Page 108 of Onyx Cage: Volume II

The entire ride back to the castle, I wondered which was worse…the dissension in Lochlann surrounding our union, or knowing how much worse it would be back in Socair.

CHAPTER FORTY-THREE

Iwas removing my shirt to wash up when the passageway door banged open on its hinges, the panel thumping against the wall. Rowan burst in, face pale, eyes wide with panic.

Had there been another attack?

I scanned her body, noting that her cream-colored dressing gown was askew and she was barefoot, but there were no signs of any harm.

“Davin said you were injured.” She answered my unspoken question. “Why didn’t you come to get me?”

It took me a beat too long to register that the anxiety on her features was on behalf of me. I moved toward her, considering her question.

“Because it was nothing serious, just a scrape,” I assured her, wondering vaguely if I would have thought to retrieve her if it had been more than that.

I wasn’t in the habit of informing anyone when I was hurt, and my relationship with Rowan was far from conventional.

“Just a scrape that almost severed your head from your neck,” she shot back, her breath hitching.

There had been a small part of me that wondered whether last night had changed anything, whether she regretted it. Shewasn’t putting her guard back up, though, in spite of her early morning flight. Her features were openly concerned, her hands fluttering nervously along my shoulders.

It stirred something inside me that I wasn’t sure how to evaluate.

“What happened?” she demanded.

I took her hand in mine, running my thumb along her wrist in an effort to calm her panic.

“Davin and I wandered away from the guards to follow a stag, and we were surrounded.” I gave her the simplest, albeit somewhat understated version. “Just a few rebels trying to stop the alliance.”

Her features darkened and she yanked her hand from mine to once again trail along my chest, lingering over my heartbeat.

“I’m all right, Lemmikki,” I told her, ducking my head to capture her gaze.

The action had an unintended consequence, since it also gave me an unobstructed view of the impressive curves bursting free from her gaping dressing gown, the fabric covering them so sheer that it may as well not have existed at all.

I closed my eyes before I lost what little control I ever had when she was around.

“Though I suspect you might be trying to kill me now.” I gritted out the words, focusing on willing away my reaction to her…assets.

Despite my outwardly cavalier attitude about my wound, I knew that I had lost plenty of blood. I couldn’t afford to sacrifice any for the sake of urges I couldn’t act on right now anyway.

The whisper of silk sounded, and I could only hope she was tying her robe.

“It’s nothing you haven’t seen before.” The alarm had left her voice, replaced with a wry amusement. “Let’s not pretend that steam in the sauna was a real barrier.”

I risked opening my eyes for the sake of smirking at her. Did she realize what she had just revealed?

“You sound like you’re speaking from experience, Lemmikki.” It wasn’t particularly shocking since I had caught her probing gaze more than once, but I was surprised she was willing to bring it up. “Perhaps you were the one looking through the steam.”

She shrugged, the motion exaggerated enough that I was forced to acknowledge the thin, cream-colored silk was not much less alluring closed than it had been open.

Der’mo.

“I wasn’tnotlooking through the steam,” she admitted casually.

I should have known better than to try to shame her when she had none. The bold glint in her eye paired with her mischievous smirk and the damnably transparent silk was enough to undo me entirely.

A groan escaped me, and I gave in to my unrelenting need to touch her, trailing my hands along her shoulders. It tugged at my wound, but it was worth it when she let out a small gasp.