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CHAPTER NINETY-FOUR

Ryker

I led her to the edge of the hill overlooking the river. The water had settled back into its banks after the magnetic storm, but it had reshaped the land, and some of the trees it tore free were upended beside the stream or dangling across it.

Here, there was a break in the trees where the sky was visible. Four moons, each in different phases, and millions of stars shone through the velvety curtain of night.

Standing there, with the mysteries of the universes on full display and with Ellery at my side, I knew one thing…

“I’ve never been happier in my life.” When Ellery tilted her head to look at me, the moons bathed her in a silvery radiance. “You’ve made me a better man, Ellery Locke.”

She beamed at me. “I like the sound of that.” And then her smile slipped away. “You were always a good man, Ryker.”

“Not after the war, not after the ophidians and Leo. I wasn’t good then.”

Her hand squeezed mine. “You were still a good man; you were just battered.”

“I was broken, and you helped put me back together.”

Tears glimmered in her eyes. “Never broken; you can’t be broken, Ryker.”

Maybe she was right about that; perhaps I wasn’t broken. Maybe I was just disgusted with life and tired of it all.

I realized this now because I knew she was wrong about me never breaking; I could shatter… and losing her would cause it.

I’d make sure that never happened.

She shivered when a small breeze drifted across the water, and I pulled her closer. At the encampment, we had the fires and dancing to keep us warm, but now that we’d wandered away, the crisp bite in the October air was more noticeable.

“Let’s get you back to the heat,” I told her.

“In a minute.”

Rising on her toes, she kissed me. She rested her hands on my chest and forgot about the cold when the kiss deepened.

I forgot about it too as I slid my arms around her and lifted her off the ground. Placing my hands on her upper back, I pressed her flush against me.

Her hand skimmed my stomach before lowering to my pants. She undid the button before grasping my stiff cock.

I groaned into her mouth as she used her other hand to push up her dress, wrap her legs around my waist, and rub against the head of my shaft while stroking me. Her nipples hardened against my chest as her tongue entwined with mine.

When I couldn’t take any more of her torment, I pulled her off my waist. She whimpered her disappointment as I set her on her feet.

Her face was flushed and her lips swollen as she gazed at me with a dazed look in her cyan-colored eyes. I went to my knees before her and, gripping her ass, pulled her closer.

Her hands fell on my shoulders as I lifted her skirt, grasped her underwear, and removed it. Pulling her closer, I draped the skirt over my shoulders and inhaled her scent as I lifted my mouth to her clit.

Tasting and teasing, I relished her increased breaths and fingers digging deeper into my shoulders as I pushed her to the brink of release before pulling away. I lifted the skirt to gaze up at her.

Reaching over her back, she fumbled for the buttons on her dress. “I need help getting this off.”

Rising, I grasped her hands and pulled them away. “Leave it on. It will remind me that I’m fucking my bride.”

A smile teased the corners of her mouth. I removed my boots and pants before reclaiming her and taking her to the forest floor.

When I lay on my back, she crawled on top of me and adjusted her skirt to take me into her. Her sheath gripped my shaft, and her head tipped back as her breasts, still trapped in their bodice, thrust forward. Bathed in the moon’s glow and in her wedding dress, she was magnificent as she rode me.

“My love, my wife, my everything,” I whispered.

Her head tipped back down as her eyes met mine. She lowered herself to kiss me and whispered, “My everything.”

As our tongues met, she moved her hips in a slow, enticing way that drew a groan from me before she rose off my dick and, clenching my shaft tighter, slid back onto it. Our increased breaths mingled as our bodies moved faster until release claimed us both.

She cried out against my mouth as my cock pulsed deep within her. While we were both taking valovay root for birth control, I couldn’t help thinking that one day, our actions could bring a baby into this world.

One day, she would be the mother of my children, and what an amazing mother she would be. I wrapped my arms around her, pulling her close as I imagined those children’s happy lives.

They’d never know an angry touch from me. They’d never doubt my love for them or their mother; while their lives could never be perfect, they’d grow up secure in the knowledge they could always count on us.

I yearned for those days, but we’d have to fight for them. No matter how badly I wanted to experience that with her, our lives were too uncertain to bring children into them. While they would still know love, I wouldn’t risk their lives in such a way.

One day, we’d have that future. I’d make certain of it.

Ellery nestled deeper into my arms and sighed. Staring at the sky, I savored the feel of her and the wonder of where our lives had brought us.

However, I’d promised to return her to the party, and I would uphold it. We had the rest of our lives for sex, but only one night of wedding celebrations.

I squeezed her before rising to dress. As we walked back to the encampment with our arms hooked together and Ellery’s head resting against me, I knew I was the luckiest man in Tempest.

It was also time to ensure my luck held out by destroying our enemies. We’d spent the past month focused on surviving, rebuilding, and preparing for winter.

Now it was time to focus on destroying.