Kiss in the Night

"What is wrong with you?!"

Rain shoved Rowan away as soon as he put her down on the bed. He sat down on the edge of it, eyebrows knitted together as he looked at her.

"What is wrong with you?" he asked. "You knew you couldn't drink and still—"

"I was fine!"

"You caused a scene! We're supposed to lay low!"

"A man touched me without my consent and it was my fault?!"

"No, it's not," he breathed, reaching out to touch her knee, but she turned her back to him. "Peach..."

"Leave me alone."

"You know I didn't mean that. That man clearly deserved it," he said and placed his hand on the mattress right beside her. "I just...I just didn't want you to get hurt. If anyone knew why we're here—"

"I know, okay?" She slowly turned her head to look over her shoulder, holding his gaze. He didn't know what he should expect her to say, but he was surprised when she told him, "I just wanted to feel like a normal person for once."

And that was when it hit him. He was wrong. She hadn't done those things to pay him back for stealing her first kiss. She just wanted to feel 'normal'.

He wouldn't understand what it was like to spend his childhood within high walls, but he knew it wasn't pleasant. She had never got to do the things he and Stefan and the people in that alehouse had been doing their whole life. And now he felt like shit for thinking everything was about him.

He wanted to tell her there was no such thing called 'normal' in this world, and there was nothing wrong with her, but he stayed silent and gave a nod before moving his hand back to his knee.

"Can you get Stefan for me?" she asked.

He didn't know why that question made him sad, but he managed to keep a straight face. "Stefan's not coming home tonight. He's staying with his cousin."

"Oh..."

"I can stay here with you."

"I don't want you here," she blurted, her forehead creased. "In fact, I don't think I want to go back to Theros with you."

"Peach—"

"I've thought about it. Either I stay here or I go alone. We can't be around each other anymore."

"You're saying this because you're drunk."

"No, I'm saying this because you fucking used me!"

Rowan's mouth clamped shut as his eyes shifted to his lap. He already could have guessed that was how she'd been feeling since last night, but to hear her say it aloud really made him feel worse.

"You kissed me because you needed to get over another girl," Rain said, her voice was taut. "You stole my first kiss and called it a mistake, so you're just as bad as the other men. Maybe Stefan is the same too. I don't know him that well and I'm too afraid to find out."

"Are you falling for him?" The question escaped Rowan's lips before he could hold it back. He looked up and saw her eyes widened at him.

"Why does it matter?" she asked. "So what if I am?"

"Don't."

"What?"

"Don't fall for him...please."

Rowan pressed his lips together, taking a moment to rearrange his thoughts but they were all over the place, and if he opened his mouth, he might say something stupid again.

"Why? What's wrong with Stefan?" This time, her voice was low and unhurried. She was cautious, which made him mad, for she should never be cautious around him.

"No, he's a nice guy. There's nothing wrong with him," he finally uttered as his eyes fell to the floor.

Rain shifted and tilted her head to look at his face. "Then why?"

"Because..." Rowan breathed. He had no idea what was in the ale, but he couldn't seem to stop blurting out everything that was on his mind. "Because I don't want you to."

As she stared at him with the biggest frown on her face, he guessed it wasn't what she wanted to hear.

"You don't want me, and you don't want me to want someone else," she said, her forehead puckered. "Why are you so selfish?"

"You're drunk. We'll talk when you're sober."

"I'm not drunk."

"Yes, you are."

"I'm not! Don't believe me?"

Quickly, she got off the bed and picked up their swords from the table. He watched in confusion as she placed them on the floor to make a straight line and stood up, spread her arms and started walking on them.

"Can a drunk person do this?" she asked, walking back and forth about four times without losing her balance. "Watch. Can a drunk person do this?"

Rowan let out a suppressed chuckle which stopped her in her tracks.

"Oh, you think this is funny?"

"Peach."

"Stop it." She shrugged her arm away as he attempted to grab her elbow. "I don't like that name. You're not allowed to call me that anymore."

"All right. Would you prefer sweet Peach or grouchy Peach, because you could be both?"

She opened her mouth but was unable to utter a word as he closed the distance between them and cupped her face.

"If you don't want to, don't do it," she warned him as he leaned in. He hesitated as if to think before running his thumb across her bottom lip.

"I want to," he said. "Do you...do you want me to?"

She was blushing harder than before, not knowing what the right answer should be, but eventually, she gave in to temptation. She granted him permission with a nod, and he wasted no time to press his mouth against hers.

Their second kiss started off slow and became more eager as he ran his hands up her back and she had her fingers tightened in his hair. They moved backwards until he plopped back down on the edge of the bed. He held her hips as she straddled his waist, hands at the nape of his neck. Her body tensed when he put his tongue into her mouth, and he had to pull back and ask, "was that all right?"

She nodded, licking her lip. "Sorry...I've never—"

"It's okay. You're doing great." He beamed and kissed her again.

It took a lot of courage for him to bring his hand between them and touch her breast. After what had happened tonight, he wasn't sure if it was okay, but when she reacted with a moan, he went ahead and squeezed it gently, brushing his thumb over her nipple as it went hard under her poet shirt.

He was already sweating, as if there was a fire starting from the pit of his stomach and spreading across his entire body. He could blame it on all those months he'd been alone, but he was well aware that this was something he'd never felt before. When he touched Kenny like this for the first time, it had been sweet and tender, but this felt like all the best emotions converged at once and exploded like fireworks inside his chest.

"Rowan..." Rain tossed her head back as he started kissing her neck. Their skin was hot and slick. The fire painted the whole room red and orange, but he could see her whole face and her chest flush as if she'd spent a whole day in the sun.

When he moaned into her throat and bucked his hips, he didn't even realise he was doing it. She had to place a hand on his chest to stop him.

"What's wrong?" He freaked out, his eyelids fluttered as he brushed her hair out of her face. "Did I hurt you?"

She shook her head, her chest rising and falling against his as she sucked in a breath and pointed between them. It was only then that he noticed the bulge in his pants firmly pressing up against her centre.

"Fuck..." he cursed, resting his forehead on her chest. He could feel her body stiffen and knew this had freaked her out quite a bit. He was well aware that he was massive, and she had never experienced this with a man before.

"Does it hurt?" she asked.

He cleared his throat, trying not to laugh so she wouldn't feel bad for her innocence.

"A little, but it's a good thing." She still seemed confused, so he elaborated, "it only gets like this because...because I...um...because I want..."

Normally he wasn't afraid to talk dirty to a girl who was literally sitting on his dick, but this one had never kissed anyone beside him, and he didn't want to scare her by being too straightforward.

"Because you want me?"

The way she said those words while batting her long lashes made his cock bloat and twitch in his pants. Fuck, he wanted her. He wanted her so bad. He already imagined tearing off her clothes and fucking into her, but he knew he couldn't have her that way. She was a virgin and they couldn't go further than this.

"I'm sorry, love," he said, taking her hips and shifting her away from his cock. Both of them were still blushing and catching their breath. "We can stop. It's okay."

"What if I don't want to stop?" She bit her bottom lip, staring attentively at his mouth. "What if...what if I want you, too?"

Rowan was tongue-tied. He felt like he couldn't move a single muscle in his body so he honestly didn't know what to do next. He didn't expect her to be so bold, and he assumed it was the ale that had turned her into this.

What the fuck did they put into that thing?!

"What are you doing?" He caught her hands as she reached for his belt.

"I want to make you feel good," she said quietly. He was still in shock to hear her say that, but she didn't wait for him to speak and went on, "I've never done this before but--but they taught me how so I want to try."

"Who taught you?"

Seeing the surprised look on his face, she gave a lopsided grin and nibbled on her bottom lip. "The ladies in the castle."

"Fuck, they teach women this stuff?" He held her arms as they both dissolved into laughter.

She arched her neck for him to mouth at her throat. Her fingers were in his hair, her eyes were closed but she kept on talking, "they said every lady must know how to please her man, but I've never taken those lessons seriously so I might be awful at it."

'Her man.' The words made him shudder, in a good way, and he didn't know how to feel about that.

"But what were you learning that stuff for?" he asked, disgusted by the first thought that popped up in his head, "don't tell me you have to please that bastard Egon--"

"Eww, God, no!" She snorted, shaking her head fast. "For when I'm married. If my husband is happy, then I'm happy, right?"

"You don't have to be married to be happy," he said.

"It depends on who you're marrying." She smiled.

Rowan said nothing else as he caressed her cheeks. He thought about what Stefan had said earlier in the stable and felt a lump in his throat as he imagined attending their wedding one day. It was unlikely that she would say yes, but he didn't know for sure.

"What is it?" Her voice brought him back to reality.

"Nothing," he said, bringing their foreheads together and meeting her lips. He kissed her harder with more passion as if he feared he could never do it again, and only stopped when she reached for his belt again.

She was disappointed when he pulled her hands away and brought them to his lips. He looked up and gave her a grin. "You have no idea how much I want you. But I can't make you do this."

"Can we still kiss though?" she asked shyly. "I like kissing you. It feels good."

"I like kissing you, too." He nudged her jaw with his nose and put his lips against her throat. "Does this feel good?"

"Hmm." She urgently nodded. "Rowan...I'm so wet."

"Fuck." He buried his face into her neck, one hand squeezing her arse, the other resting below her ear. "Say it again."

"I'm so wet, Rowan, please..."

"Why are you wet?"

"You know why," she whimpered, holding his shoulders tighter.

Rowan flipped them over to get on top while she was lying on her back. Before she could speak, he asked, "do you trust me?"

She answered with a nod and he pushed his lips to hers again. She put both hands on her chest as he removed her skirt and tugged down her underwear. "Tell me if it's too much."

When she nodded again, he kept his eyes steady on hers and lowered his lips to kiss the skin under her belly button. Her first instinct was to grab his hair as her stomach tightened and she chewed on the corner of her lip. He held one of her hands and waited until she finally loosened her grip on his hair to move further down, draping her knee over his shoulder.

He put one palm flat against her stomach and dragged it down, allowing his middle finger to graze across her slit slightly. She gasped, her eyes rolled back in pleasure. Rowan watched her expression tighten as he slipped his middle finger into her and she gripped his hand, her other hand still in his hair. His fingers curled so he could push in deeper.

"How did you get this wet?" he breathed.

Rain was panting, her lips sucked into her mouth and he smirked before sliding his tongue slowly against her, never breaking eye contact as he tasted her for the first time. She smelled so sweet, like everything he'd fantasized about and even more, and now that he'd had a taste, he didn't know he could ever stop.

She fisted his hair tighter and breathed through an open mouth as he closed his lips around her clit and sucked before slipping in a second finger. He closed his eyes, letting himself get lost in his actions. He fucked her with his fingers while working his tongue enthusiastically, slurping up her wetness. She tilted her head and arched her back, calling out his name.

His mouth froze as she flexed around his fingers. He cursed against her clit, his warm breath tickling her wet core and nearly sending her over the edge. He knew she was close when she started squirming and bucking her hips against his face.

"Rowan!"

Her thighs clamped around his head as she cried out, lifting her back off the mattress. She held fistfuls of his long locks while he rode it out with her, emptying her before pushing himself up between her legs and crashing his lips against hers. When she moaned against his tongue, he knew she could taste herself on his lips, and the thought had him going crazy.

"How are you feeling?" he asked with a tender smile.

"I'm so embarrassed." She laughed and covered her face, but he quickly removed her hand so he could kiss the tip of her nose.

"Why are you embarrassed, love?"

"I was loud."

The way her nose crinkled made his heart flutter.

"Well, I loved how loud you were."

"Really?"

"Really," he said, brushing his lips against hers until she started smiling again.

They lay face to face for a long moment, until the comfortable silence became overwhelmed and Rain was the first to speak.

"Why did you come to Isolde?"

If another person had asked that question, Rowan would've refused to answer, but since it was her, he spent a second thinking.

"My family was poor, very poor. My mother was sick, and we didn't have enough money to get her a good doctor. I tried working as a blacksmith like my father, but it didn't really help us, so I had to find a faster but riskier way to get money. It's not something I'm proud of, but I'm good at it. I flirted with the ladies and stole their jewellery, fed the men's egos for their shiny coins. I ended up getting a bad reputation back home so I had to leave Theros and go somewhere nobody knew who I was, where I could do what I do best. I wanted to return as a rich man and help my family."

"That's very sweet." Rain’s face lit up with a smile as she brushed his hair away from his eyes. "Don't worry. With all the gold I've stolen, you'll be the richest in your village when you get back."

"Wow, look at us. Two sexy thieves," he joked and they laughed together.

He really wanted to tell her he didn't want her gold. She could keep everything she'd stolen once they'd arrived in Theros. He just wanted to take her home so she could reunite with her uncle, and maybe keep her around, if she let him.

He wasn't sure about it. It was too soon to say anything, but all he knew was that he was happy at the moment, and he didn't want it to be over just yet.

"What?" She lifted one eyebrow when his eyes bored into her.

"No, I'm just--" He snorted. "I'm just thinking of your face when you—"

"Stop it!" She cackled and swatted his arm, making him hiss and wince in pain.

"Are you okay?!" She hurriedly sat up as he did.

"It's fine."

"Let me see."

"No," Rowan protested, but she'd already taken his hand and pulled up his sleeve. Her eyes nearly fell out of her head when she saw his swollen wound. And Rowan knew there was nothing he could say now that would convince her he hadn't got it from last night.

"Why didn't you tell me?!"

"It's nothing."

"How could you say that?! Look at it!"

"I am. It's fine." He chuckled but his eyes stayed on her. He thought her reaction was funny and adorable at the same time, but he wasn't going to say it as she might hit him again.

"What were you thinking?" Rain grumbled. Rowan said nothing as he pressed his mouth gently to her frown, trying to distract her but it didn't work. "I was so fucking scared last night! You could have died! I knew at least you'd get hurt."

"I thought it was heroic." He popped his dimples, amused by how much it annoyed her. "Come on, Rain. Don't be mad."

"What did you call me?"

"Rain." He gave a toothy grin. "You don't like being called Peach, right?"

"Well...I changed my mind." She crossed her arms and stuck up her nose, making him chuckle as he took her hand and kissed it once.

"Forgive me, Lady Peach."

She rolled her eyes, smirking and scooting closer to take a better look at his wound.

"I wanted to ask if you were all right last night, but I was too proud to let you know I was worried," she whispered and looked up into his eyes, "I thought you might not make it back and I was so scared."

"I was scared too," he admitted.

He guessed she might assume he was talking about being eaten by the wolves. But maybe it was for the best if she didn't know he was scared of losing her.

.

.

.

When Reyna woke up the next morning, she was alone in bed. She wondered where Rowan had gone, but then she heard his voice outside talking to someone and decided to go see who it was.

She stepped out into the sun, eyes squinted as she leaned against the door and saw him chatting with two girls outside the stable.

"Hey."

"Stefan!" She flinched and turned around as Stefan gave a smile and apologised for scaring her.

"When did you get back?"

"Not so long before you woke up," he said. "How are you feeling? Did you and Rowan make up already?"

"Um...yeah..." The princess shyly tucked a black strand behind her ear as she stuttered, "you could...you could say that."

"Good. It felt weird that you two didn't talk to each other," Stefan said, but Reyna didn't pay attention to reply.

"Who are they?" She furrowed her eyebrows, pointing to the girls Rowan was talking to.

"Oh, those girls? They work for my cousin."

"At the alehouse?"

"Yeah." Stefan shrugged. "After Rowan had left with you, they kept gushing about how 'sexy' he was when he threatened those men. I'm not surprised they came to see him first thing in the morning."

"They both think he's...sexy?" She tilted her head, pouting a little as she watched the three of them laugh together. It was obvious that those girls wanted Rowan, and Reyna had never felt jealous until now.

"Rowan gets that a lot from the ladies," Stefan said. "He's been with many women, but Kenny was the only one he'd ever loved. Poor Rowan. He must be devastated."

Reyna crossed her arms over her chest and grounded her jaw. "So...he'd never cared about the other girls he'd been with?"

"Of course not. But I'm sure they didn't mind." Stefan scoffed as he lifted his shoulders. "It's probably different where you're from, but it's normal for most of us to lust after someone and not want to commit to that person. Rowan can always separate romantic feelings from sexual pleasure, and Kenny was the only woman he'd slept with and had feelings for."

"Oh..." Reyna muttered, feeling her heart gradually shrinking.

She used to think sex was something special between two people and only men like Egon would treat it as insignificant. Now that she knew most people were like that, it hurt more than she was willing to admit. She couldn't risk falling for someone who might not ever feel the same. She had never tried, but she knew she couldn't separate love from lust. With her life at risk, she didn't want to deal with another heartbreak.

Nervously, she waited for the girls to kiss Rowan goodbye to approach him. His smile grew twice as big the moment he saw her.

"Good morning!" he said happily. "Did you sleep well?"

"Yeah, did you?" she asked, and he nodded.

"Yeah. I woke up before sunrise but I didn't want to wake ya."

Reyna pressed her lips together as Rowan took a deep breath. He waited for her to speak, but she didn't, so he reached out to touch her hair, and she reacted quickly by stepping back, leaving him dumbfounded.

"Let's talk about last night."

His face fell instantly. "Oh, shit! I'm so sorry if--"

"No, no, don't be." She gave a timid smile. "I enjoyed it."

Though he was smiling back, she could tell he was impatiently waiting for what came after, so she took a deep breath and went straight to the point. "I think we should both agree that it shouldn't happen again."

Rowan blinked fast, he didn't know what to say. It must have been as awkward for him as it was for her, so she was reluctant to go on.

"Yeah, it's--" Reyna inhaled while fidgeting with her own fingers. "I know that people tend to separate romantic feelings from sexual feelings, but...I don't think I can. And I--" She paused suddenly, looking up and meeting his worrying eyes. It was crazy how she could take some time to acknowledge how handsome he was, but she had to keep herself together and remember what was right for her. It was certainly not him.

"I don't want to fall in love with you."

Rowan was taken aback, and so was Reyna herself. She didn't think she could say it aloud, but now that she had, she didn't regret it. She hid her trembling hands behind her back and continued, "this could get complicated if we took it any further, so maybe we should stay friends, because I really enjoy having you around."

Rowan pursed his lips as his forehead puckered. She didn't know what was going through his mind right now, but the look he was giving her was so intense she could hear her heart beating in her ears.

"Okay," he said at last, "let's stay friends."

He took it better than she'd expected. And for some reason, she was relieved and irritated at the same time.

Rowan seemed to notice the way she kept chewing on her lip, so he joked, "did you mean you could fall in love with me?"

"Just take it as a compliment," she said and gave his shoulder a nudge.

The corners of his mouth quirked up as he kept staring at her.

"What?" She chuckled.

"Can we still kiss?"

The question left her speechless, but she managed to keep her composure and cleared her throat. "No. But we can cuddle, like last night."

"That works for me," he said, flashing her a grin.

When silence had taken over, Reyna was so glad Stefan decided to interrupt. He came up to them with some flowers, and before Rowan or Reyna could ask him what they were for, he gave them to her.

"I went to the woods this morning and got you these."

"Oh my, these are beautiful!" Reyna sighed happily and clutched them with both hands. "Thank you, Stefan. I love them."

Rowan watched Rain admire those flowers and felt his stomach tighten. Something didn't feel right, especially when he saw how happy Stefan was with this little achievement. Although he'd agreed with her that they should only be friends, he hated to see Stefan showing her affection and her liking it.

Last night had been the happiest he'd been in a long time. And even though they had been tipsy and so unable to control themselves, he didn't regret the things they had done. If they took it further, however, things might get complicated. He couldn't do complicated. So this is for the best, he told himself.

But still, he couldn't help but wonder if she remembered what he'd said about not wanting her to fall for Stefan. He assumed she didn't, and it bothered him more than it should.

"Where are my flowers?" Rowan jokingly asked Stefan. He hoped humour would cover up the fact that he was in a bad mood, and somehow it worked as Rain took a flower and put it behind his ear.

"Here you go," she said, smiling. "So pretty."

The way she bit her lip and gently fixed his hair made his heart flutter and he didn't even realise he was grinning like a fool. He watched her walk back to the house, thinking to himself, maybe this could work. Maybe they could be friends.