Chapter 74 Lucian
Lucian
I hold her close to me, feeling the steady warmth of her body, the living proof that I am not alone.
For a moment, I simply breathe her in—the faint scent of her skin, the echo of her blood still singing in my veins. Lucky is too small a word for what I feel. Fortunate. Blessed. Claimed in ways I never expected to be claimed by a woman.
“How did you find me?” I murmur, brushing my lips against her temple. “How did you get back to the Shadow Realm? Did Whistler help you?”
“Well, sort of.” She pulls back just enough to reach for something on the bedside table. She holds it up between her fingers. “He left this on my coffee table before he went and my Book Club did the rest.”
I stare at the token, recognition flaring. That slippery, clever bastard. I’d bet the entirety of the Crimson Spires he didn’t leave that travel token with her by accident.
“Your Book Club?” I frown despite myself.
She laughs softly and explains—about her friend Naomi and the spell—about the women who stood around her and lent their courage and faith so she could find her way back to me. As she speaks, something warm settles in my chest—something close to awe.
When she finishes, I smile, unable to stop myself.
“Beautiful and resourceful too. I may have underestimated you, little one.”
She lifts her chin, eyes sparkling despite the tears still clinging to her lashes.
“You may have.”
I reach out and stroke her hair away from her face, letting my thumb linger against her cheek. Gods, how did I ever think I could let her go?
“Then are you ready to bond with me—really form a full Soul Bond?” I ask.
She frowns slightly, thoughtful rather than afraid.
“I thought we already had a bond or some kind of connection. I felt it—I kept having dreams of you—it’s how I knew you were in trouble.”
Her words strike deep. So she felt it too.
“We have a partial bond,” I tell her gently. “In order to form a full Soul-Bond we’ll need to have our own little ritual.”
“A ritual?” she asks. “Like the one I did with my book club?”
I shake my head, a quiet chuckle escaping me.
“Nothing like that. This ritual would be more…intimate.”
My gaze darkens, heat coiling low in my body as I let the implication settle between us.
“I’ll need to take you and bite you at the moment of climax.”
I lean in, giving her a slow, lingering kiss—one meant to promise all the pleasure I can give her—and then I look into her eyes.
“Can you do that, sweetheart? Can you give me your blood and your body to tie us together forever?”
She gives a little moan, soft and unguarded, and leans forward to kiss me back, her desire unmistakable now, sweet and heady in the air between us.
“Yes,” she whispers, breath warm against my lips. “Yes—I want that. I want all of you.”
“Good girl,” I growl, my control tightening as my body responds instantly. Mine, an ancient part of me snarls—I can’t wait to claim her.
“We won’t do it right away—I need a little time to heal and prepare. But soon, I promise, I’ll bond you to me,” I tell her.
She snuggles close, fitting against me as if she was always meant to be here.
“I can’t wait.”
Neither can I.
As I hold her, I make a silent vow—to myself, to her, to whatever powers still listen.
I will not make her wait for long.