Page 20 of Ecliptic

I watched Rowen through half-lidded eyes, my bare breasts heaving as his tongue darted out to lap at the berry juices dripping down his fingers.

I was entirely mesmerized, wishing it were my finger he sucked between his lips, and a desperate moan escaped me as my hands tightened in the sheets.

We lay side by side, our chests heaving from the palpable tension.

“This is torture,” I said, scooting off the bed through the curtains. The memories of all the ways Rowen had touched and claimed me in these sheets were too potent to push aside. “How is anyone supposed to rest like this?”

He ran his hand down his newly trimmed beard, letting out a pained groan. “Resting is shit, isn’t it? How about we go for a run?”

I perked up, immediately loving the idea of his company in an activity I’d always done alone. “Tell me more.”

He sat up and watched me through dark lashes. “You mentioned you liked the competition of it.”

“You want to race?” I asked, a shocked smile spreading across my face.

“By the spirits, I’ve missed that smile. I . . . I’ve been wracked with grief, Keira. When I woke up, you were nowhere in sight. I searched the village in a panic, turning murderous when Ven told me what you’d done. What Demil had done.”

“I wonder how Dyani is,” I said, curious how she’d been dealing with her twin’s betrayal.

“I’d say she trained as hard as I did. Who do you think I sparred with? She wanted me out of the village and challenged me to a duel. She blamed me for what happened between you and her brother. I wanted to hate her, but I recognized her suffering. Our pain wasn’t so different, hers and mine. We battled for hours with no clear winner, fighting until our injuries were too great to continue. Neither of us said a word as we limped off to tend to our wounds. We just met the next day and repeated it all over again, channeling our shared grief into every strike of our blades.”

My heart ached as I listened to Rowen describe how he’d endured my absence. “I’m glad you weren’t alone. Though I’m sure you two put on quite a show.”

“We did end up attracting a crowd,” Rowen said as a glint of violence flashed through his eyes, recalling the desperate measures he’d taken to cope. And at that moment, I realized I would go to any lengths to ensure his happiness.

“So, about that race?” I asked, moving to give him a playfulbump with my shoulder. But my whole body recoiled with an unnatural, against-all-laws-of-physics jerk as I stopped myself.

Rowen noted the unnatural flinch of my body and said, “Let’s get the fuck out of here.”

I dressed in a woodland-blue vest, fitted leggings, and boots. I tugged at the material rubbing against my skin, realizing I hadn’t worn proper clothes in months. Though the garments were soft, I found the fabric restricting and uncomfortable. Would I ever get used to being human again? Or whatever the hell I was?

I knew there were changes to my new body. I could feel them. But Rowen, being patient and understanding, knew not to rush me to face them. His willingness to distract me with one of my favorite hobbies filled me with gratitude.

Rowen, dressed in his usual form-fitting pants and loose linen shirt rolled up to his elbows, led me to a secluded section of the village. As he fidgeted with the flint stone he’d pulled from his pocket, I studied his adept hands, missing the trail of his fingertips along my skin. Though he’d made me pleasure myself last night, my slim, smooth fingers hadn’t been enough. I needed his rough, calloused palms scratching my skin and his broad fingers entering me, curling up, and stroking my?—

“Keira! I can practically taste your arousal in the air,” Rowen said roughly. “Let’s begin the race before I do something foolish, like commanding you to ride your own hand right here, where anyone could see you.”

“Sounds tempting,” I said as my mouth watered and my thighs rubbed together. My body didn’t seem to understand why it was deprived of Rowen’s touch, and I bit my lip as I warred against every fiber of my being.

“By the spirits, Keira. Don’t do that. It makes me want to takeyour lips in my mouth and taste you before tracing my tongue along every inch of your body. Pleasuring you until I drop from exhaustion.”

I released my lip with a moan, ignoring the bone-deep desire to be reunited with him in every way. To claim and be claimed. “I guess I will just have to find other ways to exhaust you,” I said, desperate to turn the conversation away from my aching core. “Should we make bets on who is faster?”

“What would you like to bet?” he asked with an inquisitive arch of his brow.

"Loser has to serve breakfast in bed for a week.”

“The last time you went to get breakfast in bed, it took you three months to return. With no food in hand, I might add.”

“Okay, so that’s out,” I said, picking up a small branch and drawing a line in the sand. I tossed the stick and wiped my hand on my pants. “Where should we race too?”

“There,” he replied quicker than expected, pointing to a tree in the distance.

“Sounds good,” I said, lowering into a crouch.

“Copeland, what are you doing?”

“I’m getting into a runner’s start. You might want to pay attention,” I said as I settled into position. “Place your hands along the line and get into a nice, balanced base. When I say ‘set,’ you raise your hips. Like this.”

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