Total pages in book: 142
Estimated words: 134898 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 674(@200wpm)___ 540(@250wpm)___ 450(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 134898 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 674(@200wpm)___ 540(@250wpm)___ 450(@300wpm)
She doesn’t answer.
“If there’s something dangerous down there, it affects more than me and you, Gwenna. Tell me.”
“I did it to myself,” she says after a moment. “No need to fuss.”
She tries to pull her hand away again, but I refuse to release her. “I’m not done. Hold still.” I finish with the ointment and then carefully wrap the bandages around her hand. “If you did this to yourself, why?”
Again, she hesitates. “Focus. I needed to focus.”
I’ve heard of people injuring themselves to block out mental anguish. Is that what this is? “What did you need to focus on?”
She’s silent again.
“You’re quiet.”
“You’re not listening to me when I say anything, so why should I try?”
I hesitate. Is it possible that I’m wrong? Is it possible that she’s not Sarya and I’m racing off with the idea like a fool? I pretend to fuss over the bandages and close my eyes to focus. “Say my name.”
“I’m not doing anything for you when you’re behaving like an arse.” Her tone is indignant, but there’s no question in my mind that it’s Sarya after all. With my eyes closed, there’s no mistaking it. How did I never see this before? Have I been so blinded by the thought of a tall blonde that I never saw the woman right in front of me?
Mucking hells, I don’t even like blondes.
Gwenna being Sarya brings new complications, though. In addition to the pile of lies, it poses a problem that we’re both fledglings on the same team. We’re both supposed to be concentrating on getting ready for the future tests (and I’m supposed to be finding a thief). I know I can pass the guild tests again, but it’d be unfair of me to distract Gwenna from her studies.
Even so, I need answers. “Why’d you fuck me? That day when I was in the hospital?”
“No idea what you’re talking about,” Gwenna says, voice crisp.
I want to pluck her off the counter and shake her until the truth comes out. “Give up on the bullshit and tell me the truth already. We both know that you’re lying.”
“I don’t know why you think I’m lying.”
I grit my teeth. I grab her chin and force her to look me in the eye, and then I recall something else she said earlier. Figured you wouldn’t be into fucking right now.
“Do you still want to fuck?” I demand.
Gwenna goes still. Her eyes go wide as she gazes up at me, but her pupils betray her. They dilate, growing larger, and I can feel her breath speed up.
Well now. That’s interesting. “You want me to touch you?”
“I didn’t say that!”
I stroke my thumb along her soft jaw. “So I shouldn’t touch you?”
Her lips part, and when my thumb grazes her lower lip, she captures it in her mouth and sucks on the tip. When she releases it, she gazes up at me with hot, hungry eyes. “I didn’t say that, either.”
Mucking hells, this woman is going to be the death of me. I bite back a groan, leaning in and nipping her tiny ear. I’m careful with my teeth, but I let them graze over her lobe. She gasps and clutches at my shirt, and just like that, any potion I might have had left in my system is completely obliterated. My cock swells, and the band of flesh at the base of my shaft prickles with awareness.
“Tell me to touch you,” I demand. “Tell me to make you feel good.”
“Touch me,” Gwenna breathes.
Our eyes lock and I release her jaw, grabbing the waist of her pants. I put my hand on her belt, and then very slowly undo the knot that clasps it to her waist. She doesn’t tell me to stop. She doesn’t tell me that she doesn’t want this. She just continues to meet my gaze, and when I loosen her belt enough to slide my hand into her pants and between her legs, she makes a hungry little noise and spreads her thighs farther apart.
I have permission, which is all I needed.
I cup the mound of her sex, loving her gasp. She’s not quite wet enough for me yet. “You want me to pet this pretty little cunt of yours until you scream?”
She nods, her eyes growing heavy-lidded.
“Tell me that, then.”
Gwenna growls low in her throat. “Pushy bastard.”
“Never said I wasn’t. But tell me to finger you and I’ll make you feel so damn good you’ll weep with joy.”
She rolls her eyes and reaches for the ring through my nose, lightly tugging on it. Even that makes my cock twitch with awareness. “Quit talking. You’re cooling my ardor.”
“Am I? I don’t think I am.” I stroke a finger through her folds, exploring her with a light touch. As I do, more wetness seeps from her core and dampens my skin. “Feel that, love? All that glistening slick doesn’t come out unless you like what I’m doing.”