“Godsdammit,” she moaned, then shifted, unable to help herself. Two drops of wine spilled over her bellybutton and ran down her stomach.
“Oh no,” he said in mock disappointment. “I’m afraid you’ve lost.” Then he pressed his mouth to her navel and sucked up the wine. Pulling her up into his arms, he kissed her, passing the sip of wine into her mouth.
She swallowed, then pouted. “I wanted that momentous prize. Now I’ll never have it.”
“That’s not true,” he said. “In fact, you’ve already won it a thousand times over.”
Ally gave a confused laugh. “What is it that I’ve won then?”
“My heart.”
Her eyes widened, and Lyk captured her lips in a torrid kiss. It was time to stop dancing around the subject of their relationship. Lyk needed her to know exactly where things stood. As he kissed her, he whispered against her lips. “I love you, Allandria, with all of my heart.”
CHAPTER 32
ALLY
He loves me.
She could barely think under the onslaught of his kiss, but the words kept circling her mind as she repeated them to herself over and over.He loves me. He loves me.
Lyk Vartik, the Raven, the Vartik King loves me.
Ally felt it in his kiss, felt it in the way he held her with reverence. He’d called her his mate repeatedly in front of his family, but even then, Ally hadn’t taken it seriously. Perhaps she’d thought it would get them traction with his family, and that was his motivation for announcing that she belonged to him. Or maybe she was just too scared to believe it.
No, I knew.
Ally thought of all the things he’d done and said. All the times he’d looked out for her, all the kindnesses he’d shown her. She thought of the way it felt with him when they made love, like nothing could ever feel so good, like it was more than just body against body. It was soul to soul.
It was only her foolish and prideful independence that had blinded her. She’d insisted on going it alone because she wouldn’t be caught off guard again, wouldn’t have the rugholding her world pulled out from under her again. But now she saw how much stronger they were together.
Now she knew how good it felt to be able to depend on someone and to know with absolute certainty that you would never be betrayed. That you would never be let down.
Lyk’s lips trailed lower until they set upon her breast, worshipping one then the other. Her head thrashed on the carpet, her nipples tight and aching. When he kissed his way lower, she began to tremble.
“I can’t wait to taste you again,” he murmured against her inner thigh before pressing his lips to her feminine core. The way he made love to her with his mouth made her desperate. She clutched at his head, her fingers burying themselves in his thick hair, her hips pressing upward, longing for more of that sweet erotic torture.
She came against his mouth, shouting his name, and he growled fiercely as he licked up every drop. “This will be my wine,” he murmured as he returned to kiss her mouth, and she could taste herself on his lips. “I’ll expect a taste every day. I want to get drunk on you.”
Ally smiled, liking the sound of that. She wrapped her arms around him as he nestled himself in the valley of her thighs. “Ravish me,” she whispered against his mouth. “Show me how much you need me.”
He groaned, thrusting deep on his first entry, making her throw her head back and issue a throaty cry. Lyk was merciless, driving her to the peak of pleasure over and over again. Still, he was insatiable, demanding more.
“Come for me, sweetheart,” he commanded as he rubbed her clit in fast little circles. “I need to feel you squeeze me so good.”
She couldn’t help but obey, falling into another climax and seeing stars.
“It’s too good,” he groaned. “I can’t hold back.”
Ally felt him flood her with his hot essence and it drove her to another climax, making her shake, making her limbs feel weak and heavy. She panted, exhausted in the aftermath of lovemaking like she never dreamed of.
She was limp as he picked her up and carried her to his bed. Drawing back the sheets, he settled her in, then climbed in beside her, wrapping her up in his arms. Ally had never felt so safe, so cared for in her life. She wanted him to know how much that feeling meant to her.
“You know, not long ago you asked me why I’d held on to my virginity. What was I waiting for?”
Lyk nodded, his expression focused. Ally took a deep breath. She’d been afraid to reveal her feelings, she realized, because letting him know she loved him would be another form of dependence. It all seemed so foolish now, the way she’d behaved. She’d almost given up the love of a good man rather than try to trust again.
“I was waiting for love,” she said simply. “I wanted to give myself to someone special, someone who would appreciate the gift I was giving him. Someone who would stay with me, who wouldn’t abandon me. Someone who wanted to be the first because they knew they would be the last.”
