are too wild, too spent to know where I end and she begins.
Then we’ll talk.
Maybe.
Chapter 24
RAVENA
After what felt like hours, Malrik finally let me leave the bedroom—my legs barely working, my body humming from far too many orgasms to count. He did exactly what he always does: dragged me out of my own mind, drowned me in sensation, and made me forget about the world for a while.
But now he’s downstairs making the potion to unlock my magic, there’s an ache setting in. Something doesn’t feel right.
My stomach twists uncomfortably. My chest is tight—and it’s not from exhaustion… It’s from something else.
Something's wrong.
I am so worried about Ronan. But as long as he listens to Kieran and stays away for now while Vesperas is out for blood, he should be safe.
I miss him.
I miss the quiet way he wraps his arms around me, like I’m something delicate he needs to protect. I miss the way his voice lifts when he talks about baking—his excitement over flour and sugar and the next ridiculous recipe he wants me to try. I even miss his awful impressions, especially the really terrible ones that make me ugly laugh.
The way I care about him… it snuck up on me. I didn’t plan for it, didn’t want it—but here it is, lodged under my skin like a blade I don’t know how to pull out. And the way he looks at me like I’msomething good, something worth choosing—that’s the part that scares me the most.
Because he doesn’t know.
He doesn’t know the truth I’ve had to live with. The secret I’ve buried so deep I sometimes forget. The only person who knew was my mother, and she’s gone now, because of me.
As I step into the bedroom, the early morning light spills through the windows, casting pale gold across the room. It's colder than it should be—and then I see why.
Darian.
Sitting on my bed like he owns it, dressed head-to-toe in his hunter gear, dark ash blonde hair pulled back in that infuriatingly effortless way. I hate that he looks so good.
He’s not supposed to be here. He’s supposed to be with Ronan and Kieran—anywhere but here with me. Especially not after seeing him with that woman yesterday, letting her paw at him like he belonged to her… and actually looking at her with affection. The complete opposite of how he looks at me.
He used to look at me like I mattered to him.
