She wiped the sweat from her brow, staring over his shoulder. “’Tis merely the Wolf Feeders,” she managed. But Rey’s expression told her he didn’t believe her in the slightest.
His sword swung low, and she danced back with not a heartbeat to spare. Rey moved into one of their routines, his movements so swift, she could only duck his blows. “You can keep lying,” he said, driving her back, “or, you could tell me the truth.” Silla’s spine hit the wall of the shield-house. There was nowhere to go.
She swallowed, trying to decide what to say. But Rey beat her to it.
“You want to know my truth?” he asked, that deep voice soft and rough all at once. “Today I was unsettled.” He ran his tongue along his teeth. “I couldn’t feel my galdur. I thought I might have lost it forever.” A look of discomfort crossed his face. “And I did what I always do. I kept everyone out and weathered it alone.”
His gaze landed on her, pinning her in place. “I’m not used to letting people in,” he admitted. “And I’m not used to voicing my…sentiments.” His lip curled up in obvious distaste.
The tension in Silla’s stomach eased just a touch.
“I should have considered you might take my behavior to mean something else.” His hand found her waist, skimming along her back. “Let me make this clear to you, Silla. There is nothing uncertain in how I want you.”
She could not look away from the intensity of his gaze.
“It’s the most maddeningly certain I’ve ever felt. I want you all the time. I want youeverywhere. It’s become a real problem.”
Her stomach rolled and flipped, heart pounding in her chest.
Rey put one hand on the wall, leaning down toward her. Even in the dimming light, his eyes were scalding hot. “I wanted you on Longest Day when you came out in that dress,” he said, voice ragged. “I wanted you when youpushed me across the field on the way to Kraki’s. I wanted you when you killed the vampire deer, when you blackmailed me, even when you tried to steal my gods damned horse. I’ve wanted you since the night you stormed up to me and told me I couldn’t frighten you away. That was it for me, Sunshine.”
Where tension had once weighted them, her limbs now felt light as air. Silla stumbled over her words, but her mind didn’t seem to be working.
Rey leaned closer, his breath mingling with hers. “And now that I’ve had you, it’s only worsened. I cannot stop thinking about this morning. How glad I am you were brave enough for the both of us. The disbelief that you might possibly want me as I want you.” Vulnerability flashed on his face, but it was quickly chased away by a look of pure hunger. “Are we clear now?”
Breathlessly, she nodded.
“Good.” His hand skimmed up her spine, coming to rest on her nape. “Because in my mind’s eye, I’ve had you naked and spread out before me on every surface of the shield-home. Have done the most wicked things to you.”
Silla stared into his gold-flecked eyes. Swallowed her worry.
“Show me,” Silla heard herself whisper.
And before her mind could follow, Rey had hefted her into his arms and was kicking the shield-home’s door open.
Chapter Fifty-Two
Rey thanked the gods as he carried her into the shield-home.
His day had been disorienting. The empty space where his source should lie had been a void in his chest. And though Rey often bragged that nerves were a wasted emotion, he could not help the worry that had gripped him. What if it didn’t return? Who was he without his galdur? Without his work for the Uppreisna?
At the first faint glimmer of the heart of his magic, he’d exhaled a long breath. Had shaken the tension from his bones. Unsettled didn’t even begin to describe his mood. Losing his galdur had shaken him to his core.
It had taken him far too long to realize what he’d done. She’d trusted him with her body. Had been brave enough to open herself up to him. And he, the eelhead that he was, had run from the bed. Had shut her out all day.
Now holding her in his arms, that certainty was back. This was right. She was right.
He felt her surprise as he paused by the long table. Transferring her to one arm, he swept the dishes onto the floor with the other. Wooden plates bounced, clay cups shattered, cutlery and candlesticks clanging.
“What—”
“I want you here,” he muttered, setting her down and finding the hem of her tunic. “Right on this table.”
“You can have me anywhere,” she breathed, lifting her arms so he could yank hertunic overhead.
His hands found her braid and pulled until her back arched. “I want youeverywhere,” he whispered into her skin, dragging his nose along the underside of her breast. “I want you all the time.”
Silla moaned, and he felt the sound straight down to his cock.
