{Music Recommendation: Everything I wanted ~ Billie Eilish}

Freya’s soft moans filled the cave walls as she clung desperately to Rowan’s neck, feeling his size increase inside her every time he pushed deeper. There was something about the way Rowan held her, kissed her, and pleased her that made Freya want to scream his name. Even with the spring water blurring her vision, she could still see Rowan clearly.

Under the moonlit cave walls, Rowan stared back at her. His lazy black eyes gave nothing away but pleasure, and his thick eyebrows and wet black hair did something to Freya’s body. She wasn’t supposed to be here. She was supposed to be drawing the line, returning to her innocent self, a good girl trusted by all. But here she was, being filled by the man she hated the most.

This wasn’t how Freya had planned her life, and Rowan was never a part of those plans. He was a ruffian, so uncouth and wild. Even the way he pleased her at the moment was wild. Rowan didn’t seem like someone capable of giving love to a woman.

"Ah!" Freya’s eyes almost rolled back into her head when she felt Rowan hitting a spot that sent tingling sensations all over her body, disrupting her thoughts.

Rowan watched her pleasure-filled face, and he loved it. This was what he wanted, the innocence was all gone, and it was because of him. He was the only one who could ever bring out this side of her. She tried to hide from him, but she didn’t do it properly, and now she was caught in the web he had woven perfectly. A naive girl trying to outsmart him, and yet here she was, exactly how he wanted her. Even her body defied her words because every part of Freya now belonged to him.

Feeling his release approaching, Rowan increased his pace, aiming to bring Freya down with him. With his faster thrusts came the screams of his name from her delicate mouth, and he didn’t stop until Freya reached her climax. Before Rowan could reach his own, he withdrew his hardened member, spilling his release on the wet floor and watching it get washed away by the water.

Both of them came down from the heat, covered in sweat, water, and ecstasy. Rowan finally set Freya down, but she buried her face in his chest. She didn’t like this feeling. She was enjoying it so much, yet feeling as though she shouldn’t be. It was something she wanted to stop.

Rowan didn’t move; he let her catch her breath. He raised his hand, wanting to touch her hair and pat her gently, but before he could, Freya raised her face. What Rowan saw broke his heart. The girl was crying.

"W-hy?" Rowan asked. Freya’s eyes were filled with tears, and she didn’t notice the softness that flashed in his eyes before it was quickly replaced by his usual unbothered expression.

Freya wiped her tears, looking down at herself. "Why are you doing this to me? You know I can’t resist you, but I want to..." Her voice broke as the tears streamed down her face.

Rowan stepped back, giving her some space. He felt something stab his chest so badly, but he waved it away. "Why do you want to? If you can’t resist then it means you shouldn’t."

"Because it’s you! Because this..." Freya pointed at herself and the cave. "This is not who I am. I wanted to keep myself until I got married." Her voice faded with the soft dripping of water inside the cave.

Rowan chuckled. "That’s already fixed. Let’s get married if that will stop you from feeling guilty. I can marry you and take care of your father and you."

"No!" Freya paused to sniffle back her tears before continuing. "I don’t want a man like you... You please so many women and do whatever you want. You never listen! You just do what your heart wants, and I don’t want that for myself."

The squeeze in Rowan’s heart increased as he saw the hurt in her eyes, and more than that, he saw the hate she had for him.

"Why can’t it be me?"

Freya gave a small, dry laugh. "I don’t love you! And I know you don’t either. You’re not even capable of loving. Someone who has never gone to visit his family, and you want me to marry you? Do you even know what a family is?" she asked, looking at him. When she didn’t get a response, she continued.

"You only know how to please a woman, but not how to love her! It makes me wonder what I’d be doing as your wife. I’m just your bed warmer, and when you think I’m getting old, you’ll abandon me for someone else. Wasn’t that what happened with Princess Jasmine?"

Rowan said nothing; he stood there listening to her words. For some reason, the squeeze in his heart had stopped, but it formed a lump in his throat. This was nothing he had ever experienced, a whole new feeling. Rowan had been with so many women, and they never got to talk after he pleased them because he hated to even look at their faces. And yet, the one person he tried to look at didn’t even want anything to do with him.

"All you care about is... I can’t even say it. But a man from a good family wouldn’t ever consider getting married just because..." Freya stopped. "Fine, why do you want me as your wife?"

Rowan stared down at her, her question resounding in his head. He had no idea what being a family meant because he never had one, and the reason why he wanted Freya as his wife was... was to be the only man who would ever touch her, the only person she would ever rely on. That was all. He didn’t know if it was what others called love.

"You see? You’re not talking. That’s the person you are..." Freya’s lips trembled as she spoke. "You’re not capable of loving or having a family, and you just want to ruin my life!"

The word ruin rang in the back of Rowan’s mind, reminding him of a distant, already forgotten past. He took another step back away from her.

"Please... Rowan, let’s end this. You’re not tamed enough to love a woman. I can’t do this any longer. I’m my father’s only child and hope. Imagine how hurt he would be if he found out that I’m sleeping around with a man I don’t intend to marry." Saying this, Freya raised her dress, trying to squeeze the water from it.

She kept her face down to stop herself from crying. She didn’t know why she was hurting, but just looking at Rowan’s eyes made her want to hug him and let him know she didn’t mean all of what she had said. But this was the only way, to make him leave her alone, to make her stay away from him, to end their forbidden love.

"I heard you," Rowan finally spoke after a long silence. "You said what you wanted, so why are you crying?"

Freya’s knees almost gave out when she heard him. Her body shook as her tears mixed with the spring water. She ignored him, her trembling hands trying to dry her dress.

"I’ll stay away from you. I’m sorry for almost ruining you with my impure ways." Rowan continued, removing his jacket. "You’re right, I’m untamed, and I have no idea what having a family is all about. I just wanted to have you to myself, and I don’t know why. If it’s selfishness, then I won’t deny I enjoyed each moment of it. Every time you said my name, I wanted more, but not this way."

Freya covered her face with her hands. She wanted to stop crying, but she couldn’t. She didn’t know how she had crossed the line, or why she was hurting so much at the moment.

"I only want to hear you cry my name, not cry because of me."

Freya couldn’t take it anymore. She ran out of the cave just as the princess and her brother returned.

"Freya, we found— Freya, were you crying? What about Rowan..." Princess Lirien asked, looking inside the cave to see if something had happened.

The younger prince narrowed his eyes suspiciously at her. "Let me take her back to the palace."

"Yes, yes... We should go back to the palace, but what about Rowan?" the princess asked again.

Freya couldn’t open her mouth to talk. She knew she would start crying again if she tried to explain. With her legs trembling, she followed the younger prince to his horse.

When they got to the foot of the mountain where their horses were tied, Freya looked at Rowan’s horse one more time. This was the last time she was going to ride with him. She sighed, ready to mount the horse with the younger prince.

"Oh, there you are, Rowan." The princess waved with a smile. "We were going to leave. Did anything happen? Freya was crying..."

Rowan ignored the princess, making his way straight to Freya.

Freya’s heart squeezed when she heard his name. To avoid being carried by Rowan again, she looked at the prince to get him to help her up.

Rowan finally reached her, draping his jacket over her shoulders. He said, "You’re going to catch a cold." With one lift, he helped Freya sit behind the prince.

Freya was stunned by his actions. She watched Rowan turn to his own horse as he quietly left the mountains without saying anything else to anyone.