Chapter 20
Ember’s heart pounded against her ribs as she met Rykan’s golden gaze across the suddenly too-small cabin. The silence stretched between them, heavy with everything they’d been dancing around for weeks.
You first, she’d demanded. But now, standing here with the door closed against the cold and no more excuses to hide behind, she found the words tumbling out before he could speak.
“I really do have to go back.”
His expression didn’t change, but resignation flickered in those golden eyes, the look of a male bracing for a blow he’d known was coming.
“I know,” he said quietly.
“No.” She stepped closer, closing the distance between them until she could feel the heat radiating from his body. “Let me finish.”
He went still, with that predator’s stillness she’d come to recognize as intense focus. Waiting. Watching.
“I have to go back,” she repeated, her voice steadier now. “Marina tried to kill me. She’s controlling my father’s company, everything he built, and everything he trusted me to protect. I can’t let that stand. I won’t.”
“I understand.”
“But that’s not—” She reached out, her fingers finding the rough fabric of his sleeve. The contact steadied her, gave her an anchor. “That’s not all I wanted to say.”
His jaw tightened. She could see the tension coiled in his shoulders, the careful way he was holding himself back. Like he was afraid of what she might say next. Like he was preparing to let her walk away.
Not this time, she thought fiercely. Not without a fight.
“I want to be with you.” The words came out stronger than she expected, ringing in the quiet cabin like a declaration.
“Whatever happens when I get back, whatever I have to face—I want you. I’ve wanted you since the moment I opened my eyes in that escape pod and saw you looking at me like I was someone worth saving. ”
His breath caught. She watched his throat work as he swallowed, watched the golden glow intensify in his eyes as his beast rose closer to the surface.
“Ember—”
“I know it’s complicated. I know my life isn’t simple, and I can’t promise it will be easy.
But I’m tired of pretending I don’t feel this.
I’m tired of holding back because I’m afraid of what might happen.
” She tightened her grip on his sleeve, pulling herself closer.
“Tell me you don’t want me. Tell me to leave, and I will.
But don’t push me away because you think it’s what I need. ”
For a long moment, he didn’t move. Didn’t speak. Just looked at her with those burning golden eyes, his expression unreadable.
Then, slowly, carefully, like he was handling something infinitely precious and terrifyingly fragile, “Could I come with you?”
The words landed in her chest like a spark catching kindling.
“What?”
“To Port Cantor.” His voice was rough, uncertain in a way she’d never heard from him before. “When you go back. Could I… Would you want me to come with you?”
Joy burst through her, so sudden and overwhelming that tears pricked at her eyes. She’d hoped—gods, she’d hoped—but she hadn’t wanted to presume that he’d be willing to leave his mountains and his solitude and the life he’d built for himself in exile.
Tessa had finally given her the courage to ask but he’d beat her to it, offering her exactly what she’d been afraid to want.
“Are you sure?” She searched his face, looking for doubt, for hesitation.
“You said you didn’t like being around people, and I am always surrounded by people.
My life is… it’s going to be difficult. Political complications, corporate warfare, an aunt who wants me dead.
I can’t promise you peace or simplicity. ”
“I don’t want peace.” He reached up, his huge hand gently cupping her jaw. His thumb traced the curve of her cheekbone, leaving trails of heat in its wake. “I don’t want simplicity. I want you.”
“But your territory. Your independence. Everything you’ve built here—”
“Mean nothing.” His other hand found her waist, drawing her closer until their bodies pressed together.
“They means nothing without you. I spent six years convincing myself that solitude was enough. That I didn’t need anyone, didn’t want anyone.
Then you crashed into my mountain and made me remember what it felt like to be alive. ”
Her breath caught. She could feel his heart pounding against her palm where it rested on his chest—fast and hard, belying the control in his voice.
“Rykan—”
“I was afraid,” he continued, the words coming faster now, like a dam finally breaking.
“Afraid that you wouldn’t want me. I thought I was afraid that you would betray me, but I was really afraid that you’d see me as I am—broken and bitter and scarred by betrayals I can’t forget—and decide I wasn’t worth the trouble.
But Korrin was right. I never gave you the chance to choose. ”
“I’m choosing now.” She rose onto her toes, bringing her face closer to his. “I choose you. Whatever comes next, whatever we have to face—I want you at my side. Always.”
The word seemed to shatter something in him. His control cracked, and suddenly his mouth was on hers, fierce and hungry and overwhelming. She gasped against his lips, her hands fisting in his shirt as he pulled her hard against him.
The kiss was a claim. A promise and a demand all at once.
His hands roamed her body as if he couldn’t believe she was real, and she arched into his touch, her body already cresting towards release.
“Tell me to stop,” he growled against her throat. “Tell me now, because once I start, I won’t be able to—”
“Don’t stop.” She pulled back just enough to meet his eyes, letting him see the certainty in her gaze. “Promise me that this time you won’t stop. Promise me that you will give me everything.”
Something primal flashed in his golden eyes, his beast rising to the surface, drawn by her surrender.
“Everything,” he repeated, the word barely human.
He lifted her effortlessly into his arms and carried her the few steps to the sleeping platform. She landed on the furs with a soft sound, and then he was covering her, his weight pressing her into the bedding, his mouth finding hers again in a kiss that stole her breath and scattered her thoughts.
Their clothing disappeared in a blur of impatient hands and frustrated growls.
All of it torn away until there was nothing between them but skin and heat and desperate need.
His body was a landscape of muscle and scars, fascinating and beautiful, and she traced the lines of him with her hands, learning his geography in the morning light.
“Beautiful,” she whispered, echoing the word he’d said to her. “So beautiful.”
He caught her hands, lacing their fingers together and pinning them above her head. His body was a furnace against her, his scent filling her lungs, and her passion rose to meet his.
“No more running,” he said, and it wasn’t a question. It was a vow.
“No more running,” she agreed before his head descended again.
His hand and mouth were everywhere, striking sparks against her nerve endings until her body hummed with electricity.
She couldn’t think, couldn’t breathe, could only feel the overwhelming tide of pleasure rising within her.
When he closed his mouth over her breast, she cried out, her back arching off the furs as the sensation shot through her.
He took his time, tormenting her with pleasure, wringing responses from her body she hadn’t known she was capable of. And when he finally moved lower, parting her thighs with eager hands, she was already trembling on the edge.
She shattered when he tasted her, a blinding flash of pleasure that left her breathless and boneless, but he didn’t stop, his mouth working her relentlessly as he stretched her with his fingers, preparing her for his cock.
This time when he finally rose back over her and settled between her thighs, she didn’t hesitate.
Her legs wrapped around his hips, already trying to draw him closer.
He paused, his golden eyes searching her face, giving her one last chance to pull back.
“Are you sure?” His voice was strained, his control clearly hanging by a thread. “This can’t be undone. Once I claim you—”
“I’m sure.” She pulled him back down to her, her legs tightening around his hips. “Claim me. Make me yours.”
“You’re mine, Ember,” he growled as he entered her, the sudden fullness stealing her breath.
There was a brief flash of discomfort, a sharp sting that made her gasp, but then he pressed deeper.
She’d read about this and understood the mechanics, but nothing had prepared her for the overwhelming stretch, the sense of being completed in a way she hadn’t known was incomplete.
He froze above her, his whole body trembling with the effort of holding still. “Are you—”
“I’m fine.” She shifted her hips, drawing him deeper, and they both groaned. “Better than fine. Please, Rykan. Move.”
He did, slow and deep, watching her face with an intensity that was almost frightening.
“Say it again,” she whispered.
“You’re mine.” His rhythm increased, each stroke claiming another piece of her soul. “And I am yours.”
She met him thrust for thrust as the pleasure built again, sharper and more intense than before. The cabin filled with the sounds of their joining—the slide of skin against skin, the harsh rhythm of their breathing, the desperate sounds they made.
She was close, so close, and then he rolled them, pulling her atop him without breaking their connection. The new angle was perfect, hitting a place deep inside that made her see stars.
His hands gripped her hips, guiding her movements as she rode him, her head thrown back, her hair cascading down her back. She was lost in sensation, in the overwhelming pleasure of being completely possessed by this male who had become everything to her.
“Look at me,” he demanded, and somehow she forced her eyes open. “When you come, I want you to see who you’re with.”
His golden eyes were burning with an inner fire, the beast looking out through them, and that knowledge sent her over the edge.
She convulsed around him, her body tightening as pleasure washed through her in endless waves.
He pulled her down over him, his mouth going not to her neck but to the inside curve of her breast.
She felt the sharp press of fangs, the bright sting of pain, and then another release crashed through her, the pleasure so intense that stars danced in her vision.
She heard him roar and felt him pulse inside her as he somehow grew impossibly larger, the strange heat of his claim spreading through her blood like wildfire.
For a long moment, she couldn’t think. Couldn’t move. Couldn’t do anything but lie there in his arms, trembling with aftershocks, feeling more complete than she ever had in her life.
He gathered her close, stroking a hand up and down her spine in slow, soothing passes, gentling her as her breathing gradually calmed. She started to raise her head to look at him and the movement tugged at their still joined bodies, sending another shock of pleasure through her system.
“Don’t move,” he groaned. “We are still locked together by my knot.”
Her eyes widened at the realization. She knew about Vultor biology, of course, but reading about it and experiencing it were entirely different matters.
“It will pass.” He kissed her forehead, her temples, her cheeks. “In a few minutes. Until then…”
He rolled them onto their sides, tucking her body against his so they lay facing each other, still connected in the most intimate way possible. She traced the lines of his face, learning the shape of him with her fingers.
“I didn’t know it would be like that,” she whispered.
“Neither did I.” His golden eyes searched hers, and she saw the raw vulnerability there, the wonder. “It’s never been like that. With anyone.”
They lay in comfortable silence, the knot gradually subsiding until he could finally withdraw from her body. He cleaned them both with a soft cloth, his movements tender and reverent.
She settled back into his arms, her body aching in the most delicious way. She could feel the new bond between them, shimmering and bright like a thread of gold connecting them.
“You marked me,” she said, her fingers touching the tender spot on her breast.
“I claimed you.” His thumb stroked over the mark, his voice full of possessive pride.
“But you chose somewhere private.”
“Yes.” His arms tightened around her. “I wanted… I needed you to know that this is between us. Not for display, not for proof. Just for us.”
Tears pricked her eyes, but she didn’t try to hide them. She pressed a kiss to his chest, right over his thundering heart.
“I love you,” she whispered. The words came easily, naturally, as if they’d been waiting all along for the right moment to emerge.
His breath caught. His whole body tensed beneath her, and for a terrifying heartbeat, she thought she’d said too much, too soon. Then his arms crushed her against him, and his voice, rough and broken, whispered back, “I love you too. Gods help me, I love you so much it terrifies me.”
They lay wrapped together as the grey morning light shifted towards noon, neither willing to break the spell of the moment. But eventually, inevitably, the world intruded.
“You said the pass will be clear soon,” she said quietly, tracing patterns on his chest with her fingertip. “We should start preparing.”
He nodded, although his arms tightened around her reflexively. “The descent will take two days, maybe three. We’ll need to pack supplies and check the weather patterns.”
“I’ll need to plan.” Her mind was already spinning ahead, cataloging challenges and complications. “Marina won’t have expected me to survive. That gives us an advantage, but only if we move carefully.”
“We’ll figure it out together.” He pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “Whatever you need, whatever you’re facing—you won’t face it alone. Not anymore.”
She believed him. After everything—after the crash and the isolation and the slow, painful work of learning who she really was—she finally believed that she didn’t have to carry the weight alone.
But she wasn’t the same fragile girl who had boarded that doomed ship weeks ago.
She was stronger now. Braver. And she had Rykan at her side—her protector, her teacher, her mate.
It was time to go home.