CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Ronan left Gravenia with Eira's words echoing relentlessly in his mind, I love Kael. Every step through the dark forest was heavy, each breath sharp with anger, heartbreak, and frustration. His wolf growled beneath his skin, pacing restlessly, urging him to break everything around him.
By the time he reached Virelle's estate, night had swallowed the sky. The guards parted without a word, sensing the storm that followed him. He walked straight through the silent halls, past the cold marble floors and torchlight flickering against the walls, consumed only by the hollow ache inside his chest.
His room was dark when he entered. He didn't light the candles. He didn't move. He only stood there, shaking, sweat prickling his hairline, muscles tight with weeks of fear and confinement.
The door opened silently.
Virelle entered like smoke, her presence commanding and intoxicating. She didn't ask permission. She didn't need to. Her eyes scanned him—the tense shoulders, clenched jaw, the trembling of his hands.
"You came back," she murmured softly, her voice warm and confident.
Ronan didn't answer. He couldn't.
"You saw her," she continued, stepping closer. "You did."
He only tightened his jaw.
She moved in closer, heat brushing him, her hands sliding over his arms. "You're trembling," she whispered.
"It's nothing," he muttered.
"Nothing doesn't make a man shake like this," she said, tilting her head, letting her fingers trace lightly along the slope of his shoulders. "She hurt you."
He swallowed hard, a sharp breath escaping as she pressed closer, her body warmth pressing against his, teasing and deliberate.
Her hands cupped his jaw, gentle but insistent, holding his gaze. "I told you, that girl never deserved the way you loved her."
Ronan's chest tightened, his throat raw. He wanted to resist, to remember that this wasn't Eira, but every nerve in his body screamed for release, for contact, for something tangible to fill the hollow inside him.
"You are not alone," Virelle whispered, leaning close. "I am here. I stayed. I protected you. I waited."
His breath faltered, chest heaving. Desire, heartbreak, and frustration collided violently within him.
In one sudden, desperate motion, he grabbed her face and kissed her, hard, rough, consuming.
Virelle responded instantly. She slid onto his lap, her body pressing against him with deliberate weight. His knees shook beneath her. Her hands guided his, placing them on her hips, encouraging him to feel every curve. One hand cupped her waist, feeling the soft warmth beneath her silk. She shifted against him, rocking slowly, teasing, coaxing, her lips brushing along his jaw, down his neck.
Ronan groaned softly, pulling her closer, lips trailing from her neck down to her collarbone, tasting, memorizing. Her hands roamed his chest, fingers teasing, pressing, guiding his hands along her body. Heat pooled low in his belly, frustration and need mingling in every touch.
Even as she leaned in, Virelle's mind flickered to Eira's words, I love Kael. The thought stabbed her briefly, a bitter reminder of the rejection that had brought him to her. Her pulse quickened. She pressed herself closer, subtly pushing him to let his desire consume him, letting the pain of Eira's words feed the heat between them.
"Ronan," she whispered against his lips, breathy, urgent. "Feel me. I'm yours. I want you. Let me stay."
He gave in for a moment, kissing her, pressing his body against hers, groaning low in his throat as they moved together, intimate and raw. His hands explored, memorizing the warmth of her, the soft curves, the rise and fall with her breaths. Her lips trailed down his neck again, nipping, sucking, leaving trails of fire along his skin.
Her hands pressed against him deliberately, guiding, teasing, inviting, letting him feel her as if she had been waiting for this exact moment. His lips found the sensitive curve of her shoulder, down the side of her neck, drawing out gasps. His hands pressed against the sides of her hips, feeling every contour, responding to her gentle grind, the way she rocked him in time with her desire.
Virelle whispered softly, "I love you. I'm here. All of me is yours." The words, tender and sincere, seemed to make him more desperate, more urgent, as if her love could briefly fill the hollow in his chest.
But the ghost of Eira's betrayal surged back. His hands froze for a second, the weight of heartbreak meeting the heat of desire. He pulled back abruptly, his breath ragged, his chest heaving.
"No," he whispered, voice shaking. "I… I can't do this."
Virelle's lips hovered near his, her body still pressed against him. She leaned in, brushing her lips along his jaw, against his neck, her hands grazing his chest, but he couldn't. His heart raced, raw and chaotic.
He pushed her firmly but not harshly, stepping back, still trembling, sweat cooling against his skin. His hands shook. His hair clung damply to his forehead. Without a word, he turned and stormed out of the room, every step heavy with the weight of his emotions.
The door slammed behind him, leaving Virelle frozen, body still humming from their closeness, her hands lingering where his had held her. Her chest rose and fell, and a faint, almost imperceptible smile tugged at her lips. The storm of heat and heartbreak lingered, but she remained, still and quietly triumphant, knowing he could feel her, knowing he had let himself be undone for a moment, even if only briefly.