Chapter 47 #2
Emotion pressed hard against my chest . . . shock and wonder and something painfully close to joy. A laugh escaped me, breathless and disbelieving.
“I thought I imagined that pull,” I admitted. “Like my mind was reaching for something that wasn’t real.”
“It was definitely real,” Mother said. “Lucius has a way of helping folk find each other.”
Footsteps sounded behind me, and I didn’t need to turn to know who it was. Nik’s fingers slid into my hand, warm and certain, grounding me. I held onto him like I might float away otherwise.
Blue grinned when my gaze found him. I looked at him then—really looked at him—and saw not a stranger, but a possibility. A life that might have been. A life that still could be.
“I don’t know what this all means yet,” I said honestly. “But I’d like to find out.”
He smiled, slow and genuine. “Me too.”
And for the first time in my life, the word family didn’t feel like a question.
~~~~~
When the house finally fell quiet, all that remained of our guests was the lingering scent of Adalia's cooking. I realised how much my life had changed in the span of a few months. Abby was safe in Lucius, laughing again, building something new with her own hands. I’d found a brother I hadn’t known to dream of and a mother who fit right back into my life as if she’d never been taken from me. Together we were healing.
Nik’s family had welcomed me without question, without expectation, like I’d always belonged. For once, my life felt full. I wasn’t surviving anymore. I was surrounded by love and I was living.
Fresh pine washed over me as Nik’s arms stole around my waist. I dropped my head back to rest on his shoulder. We stood on the balcony overlooking the streets of Lucius below.
Watery moonlight washed the rooftops, bleeding across the trees and painting the cobbles silver. I shuddered with the crisp night air, and he pulled me closer. “Have I told you today how much I love you?”
I huffed a gentle laugh, spinning to face him. “Only a thousand times.”
He smiled that smile that made my heart soar, and I reached for him with desperate need. His lips were gentle under mine, claiming me with every nip and suck. I melted into him, my hands drifting up to entwine with the copper hair at the nape of his neck.
When I pulled back, I planted a kiss to the tip of his nose. “Thank you. For everything.”
He smiled, his arms tightening around my frame. “There is something I wanted to tell you.”
My breath caught. “Should I be worried?”
He shook his head. “Not at all. I just wanted you to know that I sent a soldier into The Grey to retrieve your savings. Then I had them delivered to Meeka’s apothecary.”
For a moment I couldn’t speak. The word savings echoed in my head, distant and unreal. I’d counted those coins in the dark, memorised their weight, suffered for every one of them. I’d told myself they were gone the moment I died.
I searched Nik’s eyes. “And . . . Meeka? She’s alright?”
My hands were shaking now, and I pressed them to his firm chest, steadying myself with him.
He nodded, and something in me gave way. A silent ache that I'd been harbouring for far too long. The weight lifted with ease, as I exhaled. “Thank you.”
Time and time again he’d proved that he could be trusted, that he was a man of his word, and I loved him even more for it. Heat flooded through my veins the longer he looked at me.
My body wasn’t reacting to his gaze because he made my pulse flutter. It reacted to him because I was finally safe enough to want something. And he was the one I wanted.
I pushed up on my toes and wrapped my arms around his neck again, drawing him closer. His lips found mine in a hungry kiss that left no room for doubt: we were destined for each other. Ever since our names were written in the stars, I was lucky to know him.
“Take me to bed,” I whispered against his mouth.
The corner of his mouth pulled up into a grin and his eyes glittered with mischief. “Gladly.”
He lifted me then. His broad hands cupped my thighs, as I wrapped them around his hips. We moved through the shadows of the house, the night folding around us, soft, private . . . ours. I let out a sigh as we reached his room. The place that had become my sanctuary over the last few months.
The place I’d found pleasure in not because it was owed, but because it was what I’d given freely and received in return.
Light from the moon washed across the floor and over the bed, which was still messy and disturbed from when we’d made love in the early hours.
My feet touched the cool wooden floor as Nik put me down, but I never took my eyes from him.
I stepped back, and reached for the buttons at the front of my dress.
He watched me, mirroring the act, buttons undone, his sculpted arms—that I’d come to crave—pulling freely from his shirt.
My dress slipped free, and pooled at my feet.
The air kissed bare skin, unfamiliar, and thrilling all at once.
I didn’t hide. I didn’t feel like I was on show.
I stood there, stripped bare and steady, meeting his gaze without flinching.
Nik’s breath caught, and a smile slowly stretched across his lips as he stepped out of his trousers until he too stood before me, naked and vulnerable. No armour. No walls or shadows. Just honesty and love.
I moved first, circling him. My hands explored the strength and warmth of his torso, tracing the hills and valleys of muscle, and the quiet power beneath his sun-kissed skin. When my fingers brushed his wings, he shuddered, releasing a soft moan.
“So sensitive,” I teased.
As I came to stand in front of him, he caught my wrist and tugged me closer. “You know how your touch undoes me.”
I smiled up at him, dragging my nails up his thigh before brushing against his hardened length. “Shall we see what else I can do with it?”
He pulled me close until my breasts pillowed against his chest. “Have your way with me, my darling.”
“Dangerous words,” I grinned as I slowly sank to my knees before him.
“Blythe,” he murmured, his hand coming to my chin. “You don’t have to—”
“I know,” I said softly, looking up at him. “But I want to.”
His eyes darkened with desire and his hand fell away.
I took my time exploring him. My fingers danced across his cock, tracing the veins from base to tip, and only when he moaned did I take him in my mouth. He twitched against my tongue as I ran it along the velvet skin, sucking him deeper, and grazing him with my teeth.
“By the light, Blythe,” Nik moaned, rocking his hips in a slow sweeping motion.
I hummed against it, enjoying myself for once. Sharing these moments with Nik never felt like it did with others before him. I knew the difference now.
His hands threaded through my hair, cradling my head. I reached up and wrapped my hand around his cock, pumping him while my lips glided over his length. I tasted him at the back of my throat as I sucked him deeper.
He groaned, and I couldn’t help the thrill that ran through me. Heat pooled between my thighs, slickness building with every gentle thrust of his hips.
I looked up at him, slowly dragging my head back.
Nik bit his bottom lip, watching my every move. “If we don’t slow down, I’m going to erupt on the spot.”
With a light pop I pulled free. “Would that be such a terrible thing?”
“Yes,” he said with a grin as he drew me back to my feet. “Because I need to ravish you before I find my release.”
“Ever the gentleman,” I replied.