Rosalind pulled away from the hug first, still completely shocked by what was happening. "What... what are you doing here?" she asked, her chest rising and falling quickly. "Don’t tell me you came to take me away?" she asked again in a hushed voice because she knew someone was still outside the door.

Rowan slowly lowered his hands to his sides. "I wish that was the case," he admitted.

"No..." Rosalind said immediately.

"That’s not why I came here," Rowan replied, his voice lower this time.

Her brows furrowed as she stared at him, still trying to process the fact that he was standing inside her room after everything they had promised Alaric. Had Rowan gone mad already? Why would he do this?

"Then why have you come?" she asked quietly.

He drew in a breath and stepped closer. "I... I came to see you," he confessed.

Her eyes lit up instantly and her heart lifted at his words, though she tried hard to suppress it. Rosalind shook her head. "You have to go, Rowan. You can’t be here!"

Rowan closed the distance between them. "I can’t do it anymore... This is enough torture," he said as he stopped right in front of her.

Rosalind forced herself to remain neutral even though she was failing badly at it. "But you looked ready to move on when I saw you... Rowan, you’re already doing fine, you can do this..."

"I was only pretending, Rosalind" Rowan continued, and she took in a deep breath as she realized this conversation was heading in the wrong direction. "I can’t do anything without you," he admitted, and the words tugged at her heart, making it skip a beat.

"If the king comes, Rowan," she said again, trying to make him reason because it seemed like he was no longer thinking clearly.

"He wouldn’t come... They don’t see the bride before the wedding," he said through clenched teeth.

Just the thought of Rosalind being taken away from him sat painfully in his chest, and even saying it aloud hurt him.

"Yet here you are," Rosalind pointed out.

When Rowan reached out to touch her face, feeling the softness of her cheeks beneath his hands, his heart fluttered heavily in his chest. Her scent surrounded him completely and all he wanted was to be close to her again.

"We already promised..." Rosalind whispered as she swallowed nervously.

"I never would have promised something like that... I only did it because of you," he said, cupping her cheeks. "I cannot stay away from you," Rowan added before leaning down to kiss her.

His lips moved against hers slowly at first before the kiss deepened, and Rosalind kissed him back almost immediately.

The moment she parted her lips, he slipped into her mouth, tasting her as though he had been starving for it, and she realized just how much she had missed him while he had missed her even more.

The time Rowan had let Rosalind escape from the palace had been torture for him, and he had only endured it because he believed she would have a better life outside than being trapped here with Alaric, but now that the king was deliberately forcing them apart, it only made Rowan want to cross every line.

Rosalind’s back hit the wall with a soft gasp as her heart thundered wildly in her chest when he lowered his lips to her neck. "You’re usually the disciplined one... what happened?" she whispered while he left slow wet kisses along her skin.

"I don’t want to be anymore," Rowan murmured against her neck, and for the first time he truly did not care about breaking the rules again.

"You smell so good," he added as his hands slid across her body before pulling her into him so tightly there was barely any space left between them.

"We’re dead if this gets out," Rosalind whispered, though she still closed her eyes and leaned into his touch because it felt like forever since she had last been held by him...

"We shouldn’t be doing this," she thought weakly, but the moment he kissed her again, she melted into it completely while his hands continued exploring every sensitive part of her body.

Rosalind tried not to moan too loudly as his body pressed harder against hers, igniting heat everywhere he touched.

The danger of being caught only made every kiss burn hotter, leaving her wanting more while leaving him wanting even more than that.

Their breathing turned heavier and uneven as the kiss became desperate, hungry, and overwhelming all at once, and by the time they finally pulled apart, Rosalind’s lips were swollen while Rowan rested his forehead against hers as they stared into each other’s eyes.

Silence passed between them briefly before their lips crashed together again in another hungry kiss, and before Rosalind could even understand what was happening anymore, her back had pressed into the bed with Rowan towering above her while their fingers tightly intertwined.

’They needed to stop before everything fell apart’

Her eyes turned hazy as she stared up at the ceiling, everything around her beginning to blur while he kissed down her neck and lower, and she could already feel the heat pooling deep within her.

His hands moved across her body again, and she bit down on her lower lip as she struggled to hold back her moans.

"Try not to make any sound," he whispered against her ear, and Rosalind nodded immediately, lifting a hand over her mouth as she felt him right at her entrance.

Were they really going to do this now?

In the middle of all this chaos and heat, Rosalind no longer knew what was happening because all her senses were failing her, and clearly his were failing him too for him to even begin this in the first place, yet neither of them could stop.

Rosalind felt him move into her slowly at first before he pushed deeper, and she almost gasped loudly had he not kissed her immediately, silencing her before she could alert anyone outside.

He kissed her slowly while moving carefully inside her, easing the pain until it gradually melted into pleasure. Her hands slid across his back while his hands gripped onto her hips as he moved against her.

Rowan cursed under his breath as he buried his face against her neck like he could never get enough of her.

He did not even know what he was doing anymore, only that he could not stop.

The moment he decided to come see her tonight, he had already abandoned every bit of reason he once had. His breathing grew heavier against her skin as he continued moving against her while her body arched beneath him in response.

He was truly going to die, and not because of anything else but her.

She was going to be the death of him.

Unknown to the two lovers lost in each other, the report had already reached the king inside his chambers. Alaric rose sharply from his bed. "How dare you wake me from sleep?" he glowered at the footman before him.

"Your majesty, I heard sounds coming from the lady’s chamber and no one was meant to be inside with her," the footman answered with his head bowed, his body trembling before the king.

Alaric narrowed his eyes immediately. What sounds could there possibly be?

Even so, he rose from the bed and quickly pulled on his robe. The thought briefly crossed his mind that the groom was not supposed to see the bride before the wedding because it was believed to bring bad luck, but rules could bend for him because he was the king.

He was only going there to make sure his bride was fine and nothing more.

He stepped out of the chamber at once. "You two, follow me," he ordered the guards nearby and they immediately fell into step behind him while the footman hurried after them, his heart pounding harder with every step as the king drew closer to Rosalind’s chamber.

"Ahh... please," Rosalind whispered breathlessly, her muscles tightening around him just as he increased his pace, and she clung tightly onto him while her vision blurred completely.

"Rowan... oh my God," she cried, unable to stop herself until he thrust harder into her and she finally shattered beneath him, her entire body trembling violently as all the tension released at once.

Alaric had now arrived outside the chamber door, and when he tried to open it, it refused to budge. His eyes darkened instantly. At a single command from him, the guards stepped forward and forced the lock open before Alaric shoved the door wide and strode inside, only to freeze at the sight before him.

Rowan and Rosalind were tangled together on the bed in the most compromising position possible.

The guards behind him halted immediately, their eyes widening in complete shock, and even the footman stared in disbelief at what they had just witnessed.

Meanwhile, Rowan and Rosalind had barely come down from their release when they turned toward the sound of the door bursting open. Rosalind screamed loudly while Rowan immediately pulled away from her, and she quickly gathered the sheets around herself.

Alaric’s eyes blazed with fury at the betrayal before him.

For this to happen only hours before the wedding made his rage even worse...

"What have you done?" he demanded, his gaze landing on Rowan first before he stormed toward him immediately.

"How dare you?" he shouted again, grabbing Rowan by the collar, and before Rowan could react or say anything, Alaric punched him hard enough to send him crashing onto the floor while blood spilled from his nose instantly.

"Rowan!" Rosalind cried out in fear, her heart pounding violently as the reality of the danger before them suddenly became clear.

Alaric turned toward Rosalind next, and she sucked in a sharp breath immediately.

"You fucking whore," he spat as he seized her by the neck.

"I gave you everything! I clothed you, fed you, and this is how you repay me? By fucking him?" he demanded furiously.

Rosalind shook her head weakly as pain spread through her entire body.

Rowan clenched his jaw the moment his eyes landed on Alaric hurting her, and without thinking twice, he forced himself to his feet and charged straight toward the king, but the guards moved quickly and restrained him before he could even reach him.

"I should have treated you like a fucking whore from the very moment I saw you. You do not deserve any of this," Alaric spat furiously at Rosalind as he raised his hand to strike her across the face.

But before his hand could touch her,

"Do not raise your hand in my father’s halls."

Rowan’s voice rang through the room, causing the entire place to fall into stunned silence, including Alaric himself whose hand froze midair.

A/N:

Hi guys, please don’t forget to leave a review for the book. I already mentioned there’ll be a mass release today, so keep the reviews coming while I upload the remaining Chapters. Thanks a bunch.