Bard. That voice. That intensity. She whimpered. “Please. Please, Tor.”
His voice, impossibly, deepened. “Be still.”
She forced herself to hold still, breathing his air, nipples so hard they hurt, her core fluttering around him as his thumb never faltered. She had never been so desperate.
He chuckled against her mouth, and then he started to move. A long, slow glide away, and then another deep thrust back into her. Slow and smooth at first, but then faster, thrusting in heavy drives that left her panting hard.
He pumped into her in a driving rhythm that rocked her body. She was already so close, so desperate. She just needed one more…. His teeth found her nipple and tugged, and everything came together in one blinding, staggering climax. She threw her head back, moaning helplessly as her entire body spasmed around his.
He stayed with her, fingers wrapped in her hair, thumb pressing hard against that throbbing bundle of nerves, never faltering as she rode out her orgasm to the very end. And then, in a smooth glide, he grunted and pulled out, painting her belly with streams of come almost in the same movement.
He pulled her close, their flushed skin locked together as she trembled. They were sweating and sticky and glorious. She wrapped her arms around his back, tucking her head under his chin to listen to the heavy thudding of his heart as it gradually returned to its usual slow rhythm.
He dropped a soft kiss on the top of her head, and she laughed. Sated, and safe, and surrounded by Tor.
Bard. She hadn’t imagined anything could be like that.
He spun her out of the tree and into his arms, knocked his jerkin to the ground and then, still holding her, sank down onto the leather. He leaned his back against the ancient beech with her sitting across his lap, bare legs hanging down over the side of his thigh.
They sat like that, holding each other in the quiet woods, and, despite everything, she felt safe and cared for. Hopeful, even.
Tor dropped another soft kiss onto the top of her head, his arm tight around her shoulders. “Are you warm enough?”
“Yes, thanks. You?”
He chuckled against her hair. “Perfect. Just… perfect.”
She tilted her head back and looked at him. “Why do you sound surprised?”
He huffed out a breath, his eyes dark in the dim light of the wooded hollow. “I didn’t think there was a chance for this.”
Honestly, she hadn’t known if there would be. And she owed him that honesty. “These weeks together—you and me—I wanted… this. But I’ve learned to be careful. Especially of men in uniforms.”
He ran his thumb slowly over her bottom lip. “I wish you’d never been hurt.”
Bard. It was almost too much, his kindness, after the mind-shattering intensity of what they’d shared.
“I’m not… I guess you noticed that wasn’t my first time.”
He grunted, shrugging. “He was a soldier?” he guessed.
“Yes.” She spoke softly. Bard.Was.How could that one word hold such a world of hurt?
“And he left you?”
“In a way. He chose to join the army.” She let out a long, slow breath. She was still overwhelmed and strangely vulnerable, and it was a struggle to keep her voice even. “He died on the border during the war with Brythoria.”
His head fell back against the rough wood behind him. “Gods. I’m sorry.”
Shit. She hadn’t intended for him to feel responsible. Geraint had started the war that sent him there, and good men had died on both sides. “Not your fault,” she murmured gently.
“Maybe not, but I’m still—”
“Don’t be sorry,” she interrupted. “I guess I just never thought I’d find myself with another soldier.” She smiled, trying to lighten the mood. “I’ve avoided all soldiers very successfully until now.”
He chuckled, his arms warm and heavy around her, the sound of his breathing in her ear. Soon they would have to get up. Start making a plan to find Alanna, help the Hawks. But she wanted just one more minute of peace first. One more minute with Tor.
“What do you think it will be like in Tegeingl?” she asked, trying to convince herself that they would easily find the others. That they could free them, if necessary, and then head west like they’d planned. “You promised mountains, but I don’t really know what else to expect.”
