Chapter Thirteen
A Dash of Heat
Ryatt
I’ve dropped the glamour, leaving nothing between us but the mythical creature and her. There are no more lies to be shed or secrets to reveal, outside of my shifted form. All that’s left is the reindeer prince praying to his Goddess that the very human woman won’t see a monster.
My pulse hammers in my ears like the drums of war. The air between us hums, charged with magic that isn’t entirely mine. It’s hers—her wonder, the fear coursing through her, and the disbelief that it is real. I can taste the mixture on my tongue like frost.
She doesn’t move at first, just stares. Her gaze slowly traces along my antlers. I watch her take in my sharp edges, the truest form of myself, as I wait with bated breath for what she’ll say. I can almost hear the clicking of her boots as she runs away, even though she hasn’t moved.
But instead she stands up, hesitantly moving towards me.
She sucks in a breath through her teeth as her shaky hand moves towards them.
I don’t dare move, afraid that even if I shifted my weight, she’d lurch backwards.
When her fingers finally graze the velvet of my antlers, I almost fall to my knees at her feet.
The bond flares to life between us, bright and alive, pure magic threading between every atom of my body.
I can’t breathe, can’t think—the only thing existing for me in this moment is here.
It’s the moment she whispers, “You’re beautiful,” that completely undoes me. Before I thought she was my world, but now there isn’t a part of me that doesn’t believe it.
Her awe rushes into me, joining my adoration of her. Our emotions mold together into one single embodiment of us. I suck in a breath, my hands reaching over and pulling her down onto my lap.
A soft gasp leaves her when she finds more than one thing hard beneath her. I’ve worried for days about how she’d react when she learned the truth, but with her hands stroking along my antlers, and her scent filling my nostrils, I can’t wait any longer.
“You have no idea how long I’ve been dreaming about this moment.
How much I’ve worried that you’d run away when you found out the truth.
I can’t even put into words how it feels to know that you accept me.
” My hand tangles into her long, amber curls, twisting my fingers into them and pulling gently causing her to drop her head back.
I nuzzle into the curve of her neck, inhaling deeply as a low moan trembles in her throat.
“Ryatt…” She breathes, her voice a desperate whisper. “I have so many questions, but right now…”
Her hips roll against me, and I can’t help but laugh softly.
“Something else is consuming my thoughts.”
For a heartbeat neither of us moves, sitting in the truth we both feel in the moment. Her hands still rest against my antlers, her pulse a steady beat against them. The air between us crackles with energy and tension as we stare into each other’s eyes.
“You’re really not scared,” I whisper, more to myself than her.
Her lips curve into a small, trembling smile. “Should I be?”
I shake my head slightly, unable to speak past the lump forming in my throat. She’s gorgeous, her cheeks flushing as her freckles darken. Those pouty lips dangle open as her breathing becomes more rapid.
When she leans in, it’s slow. It’s as if it’s our first time all over again. In some ways it is, because I’m not pretending to be something I’m not, and she’s finally seeing me for who I really am.
When our lips meet, time slows down, crawling along as we move them tenderly against each other.
Everything in my mind goes silent. No more racing thoughts, fears of what she’ll think, or even the gnawing worry of my future.
There is only her and I as we explore each other again.
I cradle the back of her neck, my thumb pressing along her jaw as I deepen our kiss.
This moment feels divinely inevitable. Nothing we are doing is about chasing a feeling; instead, it’s as though we are accepting what we’ve always known, even if it was only in our consciousness.
Her soft whimpers fill the air around us, joining with the crackle of the fire and the wind blowing outside.
The temperature in the living room rises as our bodies move against each other, our hot cocoas long forgotten on the coffee table. Dinner is no longer a thought in our minds. Only exploring each other and spending time loving each other.
My hand skims down her side as I hook my hand under her thigh, lifting her up as I stand up. There’s somewhere I want to do this, and it isn’t on my couch with limited space. No, I want to take my time and there’s only one place that can happen.
I toe open my bedroom door when we walk down the hallway.
It swings open to reveal a deep evergreen set of walls with wood accents lining the entire space.
But the only thing that matters right now is the four poster extra large king size bed in the middle of the room.
Where I have every intention of spreading Holly out as I show her what the bond will do for us both.
When she drops down onto my bed with a small bounce, giggles pour out of her as she stretches her hands back up towards me.
I shake my head slightly. “I have something to show you.”
“Something beyond antlers I’m not sure how you sleep in this bed with?” She says as she tilts her head to the side, examining the head of the bed. The very normal-looking bed.
“You’d be surprised at the wonders magic can do for you.” I reach over my head, hooking my thumb into the collar of my shirt as I pull it over my head.
“Gods, I’ve seen that in so many movies, but I never imagined it would be something I’d witness in real life.” She bites her lower lip between her teeth as she presses her thighs together. So she likes when I strip for her—noted.
Magic hums beneath my skin, restless and alive.
It’s not until she sees the northern lights glowing lightly beneath my skin that she let’s out a soft gasp, her eyes rounding in fascination.
She sits up, tracing her finger along my abdomen.
Where her finger strokes, the light moves.
I don’t need to call forward for it to respond to her, my mate.
Her own skin begins to mirror mine, the bond moving through her to meet me. The tip of her finger glows and she let’s out a gasp.
“It’s you. Your magic is moving into me. I can feel it reaching into me.”
My hand glides under her chin, tilting her head until she’s looking into my eyes. “That is us. It’s our bond, showing that we were destined to meet and fall in love with each other. Our beautiful Aurielle chose you to be my mate, my everything. Just as I am to you.”
Her mouth drops open. “So when you yelled at that teenager about almost hurting your mate, you weren’t saying it like Australians talk about their friends.”
A laugh bursts out of me. “Absolutely no! He should be glad the only thing I did was yell at him.”
“What does being a mate mean?” She shifts until she’s on her knees in front of me. Her finger trails along my bare chest, watching the light move with it.
I suck in a breath, holding still because I’m not sure how much longer I can stand here with her in my bed. But I do what I can to hold still and answer.
“It means I will always choose you, protect you, love you. No other woman will ever come between us, just as no man will either. We will always be here for each other as we love, share, and carve out our own life together.”
“That’s a beautiful proclamation of love if I’ve ever heard of one. So what do we have to do to make it…official?”
A slow, tender smile spreads across my face.
Her breath catches as the golden threads materialize between us, twining from my chest to hers until they pulse in sync with our heartbeats.
The glow grows stronger—it’s almost alive and aware as it balances between us.
Aurielle’s magic is stirring as her curiosity peaks; she’s waiting.
I brush my thumb along her jaw, guiding her gaze back to me as my thumb continues a soft brushing against her cheek. “The bond’s awakening,” I whisper. “But it won’t be complete until we speak the vow. Do you trust me? Will you take this leap with me and see what life has in store for us?”
She nods, her voice soft but steady. “Tell me what to say.”
I kneel on the bed in front of her, my forehead pressing to hers. The hum of magic vibrates between us as if Aurielle is in the room with us. Together our voices blend into one—hers bright and cheerful, mine deep and reverant.
Aurielle, keeper of the light, witness us. I see them—as they are, as they’ll become. And I choose them still.Let your light bind our souls so that no distance, shadow,or darkness can dim what we’ve found.
The moment the last word leaves our lips, everything stills. The air thickens with warmth before erupting in a blinding white light. A weight lands on my left shoulder, slight enough to be a delicate woman’s hand. She’s here with us.
Before I can say so, the glow beneath our skin surges forward, spilling upwards in ribbons of silver from me and ribbons of gold from her, twirling around each other until they blend together into a silvery golden ribbon.
A star blooms above my heart, pulsing a warm light that shines out towards Holly, who gasps.
She pulls up her sweater to find a matching one blinking above her own heart. Twin northern lights pulsing in a perfect rhythm.
Holly’s lips part in wonder, her fingers brushing over the radiant mark above my heart. “It’s…beautiful,” she whispers.
I rest my palm over hers, over us. “It’s forever.”
A lyrical, soft woman’s voice chimes around us. “May each of you always find your way home, no matter how far you stray away from each other.”
The stars above our hearts flare once—brilliant and blinding—before softening into a steady glow. The warmth of it sinks into my bones, and I swear it feels as though Holly’s heart has nestled next to my own as it beats in sync with my own.
She looks up at me, eyes wide, and shimmering in the light of our joined souls. “I can feel you,” she breathes. “Everywhere.”
I cup her face, my thumbs brushing the tears dangling on her lower lashes. “That’s because there isn’t a part of me that isn’t yours now.”
Her hands slide up my back, her nails tracing the lines of muscles until she grips my shoulders. The world narrows around the heat flaring in her eyes as she blinks up at me. She’s almost ethereal with the northern lights glowing beneath her skin, those caramel eyes twinkling in the glow.
I move slowly, lowering us down until her back meets the mattress. She sighs contently when my weight lowers down and settles between her legs. With each hum from her throat, those soft gasps when I grind against her, pull me further into her orbit.
“Ryatt, we still have clothes on.” She pouts as she glances down at her sweater.
I smirk as I snap my fingers and our clothes disappear, back into the ether where they came from. She gasps as she looks down again at our now naked bodies pressed against each other.
“Oh, this is going to be so much fun.” She giggles before she wiggles underneath me, hooking her feet together over my lower back. “Now there’s nothing between us. Nowhere to be, but here in each other’s arms.”
When I rock forward, the glow beneath our skin flares brighter, casting the room in a sparkle of blues, silvers, and golds. Her head tilts back, eyes half-lidded, and the northern star above her heart beats quicker with each movement.
Her whispered praises and soft confessions echo around the room as we move together.
The world outside has faded into nothing, with the only thing that matters is the love building between us.
With the full moon glowing brightly through my double window of my bedroom, and the stars twinkling brightly in the sky, it feels as though they too are celebrating our joining.
Rejoicing in another successful bond created beneath this very sky.
We spend the night cherishing each other, wrapped in comfort as we chat about all our hopes and dreams.
If only the good times could last more than one night.