ততততত

𝐈 𝐌 𝐎 𝐆 𝐄 𝐍

Tobin attempts to shoot an arrow at the makeshift target, missing it completely as it warbles off into the forest.

"Damn it," he hisses, then turns to me with a clear frustration in his eyes. He's supposed to be this valiant warrior trained to perfection, an undefeated and uncapturable thief. He can wield a sword and draw blood from any creature that defies him. But, despite his prowess, he cannot shoot a bow and arrow.

It makes me smile knowing that Tobin isn't a master at everything.

He brought me out of the castle this evening, and I'm thankful for the revitalizing air. I felt caged, constricted, and now Elena unearths a whole conundrum I can't even fathom. A baby. She wants me to combat Leighton by denying him what he longs to use me for: a pretty face, a wife, a mother to his children.

She wants me to be pregnant with Tobin's child.

Except, how can I do just that? One look at Tobin, and I want to run far away from this kingdom. I long to sink into the kindness those brown irises offer, the security and protection of a thief who covets a princess chained to a fate she could never change. The whole situation feels hopeless to me as if I'm drowning under an ocean of oil.

"You're holding it wrong," I say while analyzing his poor grasp on the arrow.

"My fucking fingers weren't made to do this," Tobin curses as he releases another arrow. This one flies past the target, slicing the fluff of a dandelion. "Hunting is easier with a sword."

I laugh. "You're the only one who thinks that. Many Lagulonian hunters rely on a bow and arrow to provide for their families, not a sword."

"None of your hunters have met me," he crooks his brow at me, lowering my bow that he holds within his arms. "I bet I can hunt you down with just a sword."

"You won't, because you're just too darn predictable," I smirk, crossing my arms across my chest. "You can't even take a step inside the castle without me knowing."

"We ain't in the castle, princess," he gestures to the shadows of the forest behind him, and the open meadow that surrounds the homestead. "I know this forest better with my eyes closed. You won't make it far without me catching you."

I grin. "Is that a challenge?"

"You fucking bet it is."

I accept it with a quick nod, nearly jumping at the chance to prove to Tobin that I will always have the upper hand.

Tobin returns my bow and quiver of arrows back to me, all while retrieving his sword to ready himself for the hunt. Beneath that cocky mischievous persona, I know I can outwit that cunning thief. I've done it countless times before, but there's a wildness that ripples under his skin longing to awaken from hibernation.

"Rules are simple," a crooked smile edging those fine lips. He smiles as if the world isn't turning to horse shit, as if our love stood a fighting chance. "Stay within sight of the homestead, and give me ten minutes to catch you."

I laugh. "Ten minutes? It took me thirty seconds."

"You better start running," he takes a step towards me, then another, and another. "You don't wanna know all the things I can do when I capture you and make you mine."

My imagination springs to life. I want to know his intentions, because I know they're forbidden and devilishly vulgar. With the lick of his tongue across his lips, he commences the hunt.

I sprint across the open meadow, passing a confused Neph who neighs in annoyance in my attempt to space myself out from the thief. He won't be able to seize me, because I refuse to submit to anyone. Tobin is agile, but he's never met a creature like me. With my dark cloak to disguise me, I filter myself back into the forest, keeping the structure of the homestead within sight.

In the haven of the forest, I hide myself beneath the dark shadowing canopies of the trees. I climb upwards, perching myself within the foliage. A stray beam of moonlight illuminates the wildflowers in the grass below. The world remains still in fragile silence.

In that silence, I meet the dreaded voices in my head, reminding me that these silly games of cat and mouse with Tobin won't bring Leighton to his knees.

A baby. That's the weapon I could possibly yield to restore the kingdom of Adorid back to the way it once was. They want an heir born from the light rather than the evil storm that rules now.

From above, I catch Tobin entering into the small clearing of moonlight below me. His eyes remained trained on the surface, his hand clenched the hilt of his sword. Every tendon in his body moves with such mastery. Afterall, those skills that were taught in his childhood have only kept developing, even in his time away from the milita. It's like Tobin knew that one day, his magnificent abilities as a warrior would come into play.

From my perch up above in the trees, I load my bow with an arrow, aiming it for the loose sleeve of his tunic. He thinks he's here to hunt me, but what good is a hunter if he's trapped by his prey?

Just as I release the arrow, Tobin leaps out of the way. The gold in his eyes meet mine, flickering alive like tiny flames and dancing at offensive strike. There's a sly crooked grin on his face as he withdraws his sword.

"You can't stay up there forever, princess."

I load my bow once more. "I can if it means winning the bet."

"It's been less than ten fucking minutes and I already found you. I guess I win."

"Nope, doesn't count," I release the arrow. With my immaculate aim, it snares his tunic, ripping the fabric from his arm. He hardly flinches at the arrow as if he's gotten accustomed to my close shots. "The deal was to capture me, and you haven't done that yet."

"I've cornered you."

I load another arrow, grinning with wildfire. "I can still get away, petty thief."

I take another shot. This time, the arrow clashes straight into his withdrawn blade, knocking it out of his grasp. When Tobin's eyes track away from me and onto his fumbling weapon, I disappear through the canopy and back into the darkness of the forest.

I'm fast, but I fear Tobin will forever be faster. As I climb down from the trees and dash across the forest floor, I hear the predatory steps of his boots as he stalks towards my location. His sixth sense is me. He can analyze my movements without seeing me, so adept to my behavior that tracking it is like second nature.

"Imogen!" he calls, his voice a ravenous growl.

But I keep running. I will prove Tobin wrong, and I will win.

I've lost track of the homestead as a dark cloud shrouds the half-moon. In these forests, there is only a bleak cloak masking what lies below. I run until the sound of Tobin's boots disappears into oblivion, and the silent black of the forest begins to consume me whole. My head whips in all directions, trying to sense out the edges of the meadow. I can't be that far from the homestead, can I?

Did I truly run that far?

I don't know where I am.

And I can't hear Tobin.

I load my bow as a branch snaps. Heart pounding, knees shaking, and gods, I hope that noise belongs to Tobin.

"Tobin?" I breathe.

Silence.

Another branch snaps, and I swing my body around. With the moon hidden by the clouds, there is no guide in the sky to lead me back to our sanctuary.

"Tobin?

With the utterance of his name, his presence begins to dominate the shadows of the night.

There's a rumble in his chest as he exhales from behind me, dragging his hot lips up the column of my throat before leaving a ravishing kiss at the nape. A thieving hand combs back strands of blonde silky locks, all while the other holds his sword.

"Lower your bow," he orders.

I obey my king.

Tobin takes the weapon from my hands and pries my quiver from my back, tossing them aside without a care in the world. He presses his body up against mine, his chest flushed to my spine so not a breeze can pass between us. The flat edge of his sword grazes downward over the valley of my stomach. The hairs on my arm stick up on edge, not because of fear, but because I know there's a beast purring beneath the surface of Tobin's skin. It's clawed its way out, a hunger demanding to be satisfied.

He says one word, one possessive heart-shattering vow: "Mine."

Our bodies spin, lips crashing as he ushers me up against the trunk of the tree. His sword drops from his hand as his palm slips up the front of my cloak. His touch travels through the wrinkles folded into the fabric, up over my breasts, up towards my neck until that same hand pries my mouth wide open to welcome his tongue. I try to speak, but instead release the softest of moans as our mouths twist against another.

We're a mess, a knot of woven limbs just yearning for more than what fate can give us. With every kiss, I find myself anguished at the thought of what I might do. We've already crossed the threshold of resistance, and I already know how his night will end.

Him and I. Connected as one.

Tobin pins me deeper against the trunk of the tree with his hips. I reach behind me, fingers scathing the roughened bark at the feel of him. Close. Fused. Nearly unified if it weren't for our clothes. His arms reach beneath my thighs as he hoists me up, parting my legs so my core meets the aching bulge in his trousers.

His kiss ends just long enough for him to speak. "No one can hear us out here, princess."

"And?" I breathe.

"When you start seeing stars, I want you to scream my fucking name."

We're sheltered beneath the trees, and when I look up, I fail to see the twinkling heavens above. The darkness would be so cruel if it weren't for Tobin's constant warmth.

He sneaks a hand beneath the hem of my cloak and dress, his calloused-tipped fingers finding the lace of my panties. Downward he drags the lace, just enough for him to slide his fingertips through the pool of damp arousal. The adrenaline of the hunt put my body on edge, and all it took was one brush of Tobin's lips to send me cantering off the cliffs of pleasure.

His mouth covers mine as he inserts a finger deep inside of me, hooking it with delicate tugs. He muffles the cry that escapes my lungs, but only for so long until his kiss softens.

"Gods," I cry, evidence of my submission to Tobin's berating touch.

"You mean Tobin," he murmurs, correcting me.

"Tobin..."

He hums as he accelerates the pace of his goddamn hand. My erratic hot breath fans against his cheeks. He's building up an orgasm that threatens to shatter my delicate heart, to decimate it to a million shards. Only he can do this to me, for he is my husband. I want him to be the one who I lay alongside, the one who will protect me when the reaper knocks on my door. I long for him to be the one to bless me with children.

And he can be.

At the price of knowing he'll never be the known father.

"That's it, moonbeam," he whispers in my ear, biting the lobe as he pulls away. "Just like that."

I tip over the edge, pleasure splicing through me like supernovas combusting. To unravel at his mere touch is only the start of what hot desire burns beneath Tobin's skin. He wants more. Like wolves, we'll mate in raw matrimony on the soil.

Tobin throws me over his shoulder, ready to steal me in all his selfish and greedy ways. My husband is ready to love his wife, something he's done night after night when we're both ready to entangle within the sheets. I love Tobin from the depths of the ocean to the heavens. I've given him the oxygen in my lungs and now breathe for him. He's stolen my heart so it now pounds in his benefit. Only, I have to corrupt that beautiful love for my own sake, if having Tobin's child is what I choose to do, because I refuse to bear Leighton's heirs.

Tobin carries me out into the open meadow. He lays me down in the flocculent grass, my eyes dancing to the constellations above. He told me to scream at the sight of them, to never hold back on what I feel when I'm in his presence.

On all fours, Tobin stretches out above me. "Don't try to run away on me now."

"Why not?" I whisper, unraveling the layers of my cloak beneath him. With his assistance, we both toss it beside us and proceed to work on my dress. "Are you afraid you won't get me back?"

"You're mine, princess. I've made that clear."

"And I won't submit to no one."

"Not even a petty thief," he scoffs as he nearly rips my nightdress from my flesh before that goofy grin plastered on his face dissolves into an expression of utter tenderness. "But I promise you, I will take care of you. No matter what happens."

I swallow as the walls of the earth crumble around me. He has no idea what's in store for us, what chaos will rage over our lands. "You do?"

"Gods, Imogen, I'll always fucking fight for you until the day I die."

It's in our fight that his lips meet mine once more, and we drown in the solace of each other's bodies. As Tobin's clothes shed into skin, we morph in the most intimate of ways. Closer. I want him closer, so close that I feel every facade of his figure against mine, every clench of his muscles and ripple of tendons.

Tobin lifts my legs so my ankles knot behind him, my nails gripping into his scars that I'm sure I've drawn blood. Tobin's brown irises meet mine for just a moment. There's a spark, a glimmer of hope that these nights won't be the last for us. When I marry Leighton, a chapter between Tobin and I will come to a close, but that doesn't mean our story will end.

He promises to take care of me, to fight for me.

And in that moment, between the lines of his precious oath, my decision becomes clear.

I reach for the crescent pendant dangling from around his neck, clutching the necklace with a tight fist. He will never know of the little moonbeam he's creating, nor will he know of the little weapon that will grow from his love. Yet, every nightfall will be a reminder of how the future heir to the Adoridian throne came to be.

Tobin, I'm sorry for what I will neglect to do tonight. I'm sorry I won't take the elixir.

He grunts as he begins to edge his erected length deep into my silken core. My head tilts back, a pleasured sigh dressing my lips as he releases his own roaring moan. Beside my head, his knuckles clench into the soil below, his ragged breath a symbol that he's already on the brink of coming.

With one ramming thrust, he sheaths his entire length inside of me.

"Tobin," I grit, opening my eyes to see his closed. There's this twisted pain of pleasure on his face, one of the most magnificent images of him I'll ever see.

"You're worth a war," he mumbles as his eyes reopen.

He pulls his hard length out to the tip before cinching back in with a hard thrust. Muscles clench against my skin. Each stroke remains slow, tender, striking the spot inside of me that opens the heavens above until I see magnificent incomparable hues. His hands trail down the edge of my body until he meets my hip, angling me to welcome him in closer. Closer. Closer.

"We're already in a war," I breathe as his body quickens. I release my grip on the muscles on his back, only to have my touch fall to his chest. There's so many scars on him, so many paintbrush strokes of bitter memories that were left as a reminder for his sins. "It's just not time for it to begin."

"My beautiful, fiery, weapon..."

The words come out in fervent grunts mixed between the sounds of pleasured moans and sweat slickened skin. The timeline left before us runs thin. Days keep passing out of our grasp. Moments get lost in sweet touches and loving kisses. I bury my nose deep into his shoulder, smelling his evergreen musk, as the feeling of my body tightening around him becomes too much to bear.

"Tobin," I cry, then unravel within the thief's arms.

Another orgasm hits through me, sparking flames inside of me until Tobin reaches his own peak. He curses under his breath as the warmth of his seed fills my core to the brim. I feel so full, so alive, so dazed in this content bliss of what we've just done.

I whisper his name as he finishes off with sloppy movements, but the hunger that lines those perfect lips demands another feast and release. Out here under the watch of Mt. Elora, Tobin and I have nothing to fear. We're alone. We're free.

Together, we will wage war on the entire kingdom.

For one day, our child might be the weapon our kingdom waits for.

── •✧• ──

Did I mention that there's less than ten chapters of Only After Nightfall left? It feels like Tobin and Imogen's love story is going by too fast, and I can't seem to slow it down. Anyways, there's still a lot more to come for these two (even though we're on the final stretch of the book!)

Also, thank you for having patience as I navigate my work life and writing life! This chapter came a little delayed, but I hope that a little Tobigen was worth the wait.

And as usual, remember to vote, comment, and share if you're obsessed with Nightfall realm.