Twenty-One
Raina
The heavy cloak of dread lifted ever so slightly at the sight of familiar faces waiting for us in the main hall. I wasn’t looking forward to witnessing Brahm’s intel reach Nox’s ears.
And definitely not Aeryn’s.
Despite Sidra being from the king’s past, no female wanted to hear about her mate’s sexual history. Especially when that piece of sexual history was gunning for the throne and would kill to get it.
Nox stood with an arm around Aeryn’s hips, their expressions identical imprints of concern. Uncannily, they also both noticed Liam’s grip on my hand, at the same time.
Astrid and Saxon stepped forward then. They were just as observant. Thankfully, they were also quiet.
Aeryn came closer, pulling me into a hug. "When the missive arrived from the Drótinn, we feared the worst.”
Then she did the same to Mirrelle. Then Liam.
Nox’s growl quickly turned to humor when Liam lifted his arms to the sky as Aeryn’s arms came around his ribs.
“You’re the worst hugger I’ve ever met,” she complained.
“Then you should probably let go before your mate kills me.”
“He won’t kill you. His umbral is just abnormally possessive today. It’s annoying.”
I watched Liam and Nox exchange a look. Discreetly, I tried to inhale to see if I could pick up on any changes in her scent but came away with nothing.
Aeryn went back to Nox who quickly tucked her into his side. “I trust the rest of the Duersi family is well?” the king inquired.
“Otsonna is in the Otherland,” Lorne answered. “Brahm and Gunnar made it through the attacks unharmed.”
Mirrelle’s lips pressed into a thin line. She’d been quiet since grabbing her things from the guest house.
“I have information best discussed in private,” the big blonde told his brother.
“My study, then.”
Nox held onto his mate, turning, when Liam said, “Hang on, one quick thing we need to take care of first, then Lorne can bring you up to speed.”
The king did not look pleased.
“When is the wedding?” Liam asked.
Liam’s hand flexed in mine. I, too, felt awful that Aeryn and Nox hadn’t been able to have their royal ceremony, but surely this wasn’t the time to ask.
Only, no one answered. I looked at the couple, who were looking at me expectantly.
Confused, I turned to the others for a hint of what was happening. Everyone was looking at me.
Liam was looking at me, his face a mask of intense concentration.
Did I space out again? “I’m sorry, what about their wedding?”
"No, flower. Our wedding." His response was soft but deliberate, catching me off guard, rendering me speechless.
The past rushed back in an overwhelming tide, the memories of the last two years, the miracle from the past week. This morning.
"Our wedding?" Though he’d asked, I hadn’t answered.
I shifted, uneasy, trying to grasp the implications of his words when he casually turned to Saxon.
"Did you get my message?" Liam asked.
Saxon's response was a wry grin. Without a word, he placed two fingers between his lips and whistled sharply.
From the shadows, Fermac emerged, his champagne eyes meeting mine with undeniable intelligence. The massive warhound moved with a purpose, snatching the fabric of my tunic in his powerful jaws, dragging me away from the group.
"Hey!" My protests were muffled by the rush of wind as Fermac magicked me away.
Then, suddenly, he dropped me onto the stone floor in the doorway of a room I knew all too well—the nullifying room. My heart pounded as memories clawed at me.
This was where I had been confined after the conclusion of the trials. No, they wouldn’t lock me in here. My friends wouldn’t allow it.
"Wait, Fermac!"
But the hound didn't hesitate. He shoved me into the room with surprising gentleness for such a large creature.
"Good boy, Fermac," Liam praised on his way past the beast.
The door slammed shut, and I heard the distinct click of a lock from the outside. Trapped. I was trapped again, only this time I wasn’t alone.
"Really? The nullifying room?" I accused, trying to keep my tone light despite the panic fluttering in my chest. "What in the hells are you doing, Liam?"
"Sometimes old haunts can be the best places to make new memories," he replied, his eyes glowing bright orange with the force of his berserker.
“Or to replace them.” The raw desire emanating from him swathed the room in a heat that had nothing to do with fire.
"New memories." I repeated, my breath catching in my throat as he stepped closer.
His hands found my waist, and I could feel the tenderness in his touch, a stark contrast to the ferocity in his gaze.
"I want to replace the pain in this room, Raina.”
“I don’t understand.”
“I heard you. I sat outside the door.”
“I thought Saxon was my guard.”
“He was. He told me to leave, only I couldn’t. When he realized I was hellbent on staying, he altered a rune so I could hear you.”
My face felt tight.
“I sat there, on the cold stone, back to the wall all night. Listening to your tears. Listening to you talk to Fermac like he was your only friend in the world. Do you remember?”
I remembered all of it. Liam had been cruel and I’d asked Nox to allow someone else to escort me to my cell, which was what this room was. A cell where magic couldn’t be used.
I nodded.
“Even then, despite being the loudest voice marking you as a traitor, I struggled to leave you.”
His hands flexed, fingers pressing into my hips. “I want to replace it all.”
“With what?”
“With us.”
I swallowed hard, the familiar pull between us turning my bones liquid. The temperature rose as electricity zapped between us.
"Will you let me?" he murmured, closing the distance.
His breath fanned against my skin, nose skimming along my face. He nuzzled my neck, never nipping or kissing as I needed him to. Only skating across.
Soft. Teasing. Driving me mad with want.
His lips brushed against mine. “Hmm, flower?”
“No waiting for a ceremony?” I challenged.
His hands slid lower, pulling me into his body, his erection pressing into my stomach.
“Does it feel like I can wait? It was a terrible idea.”
Still, he didn’t take it further. Liam was waiting for permission.
Grabbing the sides of his head, I went for it, locking us in a kiss so full of emotions it felt like coming home after a lifetime of exile.
"Fuck, Raina," he whispered against my mouth, backing me towards the bed.
“Yes, please.” I bit his bottom lip, eliciting a low rumble from his throat that sent goosebumps across my flesh.
We separated enough for me to pull his shirt over his head. Liam had other plans and tore my tunic open, then shredded my bra, exposing my heavy breasts.
His berserker flashed in his eyes. Was I imagining it or were his muscles growing?
“Liam?”
“I’m in control, flower. I would never hurt you.”
It was all I needed to hear. If he was in control, then I didn’t have to be.
His eyes widened as I leapt forward, wrapping around him, attacking him like a feral thing had taken over my body. Somehow the rest of our clothing disappeared and I was thrown onto the bed.
Liam's body covered mine, his skin scalding against my own. Our mouths met again and again, tongues dancing as our hands roamed greedily.
I whimpered into his mouth when his calloused fingers found my center, stroking me in that perfect way only he knew. Every stroke sent shivers down my spine, and I tilted my pelvis off the bed to meet him.
“You like that?” he murmured against my lips.
I nodded, unable to form words as pleasure coursed through me.
His lips trailed down my neck, nipping and sucking at the sensitive skin. My hands tangled in his hair, holding him close as I moaned his name.
“Fuck, you’re so wet.”
"Liam, please."
“Please what?”
“Please don’t make me wait.”
He knew what I needed, what we both desperately craved. Adjusting himself between my thighs, he drove into me in one powerful stroke. I cried out, nails raking down his back.
Liam set a relentless pace, his eyes boring into mine, filled with love and lust and remorse. "You're mine, Raina."
"Yes, yours," I gasped, clenching around him.
His hands gripped my wrists, pinning them above my head as he pistoned in and out.
With each thrust, I could feel him getting wilder, more unhinged as if he wanted to mark me as his for all time. I never wanted it to end. Not ever.
As we moved together, the world fell away. There was only Liam, his thick length stroking me perfectly.
"More," I panted, arching upward into him, throbbing with need.
“Say my name when you come,” he growled, eyes burning so bright I was cast in the glow of his berserker’s blatant need.
The pressure built and built. Sparks rapidly ignited until I was screaming his name as I shattered in ecstasy.
My vision was just returning when, with a swift movement, he flipped me over and entered me from behind.
“Again,” he demanded.
We moved in perfect rhythm, our bodies molded together as one. With each thrust, our connection grew stronger and the heat between us became unbearable.
“So tight,” he praised. “So fucking good.”
My hand reached between my legs to find my clit, needing more stimulation. Liam’s hand joined mine, moving in sync until we both exploded.
His dick swelled and I clamped down on him, his roar accompanying my cries. I could feel every pulse as he released into my channel.
We collapsed onto the bed, panting. Sweat beaded my brow, loose strands of hair sticking to my skin.
He was still half-hard when he withdrew, turning me to my back while hovering overtop. Though no longer glowing, the heat in his eyes remained.
"Look at you," he murmured, his approval as fervent as his touch. "So beautiful. So fierce. You have no idea what you do to me."
"Tell me then," I provoked, the frost in my veins boiling under his attention. "Show me."
We were still needy, still under the spell we’d woven together with our lovemaking.
Liam needed no further invitation. He trailed his teeth down my neck, each scrape, each bite a delicious contrast of pain and pleasure.
"You’re a wicked little thing. Making me crave you to the point of insanity."
He bit my breast then sucked the swollen peak aggressively. He’d never been like this with me before. Never been wanton. Untamed.
“You want me to fuck you again, flower?”
I arched into him, a silent plea for more, for everything. His dirty talk wasn’t just words; it was an incantation that unraveled me piece by piece, laying bare the yearning I had tried so hard to conceal.
“In a minute. I want to taste you first.”
He moved lower, face between my thighs, and spread me open. Strong hands held me in place as he sucked and licked and teased.
My nails sank into the covers as he devoured me. Each swipe of his skilled tongue along my folds sent jolts of bliss through my body. I was close, so close … only he backed off.
Liam revved my arousal to a fever pitch but wouldn’t let me come. I mewled in protest and his hot breath heated my tender flesh with his dark chuckle.
“You’ll come when I say you can come,” he growled.
“Liam,” I whined, but his prowess silenced me, licking me with long swipes over my folds, then teasing the engorged bundle of nerves between my legs.
“I love your taste on my tongue.”
Another swipe, more torture. “Delicious,” he hummed.
Liam brought me to the edge and back. On and on it went, this delectable torment. I shook uncontrollably, my body begging for release when he finally deemed to show mercy.
With the speed of a male possessed, his hips were cradled between my thighs. His tongue entered my mouth with the same vigor he showed burying himself inside my aching cleft.
I came immediately, mouth open on a silent scream, breaking into a million shards of blinding light.
"Gods, Raina," he breathed out, moving within me in a rhythm that felt both primal and perfect.
His movements grew more insistent, his dirty praise interspersed with declarations of ownership that thrilled me to the core.
"Say it," he commanded, his voice thick with desire. "Tell me you're mine."
"Yours," I gasped. “I’m yours.”
Time ceased to exist within the stone confines of the nullifying room. Hours slipped through our entwined fingers like water, as Liam and I explored the depths of our connection with a fervor that defied the past's icy grip on our hearts.
“Mine," he would murmur, his lips tracing the shell of my ear, sending cascades of pleasure down my spine.
"Say it again." The order bordered on desperation. Played on repeat.
"Yours," I always replied, giving him what he needed, sensing the thread of vulnerability in his tone.
As dusk threatened to claim the sky, our passion did not wane but transformed. The fiery need became embers of intimacy, glowing steady and true.
We touched and joined in countless ways, each position a testament to our shared history, an exploration of our future. Just as we had changed, so had our needs.
Eventually, the frenzy gave way to exhaustion, and we lay there, a tangle of limbs and damp skin. My chest heaved, struggling to draw in air after the storm of our lovemaking.
Liam lifted, giving me room to breath, but keeping us joined in the most intimate of ways. The lingering traces of our sex clung to the air, a heady reminder of what had transpired between us.
He propped up his torso, hands on either side of my head, his eyes searching mine. His chest was still heaving lightly, a sheen of sweat making his skin glow in the faint light.
I waited, my body still humming from Liam's touch.
"I know I was a fucking bastard, and for that, I am so fucking sorry.”
“Liam—”
His hand covered my mouth, ignoring my attempt to speak.
“As for proposing? For wanting you to be my wife? Demanding it? For that, I’m finding I cannot apologize. It would be a lie."
I gazed up at him. Hesitantly, he removed his hand.
"Liam, you’ve never actually proposed to me. Not really.”
“And if I’d asked?”
“Do it and find out.”
A slow grin spread across his face, and he dipped his head, pressing a soft kiss to my mouth before pulling back to meet my gaze once more.
Still joined with me, he rocked his hips gently, slowly.
"Raina.” There was a small tremor in his voice I had never heard before.
"I have never stopped loving you. It terrifies me how much I love you. I tried living without you, without loving you, and it was the worst fucking idea I’ve ever had."
I lay beneath him, feeling the truth of his confession wrapping around me. It seeped into my skin and took hold of my soul.
He continued, each word laden with determination. "I've been demanding, I know that. But whatever it takes, we'll make this work, Raina. I will wait as long as it takes for you. I want to right my wrongs, to give you everything you need and want. To be everything you need and want."
The edges of my world, which had always been so sharply defined by duty, expectation, and a fallacious need to be worthy of love, began to blur. Here was Liam, the male who had once been my everything, offering a second chance I hadn't dared to let myself believe would come to fruition.
“I’ll wait an eternity for you, if that’s what you need.”
"An eternity?" I whispered, tracing the line of his jaw with my fingertips, marveling at the stubble that prickled against my skin.
"An eternity," he confirmed.
The look he gave me was fierce and unwavering. "For you, Raina, always."
Tears spilled over, trailing down my cheeks in warm rivulets. I trembled under the weight of emotions that had been dammed up for too long.
"Raina?" Liam's voice cracked with panic, his body tensing above me.
The glowing flames of his berserker's passion flickered with sudden anxiety. "Flower? What is it? Gods, did I hurt you?"
He tried to pull out and I locked my legs around his hips to hold him in place. “Don’t leave me.”
The look he gave me broke my heart. “Never,” he hissed. “I will never leave you.”
His fingers brushed away the moisture on my face even as more tears threatened to fall. “But please tell me what’s wrong.”
My voice caught in my throat. "These are h-happy tears."
His nonplussed look made me giggle. I was sure I looked like I’d gone mad, half crying, half laughing.
"Are you sure?" he pressed, his brow furrowing, the warrior in him needing to protect, to fix whatever pain he thought he'd caused.
“Positive.”
His neck bent forward in relief. “Thank fuck.”
I smiled through my tear-streaked visage, a deeper laugh bubbling up despite the overwhelming swell of emotions. It was absurd, really, how much he could affect me, how he always had.
"Liam.”
“Yes, flower?”
“I'm sorry I didn't fight for you. I let go too easily because I thought it was what I had to do. I own my mistake, that I never gave you a reason to think I was affected when, in truth, I was devastated."
“Raina.” Liam's hands traced the curves of my body with reverence.
Our bodies began moving, sliding together. There was no rush, no urgency, only profound need for connection.
In our private cocoon, he held me. Worshiped me. Loved me.
"Honor me, Raina. Marry me.”
“Yes.”
Our eyes locked, a kaleidoscope of emotions swirling within their depths. The last remnant of the barrier we had built between us crumbled into nothingness.
A surge of pleasure began to build, coiling tighter with each gentle thrust, each tender caress. We crested the wave at the same moment, a shared climax more powerful than any before.
Afterward, Liam wrapped his arms around me from behind, spooning me close. His chest pressed against my back, enveloping me in warmth.
Wrapped in the safety of his embrace, I found the courage I needed. “I love you.”
He nuzzled his face into my hair, his breath tickling my neck. “I love you, too, flower. Always.”
Drifting off, I heard him whisper something about big plans tomorrow. Too spent to question what he meant, I let myself be lulled by the steady cadence of his breathing.
I slept peacefully, finally knowing what it felt like to be well and truly ravished … and loved.