Chapter 57
CHAPTER FIFTY-SEVEN
Raine was walking back to her room with Ryker after dinner.
It was nice to be able to have the whole family together.
It would have been better if she wasn’t distracted.
Ryker had been a bit different since his last headache.
She could see a distant look in his eyes and the tension he was carrying.
When they got to their room, he walked to the other side and rested his arm against the wall, facing away from her.
She knew there was something bothering him.
She walked up and wrapped her arms around him.
He rested his back against her, taking a deep breath.
“Ryker,” she whispered against him. She leaned her forehead between his shoulder blades as she held him gently.
He took her hand, pulled her in front of him, and held her close, wedging her between him and the wall.
For a brief moment, she caught how his irises flickered with color.
The look on his face held a sorrow she had never seen in him.
Ryker leaned his head down and brushed his lips over the top of her head. He held her tightly and squeezed his eyes shut.
“Raine, I started getting these images in my head. I think it’s scrambled visions of my memories.
” His fingers trembled as he clung to her.
“I—I don’t think—” A quiet sob escaped his throat as he trembled.
“I don’t think I was a good guy.” He barely squeaked out the last words as his tears began to fall freely.
“Shhh,” Raine crooned to him as she rubbed his back. “Ryker, that isn’t you anymore. This is you.”
“What if I end up remembering everything and change?” Ryker whispered, his voice raspy. A chill ran down his spine, and a cold sweat broke out across his skin. The feelings he got when he saw those images … “I’m scared.”
Raine’s heart hurt as she heard the pain in his voice. “I’ll keep you grounded, Ryker. You’ll never lose this part of yourself because I’ll protect you.”
Ryker swallowed thickly and pulled back from her to gaze into her eyes.
She looked up at him confidently despite the worry she felt.
Her trust in him was evident in her words as well as her actions.
He cupped her face and kissed her. The kiss was gentle, soft, not demanding.
“What if I start to be that person again? What if I forget the me I am now?”
Raine turned her gaze up to him. “You won’t. You just lost your memories. This is who you are now.”
“I don’t know.” Ryker closed his eyes as he rested his forehead against hers. “What if—What if I hurt you?”
“You would never hurt me.” Raine’s eyes filled with tears. “I know this. I know this beyond a shadow of a doubt.”
“You can’t know that.” Ryker’s breath hitched in his throat. “I can’t let you get hurt, Raine.”
“I’m stronger than you think.” Raine began to cry for her mate.
She ran her fingers through his hair, giving his locks a slight tug, forcing his gaze to hers.
“You won’t hurt me. Do you think I’m afraid?
” She shook her head as her eyes glistened with tears.
“I don’t care who you used to be. I care about who you are today.
” She sniffled, smiling. “Besides, I’m strong enough to subdue you.
Maybe even knock some sense into you if needs be. ”
Ryker chuckled and leaned his forehead against hers. They gazed into each other’s eyes as he raised his hands to wipe the tears from hers. “I do like it when you play rough.”
Raine laughed and pulled back to look at him.
He had a faint smile on his lips. She knew it wasn’t great, but they would work through this.
She leaned forward and touched her lips to his.
It was a whisper of a kiss, but it was enough to make something break free inside him.
A smile spread over his lips as he pulled her to him, kissing her back, fiercely.
She moaned softly when his tongue slipped into her mouth, the tip of his tongue flicking hers.
She smirked against his lips when she felt his arousal stirring against her.
“There’s my feisty mate,” she whispered against his lips.
“I love you, Raine,” he whispered against her mouth before kissing her again.
He loved the way she called him feisty. He loved the way her body responded to his touch.
He loved the way she always protected him.
She was the light that guided him through the darkness.
She was the strength that held him together.
She was the love that bound him tightly to her. She was his Raine.
Breaking from her lips, he trailed kisses down her neck and over her collarbone while his hand skimmed under her shirt.
Raine’s fingers dug into his shoulders as she arched her back, and her moan landed warm against his ear when he cupped her breast. When he pulled back, the lust clouding her eyes nearly drove him mad.
He turned them so his own back hit the wall.
Raine grinned against his mouth and slid her legs around his waist, then wiggled slightly, making his erection press against her and drawing a gasp and shudder from her.
He gripped her thigh and hitched it higher, fitting her tighter against him, then rocked his hips into her, growling low.
“We’ve got to get these clothes off. I need you now. ”
Raine bit his bottom lip and smiled coyly. “Burn them off,” she purred against his lips. Sure, she liked the clothes she was wearing, but she couldn’t wait to feel him against her.
“Oh?” Ryker raised a brow at her, and she nodded. “You want me to burn these to ashes?” he growled as he pulled away from her for a moment. He looked at her and smiled when he saw the desire burning in her eyes. “How badly do you want them off?”
“As badly as you do,” Raine answered back as she nibbled her bottom lip. Her eyes played over every inch of his face. He was so beautiful to her. He was everything she’d ever wanted and everything she would ever need. He was her mate, her love.
Ryker smirked and gripped her thighs tightly, kissing her again. He radiated just enough heat from his body to char the clothes. They fell to the ground in an ashy pile. Neither one of them stopped the maddening kiss.
“That's better.” Ryker grinned against her mouth.
A knock at the door caused Ryker to growl. He pulled away, placing his forehead against hers, and her eyes fluttered open. Her breathing was as ragged as his.
“Raine, Alexa is getting ready to leave if you want to say goodbye,” a gruff voice called through the door.
Raine sat up and looked at Ryker, her eyes unclouding as the lust fog lifted. “Okay. I’m coming,” Raine answered in a weak voice. Luckily, it wasn’t her father. She recognized the voice as one of the guards.
Ryker huffed a laugh and almost whimpered as he lowered her back to the ground. “We aren’t finished here.”
“I hope not. Because I have new tricks to try out on you.” She nibbled on her bottom lip, smiling as she heard him growl. “Wait for me here. I’ll throw something on and quickly say goodbye.”
Ryker watched as she ran over to the dresser. She threw on a baggy shirt, underwear, and shorts, then quickly tidied her hair and slipped her shoes on. She turned and winked at him.
“Keep the bed warm for me.”
Ryker chuckled as she shut the door. Raine had a way of making everything better. He felt completely at ease again as he made his way to the bed. That was, until the headache attacked again. Images began flashing through his mind.
“Is that all you have?”
“Yes, that’s all I’ve learned,” Ryker said to the man in the shadows. He couldn’t see a face, only a dark figure hidden under a cloak. The man disappeared, and he turned to leave.
“You there!” a man shouted. “So you have been leaking information!”
Ryker clicked his tongue and sneered at the man who approached him.
Both men shifted and took to the skies, the two dragons ferociously attacking the other, each going for the kill.
The dragon shredded Ryker with many deep lacerations.
Ryker finally managed to sink his teeth into the other dragon’s neck, landing a fatal blow.
Before that dragon fell, though, it whipped its tail into Ryker, sending him spiraling to the ground.
Ryker was badly wounded and had lost a lot of blood.
Right before impact, he’d shifted to his human self, and everything went dark.
Ryker leaned against the bed to steady himself, his chest heaving from the vision. His hands trembled as he dug his fingers into the comforter. Beads of a cold sweat broke out across his body as he tried to steady himself.
“Damn it … who was I?”