by Laurie Roma
She held her breath as she checked for his pulse above the starburst marks she had left on his neck, and she wanted to weep when she felt the strong, steady beat against her fingertips. Amari sat down on the floor next to her, but Reva didn’t look away from his face, even when something brushed against her cheeks.
She realized she was crying when her eyes blurred. Tears slid down her cheeks, but she didn’t bother to wipe them away, not when she had to keep holding onto Malik. The dam that had blocked her emotions for weeks had broken to pieces, and she was swept away in the flood.
“I love you, Malik. Damn you, I love you. Come back!”
“Reva…?”
She heard Isla call to her with a voice that was weak with pain and grief, but she couldn’t make herself turn around…or care. She knew it was wrong, that none of this was Isla’s fault, but Reva only cared about Malik at the moment.
Voices were whispering to Isla, and Reva wanted to scream at them. A small part of her even wanted to shift and shred Bastian into tiny bits for what he’d done, but she didn’t move. She just watched as Amari put a hand down on his chest.
“Her nose won’t stop bleeding.”
“Damn it, Isla. Just relax. Stop moving.”
“Is he alive?” Isla called out.
“He is here,” Amari whispered, only loud enough for Reva to hear. “He just needs rest. You are mates?”
“Yes. We are life-locked.”
Amari smiled at her. “Then all shall be well.”
She took Reva’s hand away from where she had it pressed again his neck, and placed it on his chest, where she watched it rise and fall with his deep breathing.
“Reva? Please…”
“Yes,” Reva croaked out. “He’s alive.”
Leaving her hand where it was on his chest, Reva turned her head so she could look at Isla. Bastian was holding her on top of him where they had fallen to the floor. Blood flowed in a steam from her nose, but she met Reva’s gaze as she pushed Knox aside.
“Quilla is somewhere on Earth. She was looking at a city, but I don’t know where she was. She has done something…something that has caused a lot of pain. I don’t know what is happening! You have to contact the Capital. Don’t let them go in. It’s what she wants, and they’ll die if they do. Please…you have to stop them,” Isla pleaded. “It’s too dangerous where she is!”
“Thank you,” was all Reva could manage.
But before she could turn away, Isla spoke again.
“I couldn’t…hold him. He would have died, but…you brought him back, Reva. It was your connection. You brought him back.”
CHAPTER TWELVE
Reva loved him.
That thought repeated through his mind while Malik slept. While he dreamed. It would have been nice to hear before he was almost dead, but a male couldn’t be selective when they were on a mission that could have led to their end at every turn.
And he’d had his share of close calls in the last few weeks.
Malik had heard her. Even when he had felt like he would never wake again, he heard her calling him back to her. He had been floating, adrift, but he’d had to respond to her pain. Her need for him.
It had been so strange to be with Isla as she saw through Quilla eyes heard her thoughts. He’d had a difficult time deciphering what was going on, and when Isla had lost her hold on him, he thought he would be lost for all time.
But Reva had brought him back.
He had been drained of energy on the mental journey he’d taken with Isla, to a point that he was almost a shade of himself. But now, he felt whole, if a little weak. A sense of urgency made him fight to open his eyes, and he was surprised when they opened easily.
He saw Reva sitting next to him…nude. The pink tips of her breasts had tightened into small nubs, and her long, golden hair fell in a cascade over one graceful shoulder. Her amber eyes were filled with worry…and love. He saw the love there, and felt it so intensely that his own heart ached.
She placed a hand on his chest, and the move felt so familiar that he smiled. In return, her nails dug into his flesh enough to cause a spark of pain, yet she didn’t break skin.
“Ouch!”
“Scare me like that again, my lord, and I will definitely kill you.”
The tears that shimmered in her eyes belied her harsh words, and he moved his own hand, placing it over hers on his chest to hold her there. Not that he really needed to. She was already in his heart.
“Welcome back.”
When she leaned down to kiss him, he breathed her in, and finally understood why scent was so important to the Helios. If sunlight and happiness had a scent, that would be what she was to him.
Her lips gently brushed over his once, twice, then the tip of her tongue traced them. He felt himself harden in anticipation, and lifted a hand to pull her closer, but she stopped the kiss. Sitting up, she looked down at him again, and he finally noticed their surroundings. He tried to sit up, but she kept him in place with the hand on his chest. He could have overpowered her, but what was the point?
They were on a canopied bed he had never seen before, in an enormous room right out of his wildest imagination. The walls were made of a cream colored stone, and there were cutout windows that overlooked a beautiful, yet strange dark-pink sea. Sparkling, gossamer, pale-gold drapes covered the path out to a stone balcony, and made him think of home where he could stand out on the raised walkway that surrounded his palace, or up on one of the towers.
Beyond the bed was a large sitting area, with soft, bronze leather couches surrounding a large, stone fire pit that burned a bright blue. More of the gossamer drapes hung around the bed, but they had been pulled back and tied to the dark wooden bed posts. He was laying under a soft, shimmering dark gold blanket, and he moved his hand on it, the fabric was so soft he imagined it was what touching a cloud would feel like.
“Where are we?”
“On the ship. We’re headed to Earth. We left right after you passed out. Well, a few hours later since the Xenon insisted we eat with them.”
“I did not pass out!”
“What would you call it? You fell asleep for a long period of time, and wouldn’t wake up. Isla wasn’t much better. She was really drained. So, we stayed for dinner, then we waited until Amari got back from her dragon ride with Cord.”
“I’m sorry, I don’t think I heard you right.”
She smiled. “I think you did. The little boy was inconsolable when Isla wouldn’t wake up, so Amari took him for a ride…in dragon form. It’s pretty damn cool. So, you’ve been sleeping for two days now.”
He raised a brow and nodded toward the balcony. “This is not the ship.”
“That is just a holographic image. If you tried to walk onto the balcony, you would hit the wall.”
“I’ve seen holo-images before on the windows.”
Her lips curved in a smile. “Amari did some redecorating in here, too. Now, your quarters and the one next door that I’m not using anymore are connected.” She turned to look around. “This is what her home world looks like.”
“It’s…impressive.”
She focused on him again, and her gaze was intense. “She gave this to us…as a mating gift. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you before. I was going to and then everything happened, and you almost died, but I—”
Malik smiled at her softly. “I know, Reva.”
“You know?” Reva whispered, then she frowned. “What do you know?”
“That you bonded our lives together when you bit me. You told me you didn’t know what was going on when the silver was inside you. I know you were impaired when you did it, but—”
“I was not. The silver goo made me blank. All I remember was the cold and the dark. Once Amari shot me with her magic, I was…acting on instinct.” Her eyes narrowed, then confusion set in. “And you do not seem upset by this.”
This time, Malik sat up. He took her hand in his, then lifted it to his lips. He loved how flustered she got b
y the simple romantic gesture. He silently promised both of them that he would continue to find countless ways to please her over the years to come.
They were face to face now, and he couldn’t stop himself from leaning in for another quick kiss. “Why would I be upset when it is what I want more than my next breath?”
“What?” she asked breathlessly.
He smiled. “If almost dying several times over the last days has taught me anything, it is that I cannot risk losing you. You are my heart and soul now, Reva. You are my light, my reason for being.”
“Stars, I can’t breathe.”
Perhaps he should have been offended by that, but he wasn’t. Her reaction amused him to no end. “You are a warrior. My love should not scare you.”
Reva’s head was spinning fast, her heart pounding. “Are you jesting? Malik, I…you…I feel the same, but how can we—”
His hand squeezed hers harder. “I know you were willing to risk your life to avenge your mother and fathers, but that life now belongs to me, as mine belongs to you. I do not want you to risk it for vengeance.” He paused, then explained, “I foolishly thought I could give you up by telling myself that I could not bring my family’s shame down on you, but you have never looked at me like I was tainted.”
“You aren’t,” she growled.
Just the thought of it made her angry. As she looked at his beautiful face, she thought he was so strong, and she envied his ability to express his feelings. She had always thought love was something she could never have. She’d told herself that needing someone was a weakness, but she hadn’t understood what it meant to love someone above all else.
Courage. She needed courage now, and loving him gave her strength.
“I have loved you since the first time you touched me,” she whispered. “When I left you, left Tartarus, it was because my life had only been about duty. And when I failed at that, I thought I had lost everything. But I was wrong. We were meant to be together, Malik. I know that, now. Believe it with all my heart.”
“Reva.” There was so much emotion in the way he said her name.
“I think we need to get to feeding you some energy,” she said playfully.
“Definitely. This time, I would like to share it with you. Bond with me, Reva. Let me share my energy with you and claim you in the way of my people.”
There was no hesitation. “I would like that.”
He stroked her cheek. “There is my sweet little cat.”
“You called me that when we met because you knew it irritated me.”
“Of course.”
“I love you, Malik.” She leaned in and whispered against his lips. “Even when you piss me off.”
She kissed him with all the love she felt, and pushed him back onto the bed. Crawling on top of his big, beautiful body, she straddled his hips. His hard cock pulsed against the slick entrance to her core. Her hunger for him was infinite, relentless, and primal, but she didn’t want to rush it.
When she didn’t let him shift them so he was on top, he growled into their kiss. Pulling away and sitting up, she shook her head at him. “I want you like this when you put your magic in me.”
His dark eyes were hot and hungry as she ran her hands down his muscular chest, caressing every inch of his bronzed skin. His jaw clenched, and his muscles flexed under her light touch. “That is not all I will put in you.”
“You mean this?” With a low chuckle, she gripped his massive erection with her hand, stroking his length slow and easy. His shaft was so big, her hand couldn’t wrap around his full width, but he didn’t seem to mind.
“Mark me.”
“I already have,” she said as she looked at the twin starburst marks on his neck.
He shook his head. “Mark me, over my heart with your claws. I want to do this right, and I must show you that I will bleed for you. It is tradition, helicca. I must be marked before I share my energy with you.”
Reva understood tradition, and something inside of her was pleased that he would have a matching scar. As if he knew what she was thinking, he reached up and stroked a fingertip along the scar she had received when she had finished the Hunt.
“Will we send our young?”
She never thought of what their sons or daughters would be like, because she had never believe she would live to have the option. Now, just the thought of the family they could have made her heart ache.
“I’m not sure,” she said, feeling a little confused. “If I am to live with you on Tartarus, I would embrace your ways. But I would like any young we have to know the Helios traditions, too.”
“Then we shall make sure to have both in our palace.”
She groaned. “I forgot about the whole palace thing.”
“You are my lady, and will be Lady Rego. Will that bother you?”
Answering truthfully, she said, “Not after.”
Malik knew what she was saying, and he left it at that. He watched as one of her claws extended, and readied himself for the pain of the cut. Though, he barely felt it as she lifted up and impaled herself on his cock the moment she swiped a line over his heart. His back arched off the bed, and he groaned at she leaned down to taste his blood.
He had never understood the appeal of blood for some races, but as she licked over his skin, his heart thundered in his chest and he felt the connection. Her rough tongue moved up his chest, then to his neck where her mark was. She swirled her tongue over the small wounds, and his hands gripped onto her hips as he fought the urge to take over.
She desired to control their mating, and he would give her what she needed.
Even if it killed him.
He almost lost the battle when her fangs sank into the spot on his neck, exactly in the same place she’d bitten him before. His cock was thick and hard, throbbing with need, and he ached to move, to take her until they both found release, but she remained still.
“Helicca…I need…”
“I will give you everything you need, anything you want,” she whispered back.
Her mouth moved to capture his, and they both moaned as their tongues dueled, taking and giving at the same time. He released her hips, sliding his hands up and down her back, wanting to feel her soft skin. Her lithe body was a perfect delight for him to explore, and he loved the way her compact muscles flexed under her beautiful, golden skin.
She deepened the kiss until their mouths were fused together, and her forearms braced around his head for balance as she began to move. His hands moved to grip her lush ass when she lifted off of him torturously slowly, until inch by inch of his shaft met cool air, then she sank down again, sheathing him in her tight, wet heat.
The sexual energy they created when they were together was beyond anything he’d ever experienced before. She fed his need completely, giving him a strength and satisfaction that was soul deep.
“Gods, I feel full of you, Malik” she purred. “You feels so damn good.”
Reva sat up, needing better leverage to ride him the way she needed, and she felt his shaft move with her. She had solidified her bond with him again by biting down on her claiming mark, this time with complete intent.
Now, she felt drunk on him.
When he lifted his hands to cup her breasts, she moaned as his callused fingers rubbed against her nipples. She began to move herself up and down on his cock, faster, harder. Flames of desire burned inside her core, and she swiveled her hips, wanting him to feel as good as she did. He made her feel wild and reckless, and she rode him harder, thrusting down on him, filling herself to the hilt.
“Take me. Take me inside you, helicca.”
The pressure was too much to take, and she reached down to rub her own clit, pushing herself over the edge. Her scream of pleasure echoed around the room, and her hips bucked as she rode out her release.
“You are mine,” she snarled. “Mine!”
Malik couldn’t hold back any longer. Her claim on him made him harder, made him insane with the need to come, to fill her w
ith his seed. He gripped her hips and braced his feet on the bed, powering into her from below.
He watched as her head fell back on a low moan, and he felt her long hair brush against his legs. Her full breasts bounced with every thrust, and she moved her own hands to cup them, holding them still.
“Pinch your nipples for me,” he demanded.
When she did, he groaned at the sight. He pounded his cock into her tight pussy as he pulled her down on him. When he felt his climax building, he wanted her to take him in every way possible.
“Say it,” she demanded. “I want you to say it.”
“You are mine, as I am yours.”
He drove into her over and over, reveling in the pleasure she gave him. He continued to shove his cock into her until his climax was upon him, and when his movement became erratic, she took over, riding him with power and speed.
“Are you ready, helicca? Are you ready to fully bond with me?”
“Yes. Do it. Do it now.”
“Come for me again, Reva. Clench down on my cock, and take me with you.”
He placed his hand on her chest, right over her heart as the fiery jets of his seed spurt from his cock. Malik’s body shuddered with pleasure, and he focused all the sexual energy inside of him straight through his palm, right into Reva’s heart.
Reva felt the merging, and she climaxed hard, clamping down on him viciously as he pumped his release into her. It felt like getting struck with a Dragon Warrior’s magic again, without the pain of it. She felt Malik seeping into her body, her heart, and she felt him in her mind, enhancing the connection she had made with her bite.
She collapsed on him, and his arms wrapped around her. She felt safe in his arms, and contentment made her relax against him. Sweat soaked their skin, and she heard the rapid beat of his heart against her ear.
“You are my lady. My love. Now, and always,” he said in her mind.
“We were fated. I won’t let you down,” she vowed.
“You could never,” he said out loud, knowing that she felt she had failed her mother and fathers. “We will build a life together. Fight beside one another. Protect our young, and our people. And I promise to love you until the end of our days.”