Acotar and Tog [Discontinued, Will be deleted]

QoS Rowan Pov Chapter 52

The second Lorcan was gone he rushed to inspect her wound, the one she got from his ignorance and inability to preform a simple duty he is sworn to do. A silence falls between them, good, he can't say anything that could lead to her getting injured. The scent of her blood keeping him rage he didn't know he was still capable of. Upon entering the apartment he strides right through the living room, and the bedroom and into the bathroom. A bath, yeah that would keep him from having to look directly at the woman who he failed. He settles himself in the tub, just for more thoughts to cloud his mind. Lyria, he failed her once too, it seems the only way he doesn't fail someone is when he is kept on a very short leash. His mind circles back to Aelin, the pure terror in those damn eyes of hers, the way fear morphs her scent, how her blood set his own on fire. Her voice breaks him out of his trance as she calls goodnight to Aedion. He quickly rises from the tub and prepares himself to see her again. After tying the towel across his waist he takes a deep breathe and opens the door, and right outside the door he smells her blood on the handkerchief she used to clot the blood. She is sitting on the bed, watching him. Distantly he saw her pat next to her.

"Come here" A muffled voice, her muffled voice calls to him, but all he can focus on is the cut on her neck. Her voice reaches him again "We are both experts at clamming up, so let's make an agreement to talk right now like even-tempered , reasonable people." Those words break his gaze on her neck, and he joins her on the bed. She props her head on her arm half over him. "Looks like our days of fun are over" He keeps his gaze on the celling, not wanting to look at her just yet. "Witches, dark lords, Fae Queens..." Her voice fades out for a second. "If we ever make it through this I'm going to take a nice, long vacation" An attempt at humor.

"Don't shut me out" The words a light breath. He wouldn't, won't.

"Never" It came out a murmur. "That's not-" He rubbed his eyes, trying to dislodge the tension there, he didn't want to say it, but "I failed you tonight" The words barley a whisper.

"Rowan-" She said, trying to comfort, but he didn't deserve comfort.

"He got close enough to kill you. If it had been another enemy, they might have," He took a sigh, trying to dislodge the hollow, shaking feeling in his chest. He removes the hand from his eyes, "I failed you. I swore to protect you, and I failed you tonight"

"Rowan it's fine-"

"It's not fine" He clammed a hand on her shoulder and soon their positions were switched, he wouldn't let himself think about how her body feels underneath him, not when he almost lost her tonight. "I broke your trust" The words he truly felt, the truth within him.

"You did no such thing, Rowan, you told him you wouldn't hand over the key," But she didn't know, how could she have? He took a deep breathe and explained.

"I would have, Gods, Aelin-he had me, and he didn't even know it. He could have waited another minute and I would have told him, ring or no ring, Erawan witches, the king, Maeve.. I would face face all of them, but loosing you..." He lowered his head in shame, not ready to look her in the eyes. He closed his eyes, trying to refocus, but the feeling of her breathe on his lips "I failed you tonight," His voice coming out hoarser than he intended. "I'm sorry"Her scent wrapping around him, both calming him and thrilling him.

After a moment Aelin whispers "You have nothing to be sorry for, I trust you Rowan" He nodded, more for himself then for her and he decided he was going to let the truth he kept tucked away inside him out.

"I missed you"He admitted, trying to keep his gaze from focussing on her mouth for too long. "When I was in Wendlyn. I lied when I said I didn't.From the moment you left, I missed you so much I went out of my mind. I was glad for the excuse to track Lorcan here, just to see you again. And tonight when he had that knife at your throat..." his voice trails off as he traces the le cut left on her throat, that hadn't healed since she's stuck in this mortal body. "I kept thinking about how you might never know I missed you with only an ocean between us. But if it was death separating us... I would find you. I don't care how many rules it would break. Even if I had to get all three keys myself and open a gate, I would find you again. Always." and it was true, he realized. He couldn't just tell her, he had to show her, and so he took her hand and brought it up to the cheek she had once tried to touch and he denied her, it didn't matter how much he had wanted her too, he had still done it, and he is determined to make amends. She stroked his cheek, setting everywhere she touched him on fire. She held his stare. And he watched as she arched her neck in front of him, not breaking eye contact.

"Aelin" He breather, her name a prayer. He slowly, giving her a chance to change her mind, lowers his face to her neck. As if in confirmation she arches her neck farther. He can't control the quiet grown as his fangs make contact with the soft skin of her neck. He gently drags his fangs along the skin. He feels a slight satisfaction in the way her hands clench in the sheets around him. He braces his hand next to her head, his fingers tangling in the soft strands of her hair.

"No one else" She whispers. "I would never allow anyone else at my throat," The primal fae side of him experiencing an almost sinful satisfaction at that. "No one else" He groaned again, slowly, cautiously he closed his teeth around her lifeblood, he felt every beat of her pulse, the sensation overwhelming. He flicked his tongue against the spot and a small, unintelligible moan of a words rasps out of Aelin. He pulls back, trying to regain grip on his self control. His eyes scan her entire body, she's clothed only in a large shirt, his shirt he realizes, feeding the primal side of him even more. And her scent... Damn that scent, the arousal laced through it is making coherent thoughts difficult.

He hears a change in her breathing, it's loosing its steadiness, his own breathing is ragged.

"Not yet" His voice hoarse, "not here"

"Why?" She asked. And he can't help but agree.

"I want to take my time with you- to learn.. every inch of you" and he did he wanted to learn and memorize every curve and scar and cut of her body. And in the room just next door... "And this apartment has very, very thin walls. I don't want to have an audience" He brings his mouth to the, now clotted, wound at her throat, just to get a taste of her blood one more time, the taste that he would wakeup with on her tongue. "When I make you moan, Aelin" Oh the sounds he'd make come out of that full mouth of hers.

"This changes things" she warns, and he finds for once he doesn't give a damn.

"Things have been changing for a while already. We'll deal with it."

A heavy breath is released from Aelin's chest, "Sleep, we should sleep" He swallows, peeling himself away, and hating every second of it. He turns his back to her and starts to walk to the closest. He smiles to himself as he hears Aelin shift in the bed.