The Warrior Queen

Chapter Nine

Chapter Nine
I woke up the next morning to the light shining in from unknown windows. I shifted, not ready to be awake just yet. That's when I felt the hard muscle beneath me.

My eyes flew wide open, my breath catching in my throat as I caught sight of Rowan laying beside me. His hair lay in his face, practically covering his closed eyes. His breaths came out soft and even, the lines of his face soft. Memories flooded back of last night as I stared at him.

That really happened. We really confessed our feelings to each other last night. What happens next, I'm not sure. I'm sure it's something we will have to figure out along the way. Maybe after we aren't in the middle of a war.

Rowan began to stir then, but I didn't bother to look away. Couldn't, really. He just looked so peaceful while he slept. It seemed a shame to look away, if even for a moment.

"Staring is creepy," Rowan murmured as he cracked one eye open.

I merely grinned.

Rowan slowly opened his other eye. As he did so, a yawn escaped his soft lips. Then he lifted his arms above his head, stretching the large muscles.  As he did so, he watched me as I watched him. Before I knew it, he was moving us so that I was laying flat on my back and he was hovering above me.

"Like what you see?"

I pretended to think for a moment, ignoring the hot flush his closeness seemed to erupt over my entire body. "I've seen better," I joked.

A playful growl left his lips as he bent down and buried his head in my neck. I let out a soft giggle, as the breath on my neck tickled. He seemed to notice, as he blew gently on my neck, causing goosebumps to erupt all over my skin.

"Are you ticklish," he questioned.

"No," I informed him, eyes as serious as I could muster.

"I think you're lying," he murmured, his eyes intense.

I shook my head as best as I could with my body pinned underneath his. "I'm definitely not ticklish."

"Good. So that means you won't mind if I do this," he shrugged before gently running his fingers over my stomach.

I felt the weird sensation and tried to mask the laugh as best as I could, but I lost my resolve when he did it again. As laughter burst out of me, a large grin formed on his face and he began his attack. His fingers continued their vicious attack on my stomach as I tried very hard to breathe in between laughs.

I tried to kick him off of me, but he had me pinned down to well. All I could do was helplessly squirm as his onslaught continued.

"This is what happens to liars," he teased.

"I'll never lie again," I promised as I continued to squirm.

"Mmm, I don't know if I believe you just yet," he laughed as he continued to tickle me, though I could tell he was beginning to let up.

"I swear, I swear! Never again!"

Rowan pretended to think for a moment before finally conceding. I let out a sigh of relief when his fingers stopped moving across my stomach. Only then did I realize how close we were. His body lay flush against mine, pinning my legs underneath his own. His hands now hover himself on either side of my head. Our faces are mere inches apart. A stray curl fell from his hair and tickled my forehead.

Rowan's eyes met mine, and I saw the hunger in them. Recognized the feeling in my own eyes. Our breaths mingled, our hearts beat as one. I saw the moment the decision was made in his eyes. Yearned for the moment as he slowly closed the distance between our lips.