Rook's eyes flashed with something feral. "Careful what you wish for."
He pulled back and thrust forward hard enough to make me see stars. I cried out, pleasure and pain blurring together as he set a punishing rhythm, each powerful drive of his hips sending shockwaves through my body.
My hands scrabbled for purchase on the smooth floor, finding nothing to grip as he fucked me with single-minded intensity. The wolf was fully present now, all primal need and dominant claiming.
"Touch yourself," Rook ordered, his voice strained with exertion. "I want to watch you fall apart."
I wrapped my hand around my cock, stroking in time with his thrusts. The dual sensation was overwhelming, my body caught between the rough friction of my own hand andthe perfect pressure of him hitting that spot inside me with devastating accuracy.
"That's it," Rook's hands gripped my hips hard enough to bruise. "Show me."
The pleasure built impossibly high, tension coiling tighter in my core. When Rook shifted angles slightly, hitting that spot dead-on, I came with a shout, my release coating my stomach and chest in thick ropes.
The sight of me coming undone beneath him pushed Rook over the edge. He drove deep one final time, his body shuddering as he filled me, his howl of completion rattling the windows.
We collapsed together on the floor, both breathing hard, slick with sweat and satisfied in ways that went beyond physical.
"Well," I managed after my breathing returned to normal, "that was unexpected."
Rook propped himself on one elbow, looking down at me with an expression that could have been soft. "You okay?"
"Better than okay," I reached up to touch his jaw, feeling the rough stubble there. "That was fucking incredible."
His lips curved into a genuine smile, rare and beautiful. "Yeah. It was."
We lay there in companionable silence, neither in a hurry to move despite the uncomfortable floor. Eventually, Rook shifted, withdrawing carefully before helping me sit up.
"We should clean up before someone finds us like this," he gestured to our disheveled state.
"Probably wise," I agreed, though I made no move to stand. "Though after today's paperwork incident, I think our dignity is already shot."
Rook actually laughed at that, the sound warm and unexpected. He stood, offering me his hand. I accepted, letting him pull me to my feet.
"This doesn't change anything with Winter," Rook spoke as he pulled his shirt back on. "Or the others."
"I know," I nodded. "But it changes things between us."
"Yeah," he met my eyes, a hint of his usual gruffness softening. "It does."
We cleaned up in silence, restoring order to the living room. By the time we finished, dawn was beginning to lighten the sky outside. Rook returned to his position by the door, but the tension that usually defined his posture had eased somewhat.
I settled back into my chair, picking up my book again. But this time, when our eyes met across the room, there was understanding there. Connection.
The Harbinger belongs to all, I thought, remembering the ancient ward's proclamation. Including, apparently, each other.
Chapter
Fifty-Two
Winter
Iwoke sandwiched between warm bodies, cocooned in a way that made my heart swell before my brain fully engaged. Milo's curls tickled my nose on one side, his lean frame curved against me with one arm thrown across my waist. On my other side, Fenric's breath ghosted rhythmically across my shoulder, his usually rigid posture softened in sleep, one hand resting possessively on my hip.
Sunlight streamed through the bedroom window, painting everything gold. The blue markings on my skin pulsed gently, content in a way they rarely were when I was awake. Even the Oracle's mark on my forehead felt quiet, dormant rather than demanding.
I allowed myself this moment. Just breathing. Just being held. Memorizing the weight of Milo's arm, the heat of Fenric's palm, the safety of being wanted by men who had seen me at my worst and chose to stay anyway.
Fenric stirred first, his silver-blue eyes opening slowly. When they focused on me, something soft and unguarded flickered across his face before his usual composure reasserted itself.
