Chapter Twenty-Four
Lucas
I closed the door behind us, leaving the chaos and the others on the other side. Annika stood in the center of my quarters, arms wrapped around herself, her eyes heavy with exhaustion but still glimmering with something unspoken.
I walked past her to the small table, pouring water into two glasses. My hands lingered on the rough edge of the cup as I turned back to her. She looked so small, so breakable in this moment, like all the weight she’d been carrying had finally taken its toll. I handed her a glass, our fingers brushing briefly, sending a current through me that I couldn’t ignore.
“Drink,” I said softly. “You need it.”
She gave me a faint smile, one that didn’t quite reach her eyes, and took a sip. I watched her throat work as she swallowed, and something in me clenched. She was here, safe… for now. But for how long?
“You did good tonight,” I said, breaking the silence. “Better than good.”
She let out a soft laugh, shaking her head. “I didn’t do anything. You and the others saved them. I just—” She hesitated, her voice catching. “I just tried not to fall apart.”
“You didn’t,” I said, stepping closer. “You held your ground. You kept people together. Don’t dismiss that.”
She set the glass down and met my eyes, her expression open in a way that made my chest ache. “I don’t know how you do it,” she whispered. “Keep going, keep fighting, even when it feels like it’ll never be enough.”
I wanted to tell her the truth—that sometimes I didn’t know either. That every step forward felt like dragging my feet through quicksand. But instead, I closed the space between us, reaching out to touch her arm.
“You find something worth fighting for,” I said, my voice low. “And you don’t let it go.”
Her gaze flicked to mine, wide and searching, and for a moment, it felt like the entire world had narrowed to just the two of us. The air between us was heavy, thick with everything we weren’t saying.
She reached up, her hand brushing against my chest, hesitant but warm. “Lucas…” she began, but whatever words she was about to say faded into the space between us.
I leaned down, letting my forehead rest lightly against hers. Her breath hitched, her hands coming up to rest against my sides. For a moment, we just stood there, breathing each other in, letting the silence fill the gaps words couldn’t.
“You’re stronger than you think,” I murmured, my voice barely audible. “You’ve been stronger than any of us had a right to expect.”
She closed her eyes, a single tear slipping down her cheek. I wiped it away with my thumb, lingering on the softness of her skin. She didn’t pull back, and neither did I. Instead, she leaned into me, resting her head against my chest, her weight a gentle pressure that grounded me more than anything else had in years.
“I’m tired,” she whispered. “Of fighting, of running… of not knowing what’s going to happen next.”
I wrapped my arms around her, pulling her closer. “You don’t have to do it alone,” I said. “Not here. Not with me.”
I was drawn to her in a way I couldn’t rationalize, couldn’t fight even if I wanted to. The animal in me desired her, but there was more to it. I didn’t want only her body. I wanted her mind, her soul, her everything. I wanted her to be mine.
I tilted her chin and kissed her, softly at first, as if I was testing whether the world would allow it, whether she would. But then her hands slid up my arms, clutching me like I was the only thing keeping her grounded.
Her body pressed against mine, and I wrapped my arms around her, pulling her closer, needing her in a way that frightened me. It wasn’t just want… it was more profound than that, more consuming.
She tilted her head back, and I kissed the curve of her neck, breathing her in as she shivered under my touch. It drove me wild with desire.
“You’re so beautiful,” I whispered against her fragrant skin. She was strength and compassion, fire and gentleness all at once.
Her hands found their way into my hair, tugging just enough to make me groan, and I captured her lips again, losing myself in her taste, her warmth, the sheer realness of her.
Then, she dropped down to her knees, her dainty fingers working the buckle of my belt.
“Annika…” I said in a hoarse voice. “What are you doing?”
The question was, of course, superfluous. But I wanted to see the spark in her eyes when she smiled instead of a reply. That smile made me completely undone before I even felt her lips on me.
“Shhh,” she whispered softly. “Let me pleasure you…”
The animal inside of me roared with mad desire. My cock was already rock hard, bulging out of my pants, which she slid down. I stepped out of them, standing before her in flagrante delicto .
Her fingers gently closed around the length of my already throbbing manhood, then her lips curled around the tip.
I groaned with desire when I felt her tongue playing with me. Her grip around me tightened, swirling her wrist, pulling my skin backward, then toward the depth of her warm, wet mouth, taking more and more of me inside.
I couldn’t look away. The sight of her lips on my cock was more than I could handle. It took all of my conscious effort not to grab her, turn her around and slap her sweet ass while fucking her brains out.
No. I wanted to take it slowly. I wanted to savor the moment, just like she was.
I could feel my cock swelling more and more in her mouth, wanting to explode, and she knew it. She kept the pressure tight, knowing exactly when to be gentle and when to be wild.
The sound of her mouth sucking me filled all of my senses. It was the only thing I could focus on, as I grabbed her hair in a fistful, keeping it out of her face, so I could look at her. Saliva was dripping from the corner of her lips, and as my cock flopped out of her mouth, her tongue quickly found it again, licking it, savoring every taste.
I knew if she continued it any longer, I would fill her mouth to the brim. I wanted to feel her, to explode inside of her and watch my seed drip out of her, our juices mixed together.
I bent down, grabbing her underneath her shoulders, propping her up on her feet. Her eyes widened, but that smile lingered, daring me to do more.
With pleasure, I thought to myself.
I positioned her on her knees, her ass in the air, on the sofa. Her pants were in the way, but I quickly took care of that. Now, she was wearing nothing but a t-shirt.
I adjusted myself behind her, my hands sliding underneath her shirt, cupping her breasts.
“Oooh…” she moaned, as I played with her hardened nipples. I wanted them in my mouth, but the desire to take her like an animal had won over.
“Do you like this?” I whispered close by her ear.
“Mhm…” That was all she could say.
“I can’t hear you,” I teased, pinching her nipple and pressing the tip of my cock against her pussy lips. They were dripping wet.
“Yes, I love it…” she moaned again, barely able to vocalize each of those words, as desire was taking ahold of her.
“That’s better,” I murmured.
I spat in my hand, sliding my palm down her pussy, making it wetter than it already was. She shuddered at my touch, waiting eagerly. I could see that she couldn’t hold on any longer. Neither could I.
I gripped her waist, pulling her onto my cock, sliding deep inside of her at first go. For a moment, I thought I was too rough, that I did too much, but she moaned loudly, eagerly, and I knew she wanted more.
My cock filled her, stretching her beyond the confines of pleasure for us both.
“You feel so good,” I whispered again, unable to hold myself.
Her wet insides tightened around me titillating me, drawing every bit of energy out of me, as I kept thrusting hard into her, feeling every inch.
She finished first. I could see her fists clenching the couch, digging into it, whitening with strain. She turned around to look at me, her eyes filled with devotion and a mixture of sensations I myself felt. She looked so beautiful and raw, like a wild horse that would never be tamed, only adored from a distance.
I shot inside of her, my balls flicking against her sticky wet pussy lips, feeling the juices drip out of her. It was beyond erotic, beyond any physical connection I ever had with anyone.
I closed my eyes, falling onto her back, refusing to let go.
Not yet…
We remained like that for a while, the room completely quiet. Then, we settled next to each other, her head nestled in the crook of my shoulder. She was tracing idle patterns along my chest with the tips of her fingers. Her touch was light, almost absentminded, but every brush of her fingertips sent a warmth spreading through me.
The light from the oil lamps spilled onto her, casting fiery lines across her bare skin, making her look almost otherworldly. Or maybe that was just the way I saw her—like she was something rare, something I couldn’t quite believe was mine.
I slid my hand down her back, marveling at how perfectly she fit against me, as though she’d been made to be here. She shifted slightly, pressing closer, her breath warm against my collarbone.
For a long time, I didn’t say anything. I didn’t want to break the spell of this moment, this peace that felt so fragile after everything we’d been through. I tilted my head to press a kiss into her hair, the scent of her filling my senses, grounding me in a way nothing else ever had.
“Are you okay?” I finally murmured, my voice low, almost hesitant.
She nodded without looking up, her fingers stilling for a moment before resuming their gentle path. “More than okay,” she whispered.
The corner of my mouth tugged upward, but there was an ache in my chest that I couldn’t shake. I’d never felt this close to anyone, never let someone see me this stripped bare. Physically, yes, but emotionally too. And it terrified me. Because now that I’d let her in, the thought of losing her...
“Lucas?” Her voice pulled me from my thoughts.
I looked down, meeting her gaze. Her eyes were soft, but there was something searching in them, as though she could sense the storm in my head. With her, being open and vulnerable wasn’t as dreadful as I thought it would be. She understood me better than anyone else. She could see me as I truly was, which was incredible.
“I’m here,” I said, my hand smoothing over her hair, needing her to feel it, to know it.
Her lips curved into a small, sleepy smile, and she leaned up, pressing a kiss just over my heart. “I know.”
And for the first time in what felt like forever, I believed that maybe—just maybe—things would be okay. Here, with her in my arms, the rest of the world didn’t feel so heavy.