I wrapped my arms around him. “No, why?”
Rowan grunted and looked at my bruised shoulder.
With everything that just went down with Erick, my most recent run-in with Brody, and the weird pull I felt to The Old Fortress, had left my mind.
I took a deep breath. “How do you know every time?” I rubbed just below the injury. “This is getting a little ridiculous.”
Rowan grunted again before taking a deep breath. “At least today, it was definitely a coincidence. I was already on my way over.”
At least today.
Rowan didn’t like to lie. He never told me that, but anyone could see it after spending five minutes in his presence. Something was going on that he didn’t want to talk about.
Rowan dropped onto my couch and shoved his magic into my heat cone. White replaced Erick’s coral.
“A power slave is someone who exists to help another do magic,” Rowan answered my first question, neatly avoiding whatever he was going through. “They either channel raw power into their masters or do whatever magic is needed for them. Remember the guys chained to the motorcycles?”
I bit my lips together and looked down.
“And what the Architect found at The Rooster isn’t much better.” Rowan pulled a TB out of his pocket. The little scorched edge let me know it was definitely mine. “No one should ever take this. Horax was grooming you.” Rowan squeezed my TB, and his knuckles turnedwhite. “I should have known the minute you went into the back that something was wrong, but I didn’t investigate. I made a report and waited for others to act.” His voice grew rough. “Horax was grooming you for slavery, Q-tip.”
I shivered and reached for my neck as the ice cold of the collar from my journey here made itself known once more. My journey here. Not a scenario. The spots on my lower back ached.
The blood drained out of Rowan’s face. He stepped forward and put his hand over mine, still resting on my neck.
“Q…” he whispered the letter before crushing his lips to mine.
My thoughts melted.
Rowan’s kiss started soft, exploratory, until the hunger between us ignited. One hand slid down my back, deliberate and possessive, settling right where I ached. His touch didn’t just soothe; it claimed. I had no idea what I was doing, but it didn’t matter. Rowan knew exactly what he wanted, and he took it.
His mouth molded to mine, stealing my breath, sending heat surging through me in throbbing waves. My pulse stuttered as he pulled me flush against him, his tongue tracing the seam of my lips, slow and suggestive. He did it again, coaxing, and I realized he was waiting… asking.
When I parted my lips, he groaned, a low, shuddering sound that vibrated against my skin. Everything unraveled.
There was no one else. Just Rowan’s hands on my body, his mouth on mine, and the dizzying, overwhelming truth that nothing had ever felt this good. Not even close.
Rowan pulled back, making the space between us feel empty. He guided me to the couch before grabbing two of Erick’s fancy hand-blown glass cups from my kitchenette. He poured out two measures of whatever Erick had been drinking and joined me on the couch.
Thought finally seeped back in.
“That was my first kiss,” I said to the glass I didn’t remember taking out of his hand.
My cheeks burned with embarrassment.
Rowan captured my chin and kissed me again, this one soft and playful. I loved it so much I almost spilled the liquor.
“Horax could’ve taken you, Q-tip.” Rowan ran his big hands up my back, cupping the back of my neck and back down, as if he needed reassurance of my physical presence. “I don’t even want to think about that.”
I studied the blue edging of my glass before taking a sip. The first taste burned; however, a sweet apple-honeysuckle washed away the fire, leaving me with a cool, tingling sensation.
Rowan ran his hand up my back and cupped my neck before bringing our foreheads together. “Please, baby, please stop doing everything alone.” His gaze hardened. “What you owed Horax was a drop in the bucket for Everly. Brit would have beaten the shit out of the staff and taken your TB by force. Commander Ezra and I could have raided the place the next day.”
My stomach twisted, and my eyes filled with tears. “I wanted to fix it. I didn’t want to be anyone’s problem... a burden, again.”
Rowan released my neck, and I leaned back.
“I’ll say it as many times as you need to hear it. You’re not a burden. You’re neither of those things.” Rowan raised a single finger and pressed it to my lips. “Problems are situations and broken weapons, not people.”
