Page 94 of Storm of Ink and Blood

Being with Rabin was about so much more than the physical coming together of their bodies. It was like the stars aligning and the oceans’ pull, drowning them together in the most exquisite bliss.

She clung to the back of the divan, her knuckles turning white as she pressed herself against him, the slap of flesh and their moans and sighs filling the room.

It took her a moment to register the sound of other voices. Voices that should not be here right now.

Then a door slamming and footsteps.

“Shit!” Zarya said. “Row’s back. Get off me!”

She swatted Rabin from behind. “Stop it!”

Zarya clambered over the back of the divan, folding into a ball on the floor, her arms wrapped around her midsection. She willed herself to peer over the edge, and just as Rabin was tucking himself back into his pants, Row and Koura rounded the corner.

“Great news, we⁠—”

Row stopped, his eyes widening as they jumped between Zarya and Rabin. There was no conceivable way they couldn’t figure out exactly what they’d interrupted. Zarya’s head felt like it was about to explode with mortification as Row’s gaze continued darting between them, at a loss for words for once in his life. He cleared his throat and shook his head.

“We’ll just… meet you in the kitchen.”

Then he turned around, bumping into Koura in his haste. Koura stepped aside and smirked. He winked and gave them both a wide smile before he turned to follow Row.

When they were gone, Zarya sank to the floor on her knees, covering her head with her arms. “Oh my gods. Please let this carpet swallow me up whole. I can never look at either of them again.”

She heard Rabin chuckle and looked up to find him peering over the divan, dangling her leggings and underwear from a finger.

“Would you like these?”

She glared, snatching her clothes before she sat up and tugged them on.

“Oh my gods. Oh my gods,” she continued whispering to herself, wishing she would melt into a puddle and ooze out the door.

Rabin sat with his arm on the back of the divan, looking like he didn’t have a care in the world.

“It’s not that bad,” he said, and she glared again.

“Not that bad? Row just walked in on us having sex! He heard me…” She rubbed a hand down her face. “How can I ever look at him again?”

“You are a grown woman, and surely he knows you’ve had sex.”

She finished yanking on her leggings with a flourish. “That is not the point.”

Then, she sucked in a deep breath and stared at the doorway where Koura and Row had been standing a moment earlier.

She threw her shoulders back and strode towards the exit before she looked back at Rabin, who couldn’t seem to contain his amusement. Maybe she’d just pretend like nothing had happened.

Gods, how could anyone pretend nothing had happened?

She cleared her throat and shook out her hair. “Let’s get this over with,” she said before she marched out of the room.

Rabin watched Zarya retreat into the kitchen, unable to control his smile and refusing to feel ashamed for what was a perfectly natural thing to do. He tugged on the crotch of his pants, lamenting the fact that he hadn’t had the chance to finish, or more importantly, the chance to finish Zarya. He’d be sure to correct that later.

Low voices from the kitchen forced him up from his seat. Row was hardly his biggest fan, and this wouldn’t help matters. But Zarya’s guardian would have to accept that he was a part of her life.

He sauntered into the kitchen, where he found her seated with Row and Koura. They all glared at him as he pulled up a chair and dropped into it. He shrugged it off. This was the sort of treatment he was familiar with.

He noticed Zarya’s cheeks turn red again as she cleared her throat and then started to speak in an unnaturally high voice. She couldn’t deny it had been exciting having sex somewhere they might get caught. Rabin vowed to get her to admit it, and maybe they could try that again.

“As I was wondering, when do you think would be a good time to access the library?” Zarya asked.