Chapter Eighteen
Rolf had given them separate rooms.
Raven tossed on her straw mattress. It wasn’t that it was uncomfortable; she had slept in all sorts of locations that were not restful. Rather, it was knowing that Landyn was on the other side of the wall.
She gazed at the wooden planks where his room adjoined hers. The boards separating them were dusky without gaps. Was Landyn sleeping peacefully? Was he tossing? Was he thinking of her?
She crossed her arms in annoyance and pouted. Of course, he wasn’t thinking of her! She was foolish to think he was. She was foolish even towanthim to be thinking of her. He was going to become a Templar Knight. He couldn’t be thinking of her. And yet…
She boosted herself onto her elbows. He was not a Templar Knight yet. He had not taken the vows. What if hewasthinking of her? And she so desperately wanted to be with him. Just once to know what being held in his arms was like, what his body felt like.
Heat burned through her. And before she knew it, she was out of her bed and walking across the room. She opened the door and stepped into the hallway without a second thought. She moved to Landyn’s door and reached for the handle.
Then stopped. What if he didn’t want her?
Suddenly, the door swung open, and he stood there, shirtless. The light from the hallway washed over him, shading him in dark and light. Her mouth became moist, and she found it difficult to breathe.
They stared at each other for a long moment. Words escaped her. She could only stand before him helplessly, breathlessly, and feast on the sight of his magnificent torso and his beckoning lips.
He grabbed her wrist and yanked her into his room, pulling her into his embrace and lowering his mouth to hers in urgency. He kicked the door closed.
His body was fiery and hard as he pressed her against the wall to deepen the kiss.
She had not even paused to put on her armor or braid her hair. She’d come to him in her chemise, her hair wild about her shoulders. But it didn’t matter. The only thing that mattered was feeling. Feeling him, feeling his touch.
He captured her head in his hands and moved his mouth over hers until she parted her lips, and he thrust his tongue forward, sweeping into her mouth, tasting her.
Shivers of desire shot through her body as his tongue explored the recesses of her mouth. Her knees weakened, and she clung to him, an anchor in her swirling world. His shoulders were sturdy and hot beneath her hands.
He trailed kisses along her lips and down her jaw to the base of her throat.
Instinctively, she tilted her head back, exposing her neck to him with an open-mouthed gasp. Her skin flamed beneath his mouth, coming to life with sensations she had never known.
His hands skimmed the sides of her body to the hem of her chemise. He dipped his hand beneath her garment to her bottom and stroked her rounded skin reverently.
An intense need consumed her. The chemise was in the way of feeling him—it was inhibiting her—and she arched her body into him as she lifted the fabric over her head and tossed it aside.
He took a moment to appraise her body with a heated stare.
Her breathing came in ragged gasps, and she reached eagerly for him. He pulled her against him, claiming her lips again with desperate heat.
The tips of her breasts met the firmness of his chest. He was hot and demanding, and she couldn’t focus on anything but her need for him. She wanted him.
His fingers glided over her hips and squeezed her buttocks, pulling her against his hardness. She gasped as he brushed her core.
The sleek caress of his body made her moist with wanting. She pushed him back from her and reached for the strings of his leggings and tugged them open. She shoved them down over his legs, and his manhood sprang free.
Her eyes widened. Willow had told her about this, but she could never have imagined. She touched the tip, marveling at the way he responded with a heady groan.
He imprisoned her against him, capturing her lips in a searing kiss that sent flames through her veins. He turned her and backed her to the mattress, easing her back onto the blanket lying over the mattress. He held her protectively to him, skin to skin until they rested on the blanket. He lifted himself on one arm and trailed a passionate path of kisses to her chest.
She exhaled at the wondrous sensation his lips elicited. Her body was on fire, yet goosebumps covered her skin.
His fingers outlined the tip of her breast until her nipple was marble hard. Then, he lowered his mouth to it, kissing the sensitive tip and teasing it with his tongue.
She arched into his caress, passion pounding through her heart and mind. Her arms wrapped around his head as he laid his hard body atop of her.
He raised his head, his dark eyes smoldering as he pressed kisses across her collarbone, settling himself between her legs.
