A gush of arousal slicked my thighs from his commanding presence. Rokath thickened again, a low groan rumbling in his throat. “Oh, Rokath, fuck, I need to come.”

“One minute more, Assyria. You can take it,” he snarled, hips driving harder, faster again.

I clutched him like he was the only way I’d survive riding on the intensity of this wave, losing all semblance of self awareness. All I felt was utter ecstasy, and I surrendered myself to the feeling of it. My heart raced and I dragged down as many breaths as I could, hoping to draw out the gratification.

A primal growl ripped from his chest, and he pressed his thumb firmly into my center. “Good girl. Now you may come.”

The wave crashed, sweeping away everything other than blinding, blissful pleasure that cascaded through my veins. My core clenched around his length, and my eyes fluttered as I drowned in the sensation of him inside me. He dragged out the tide of my orgasm, his mouth hot and heavy against my neck as he continued his furious pace.

When breath slammed back into me, he yanked himself out and squirted his cum into the water below. Trembling, I slid back into its cool embrace, scarcely able to support myself. He caught my good arm before I pitched to the side.

“Thanks,” I said, blinking as I tried to regain control of myself.

“For the orgasm?” he said, eyes simmering with sinister amusement.

I rolled my own, a small smile tugging at my lips. “That too, if that’s what you’d like.”

He cocked his head, staring down at me. “Yes, I think I like that.”

“Of course you do.” I shook my head and then moved to pass him.

But he grabbed my wrist and pulled me to his chest before I got too far. My palms flattened against the tattoos, and I looked up at him through wet lashes. I was quite the sight, long wet hair clinging in all directions, flushed from an orgasm, thighs dripping with arousal.

“You are beautiful, Assyria,” Rokath said, fingers brushing my cheek.

A flutter filled my stomach, and I stared up into those riotous burgundy eyes. The moment felt a lot like what lovers should do after coupling, and I wondered if his orgasm had anything to do with it. Yet after the shifts I’d seen in him over the past week, I couldn’t pass it off on that, or even our bond anymore.

Fear knotted my stomach. There was not—could not be—possibility of more between us. Everyone I loved died. Everyone who loved me died. If our feelings deepened, the Reaper would drag him into the next world.

Why would the Weaver offer us this path then?

The Giver had blessed him with the power to reanimate the dead. We were at fucking war, and Rokath had said time and time again he was the only male standing in the way of the Angels exterminating the Demon race. His power was the only thing keeping them at bay.

I couldn’t love him, and he couldn’t love me, or we’d all die.

Rather than open myself up to the pain of what would happen if I fell in love with him, I stepped back. He lifted a hand almost involuntarily to reach for me. Something a lot like hurt flashed across his face before that granite, stoic expression I knew so well slid back into place.

“I’m sorry,” I murmured as I backed through the waterfall and out of his grasp.

OceanofPDF.com

48

Dusk dipped over the canyon walls, darkening my surroundings as I wound through the camp, alone. All around me, soldiers milled about, eating, drinking, laughing. Yet my heart churned like an angry sea, a mess of dark anger and violent frustration. I barely contained my desire to snarl at them to shut the fuck up.

Never had I cared for someone so extensively as I had Assyria. I’d never washed a female’s hair before. Never attended their every need for weeks. Helped them dress and undress. Mount and dismount. Eaten every meal with them. I ticked off a massive list of things I’d done for my mate since she injured her shoulder as I stalked away from the army.

I needed space, time to think.

Especially since she ran away from me after I told her she was beautiful. And not in the way that I liked.

Why the fuck does that bother me so much?

An awkward silence had stretched between us in the days since. She’d gone inside her head again, though that didn’t mean I wasn’t aware of exactly what she was thinking. Rather than vocalizing them, the whirlwind of her thoughts assaulted our bond. I had to keep a firm barrier up even now to block them out.

Fuck, she was almost as bad as me with her mind working in overdrive.

At least she could sleep. I hadn’t, not really, the past few nights. Instead, I’d rested beside her, replaying our time in the oasis waterfall over and over. Wondering what I’d done to have her pull away and disappear after I made her come around my cock.

Before her, a female’s feelings were never something I considered after coupling.

I sucked in a deep breath once I broke through the last of the tents. At this end, closest to Ustlyak and the horde of Angels, a host of sentries waited. They all offered me precise salutes as I passed them.

I almost hoped that one of those fucking white winged insects would appear just so I could unleash some of the rage building inside me. Anger was a protective emotion, which was why, for centuries, it had been all I allowed myself to feel.

I’d rather feel nothing at all.

The sound of trickling water caught my attention, and I strode to a small stream hugging the curves of the canyon’s walls. Dropping to my knees, I dunked my hands into the cool water and brought it to my lips. Crisp and fresh, it didn’t assuage the burning inside me in the slightest.

Would anything, though?

Killing would; it always did, at least for a little while. Especially after extending my power to its maximum. I’d never developed a trauma response from the battlefield, unlike so many others. Maybe it was because I’d done so much worse before ever setting foot on one.

I stared at myself in the rippling mirror, trying not to judge what I saw.

The screams didn’t bother me. The blood, the gore, the smell of decaying bodies, none of it had a detrimental effect on me.

If anything, it only ignited my lust for more. Bronze blades whetted in ruby, shadows swirling like an inferno around me, calling upon the dead to do my bidding was my home. It was where I belonged.

It was where I was in control.

With Assyria, I was completely out of it. I was caught up in her desires and how they collided with mine. The tempest of emotion that stormed between us. The bite of her words and the fire in her devious burgundy eyes.

I wanted her to obey; I wanted her fight. The two impulses were antithetical to one another, and that was what made this situation so tumultuous for me.

Stars winked into existence overhead, reflecting off the clear water. The moon peeked over my shoulder. Together they cast a false halo around my fluid form.

I was a villain; I was only trying to protect us from the real monsters.

A soft sound caught my attention, and I ripped myself away from my reflection, hand flying to my sword. Through the darkness, a set of burgundy eyes burned into me. Two dark shapes framed her as she approached.

A sinister growl rumbled in my chest. “What the fuck are you doing? Get back to camp. You aren’t safe out here.”

Assyria stopped in front of me and popped out a hip. Those bow-shaped lips flattened into a thin line. “I came to see if you were okay, but clearly that was the wrong thing to do since you’re acting like a major asshole again.” Her tone was threaded with snark.

What was she thinking, coming out here? Putting herself at risk? For what, because I let some emotions slip down our bond?