Page 54 of Severe Husband Warning

It answers at once.

She is in the human market.

Relief steadies my breathing. I am already moving by the time I open my eyes, following the bond through Galmoleth's lower streets until it leads me to a modest dry-goods stall.

I spot Calla with another woman, and as I draw nearer, she lifts her head. Her companion follows her gaze, takes one look between us, quietly gathers the mugs from the bench, and excuses herself with a promise to keep asking questions later, leaving us alone amid the bustle of the market.

Calla doesn’t move. Neither do I.

There are only a few steps between us, yet after everything that passed, it feels strangely uncertain.

“You left without telling anyone.”

The words come out quieter than I meant them to, and she lowers her gaze.

“I needed to do something useful.”

I let the words linger, hearing what I failed to hear before.

“You did.”

Her eyes lift to mine.

The admission surprises us both.

“I came to apologize.” My voice is quieter now. “I thought protecting you meant carrying this alone. I see now that all I was doing was caging you in.”

Understanding softens her expression.

“I can't investigate lightning-works the way you can,” she says, folding the parchment in her hands. “But I can remember the people we’re trying to save.”

“And I should have understood that from the beginning.” I shake my head. “This was never my investigation alone.”

The tension leaves her in the shape of a small smile as her fingers slip into mine.

“Then we'll finish it together.”

We return to the spire hand in hand, neither of us trying to fill the silence. The distance that had stretched between us is gone, replaced by something quieter and infinitely more dangerous.

The moment the door to my private chambers closes behind us, I pull her toward me.

She comes willingly, her hands already gripping the front of my coat before I can say another word. I cup her face and kiss her like a starved male, and she answers without hesitation. The restraint between us dissolves as she presses into me, her fingers finding my hair while my hands tighten at her waist.

I strip us of our clothes with a thought. The moment bare skin meets bare skin, the warmth of her chases away the chill carried in by the storm outside. The one still raging in my chest refuses to yield so easily.

I push her back against the obsidian wall, and she cries out softly at the coldness of the stone. It doesn't deter her. Her fingers thread through my hair before slowing to stroke the curve of my horns.

A soft, wanting sound slips from her lips, shooting straight to my already aching cock. I duck my head, leaving a trail of wet kisses down the slender column of her neck before catching the frantic beat of her pulse between my teeth in a gentle nip.

“Rothgar,” she whispers as her hand glides down my chest, continuing lower until her fingers wrap around my hardness.

I cover her hand with mine, guiding the slow movement for a few measured strokes, marveling at how good it feels. Calla drags her thumb across the tip, spreading the wetness already gathered there.

My eyes drift close for a heartbeat as I lose myself in the perfection that is my wife.

“Fuck, Calla.”

I crash my lips against hers as I thrust into her hand, swallowing her moans while my tongue sweeps into her mouth.