Chapter 32
ALLY
He loves me.
She could barely think under the onslaught of his kiss, but the words kept circling her mind as she repeated them to herself over and over. He loves me. He loves me.
Lyk Vartik, the Raven, the Vartik King loves me.
Ally felt it in his kiss, felt it in the way he held her with reverence.
He’d called her his mate repeatedly in front of his family, but even then, Ally hadn’t taken it seriously.
Perhaps she’d thought it would get them traction with his family, and that was his motivation for announcing that she belonged to him.
Or maybe she was just too scared to believe it.
No, I knew.
Ally thought of all the things he’d done and said. All the times he’d looked out for her, all the kindnesses he’d shown her. She thought of the way it felt with him when they made love, like nothing could ever feel so good, like it was more than just body against body. It was soul to soul.
It was only her foolish and prideful independence that had blinded her. She’d insisted on going it alone because she wouldn’t be caught off guard again, wouldn’t have the rug holding her world pulled out from under her again. But now she saw how much stronger they were together.
Now she knew how good it felt to be able to depend on someone and to know with absolute certainty that you would never be betrayed. That you would never be let down.
Lyk’s lips trailed lower until they set upon her breast, worshipping one then the other. Her head thrashed on the carpet, her nipples tight and aching. When he kissed his way lower, she began to tremble.
“I can’t wait to taste you again,” he murmured against her inner thigh before pressing his lips to her feminine core.
The way he made love to her with his mouth made her desperate.
She clutched at his head, her fingers burying themselves in his thick hair, her hips pressing upward, longing for more of that sweet erotic torture.
She came against his mouth, shouting his name, and he growled fiercely as he licked up every drop. “This will be my wine,” he murmured as he returned to kiss her mouth, and she could taste herself on his lips. “I’ll expect a taste every day. I want to get drunk on you.”
Ally smiled, liking the sound of that. She wrapped her arms around him as he nestled himself in the valley of her thighs. “Ravish me,” she whispered against his mouth. “Show me how much you need me.”
He groaned, thrusting deep on his first entry, making her throw her head back and issue a throaty cry. Lyk was merciless, driving her to the peak of pleasure over and over again. Still, he was insatiable, demanding more.
“Come for me, sweetheart,” he commanded as he rubbed her clit in fast little circles. “I need to feel you squeeze me so good.”
She couldn’t help but obey, falling into another climax and seeing stars.
“It’s too good,” he groaned. “I can’t hold back.”
Ally felt him flood her with his hot essence and it drove her to another climax, making her shake, making her limbs feel weak and heavy. She panted, exhausted in the aftermath of lovemaking like she never dreamed of.
She was limp as he picked her up and carried her to his bed. Drawing back the sheets, he settled her in, then climbed in beside her, wrapping her up in his arms. Ally had never felt so safe, so cared for in her life. She wanted him to know how much that feeling meant to her.
“You know, not long ago you asked me why I’d held on to my virginity. What was I waiting for?”
Lyk nodded, his expression focused. Ally took a deep breath.
She’d been afraid to reveal her feelings, she realized, because letting him know she loved him would be another form of dependence.
It all seemed so foolish now, the way she’d behaved.
She’d almost given up the love of a good man rather than try to trust again.
“I was waiting for love,” she said simply. “I wanted to give myself to someone special, someone who would appreciate the gift I was giving him. Someone who would stay with me, who wouldn’t abandon me. Someone who wanted to be the first because they knew they would be the last.”
Lyk’s grip tightened on her as she continued.
“My parents were wealthy. At least I thought they were. The last of a line of important people, or so my father claimed. They certainly thought they were too important to raise children, so they left that task to a series of nannies and headmistresses. I did my best to look after my sister since it was always the two of us, alone in the world.”
She gave him a weak smile. “When my parents suddenly died, I realized that our expensive lifestyle was built on a pile of loan agreements. My father was deeply in debt, and it was only a matter of time before everything fell apart. Except he wasn’t around when it finally did.
I got Evie out of there before the creditors claimed us as indentured servants, but I couldn’t get us past Gamma-17, and we would still be rotting there if it wasn’t for your intervention. ”
Ally cupped his cheek, filling her eyes with the emotion she needed him to see.
“I thought I couldn’t trust anyone else.
That the world was full of people who wanted to hurt us, to use us.
So when you came along with your offers to help, I assumed you were conning me.
But you weren’t. You were genuine, and it took me too damn long to realize that. I’m sorry.”
Lyk shook his head. “I’m the one who’s sorry. I tried to tell you what to do, tried to make you one of my possessions, but you ended up possessing me. And I couldn’t be happier.”
Ally smiled, touched by his sweetness. “I was saving myself for love, and that night when you took my virginity, I knew I was giving it to the person I’d been saving it for. Even if I wouldn’t admit it to you, or to myself, it was for love.”
His eyes widened, and the sentiment she saw inside them overwhelmed her. “I love you, Lyk Vartik. I can’t imagine my life without you.”
“Good,” he said gruffly. “Because I have no life without you.”
When he kissed her then, it was soft, sweet, and filled with a sense of wonder that had her on the verge of tears. This is what I was waiting for, for so long that I’d almost convinced myself that it didn’t exist.
But it does exist. Here. Now. With this man who couldn’t be more perfect. She admired Lyk for many reasons. Sure, he was handsome, strong, and filled with purpose. He was a leader. A fighter. A man who stood up for justice, even if it wasn’t what the law or his family proscribed.
But he was also a lover. He had compassion, and he believed that brute force was not always the way to achieve his ends. He gave his crewmen a choice. Go off alone or join him. If they joined, he would do all he could to see them taken care of, to see them happy and fulfilled.
He’d given Ally that same choice, and right now, she saw how fitting the choice was. She could go off alone, try to take on the world without Lyk having her back, and she could be bitter and miserable and lonely.
Or she could join him, and he’d take care of her, look out for her, and do anything he could to make her happy. There really wasn’t a choice when it came down to it.
Lyk was the only choice that made sense.
“I love you,” she whispered against his mouth as she cupped his cheeks, holding him close to her. “And I know that together, we’re going to get Evie back, and then we’re going to smash Hell and all the demons in it to pieces.”
Lyk gave her a slow smile that warmed her insides. “Look out, Hell, because here we come.”