The cabin was quiet. Too quiet.
Kael could still hear the echo of Riven's voice from earlier, low and raspy against his ear: "Then don't let go."
He hadn't. He couldn't. Not when Riven looked at him like he was something worth protecting—something worth breaking for.
Now, Kael sat on the bed, the firelight flickering across his bare chest. Riven was across the room, shirtless, his back turned as he stoked the fire, muscles shifting under skin Kael knew too well—and not well enough. Not like this.
Not like he needed.
The silence stretched tight like a wire.
Kael swallowed hard. "Riven."
He turned. The look in his eyes? Dangerous. Hungry. Gentle.
That combination alone made Kael shiver.
"Come here," Kael said, voice rougher than he intended.
Riven didn't hesitate.
He crossed the room like a storm brewing—slow, certain, devastating. The moment he reached Kael, his hand curled under Kael's chin, tilting his face up.
"You sure?" he murmured.
"I want all of you," Kael whispered. "Even the parts that scare me."
Something in Riven snapped.
Their mouths met hard—no hesitation, no second-guessing. Riven kissed like he needed it to survive. Kael moaned into him, hands sliding up his chest, feeling every inch of heat and tension Riven carried in him.
Riven pushed him gently onto the mattress, his body hovering above Kael's, their breaths tangled. The weight of him felt right—a pressure that grounded Kael even as it lit him on fire.
"You don't know what you do to me," Riven growled, lips trailing down Kael's jaw, neck, shoulder.
"Show me," Kael gasped.
And Riven did.
His hands roamed with purpose—bruising and soft, like he couldn't decide whether to worship or devour. Kael arched into him, needing more, needing everything. His fingers tangled in Riven's hair, pulling him down until their lips met again, messier this time. Desperate.
Clothes fell away, piece by piece, until there was nothing between them but skin and want.
Kael's heart thundered. Not from fear, but from being seen. Riven looked at him like he was beautiful and breakable, like the scars didn't matter. Like the silence Kael used to fill every room was finally allowed to crack open.
When Riven slid inside him, slow and deep, Kael cried out—not from pain, but from the intensity of it. From how full he felt. How wanted.
Their bodies moved in sync, a rhythm that built with every moan, every whispered curse, every "God, Kael…" that left Riven's mouth like a prayer.
Kael held onto his shoulders, nails digging into skin, anchoring himself.
He felt everything—the burn, the stretch, the trembling control in Riven's muscles, the way he kept whispering "I've got you, I've got you" like a lifeline.
Kael's eyes stung.
No one had ever touched him like this. Like the point wasn't just to be close—but to claim him. To remind him he was still alive.
Riven's pace grew rougher, hips snapping forward with a raw need that made Kael whimper. But he met every thrust with equal urgency, gasping out Riven's name like it was the only word that mattered.
"Say it again," Riven hissed.
"Riven," Kael moaned. "Fuck—don't stop—please—"
And when they came, it was chaos. Blinding. Kael's back arched, body shaking as Riven spilled into him with a strangled groan, his face buried in Kael's neck.
They didn't move for a while.
Just stayed tangled in sweat and gasps and aftershocks, the air thick with the scent of sex and something more—something like safety.
Riven rolled to the side and pulled Kael with him, holding him against his chest.
Kael traced lazy lines over his collarbone, still catching his breath. "That was…"
"Wild?" Riven murmured.
Kael smiled, flushed. "Perfect."
Riven kissed his temple. "You looked beautiful losing control."
Kael flushed deeper. "I didn't know I could want someone like this."
Riven turned his face gently. "Then let this be the first of many times I prove you wrong."
They kissed again—slower now, sweeter. But the fire between them? It wasn't done burning.