Epilogue

Rikki

“Are you sure about this?” I asked my mercenary. My hand was trembling a little as I held the knife, which was silly because Thar’oc had already told me a million times that his horns had no sensation. They were just like nails, entirely made of keratin.

He laughed, leaning in to press his head against my belly. Around my thigh, his tail gently squeezed; if we were near each other, the appendage would wrap around the closest part of me without fail. I really liked how he could simply not resist that link. “Of course. This is the last kill I want to mark, but that bastard’s death deserves a celebration,” he rumbled in his deep, sub-harmonic voice against my belly button.

When he raised his azure eyes to me, my heart leaped in my chest. I loved the way he looked at me, the way he made me feel. Coddled, coveted, and oh-so-protected. The hint of vulnerability I saw in them now made a smile break out across my face.

“I’m no good with words, you know that,” he admitted, his leg bouncing up and down where he sat, perched on the edge of the bed. I nodded at him, encouraging him to continue. “But I know you were always meant to be mine. I knew it the moment I laid eyes on you. No, I knew it the moment I drew your scent into my lungs.”

He was trying to tell me that he loved me like I didn’t already know that. Fated mates, who knew they were real? But I fervently believed it now. Thar’oc was meant to be mine. I’d suffered the indignity of an abduction to meet him, but I did not regret it one bit.

“I love you too, Thar’oc. I don’t care about those words, you show me every day in all the things you do. That’s more than enough for me.” I tugged on one of his horns, took a deep breath, and settled the knife against the other one. With my gaze set firmly on the wide, fanged grin that was spreading across his handsome features, I made the notch he wanted.

As soon as the knife carved a little strip from the hard horn, Thar’oc caught my wrist and shook the blade from my grip. It clattered to the floor somewhere, but neither of us noticed. He pulled me into him, his mouth crashing against mine in a claiming kiss. Then the world spun when he rolled us onto the bed.

My flimsy chemise was yanked away, my body bared to him. I clung to his horn with one hand, my other dragging along his naked, beautifully muscled chest. The intricate lines of blue that zigzagged like lightning strikes across his black skin glowed with fervor, a sure sign of his passion. Then he notched his cock against my core, the pair of piercings glowing hotly against my sensitive skin. “Forever Rikki, you are mine forever.”

“Yes!” I said, and he surged inside of me in a rough thrust. His tail curled, stroking across my clit, and in moments I saw stars. His cock felt perfect. Each ridge, the piercings, they felt so good inside of me. I was one lucky girl to have found a male this sweet to me, and this fucking good in bed.

He had me cresting that ultimate peak with him together. Our bodies clinging, and I knew I had found my home. Thar’oc would always be there for me, so what if he wasn’t the knight in shining armor I pictured marrying as a young girl? His black armor was much better anyway.

Afterward, we lay sprawled together on the sheets, his tail stroking gently along my hip. A fidget on his part, but they were getting milder every day. “Are you happy about finding work on Strewn? I was going to meet up with my friend Ru and his mate. Now I’m thinking about buying this bar there that caught my eye last time. What do you think?”

I contemplated the idea. Owning a bar on a space station? A space station that according to him banned the slave trade, and was much more interesting and fun than the den of iniquity he’d found me on. Why the heck not? I was ready to go on any adventure with him.

“Yes,” I said with a smile. “I’ve always wanted to run my own pub.”

THE END