Ma nodded approvingly, then waved me off. “Go on, then. I have plenty to do here.”
Chuckling, I found the movie room down the hall, Rowan’s sweet scent growing as I got closer.
“Rowan?” I called out, knocking gently on the door.
She was on the large sectional, wrapped up in several blankets. So many, in fact, that I almost didn’t see her, but my greeting drew her head up from the pile, confirming there was actually a person in there.
“Got enough blankets?” I laughed, nodding at the mound she’d created.
“Never!” she growled, feigning offense. “What do you want?”
“To provide a peace offering.”
I tossed the bag of candy onto her lap. It landed amid the many folds of blankets that surrounded her. It took her a minute, but Rowan pulled out the bag, her jaw dropping as her brows hit the roof.
“Oh my God! Where did you get these?” If I didn’t know any better, I’d have thought I gave her diamonds.
Grinning, I cocked my head. “Little birdie told me you like sour candy.”
Rowan narrowed her eyes at me, but not for longer than a second. She was on a mission to open the candy. Then she stuffed several pieces into her mouth, groaning as her eyes closed. The sound was… And I couldn’t look away. Eating sour candy, of all things, wasn’t supposed to be an arousing experience, and yet there she was.
My mind went to all sorts of dark places. I trailed my gaze from her face to the exposed skin of her shoulders, the tank top she wore doing little to hide her from me. I could imagine pushing those flimsy straps down. As if I had controlled it, one slipped down as she leaned back to pour more candy into her mouth.
That’s when I saw it.
Somewhat iridescent and raised in a chaotic pattern, dragon fire scar tissue crept up Rowan’s chest. There was no mistaking it. That dragon I’d been fighting to control bellowed in my head, my blood running cold.
It was clear as day. Rowan had been burned by dragon fire. But who?
“Are you going to stand there, or can I get back to my movie?”
I jerked to life, shaking myself as her words hit me. “Sorry. Enjoy the flick, Rowan. I… I just wanted to say something.”
“I’m listening,” she said, biting off a piece of sour candy that would turn her tongue blue.
“I’m sorry.”
Her movements paused. “For?” she asked after a moment.
“Everything?” I shrugged. “How I behaved when you got here? That… that wasn’t me. I hate that your first impression of me was so violent.”
Rowan nodded, not meeting my eye. “I know it was just instincts and all that crap.”
“No.” I gently grabbed her elbow so she couldn’t turn away. “Instincts played a part in it, but I should have had better control of myself. It’s unacceptable. I’m ashamed I hurt a member of my horde. Even though Griff is fully planning to make me pay in his own way, I will spend the rest of my life indebted to him for everything he’s done and put up with.”
“He’s going to be smug about that for years,” Rowan giggled lightly, finally meeting my eye.
“He will,” I nodded in confirmation. “But there’s no way I can truly make it up to you. You’re my mate, my instinct is to protect you and instead I terrified you.” My emotions were pummeling me now I was laying my feelings out on the table, and I was starting to choke up.
“Orsen…”
“I just want you to understand that I will do whatever it takes to make this work, even if that means leaving you alone. We failed you six years ago, Emmeline. I failed you.”
“You didn’t…”
“We did.” I insisted. “Someone hurt you, and we weren’t there to protect you.”
I may not have known the details, but our failure was pretty obvious.
