Everly ~
The rise and fall of Ronan's bare chest beneath my cheek held me in a deep sleep. I was draped across him, sleeping to the rhythmic thumping of his strong heart when I heard the creaking of the door.
The sound stopped the movement of Ronan's chest and I felt his arm subtly move through the darkness toward his sword.
"Rise and shine. I trust you can peel yourselves off of one another long enough to train for a few hours." Kaes' voice echoed off the hard floor, causing my head to raise up and my eyes to narrow.
"It's the middle of the night." Ronan muttered, tightening his hold on me.
"Quite the contrary. It's early morning."
Turning my head toward the window, I saw no ounce of sunlight peeking through.
"The sun hasn't even begun to rise." I stated, dropping my head back onto Ronan's chest with a thud.
"It's almost as if that's the point...garden nymph." The nickname wasn't endearing. It was Kaes' way of insulting me.
Are you sure we need his help?
I sent the question down the bond hoping Ronan's answer would be no and I could go back to sleep.
Yes.
"Listen to your mate." Kaes tossed the words over his shoulder as he left the room.
Huffing out a hard sigh, I turned to face Ronan who raked his hand down his face in an effort to wake himself up.
"He's infuriating."
"Agreed." Ronan mumbled before gently lifting me off of his chest and rising to his feet.
It was sometimes lost on me how truly large Ronan was. As he stood and stretched his massive body, I found myself staring, lost in my own lustful thoughts.
Forgetting that my thoughts weren't entirely my own, I saw Ronan turn his head, smirking at me from over his shoulder. Understanding that he'd probably felt or witnessed the sultry images I'd just imagined, my cheeks heated with embarrassment.
"Sorry." I mumbled to myself, casting my gaze down toward the blankets in my lap.
With his half smile still intact, Ronan leaned forward, bracing his weight on his knuckles as he towered over the top of me.
"Do not ever apologize for that."
Ronan's stern voice was followed by a gentle kiss on my forehead before he left the bed side and started to dress himself.
Internally scolding myself I forced myself to leave Ronan's room long enough to dress myself and pull a brush through my long hair. I wasn't sure what Kaes' training would entail, so I chose to tie my hair up away from my face.
The small castle was dark, illuminated solely by the dancing light of candles lining the halls.
"Ah the sweet garden nymph has finally arrived." Kaes sneered as soon as I entered the kitchen.
"Don't call me that." I snapped, giving him a threatening expression that left him unfazed.
Talon was the last to join us, dressed in battle leathers as if he hadn't slept, but his long drawn out yawn gave him away.
"Care to explain why this extremely early morning training session was necessary?" Talon asked, his voice laced with slight irritation.
"Little Everly needs to train before the sun rises."
I scoffed at the idea.
"What a pointless task." I chuckled to myself, knowing the sun fueled my gifts.
