This was more than a vow, the tone solemn, the look on his face serious, strained, as if he were in physical pain.
“I want everything, Nyko. I love you. I want your seed deep inside me. I want to make a baby with you.”
“If I don’t succeed, mate—” He grinned wickedly. “Then I’ll have to keep you right here beneath me until my seed takes root.”
That sounded fucking perfect to me.
He began to move then and my eyes fell closed, sensitive nerve endings reawakening. The tension in my body built, fueled by emotions surging through me like a tidal wave, so strong I couldn’t contain them. Tears leaked from my eyes, tears I couldn’t stop or control as every wall I’d ever built around my heart shattered. Joy and hope and love and years of hurt flowed out of me as Nyko fucked me, filled me up, made me feel whole.
Arching up to meet his thrusts, I held nothing back. I was going to come again. Nothing was going to stop it.
When his hand cupped my breast and tugged on my tender tip, my eyes flared open and I came. It was unexpected—the painful play of his fingers and the orgasm it spurred—yet there was no sound. My mouth was open but nothing came from it. I kept my eyes open and watched as Nyko pressed his hips into mine, arched his back, neck corded and roared my name.
His body shook and every last brick, every hurt from my past, toppled and collapsed under the wave of his love. I felt his hot seed spurt into me, filling me. I’d already been claimed, but it seemed as if he was doing it again. Reaffirming that I belonged to him, just as much as he belonged to me.
I had everything I wanted, right here. The hot, sweaty weight of this warrior a reminder that I was not alone, that I was loved, that my own warrior’s heart was matched to his.
Everything was perfect.
Epilogue
Megan
“Nyko, someone’s knocking on the door.” I wiggled in his arms and then laughed when he tugged the dress from my hand.
“I like you naked.”
I spun in his hold, tilted my head back so I could look up at him. He was smiling at me, a quick and easy grin that I saw more and more since we’d arrived on Atlan. The stress of fighting, of even just being on the Karter had worn on both of us more than we imagined.
While we’d certainly made exceptionally good use of every horizontal surface in the house, and a few walls, too—we’d both been restless sleepers. Nightmares plagued us both, but it was easy to reach out and know Nyko was there. Would always be there. He’d either held me or kissed me or even fucked my bad dreams away. He’d said it was his job to do so.
And when he, too, woke up with a shout, thinking there were Hive about, I soothed him with my voice and my body.
It had been two weeks since we’d arrived. Two weeks of a pseudo-honeymoon at home. We both started our new positions at the training center next week, and Nyko insisted we take advantage of our down time as much as possible. The house was new to both of us, but everything Atlan was new to me. I wanted to explore the planet, to learn the culture, meet people, but Nyko said it could wait.
It wasn’t because he didn’t want to share his world with me, he was just too damn greedy to let me out of his bed. And, at the moment, I was enjoying his attention too much to argue. At least until he didn’t want me to wear clothes.
And that was why we were arguing right now. He was enjoying my nakedness too much.
“I like you naked, too,” I countered. “But someone is at the door. Do you wish them to see me without clothes?”
His smile slipped. “You will remain here.” He pointed to the bed. “Berina can tell them to go away.”
“She will not,” I argued. “Whoever it is will think I’m an invalid or unable to walk.”
“Well, you did walk a little funny this morning after I took you that third—”
I reached up and covered his mouth with my hand. I knew he’d pull it away if he really wanted; he was just too big and strong otherwise. But he didn’t. “You will give me that dress and let me greet our guests. The sooner we see who it is, the sooner you can have me naked again,” I advised.
He thought for a moment, then grumbled something beneath his breath. The NPU worked wonders for translating, but every once in a while, there was something he said that I just didn’t understand, but I got the meaning readily enough by his tone. “Fine. But as soon as that door is closed behind whoever is pestering us, you’ll be naked and fucked against it.”
The promise made me hot for him. Again. This time, I wasn’t going to argue.
I was thankful the customary Atlan dress was easy to don, just slipping it over my head. I wasn’t going to ask after underwear. I knew he wasn’t giving me any. And I didn’t bother arguing about being seen by Berina or any of the other servants. They had made an absol
ute art of never being where they weren’t supposed to be.
I straightened my dress, a bright orange today, and left Nyko scrambling for his own clothing. When I opened the door—finally—there stood an Atlan and his Earth mate. It was obvious she was from Earth from her size, coloring and the fact that she looked very much like Captain Mills. In her arms was a little girl, perhaps close to one. She had dark hair like her mother and had a thumb in her mouth.