Thane bent over him, chest pressed to Riven’s back, and whispered into his ear, “Say it louder.”
“I’m yours,” Riven moaned, voice ragged. “Yours. Always.”
Thane’s rhythm faltered—just for a second—before he rammed into him one last time and came, hips jerking, breath caught in his throat.
He stayed like that for a long moment, buried deep, cock twitching as he spilled inside Riven. Then with careful hands, he pulled out, turned Riven over, and stared down at him.
“You still think I started it?” he asked.
Riven, flushed and shaking and thoroughly wrecked, grinned up at him. “You definitely finished it.”
Thane laughed once, and leaned down to kiss him again—this time slow, almost tender.
Almost.
But Thane wasn’t finished. He dropped to his knees without a word, dragging Riven to the edge of the bed by his thighs. His eyes flicked up once, heavy with heat and possession, before he wrapped his mouth around Riven’s flushed, desperate cock. Riven let out a choked moan, head falling back as Thane sucked him deep, no preamble, no mercy. He was too sensitive, too raw, his body already trembling—but Thane didn’t let up. He worked him with practiced greed, tongue flicking over the head, one hand pinning Riven’s hip while the other slid between his thighs to tease at his sore, leaking hole. The touch made Riven buck and cry out, the sharp edge of overstimulation melting into unbearable pleasure. It didn’t take long. He came hard, hips jerking, spilling down Thane’s throat—and Thane swallowed it all, never breaking eye contact, never letting up until Riven collapsed against the mattress, boneless and shaking.
Thane rose slowly, wiping the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand. His expression had shuttered again, the raw heat gone, replaced by steel. He looked down at Riven, sprawled out and panting, marked and wrecked and thoroughly used, and yet his voice was measured when he spoke.
“I have no use for a pet who doesn’t listen,” he said quietly, but the warning in his tone scraped like a blade along Riven’s spine. “And even less for one who doesn’t recognize the danger they’re in—who thinks rebellion is some petty game.”
Riven didn’t answer. He wasn’t sure he could. His mouth was parted, lungs still dragging in ragged breaths, but his eyes stayed locked on Thane.
Thane tucked himself back into his pants with crisp, practiced movements, as though he hadn’t just lost control of himself completely. As though Riven weren’t still dripping onto the sheets.
“I gave you one command,” Thane said, adjusting his cuffs. “And you disobeyed.”
Then, without another word, he turned and walked out, the door shutting hard behind him. The silence left in his wake was deafening.
Riven lay there, aching in every way, the sting on his ass fading slow as the weight of what had just happened settled over him.
And even then, part of him still wanted more, a part that was far bigger than it had any right to be.
Chapter 38
The summons came just after sunset. Riven had barely managed to shove food into his mouth before a House runner found him, breathless and wide-eyed.“Maris wants you in the ready room, now.”
He didn’t expect the spike of adrenaline. He covered it with a sneer, tossed the last bit of toast onto the plate, and stood. By the time he reached the ready room, the edge of anticipation had dulled into wariness.
The moment he stepped inside, the room confirmed all of his worst suspicions.
It was full of strangers.
Not Thane. Not Cassian or Luca. No familiar faces. Just the sleek, grim efficiency of soldiers he didn’t know—tight black gear, quiet eyes. In the corner, Caerel stood in a tailored coat, scrolling through a thin datapad and murmuring to Maris, who barely looked up at Riven’s entrance.
Riven stopped cold, eyes sweeping the space again. “Where’s Thane?”
Caerel looked up at him. “He won’t be on this mission.”
Riven’s stomach knotted. “Why?”
Caerel clicked off the datapad and stepped forward. “Because the Matriarch has decided I’ll lead it. Orders are orders, andthe House follows them. Even Thane.” A wry smile touched the corners of his mouth, but didn’t reach his eyes. “Disappointed?”
The honest answer was yes. The idea of returning to the Seam without Thane behind him—to catch him by the collar if things went sideways, to bark a word and clear a path—felt like walking into the heart of a storm without a coat. But that made Riven furious, too. He’d survived years in worse places, carved a life out of gutter instincts and sharp reflexes. What the hell had Thane done to him, that the thought of going in solo felt like falling?
He bit down the emotion. “I just thought since I was the one who saw her at the edge of the property, Thane would want to follow through.”
Caerel’s expression flickered, just briefly. “He’s not pleased. But he knows better than to defy the Matriarch in the open.”
