Chapter 41 Merrick
Merrick
He knew he shouldn’t be as fucking happy as he was right now.
But how could he not be? How could he not smile like an idiot when Lessia, his wife—the most perfect female in this world, who now carried his name, who’d tied herself to him in front of all Havlands—danced before him, her arms around Amalise and her sister, her face so free from responsibilities and pain and whatever they now faced, having returned to their friends?
How could he not toast with Raine, who stared at Frelina like a lovesick pup, holding a glass of water and reminding Merrick what his friend had once been like, silently celebrating that they’d both found something so fucking rare it shouldn’t be possible?
How could he not smile and shake his head at Kerym, who was teasing the poor witch on the dance floor until Merrick and Raine had to turn away because otherwise there was no escaping the scent of madness and desire Kerym evoked in her?
How could he not nod to the regent when Loche carried Iviry down into their rooms, hoping his eyes communicated what he’d meant them to: that he’d make sure the two leaders got their time alone—because if any two people on this ship needed it, it was them?
How could he not laugh when Lessia spun around, her arms flying wide, almost smacking Venko and Ardow in their faces, and her dress—already ripped from dancing with every friend and acquaintance on this ship—flying behind her as she ran right up to him, face flushed and eyes glittering as she told him this was the best day of her life?
How could he not jump down from the railing he’d sat on and take her into his arms, ignoring the whistles around them as he placed her on the ladder leading to the crow’s nest, hissing at someone trying to stop them that he was “taking some fucking time with his wife,” as he gently nudged her upward?
Merrick didn’t have the words to describe what he felt right now, but he knew this moment… it was fleeting—it was one of those glimpses of pure euphoria that one got to experience only once in a lifetime, and if you weren’t lucky, perhaps you didn’t even get that.
He wasn’t about to waste a single fucking second of it.
Lessia laughed at him when he shoved at her, anticipation flitting over her skin as she picked up on why urgency swirled in his gut, and Merrick teasingly snapped his teeth when she turned her head over her shoulder to look at him.
He stored the playful yelp she let out amongst his other favorite memories of her, and as she continued climbing to the spot atop the mast, towering over the ships, Merrick waited for a beat, just watching her radiate happiness and life and contentment.
This was what he’d dreamed of when he’d first seen her.
Perhaps not on a warship in the middle of the fucking sea, but that was their life—that was the outcome of the choices and decisions they’d made themselves.
He’d known the chance she’d follow him to another realm—to leave everything behind—was minimal, and so Merrick had wanted… no, he’d needed to ensure it was her choice, and hers only.
When she called his name, he shook his head, and skipping over every other rung, he pulled himself atop the rounded lookout, coming up behind Lessia as she stared out over the ships beneath them.
“How long do you think this will last?” she whispered as Merrick circled his arms around his wife, resting on the wooden railing on either side of her as he pressed his nose into her neck, making sure he’d never forget the scent of home mingling with pure and utter joy.
Fires flickered over people’s faces when he made himself follow her gaze, and Merrick doubted anyone would return to their rooms until dawn, when the fragile rays of the sun would be too revealing—when what could hide in darkness and shadows had to come to light.
But right now? Right now, everyone could pretend they’d been friends and allies all along. They could cheer and dance and sing, feigning ignorance of the long road ahead, like they ignored the evil waiting just behind the bend of the horizon.
“Hopefully long enough,” Merrick mumbled as he dropped a hand to her side, pulling up her silver skirts as he dragged his fingers up her thigh. He hardened against her when she let out a shuddering breath in response.
“You did this, you know.” Merrick let his lips trace along her neck as she rested the back of her head against his chest, while his hand found her hip, a finger slipping into the lining of her undergarments.
“You made this happen, Lessia. All these people? That they’re now dancing shoulder to shoulder like they’ll stand beside each other in war—that’s on you. ”
She moaned as he dipped his hand entirely into her already soaked underwear, and Merrick cupped her before sliding his fingers between her folds, the tip of his middle finger playing with her entrance as she melted against him.
“Continue looking,” Merrick demanded, his cheek lining up with hers as he slipped his finger further in. His cock strained against her back as her heated wetness welcomed him, drawing his finger in until he groaned at how easily she took him.
“You did this,” Merrick whispered as he began thrusting his finger in and out. “You, and you only, made everyone here tonight fight for the same thing. You brought the creatures that will help us win. You made Fae and human and shifter stand together for the first time in our history.”
Merrick added another finger, and as he started pumping her, harder—faster—she gasped, her head fully rolling back onto him, and he couldn’t help claiming her perfect mouth, forcing her head to the side as he sucked on her bottom lip, sinking his fingers deeper into her hot pussy until she cried out into the kiss.
Fuck, every time he heard her noises, it was as if he could die the next moment, and it would be entirely fine.
The way she’d fucking surrendered to him from the first time they did this?
It was everything he could have ever asked for.
There was so much trust in her, but it was the fight—the one that had her whining again and trying to shift the pace on her own, riding his hand—that drove him nearly mad.
Fuck. He needed to be inside her. Now.
“Spread your legs wider,” Merrick rasped as she moaned again, her walls clenching around his fingers—already so close to strangling them.
“Wider, please,” he begged. “I need to fuck you, my beautiful wife.”
He gritted his teeth as she did exactly as he said, and Merrick quickly freed his hard cock, his mouth swallowing Lessia’s protest as he pulled out his fingers.
When she tried to turn to face him, he gently cupped her chin, moving her face forward again as he fitted his cock by her entrance, trying not to die at the wetness already making his tip slide in.
“I want you to look,” Merrick ordered. “I want you to be so fucking proud of yourself.”
He thrust in another inch, his hand flying up to cover her mouth when she cried out, holding her against his heaving chest as he tried to stop himself from shoving in to the hilt in one stroke for how perfectly she took him.
“I want you to feel like the queen you are,” Merrick growled. “I want my wife to know how fucking incredible she is.”
His cock sank in farther, the silky heat enveloping the first inches of his dick almost already too much.
Using the hand not quelling her cries of pleasure, Merrick fixed her skirts so that if someone looked up, they’d see nothing of what was going on.
His cock twitched within her at the movement, making them both moan, and he thought the entire world could fucking look on as he sank into her—claimed her—made her his entirely and fully.
“I want you to remember who you are,” Merrick growled, fighting for his life to only thrust yet another inch, even if it felt like his stomach was on fire, everything within him screaming at him to consume her—to fill her. “I want you to know that whatever happens, you’re my queen. My wife.”
“Fuck,” he groaned as Lessia arched her back, her hands wrapping around the railing as she speared herself onto his cock, stretching around his hardness until he slammed so deep inside her that he hit that spot that made her cry out so loud even his fingers couldn’t stop some of the sound from escaping.
“If… if so…” Lessia panted. “Y-you’re my king. My husband. My everything.”
She moved forward, and when the wet sound of his cock sliding out of her reverberated around them, Merrick couldn’t help it. He grabbed her hips and, with a hissed “Hold on,” he thrust himself inside her again, almost lifting her off the ground with the force.
“I love you,” he groaned as he started pumping his hips faster, sliding deep into her with every thrust, his hips slapping against her firm ass. “But… if you call me… your husband again, I’ll come too soon.”
“I… love you,” Lessia whined as she rolled her hips to meet him—to let his cock slide so deep he saw stars. “And I will be calling you my husband… for the rest of my life.”
Fuck. That did it.
“You asked for it,” Merrick growled, his vision blurring as heat swelled and burned in his groin, a primal need to claim his female overtaking his mind. “Keep those hands on the railing, wife, because I am about to fuck you so hard we might fall to our deaths if you don’t.”
He didn’t give her more warning than that as he squeezed her hips, using a foot to shove her legs further apart, and then Merrick fucked her, driving into her harder and harder, until her body moved up and down with his thrusts, her pussy becoming impossibly wetter every time he sank into her.
“My queen,” he hissed when her walls began quivering, closing around his cock.
“My wife.” He pressed into her, struggling against her contracting pussy, forcing his cock through the tightening muscles until it felt like she might cut off all blood.
“My everything.” The last words were jumbled, a choked-down roar, as Lessia came apart, her pussy heating so much around him, he had to drag her toward him to be able to thrust inside her one final time.
Merrick burrowed his face in her damp neck as he buried himself to the hilt, spilling deep within her as her pussy milked his cock, and he continued whispering “my wife, my wife, my wife” until they caught their breaths again.
When he had finally released her and they had cleaned up as best they could, they stayed silent atop the lookout, just watching the world change beneath them and breathing in the crisp evening air.
Lessia rested against his chest, her eyes sleepy as they found his. His chest nearly puffed out at the satisfied smile pulling her lips wide as she said, “I feel like I have everything I ever wanted.”
Merrick laughed a low laugh. “This is just the beginning.”
She nodded. “I… Somehow, I think so too. But if… if it’s not…
Merrick, you’ve given me everything. More than everything.
” Her gaze went out over the people again.
“I’ve seen and experienced things I never thought I would.
I’ve loved so much it should last several lifetimes… I don’t think I could ask for more.”
Leaning down, he kissed her—softly, gently, lazily, until another raspy laugh shook his chest as her scent became richer again.
“It’s good that I am much more selfish than you, then,” Merrick replied as he pulled back, watching her pout with a swollen bottom lip.
“A greater male might have told you that if this is all we get, it’s enough.
That it’s been my honor to stand by your side these past few months.
That being your husband for a night is everything I’ll take.
But I am not that male. It is not enough for me.
It will never be enough for me, Lessia. I plan to love you through every lifetime, and whatever comes after that.
Forever is not a word strong enough for how long my love for you will burn.
I’ve already ripped apart worlds to keep you alive—and I will do whatever else I need to. ”
He expected her to protest, but Lessia just smiled at him. “You know… I once said that people like us don’t get happy endings, and you told me that perhaps we only get endings, but that we should make that ending one for the books?”
Merrick nodded. He’d probably said “fucking books,” but that didn’t matter.
“I have a feeling our ending will be one that even the gods can’t escape.” Lessia shot him another smile. “I have this sense—”
A horn—one of their own—blared a warning that made them whip their heads up, and Merrick only had time to reach for her dress as a ship slammed into their own, wood screaming and creaking as their vessel broke apart.
He roared as the fabric between his fingers ripped.
Nothing but emptiness filled his hands as he tumbled toward the dark water, screaming “Lessia!” with everything in him until water swallowed his voice.