Chapter 23
Alchera
When I come to, it feels late at night and everything’s quiet.
It doesn’t take long before I realize there’s no pain anywhere in my body, and I feel good as new.
When I begin to sit up, Raighne gets up off the bed and snaps, “Stay where you are.”
His features are drawn tight, a dark frown on his brow.
God, I’ve never seen him so angry.
I watch as he digs something out of his bag. It looks like a first aid kit. He takes a pair of small scissors from it and coming back to the bed, he glares at me.
My tongue darts out to wet my lips. “I’m sorry.”
“Lie on your stomach,” he orders, his tone promising nothing good for me.
I do as I’m told, and a moment later, I feel how Raighne removes the stitches from my leg.
“Do you realize what you’ve done?” he growls at me. Not waiting for an answer, he lays into me. “You took painkillers meant for dogs that have cancer. Dog medicine, Alchera!”
Done with removing the stitches, he tosses the scissors back into the first aid kit then pins me with a dark look. “Why do you keep rejecting our bond?”
“I’m not,” I argue as I turn around and sit on the bed. I pull the covers over me as I explain, “I just don’t want you in my head twenty-four-seven.”
Because then he’d see how I feel about him, and I’d just die.
“That’s how a bond works,” he snaps. “I have to see what’s going on inside you so I can make the right decisions.”
“No!” I snap back at him as I climb off the bed.
I don’t care that I’m standing in pink lace underwear, because clearly the man doesn’t see me as a woman.
“To you, I’m just your charge, and there are things I don’t want you to know about me.” I press my hand to my chest. “I need my privacy.”
“Just a charge?” he scoffs while shaking his head. His tone is much lower when he says, “I told you I live and die for you, Alchera. What more can I say to make you understand how important you are.”
My heart hurts because I want to be important to Raighne for who I am, not for the bond we share and the destiny I have to fulfill.
Unable to stop myself, a sob escapes my lips, and I turn my back to him so he can’t see my tears.
“I know you have a lot to deal with,” he says, his tone softer. “But you’re not alone. Let me in, so I can help you.”
I shake my head as I cover my mouth with my hand to keep another sob from escaping.
“By Awo, Alchera,” he groans, and I hear him move closer to me. He takes hold of my shoulders and turns me around to face him. He looks at me with pure desperation as he says, “You are the only being that matters to me. I will sacrifice everything I am for you.”
I stare at Raighne, wishing it was enough. But it’s not. All I want is to be loved by him. It would make everything so much more bearable.
But I can’t have what I want.
When I try to pull away, his hands frame my face and he forces me to keep eye contact with him.
“You’re fucking killing me.” He presses his forehead to mine. “Please. I’m begging you. Let me in. ”
I feel his breath on my mouth, and his lips brush against mine.
“Let me in.”
Right now, I can’t handle a kiss just so we can connect and yank away from him.
I close my eyes and place my hand over my stomach as my shoulders shudder.
“I can’t kiss you and not feel anything,” I admit one small truth as I struggle not to break down.
In a flash, Raighne grabs hold of me, pinning me to his body with one arm while his other hand grips my jaw. His mouth crashes against mine, and he proceeds to kiss the everloving shit out of me.
“Let. Me. In!” His voice strikes like a lightning bolt in my mind, and I don’t stand a chance against his power as he invades every inch of me.
Raighne
I’m not giving Alchera a choice anymore. I’m done playing the patient game.
Forcing her lips open, my tongue lashes at hers as I pour everything I am into her.
“This ends now,” I demand.
She whimpers against my mouth before her arms wrap around my neck, and she begins to kiss me back.
My lips take hers roughly, demanding she accepts me once and for all.
Because without her, I’m nothing.
Alchera kisses me with the same passion, and when her walls come crashing down, I enter her mind before she can try to shut me out again.
God, he’s going to find out how I feel about him.
Shit.
Her panicked thoughts rush around me, like prey trying to escape a predator.
I dig deeper, desperate to know her true feelings .
Shut down. Shit. Shut down.
God, he tastes so good, but I can’t risk him finding out. I can’t kiss him and want him when he doesn’t want me in the same way.
She tries to break the kiss, but I only intensify my assault, and when there are no more barriers between us and I hear all her thoughts, I’m shocked by what I find.
I see myself through Alchera’s eyes – how she admires me and thinks I’m the hottest man she’s ever laid eyes on.
Holy fuck.
I feel every emotion she feels for me, how her love has grown from being infatuated with me to loving me so much it brings her heartache.
“You love me?” I ask, stunned by the discovery.
She rips free from my hold, and gasping, her features crumble as she stares at me as if I betrayed her.
“How could you?” she cries. “You weren’t supposed to find out.”
Alchera loves me. How did I not see it?
Just as she turns around to escape to the bathroom, I grab hold of her arm and pull her back to me.
“No!” She slams her fist against my chest. “I’m done with this.”
Feeling her panic and embarrassment, I frame her face with my hands and forcefully keep her in place as I capture her eyes and hold them imprisoned.
“Why did you hide your true feelings from me?”
“Was I supposed to run after you like a lovesick puppy?” she exclaims. I feel her temper flare, then she fights to get free from my hold. “Let go of me, Raighne!”
“Never,” I growl. I close the distance between us until there’s barely an inch separating our faces. “I will never let you go.”
Tears spill from her eyes, and I feel the wave of embarrassment and frustration hit her again.
“Why are you embarrassed?” I demand.
Her gaze narrows on me. “Seriously? How do you expect me to react when you just force your way into my mind and steal my secrets?”
“Why keep it a secret? ”
She shakes her head and stops trying to get free from my hold. Closing her eyes, she admits, “Because I don’t want to be the stupid woman who fell in love with her guardian when he only sees her as his charge.”
What the actual fuck?
Frowning at her, I order, “Look at me.”
She lets out a defeated sigh before opening her eyes again.
“You’re not just my charge, Alchera. More than once, I’ve told you there’s no one more important.”
“Yeah, because of our bond and my destiny,” she mutters. “I get it.”
“I’m not talking about your destiny right now,” I snap, my tone way too harsh. “This is about us. Just you and me. Man to woman.”
Confusion flutters over her face, and it has me spelling out the words to her. “I love you, Alchera. Why do you think I got upset whenever you spent time with Storm? Fuck, I wanted to rip the man’s head off when you smiled at him.”
Her lips part in shock, and I watch as she struggles to accept what I’m telling her.
“I love you,” I repeat the words, my tone a little gentler. “When I say there’s no one more important to me, I mean in every aspect of my life. Only you matter to me.”
A solid minute passes where she can only stare at me, utterly stunned, before she whispers, “I didn’t know.”
I can feel she’s holding back, too scared she might be misunderstanding what I’m saying.
Closing the distance between us again, I press my mouth to hers. “I’m not kissing you to heal you. I’m kissing you because I want to taste you.” My tongue dives into her mouth. “Because I desperately need to claim you as mine so no other man can steal you from me.”
Happiness trickles into her heart, and it makes the corner of my mouth curve up before I begin to devour her.
Holy shit. Raighne loves me.
I can’t believe it.
As I hear her thoughts clearly, I feel all her emotions and what it’s like for her to kiss me. With nothing standing between us any longer, I can see through her eyes, experience everything she experiences, and hear everything she thinks.
Oh God, he tastes so good. Please don’t let this be a dream.
“It’s real, my little dreamer, and you better brace yourself because I’m claiming all of you tonight,” I tell her mentally.
“All of me?”
I lower my hand to her thigh and brush my fingers over her skin until I touch the scrap of lace that’s been testing my limits the entire fucking night.
“All. Of. You.”
Nervous anticipation pours through her, then her panicked thoughts sound up one after the other.
I’ve never been with a man.
What do I do?
Shit, what if I’m not good at it?
Oh my God. It’s really happening.
Calm down. Be cool. Just follow his lead.
Holy fucking shit, am I really about to have sex with Raighne?
I chuckle into her mouth, finding her thoughts endearing.
Pulling slightly away, I rub my finger over the lace as I say, “Deep breaths, my little dreamer. Don’t worry. Let me handle everything.”
She nods, the nervous expression not easing from her face.
I brush my mouth against hers and inhale the quivering breath escaping her lips.
Looking deep into her eyes, I say, “I love you so fucking much. Don’t ever block me from your mind again.”
Alchera nods, and when my finger strokes over her slit, she lets out a sharp gasp.
I grow impossibly hard, but I ignore my cock as I focus on her.
Able to feel every sensation she’s experiencing, the corner of my mouth lifts when her abdomen tightens with need.
God, I love that smile. He looks so hot right now. And the way he touches me. I’m going to melt into a puddle of drool.
Wrapping my other hand around the back of her neck, I lean down and nip at her mouth while I push the lace out of the way. When my fingers brush over her hot pussy, I groan into her mouth before I proceed to fucking devour her.
Oh. My. God. So good. She chants in her mind. So, so, so good.
I massage her clit, and all her thoughts cease. A second later, I feel the pleasure she’s experiencing, and it makes my cock want to tear through my jeans to get to her.
Spinning her around, I throw her onto the bed, and as surprise rockets through her, I crawl over her body.
“Are you ready for me, Alchera?” I growl as I grip hold of the lace panties.
She only nods, her eyes wide and her breaths bursting over her parted lips.
“Answer me with words,” I demand.
“Yes.” It’s a mere gasp, but it’s good enough for me.
I drag the lace down her legs and toss it to the side. When I finally see her pussy, a million men can’t stop me as I push her thighs apart and lick her from opening to clit.
“Oh God,” she whimpers, her back arching off the bed and her hips bucking.
I grip hold of her sides and forcefully keep her in place as I start to suck and lick her clit like the starving man I am.
“Raighne,” she cries, intense waves of pleasure seizing her body with every swipe of my tongue and scrape of my teeth.
Knowing she can handle more, I push a finger inside her wet heat, and it has lights exploding in her mind as she’s overcome with paralyzing ecstasy.
“That’s right, my little dreamer. Come hard for me,” I growl mentally while I continue to devour her virgin pussy.
“All mine.” I suck and bite at her clit as I finger her, making sure to stretch her opening so she’ll be able to take me. “I can’t wait to sink deep inside you.”
“Raighne,” she sobs as her pleasure increases, and it makes me feel delirious.
I’m on a fucking high from her ecstasy alone, never mind my own emotions and the satisfaction filling my heart from finally getting to love and fuck my woman.
When her body convulses for a second time, I free her clit from my mouth and kiss my way up her abdomen until I reach her breasts. I unclip her bra and pull the lace away from her breasts so I can suck her left nipple into my mouth.
Her body keeps quivering beneath me, and she’s trying to focus on slowing her breaths as she comes down from her high.
I want her to be fully aware of what’s happening when I fuck her, so I feast on her breasts while I give her time to recover.
“Holy shit,” she breathes. “That was…It was…”
I let out a chuckle as my teeth tug at her hard nipple.
“It was out of this world,” she finally manages to get the words out.
I free her nipple from my teeth and brace myself over her. “It’s only going to get better.”
Her eyes flick down, then her cheeks flush as she thinks, Dammit, I’m the only one naked.
I grip hold of the back of my shirt, and with one swift movement, I rip the fabric over my head.
Oh wow. That’s so hot.
There’s no way I’m telling her I can hear every thought she thinks because I know she’ll try to block me again.
I move to my knees, and when I begin to unbuckle my belt, Alchera’s eyes lock on my hands.
Damn, those veins snaking beneath his skin. Sigh. The man is way too attractive for me to handle, and I’m about to see him naked.
Her thoughts make every stressful moment I’ve suffered because of her stubbornness melt away, and knowing how she truly feels about me has my power growing.
I can feel it expand in my soul as I pull my zipper down.
I move off the bed, and when I shove the jeans down my legs, her eyes widen and her lips part .
Mother of God. It’s going to hurt.
I wonder if his skin is as soft as it looks. Like velvet wrapped over steel.
Sigh, what a sight to behold.
I almost tell her it won’t hurt, because I’ll take her pain, but then she’d know I’m listening in on her thoughts.
Climbing back onto the bed, I take her hand and guide her to wrap her fingers around my desperate cock.
“All of me belongs to you,” I say so she won’t hesitate to touch me. “Only to you.”
With a look of wonder on her face, she strokes her fingers up and down my cock, and it weeps for more of her attention.
“Your touch feels so good,” I groan. “But I need to be inside you. Open your legs wide for me.”
Alchera does as I ask, and when I move over her, her hands brush up and down my chest and abs, pure satisfaction flowing through her from getting to touch me.
Jesus, he’s all hard muscle and tanned skin. I can get drunk just from touching him.
I brace my forearm beside her head as I lie down on top of her. When our skin touches, from neck to pelvis, I almost lose my fucking mind from how good it feels to have nothing between us.
I love feeling his weight pushing me into the bed, my woman moans mentally, and I give her more of my weight as my mouth claims hers.
I get high on the taste of her and have no idea how long we kiss, but when I lift my head and see her swollen lips, I can’t resist sinking my teeth into her bottom one before easing the sting with my tongue.
Keeping myself braced on my right forearm, I push my left hand down between us and position my desperate cock at her entrance.
Alchera’s nervousness returns tenfold, but she also waits with anticipation for my next move.
I grip her thigh and pull her leg over my hip, opening her more before I start to rock slowly into her, forcing her tight virgin pussy to take the head of my cock.
It feels fucking incredible, but I have to focus on her as I push a little deeper.
The instant she feels a sharp, burning pain, I take it from her. I make sure she doesn’t experience any discomfort as I keep driving deeper into her.
She’s fucking tight, and her walls fight me. With me taking all her pain, I forcefully thrust hard until I’m buried to the hilt deep inside her.
Fuck.
I’m bombarded with the pain of taking her virginity and the pleasure I feel from finally being inside her.
Fuck.Fuck.Fuck.
I push my hand between us, and pressing my palm to her abdomen, I focus on healing the tears inside her. The pain lessens, and when it’s completely gone, I suck in a deep breath of air.
“Are you okay?” I ask.
“I should be asking you that question.” She lifts her head and presses a tender kiss to my jaw. “Did it hurt a lot?”
“Nothing I can’t handle,” I reply, my voice growing hoarse from having to keep still so she’ll adjust to my size.
I become aware of how full Alchera feels and that she’s emotional from having me inside her.
Kissing her deeply, I move my hand up to cup her breast, which is a perfect fit in my palm. “We’re one.”
Her hands settle on my shoulders. “Thank you for taking my pain.”
“Anything for you.”
I pull out slowly, making sure none of the discomfort trickles through to her, and when I sink back inside her, the ache is not as sharp as with the first thrust.
I grind my pelvis against her clit, and her abdomen tightens with pleasure.
I draw out until only the head of my cock remains in Alchera, and locking eyes with her, I watch and feel her pleasure when I drive back into her.
Her hands move down my back until they reach my ass, and as I begin to set a steady pace, her nails dig into my skin.
God, I love the way he moves on top of me. It’s so fucking hot. And his huge cock is stroking me in all the right places.
If I knew sex felt this amazing, I would’ve done it much sooner.
The corner of my mouth lifts. Her pleasure mixing with my own creates a deliriously intoxicating cocktail that overwhelms the living hell out of me.
“So fucking tight,” I groan in her mind. “So perfect for me.”
I lock eyes with her as I thrust faster and faster until I can’t control my pace, and a primal need to fuck her senseless takes over.
A light begins to glow between us, and Alchera gasps, her eyes widening. “I can feel what you feel. I can hear your thoughts.”
We bond at such a high level that the impossible happens, and while we’re connected as man and woman, Alchera gets to experience exactly what I’m experiencing.
“Feel how much I love you?”
Our eyes remain locked as I thrust harder and harder into her.
“Yes,” she breathes in mind. “God, Raighne. I wish you’d told me sooner.”
The ecstacy we’re creating is fucking glorious, casting a spell around us. While the world is going to shit, we find a moment where it’s only her and me.
There’s no guardian and charge.
We’re just two people who love each other with our whole beings.
Our souls fuse as one, our hearts beat the same wild rhythm, and our bodies move, creating an inferno that will burn forever.
“By Awo, I get to love you for all of eternity.”
She nods as her hips lift to meet mine with every powerful thrust.
“For all of eternity,” she whispers, her tone filled with the love she feels for me.
Alchera arches her back as her core clenches around me, and the moment her orgasm rips through her, I groan, “You come so fucking beautifully for me, my little dreamer. Let me feel your pussy squeeze my cock.”
Another wave of pleasure hits her, and she holds tightly onto me as her body convulses beneath mine .
I fuck her harder, the sounds of our bodies colliding, filling the air.
“Raighne,” she sobs mentally. “God…Raighne.”
I ride her high with her, and only when she starts to come down do I focus on myself and how fucking incredible her slick heat feels around my cock.
Her inner walls fist me as she grows sensitive, only making me hammer into her as I search for my own release.
“Jesus,” she gasps.
Pleasure spirals down my spine and up my balls, and my body jerks violently against hers as my orgasm strikes.
“I didn’t think you could grow bigger, but mother of God, it feels good. You fill all of me.”
Her words increase my pleasure a hundredfold, and I almost black out from the intensity.
My muscles strain as I spill every last drop I have to offer inside Alchera before I lose all my strength and slump down on top of her.
She wraps her legs around my hips and clings to me with all her might.
For minutes, there’s only the sound of our racing breaths and pounding hearts.
When I finally have enough strength, I lift my head and press my mouth to hers.
“Mine,” I say with finality.
“Yours,” she agrees.
I kiss the woman I love more than anything while relishing in the fact that we’ll forever be one. No one can come between us.
There are no more misunderstandings, and we’ve bonded so deeply it can never be severed.
I brush my hand up and down Alchera’s side before covering her breast and squeezing her silky soft flesh.
“I’ll never get enough of you,” I groan. “Now that I’ve had a taste of you, I’m addicted.”
She smiles against my lips, and I break the kiss so I can see her happiness. And what a fucking smile it is, lighting up her face and making her look damn-near angelic.
“That was…wow,” she chuckles. “For lack of a better word.”
“Everything you hoped your first time would be?” I ask, the arrogant bastard in me needing to hear the words.
Alchera nods, her fingers trailing up and down my back. “So much more than I could’ve hoped for.”
I stay buried deep inside her, relishing her tight heat wrapped around me.
Bringing my hand up, I brush my fingers through her short hair, loving the disheveled look on her.
With her pinned beneath my body, I say, “No more hiding things from me.”
She nods, emotion tightening her features, and I feel some of the pressure she’s been forced to deal with trickle back into her heart.
“You’re mine to protect and love, Alchera. Don’t ever try to shut me out again.”
Her head bobs up and down, and her eyes begin to glisten with unshed tears.
With our gazes locked, I demand, “So let me feel all of your pain.”
She begins to shake her head but stops and sucks in a deep breath.
As a tear escapes her eye and spirals over her temple, she lets all her emotions surface for me to see.
Disappointment, because we sent her to Earth with no memories of her past, only to rip her away from that life before thrusting her into a world of chaos.
Anger and loneliness, which take one hell of a swing at my heart.
Fear and despair for what she was forced to endure at Adeth and Ares’ hands.
Sorrow for losing her father before even having the chance to get to know him.
And regret. So much fucking regret it flays my soul raw.
“By Awo, Alchera,” I whisper, hating that she’s suffered for so long under the severe pressure Vaalbara has forced on her.
I shift slightly and press my hand over her heart. I’ve never heard of a guardian healing emotional or mental wounds before, but out of pure desperation, I focus with all that I am on my charge.
The blue light starts to glow between us, and when Alchera’s face crumbles and sobs escape her, frustration pours into my heart.
“You can take away those emotions?” her words fill my mind.
“Is it working?” I ask, desperate to hear her answer.
I feel her entire being sigh with relief, and she practically becomes boneless beneath me.
Every horrible thing she’s been forced to suffer lessens inside her until it all becomes bearable – and pours into my soul.
I’m hit hard with a tsunami of anger, loneliness, fear, and grief, but I take it all if it means she’ll feel better.
Fuck. I did it.
Shock ripples through me, and I’m speechless for a while.
Alchera lifts her head and presses her trembling lips to mine. “Thank you.”
“Better?” I manage to ask through clenched teeth as I work to compartmentalize the destructive emotions.
She pulls back, then her eyes widen as they dart over my face. “No,” she gasps. “You took my emotions like you do my pain?” When I nod, she wraps her arms tightly around my neck and holds me to her. “God, Raighne. I didn’t want that.”
“I can handle it,” I say so she won’t worry.
I push my arms beneath her and squash her to my body while pressing a kiss to her temple.
“I can handle anything that comes my way as long as I have you,” I murmur.
“I love you so much,” she whispers, her tone strained, and hearing the words soothes the chaos in my heart.
“Say it again,” I demand.
“I love you, Raighne.”
A feeling of peace soothes my heart and soul, and still buried inside my woman, I start to drift off to sleep from the exhaustion of healing her.