by Dena Christy
He sat on the edge of his bed, wearing only a loose pair of cotton pants and his blonde hair was sticking up in spikes all over his head. He looked so tired that Collette’s heart went out to him. He was scrubbing his hand over his face when she must have made a small noise to alert him to her presence.
His head shot up and he turned to look toward the door way, and when he saw it was her standing there with Miranda’s help, he leapt up and came toward her.
“What are you doing out of bed,” he said as he scooped her up in his arms. “The doctor said you need to be resting.”
Miranda patted her on the back and turned to walk down the hall. Ryce carried her inside his room, kicking the door shut behind him. He sank down on the edge of his bed, his arms a tight band around her.
“I had to know that you were safe,” she whispered as she tilted her head back to look at him. Her arms were locked around his neck, and he reached up to smooth the hair away from her face. His jaw tightened when his fingers brushed the bandage at the side of her head.
“I’m safe,” he said, his voice a low rumble in his chest as his eyes devoured hers. He looked at her as if he couldn't believe that she was there and with him.
“And Dawson,” she asked. She didn’t want to mention his name, but she needed to know that Ryce was safe from him.
“He’s dead,” Ryce growled as he pulled her tight against him.
“Did you…”
“No,” he said as he eased her back to look at her. “I was going to. After what he did to you, I was prepared to do whatever it took to make sure that he could never hurt you again. But I wasn’t the one who killed Dawson. Cynric got to him first. All that matters is that is that he’s gone.”
A thought struck her as she looked up at him. Shortly after he’d saved her from Dr. Avery, he told her that she deserved a better man than Reggie, and she knew that he was the man she deserved in her life. He was a man who’d walked through fire to get to her when she needed him, had been prepared to kill to keep her safe.
It gave her hope that she hadn’t screwed things up with him when she’d let Reggie fool her into going back to her apartment. She couldn't believe now that she’d placed the value of the money promised her above him, and she felt the slight sting of shame when she remembered that she’d told him she was going to move on with her life without him.
“Can you forgive me,” she said as she looked up at him. He frowned down at her as if he didn’t quite understand what she was talking about. “I said some terrible things to you, things that I didn’t mean the last time we spoke. I should never have let Reggie fool me. I should have stayed with you.”
“There is nothing for me to forgive,” he said as he caressed her cheek. His eyes were tender when he looked into her, and she felt a small spark of hope that perhaps they had a future together. “I was an idiot. I let my pride get in the way, and I let you walk into a trap. If I hadn’t been so stupid, I would have gone with you and Dawson would never have been able to get his hands on you.”
“Or he might have killed us both. Maybe things played out how they were supposed to,” she said as she pulled his head down to hers. She didn’t want to talk anymore, at least not until she’d felt his lips on hers. It seemed like a long time since he’d last kissed her, and she wanted that closeness with him.
His mouth was soft, and gentle as he kissed her with a reverence that brought a prickle to back of her throat. She sobbed against his mouth. She’d been so scared at the warehouse that he would be killed, that she could never tell him how she felt. Now he was here with her, his solid strength giving her the courage to pull back from him and tell him how she felt.
She eased back from him and looked into his warm green eyes. She took a deep breath as she prepared to lay her soul bare to him.
“What is it,” he asked as he moved his hands down to her back, to move in slow soothing circles. She didn’t know if he returned her feelings, but the fact that he’d gone through so much to save her gave her the courage to say what she needed to say.
“I love you,” she whispered as she brought her hands up to frame his face. “I know we never talked about what would happen once Cynric was saved, and I know I said before I went to the apartment that I was going to take Evie up on her offer to start me off with a new life. I’m sorry I said that, because I didn’t mean it. I don’t want a new life it if means that I can’t have you in it.”
His breath came out in a whoosh and he pressed his lips against her forehead.
“I’m so glad to hear you say that,” he said, and he kissed her on the mouth for a moment before pulling back. “Do you see the mark on my chest?”
She looked at his chest, and there was a hand shaped mark, that was dark red and looked like it had been branded into his skin. She lifted her hand to touch it. Her hand fit the shape perfectly, and she looked back up at him.
“Did Miranda tell you anything about this?” Ryce asked as he placed his hand over her.
“No, should she have?” Collette said she turned her hand so her palm was facing up and she clasped his hand to hers. He raised it to his mouth and pressed a kiss against the skin of her knuckles.
“I thought she might have mentioned it, since Synn carries a similar mark that is in the exact shape of her hand. My species mates for life, and when our true mate comes along, a mark in the shape of her hand appears over our hearts. You are my true mate Collette, but I knew even before the mark appeared what I felt for you. I love you, and I will spend the rest of my life making you happy if that’s what you want. I would walk through a thousand fires to keep you safe, and will protect you with my life.”
His words sunk in, and the tears that had been hovering inside her from the moment he’d taken her in his arms, spilled down her cheeks. He loved her and wanted to have a life with her. It was more than she ever thought she wanted, but she knew that she wanted him. He looked at her worriedly as his thumb caught one tear spilling down her face.
“It wasn’t supposed to make you sad,” he said quietly, and she gave a little laugh as she sniffed.
“I’m not sad, I’m so happy that you love me, and that we will be together.”
“Will you bond with me then?” There seemed to be significance to what he was saying, but she was unsure what he meant. She’d declared her love for him, but she had a feeling that he needed something that went beyond words. He must have seen her confusion, and he spoke again. “There is a ritual that my kind can go through, one that is intimate and meaningful. If you go through with it, it means we will share a bond that is unbreakable. It will tie you to me for the rest of my life, and we will have a connection that goes beyond physically being together. It means that I will be yours, and nothing but death will ever take me from you.”
She savored his words and the meaning behind it. He would be bound with her for the duration of his life, and she hoped it was a long one. She knew for her part that she wanted to spend the rest of hers by his side, so her answer was an easy one to make.
“Yes, I’ll bind myself with you,” she said, and he pulled her to him and squeezed her tight. “Can we do it right now?”
He gave a little laugh and pulled back. “You need to get your strength back first. It is a mating ritual, and its very intense.”
“Oh,” she said, and she breathed a sigh as she rested her cheek against his chest. “Can I sleep here with you until it’s time to perform the ritual?”
She knew that while she was weak, he wouldn’t want to have sex with her for fear that he’d hurt her, but she didn't want to be parted from him.
“I can’t let you go now. I want you here, by my side, so yes, you will sleep with me until we perform the ritual and all the nights that follow.”
Chapter Nineteen
Ryce looked around his bedroom and tried to see it through Collette’s eyes. She’d spent the last few days recovering, and tonight they would bind themselves together. Nerves danced in his stomach, and he tried to tamp them down. He
was a hardened warrior who could walk into battle stone cold, without even a flicker of unease. But the thought of not pleasing a woman, his woman, had him tied up in knots.
He wanted to make this special for her since this bonding ceremony happened only once. He had nothing to offer her, not even the assurance that they would eventually have a home together, and that she was willing to walk through her life by his side despite that humbled him.
The small room in Evie’s compound, that he and Collette now shared, seemed inadequate for momentousness of what they were about to do. He remembered the bedroom they’d stay in on the night before the ball, with its luxurious furnishings, and he couldn’t help but think that she deserved a place like that.
“Well,” Synn said as he stepped in the door way. “If I was female, I’d be suitably impressed.”
Ryce spun to glare at his friend. He had hoped that his friends wouldn’t see what he’d done to the room, since he’d combed Evie’s compound for every candle he could find, and they now lent the room a soft glow.
“Go ahead,” he said as he felt a hot blush rising up on his cheeks. “Make fun of me.”
“Actually, I was thinking of asking to borrow the candles when you’re done,” Synn said as he gave him a grin.
“But you’ve already bound yourself to Miranda,” Ryce said as a frown marred his brow.
“Doesn't mean we can’t pretend we haven’t and do it again,” Synn said with a laugh. “Do you need some pointers?”
He knew Synn meant it as a joke, and he didn’t need him to tell him the mechanics of it, since he was positive that he had a handle on that. But as he looked at his friend, he couldn’t hold back the worry nagging at him. This was such step, and he had so little to offer her. She could have any man she wanted, and she wanted him.
“What if I screw it up?”
“You won’t,” Synn said as his face sobered.
“What if I do? I have nothing to give her, hell we aren’t even home and we don’t know if we will ever get back there. She deserves to be given the world at her feet, not live a life as a fugitive.”
“I thought the same thing, and I tried to let Miranda go, and what did you call me?”
“I called you a fucking idiot,” he said, and at the time he’d meant it. But now that he truly knew what Synn had gone through when he bound himself with Miranda, he couldn't believe that he’d been so callus.
“You did, and you were right. You talk about all the things that you can’t give her, but has she ever once asked for anything that you couldn’t provide?”
“No,” he said quietly. Collette had never asked him for anything, except for him to hold her when she was scared, and to love her when she needed him.
“That’s right, she hasn’t. Just like Miranda has asked nothing of me except for my love, which I give to her whole heartedly. That’s what Collette wants from you, because if it wasn’t enough she wouldn’t have agreed to bond with you. So stop being a fucking idiot.”
Ryce gave a little laugh and nodded at his friend.
“She's in the common room with Miranda, do you want me to send her your way, or are you not done worrying yet?”
“I’m done worrying,” he said and Synn nodded as he turned on his heel and walked down the hall.
His talk with Synn had settled him, and he was ready now to commit himself wholly to her. He would get home, and they would build a life together.
He stood in the middle of the room for several more moments when he hear the distinctive sound of her walk coming down the hall. He would recognize her blindfolded and he looked toward the door when she came to stand in the threshold.
She looked around the room, her eyes taking in everything until she brought them back to rest on his face.
“Oh Ryce,” she said, her voice so soft that he had to strain to hear her. She closed the door quietly behind her and they were alone. “It’s beautiful.”
“I wanted to make tonight special for you. I wish I had more to give you, a nicer place for us to bind ourselves together but…”
She walked toward him and put a finger on his mouth.
“It’s perfect,” she said and with the way her eyes shone in the candlelight he knew that she meant it.
“Are you sure this is what you want? It is your choice, to have me for the rest of our lives. I know we haven't known each other long, and if you need more time to think about it, you can have it.”
“I know everything about you that I need to. You came to my rescue the first time without even knowing who I was, and you came the second time when you thought I wanted a life apart from you. You are the man I’ve been searching for my entire life, and I want to bind my life with yours.”
Relief went through him, and his desire for her fired his blood. This was going to happen, he was going to bind himself with her, in the most intimate way possible. He took a step toward her and cupped her face.
“I love you,” he whispered as he looked down at her.
“I love you too,” she said as she twined her arms around his neck and he lifted her up off her feet, holding her close. “What happens now? I tried to get Miranda to tell me what to expect, but she would only say that you would show me the way.”
“Now we make love with each other, and when I enter your body, you have to place your hand on the mark until it’s over. And once it’s finished, I will be bound to you. I will never forsake you for another, and we will be able to have sons together if that’s what you want.”
The thought of children had never occurred to him until he’d said it at this moment, but he very much wanted to see Collette’s body blossom with his child. His only regret was that he could only produce sons since he would love to have a daughter that was the image of her mother.
“Love me, Ryce,” she whispered as he offered her mouth to him, and he didn't need to be told again. He kissed her, softly and tenderly. They had all night to complete the ceremony, and he wanted to take his time with her, to bring her as much pleasure as he could give her.
He lowered her to her feet and slowly undid the buttons of her blouse. It parted, and he put his hands on the her lace covered breasts. Her hand worked on his shirt, and the stood in silence in front of each other, removing the other’s clothes until there was nothing between them but skin.
He took her by the hand and led her over to the bed. She lay upon it, and he joined her on the mattress. He took soft, nibbling kisses of her mouth, teasing her enough that she reached for the back of his head to pull him close of her. He pressed her mouth fully on his, and kissed him deeply, passionately.
His blood roared in his body as he pulled her close, the feel of her lush curves pressed against him driving his desire for her deeper throughout his body. Her hand skated down his chest, to stroke the mark on his skin and he shivered. It was as if there was a direct connection between his groin and the mark, and it was like she was stroking the flesh of his shaft with her hand instead of his chest.
He pulled back, and he could feel the effect of his desire on his appearance as the skin of his hand on her breast changed color, and his felt his features sharpen as he neared the edge of his control. His love for her almost overwhelmed him, but he needed to make sure she was right there with him before he gave in to the desire pounding in his blood.
He forced himself to slow down, and he shifted so he could take her breast in his mouth while his hand moved down her belly to stroke the moist flesh he found there. She cried out and moved her hips restlessly when he found the centre of her pleasure. Her scent was in his nostrils, and he knew he had to taste her.
He moved his head down her body until it was between her thighs, and he dipped his face down so he could stroke her clit with her tongue.
“Oh God Ryce,” she called and something primitive went through him at the sound of her calling his name. It was getting harder to hold himself back, and he wanted to be inside her, but if she wasn’t prepared for it he’d have to wait a little longer. He loved her wi
th his mouth, and his tongue until she reached down to stab her fingers through his hair and pull him away from her.
“I need you inside me, now,” she said, and she could see the same desire that was pumping through his body stamped on her face.
He moved up to settle himself between her legs.
“Put me inside you,” he growled, and she compiled instantly, gripping his shaft and guiding him into the entrance of her body. Her other hand went to the mark, and she looked up at him with love and trust in her eyes.
“Are you ready?” His breath was coming in pants as the head of his cock rested inside her warm, slick flesh. She nodded her head, and he slammed into her, burying himself inside her as far as he would go. “Don’t let go.”
“I won’t,” she said as she kept her hand firmly on the mark on his chest. He gripped her hips and withdrew part way out before pressing forward again. She felt so good as everything he felt for her flooded his body.
They made love for what felt like hours in the flickering candlelight, and as his blood roared in his ears he heard her climax, and her body squeezed him so tight that it threw him over the edge. He called her name as he found his completion in her arms, and her hand remained firmly on the mark that would bind her to him even as he collapsed on top of her and buried his face in her neck.
He had no idea how long he lay on top of her, but he knew that he didn’t want to burden her with his weight any longer. He rolled to his side, taking her with him.
“I can feel it,” she said quietly once their breathing had slowed and their heartbeats resumed their normal pace.
“Feel what,” he asked as he pressed his lips to the top of her head.
“Your love,” she said.
“And you will feel it for the rest of our lives,” he said, and he could feel his connection to her now that they were bound, and he felt the love she felt for him inside himself, soft and warm. “You won’t regret this.”