Chapter 30
CHAPTER THIRTY
Lyra tried to offer Keira one of the spare rooms on the boat, but she refused.
They were safely back in Scottish waters—the Barufakr moving at speeds only possible due to magic—and above all else, Keira wanted to be alone with her thoughts.
Lyra could understand that, even if she was avoiding her own.
And a particular fae prince who was below decks.
Keira hugged her sister tightly and promised she’d find her in the next week, once she’d processed alone.
While Keira and Lyra were closer than most sirens were, at the end of the day, they still needed solitude to work through anything of this magnitude.
Keira kissed Lyra’s cheeks and sat on the boat’s railing, waving goodbye as she gracefully fell backward into the sea.
Lyra couldn’t help but watch, keeping an eye on the waves, until she caught sight of her sister’s tail glittering water.
“There’s no time like the present.” Lyra’s hands balled into fists, and she put one foot in front of the other, making her way below deck.
The Barufakr knew where she was going. Lyra walked down the hallway, and all the open doors to various bedrooms and storerooms closed as Lyra passed.
“Subtle.” Lyra raised an eyebrow, knowing the ship could hear her. “I didn’t know sentient boats were matchmakers.”
In response, one of the doors at the end of the hallway swung open.
Theo yelped inside, startled by the sound of the heavy bedroom door flinging open without warning.
Lyra forced back a smile and slipped inside the room.
The door slammed shut behind her. As Lyra opened her mouth to speak, the silence was punctuated by the sound of the lock clicking shut.
“Again, subtle.” Lyra rolled her eyes. She looked at Theo and her thoughts came to a screeching halt. Theo had clearly just emerged from the shower, his hair and body still dripping wet, while he clutched a towel around his waist.
“Hi.” Theo gave Lyra an awkward little wave, as though they hadn’t already had sex and declared their love for one another under duress. It was disgustingly endearing.
“Theo,” Lyra exhaled shakily, all of her previous bravado slipping away. Her rage always did when he was around. There was an automatic calming effect to Theo’s presence. It was one of the many things that made him invaluable to her.
A million different images started flashing through Lyra’s mind.
There had been a moment when she was sure she was destined for death, bound for the watery grave she always knew she’d claim.
There was no Theo beside her, Keira missing.
Nothing but the boundless depths, the Queen of the banshees, and Lyra.
Wicked, selfish Lyra, who had once thought it prudent to trade Theo away.
Lyra’s emotions came rushing to the surface, forcing her to reckon with the feelings she’d been shoving down since the day she laid eyes on Theo.
“Hey, hey.” Theo crossed the room in three large steps, closing the gap between them and pulling Lyra into his arms. “Why are you crying?”
Lyra didn’t respond, but the tenderness in his voice ripped her heart in two.
He held her, moving them both towards the bed as Lyra cried.
He didn’t say a single word, didn’t push her or insist she answer his questions.
He merely held her tighter and stroked his hands through her hair and over her skin.
Finally, when her sobs quieted down, Theo gently pried her from his chest and cupped her face in his hands.
“Talk to me,” Theo urged.
Lyra sighed, hiccuping softly. She tried to avoid Theo’s gaze, but he tilted her head to face his every time she turned away.
“I… I don’t know.” Lyra bit her lip, trying to keep everything from exploding out of her.
Theo sensed this and shook his head. “Try again.”
Lyra tried to glare at him, although she knew she was a tear-stained mess, and likely wasn’t having the same terrifying effect.
“It’s the adrenaline of it all.” Lyra admitted. “I don’t feel like I deserve you. I don’t know how I’m supposed to go back and face your brother. Theo, I really don’t—”
“Calum is going to understand.” Theo was quick to interject, but Lyra shook her head.
“You’re basically the prodigal son,” she argued. “Calum is going to have you on a pedestal. I can tell. I’m the creature he had to make a death bargain with to keep you alive.”
“You’re over simplifying things,” Theo insisted. His voice rose ever so slightly. Not enough to yell or even take a cross tone with Lyra, but just enough that she knew he was serious. “Your sister was being held for ransom. You were blackmailed. That is a pretty serious detail to leave out.”
Lyra said nothing. The rational part of her mind knew Theo was right, but her stomach still churned with nerves.
“We will figure this out,” Theo insisted, pressing a kiss to the top of Lyra’s forehead. “We did it, Lyra.”
He smiled, his entire face lighting up. Lyra had never seen Theo with such an optimistic, carefree expression. If she wasn’t sitting, it would’ve knocked her over.
“Oh my god!” Lyra’s mouth fell open. “Wait, why am I even crying—Theo! The curse. You’re free!” All of Lyra’s concerns and excess adrenaline from the past two days fell away when she realized the magnitude of what they had done. What this meant for Theo.
“I am.” Theo smiled again, his eyes now shining with unshed tears of a different sort. “I’m free. I think you were right, though. I don’t think it was a curse.” Theo pursed his lips. “I think it was a prophecy.”
Lyra said nothing, turning the possibility over in her mind. “It could be,” she agreed, “but either way, Theo, it’s over!”
Lyra let out a happy squeal and threw her arms around Theo, knocking him backwards over onto the bed. He started laughing as she straddled his waist, covering his face with kisses. Lyra could barely keep her hands off of him, roaming over his broad, naked chest.
Theo’s hands tightened around her waist and Lyra let out a soft moan.
The atmosphere shifted, and their touch stopped being celebratory and playful, gravitating to something more urgent.
Without consciously realizing it, Lyra started to gently rock her hips back and forth.
The thin material of her clothing and Theo’s towel were the only things separating them.
“Fuck,” Theo exhaled heavily, his eyes growing darker.
Lyra leaned down over him, trailing her tongue down his jaw. His grip intensified, and Lyra preened, knowing he would leave tiny fingerprint bruises.
“That’s what I want,” Lyra answered, applying more pressure as she dragged her core across Theo’s rapidly hardening erection.
“Yeah?” Theo whispered, his voice low and full of lust. “You want me to fuck you, siren?”
No one had ever called Lyra a siren as a compliment. When Theo uttered the word, she could feel her body start pulsing with arousal. Lyra nodded, scratching her nails down Theo’s bare chest.
“Nope.” Theo grinned mischieviously. He couldn’t remember the last time he felt so good, so unburdened, and he was going to savor the first time he was inside Lyra. “Use your words.”
Lyra’s mouth popped open into a surprised expression, once again pleasantly shocked by the subtle dominance Theo exhibited.
“Yes,” Lyra gyrated her hips, “I want you to fuck me.”
The moment the words left her lips, Theo thrust his body upward, flipping Lyra underneath him. She moaned as he pressed his body atop hers, the delicious weight of him sending her brain into overdrive.
“Let’s take this off.” Theo tugged on the hem of Lyra’s shirt. “Show me that gorgeous body. I want to see what belongs to me tonight.”
Lyra shuddered, biting her lip as she gave Theo a teasing expression.
“What belongs to you, huh? You better think again.”
With a predator’s strength, Lyra flipped them around again, returning to her position on top. Theo was about to open his mouth to protest, until Lyra tugged her shirt off in one fluid movement.
“Gods above,” Theo whispered, propping himself up on his elbows as she leaned down to kiss him. “You’re the most beautiful creature I’ve ever seen.”
Theo whispered the words against Lyra’s lips, like a prayer or a solemn vow, and Lyra could feel it settling into her bones. Her entire body was on high alert, the wetness between her legs consuming her thoughts. All she wanted now was relief, in the form of Theo.
She kissed him, their hands tugging at each other’s remaining clothing.
They ripped and pulled, a mess of sweaty limbs and tangled sleeves, refusing to stop kissing to take a few minutes to undress.
The idea of pulling away from Theo now was unbearable to Lyra.
She was surrounded by the eternally pine scent of him, the strength of his body, the undeniable masculinity of a tender heart in a rock solid package.
“Enough of this,” Lyra hissed, her fingernails lengthening into talons. She sliced clean through her clothing and Theo’s pants, freeing his erection. Lyra leaned down and rocked her hips against him, coating his hard cock in her arousal.
“F-fuck,” Theo stuttered, his head falling back on the pillows. “You have to stop doing that, or this is going to be over before I’m even inside you.”
Lyra continued dragging her pussy against Theo’s cock, refusing to listen to him, a knowing smirk on her face.
“No, no, it’s not.” She leaned down, kissing Theo again until they were breathless, panting into each other’s mouths and chasing the embrace more than oxygen. It was messy—teeth and biting, with zero finesse, but the urgency of the moment surpassed any need for delicate technique.
Lyra picked her hips up and grabbed the base of Theo’s cock, positioning him at her entrance.
“Lyra, please,” Theo begged, but Lyra didn’t move. Their constant teasing and attempts at control needled one another, driving their desperation higher with every passing moment. Lyra could feel her arousal coating her thighs, clenching around nothing as her body begged her to take Theo inside her.
She watched Theo struggle to control his breathing, his cock dripping precum in the low light. When she could take it no longer, Lyra started lowering herself onto Theo. She tossed her head back and moaned as she got adjusted to the stretch, breathing slowly as her cunt welcomed him in.
It was Theo’s turn to tease as his hands flew to her waist, holding onto Lyra as he took over, controlling the depth and pace of his intrusion.
“Breathe, baby,” Theo whispered, his thumbs stroking tiny circles on her hips. His words and actions were gentle and kind, but the expression on his face was nothing but pure male satisfaction.
“Theo,” Lyra whimpered, her control slipping. He was larger than any mortal human she’d been with, and while she relished the adjustment, it was an adjustment nonetheless.
“You look so pretty struggling to take my cock,” Theo sat up, dragging them backward so he could rest against the headboard. “Open up, baby. Just like that. Get this cock all the way inside that tight cunt.”
“Theo!” Lyra’s eyes flew open. Her hands moved to his shoulders, whimpering when he finally seated himself fully inside her.
“You like it,” Theo insisted with a wink before trailing off in a groan. “There’s no lying to me when I’m inside you, siren. Your body tells on you.”
Lyra responded by moving on top of Theo, starting to ride him slowly and picking up the speed as she grew accustomed to his size.
It didn’t take long until they were speechless.
The only sounds in the room were their panting breaths and desperate motions, Theo thrusting upwards to match each of Lyra’s movements as she gyrated against him.
“Every creature in the water is going to smell me on you,” Lyra threatened, a predatory possessiveness rising in her as her arousal took over.
Theo only smiled in response.
Lyra never wanted to be without him ever again.
She would trade almost anything in the world for this moment to last forever, with Theo underneath her and his perfect cock hitting every sensitive spot inside her.
Time stopped having any meaning and they didn’t know how long they went on, relishing the drag and the friction of every thrust. There was nothing outside of Lyra and Theo in that moment, the only driving force between them was a need to fuck, to mark, to own.
“Come on,” Theo grunted, his forehead dripping with sweat.
“Let me see those pretty eyes when you come.” Theo slipped his hand in between them, touching Lyra’s clit with the perfect amount of pressure.
How he already knew exactly what she liked, Lyra had no idea, but it was enough to make her insist upon keeping him.
It didn’t take long after that for Lyra’s release to explode through her body, burning away every other sensation as her whole body reacted to the sensation.
She didn’t know how long it went on, only that she collapsed on top of Theo’s chest, her muscles too busy spasming in pleasure to keep her upright.
She vaguely registered Theo fucking her through it, and then he was coming, painting her insides with the evidence of his desire.
Lyra nearly fell asleep. She was remotely aware of Theo easing himself out of her and stepping off the bed. She wanted to protest, but before she could summon the energy, he returned, cleaning them up before collapsing back beside her.
She fell asleep in Theo’s arms, swearing to herself and every god and goddess in the sea that she’d never be parted from Theo again.