my hips, keeping me pinned as his hands pressed down on my shoulders. And though I struggled to catch my breath, I never stopped struggling underneath him.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the dagger. It was close. I reached for it when he leaned down over me, my fingertips brushing the handle.
“Not quick enough, kalles,” he murmured. He bent his head close, his eyes flickering down to my lips.
There. I’d dragged the blade close enough with the edge of my middle finger and I snagged it quickly.
“You want a kiss for your victory, Vorakkar?” I whispered, quirking my brows.
His eyes flashed, desire firing in his gaze, and he lowered his lips, intent to claim just that.
But right before his lips touched mine, I whipped the dagger’s edge up to his throat, hovering just above his flesh.
Every muscle in his body tightened. His nostrils flared wide as he looked down at me in surprise.
Grinning, breathing hard, I whispered, “Maybe I get the victory kiss this time.”
Arokan growled. “Then take it, kalles.”
My grip on the blade loosened and I dragged him down, my free hand threading through his thick hair, as I took his lips in an almost angry kiss. I poured all my frustration, all my need into that kiss.
He met me head on, devouring me until my head spun, sucking on my tongue in a way where I felt it between my legs. I grew hot and wet for him in no time at all. The blade fell from my hand to the ground beside me and Arokan repositioned himself so I could spread my legs wide.
With a grunt, while I scrambled to untie the laces of his hide pants, he pushed up the short skirt I’d allowed Mirari and Lavi to dress me in that morning—and I thanked all the deities in the universe for that fortunate decision right then.
I gasped when he slid inside me with a rough thrust, my fingers gripping his shoulders as his head came to rest against the column of my neck.
It was rough and fast and primal. It was exactly what we both needed, to release the tension that had building for the better part of an hour, ever since we started the training session.
And when I came, I bit into his shoulder to conceal my scream, lest the guards come running. Arokan, on the other hand, couldn’t hide his roar of pleasure and it echoed around the forest, ringing in my ears, as he emptied himself inside me.
Afterwards, I laughed, laying in his arms as we recovered.
“Neffar?” he asked, his tone husky and lazy and content. That orgasm had stolen all the fight right out of him.
It was amazing what sex could do, how it made me feel. The past few days with Arokan had been…spectacular. Consuming. I’d felt like I was in this happy daze as I walked around camp, as if nothing could dampen my mood, not even my duty at the pyroki enclosure or whenever I happened to catch sight of Hukan’s glares.
“I was just wondering if the guards heard,” I teased, pressing my cheek against his shoulder.
Arokan grunted. “They have heard worse around camp. I assure you.”
I shook my head, still grinning. Looking up, I saw a million stars twinkling through the canopy of the forest. The dark, black trees towered overhead and if I was with anyone but Arokan, I might find them eerie and frightening. But right then, they were beautiful against the even more beautiful backdrop of the inky sky.
I sighed in contentment, feeling his arm tighten around me, and I squirmed closer when a cool breeze chilled the sweat from our activities on my skin.
“You did well tonight,” he praised softly. “You reminded me of something. That until the very last moment, there is always an opportunity to change your fate.”
“That was lucky,” I commented, my cheeks heating.
“Nik, do not dismiss it, Luna,” he told me. “You distracted me. You did not give up. And you waited until the opportune moment, luring me into a more comprising, vulnerable position so that my throat would be easier to cut.”
My belly fluttered. Though we were discussing a kill strike, one might think he was baring his entire soul to me with how breathless I felt.
“You feel comfortable with the blade?” he asked me next, quietly.
Because of my mother, he meant.
He remembered that and it touched me that he thought to ask.
“It’ll take some getting used to,” I admitted to him. “But it was