Warlord and the Waif by Chloe Parker
EPILOGUE
I VIVIDLY REMEMBER seeing the Fury for the first time. Wandering the hallways the night I met Calder in the library, I imagined the corridors echoing with the sounds of conversation, Calder seated at the throne in the feasting room and glaring around at his subjects.
Tonight, there’s plenty of conversation and laughter, but Calder isn’t glaring. Instead, he’s smiling, and music accompanies the other sounds of the feast, the Ardaxian from the Tempest’s Rest playing his guitar while others drum along with him. The banquet tables are arrayed with platters of delicious food and bouquets of exotic flowers, picked up from a supply run we made a week out from Myste, and the smell of spices and flora wafts out into the hallway.
The party has gotten underway without me, but I don’t want to step inside yet. My heart warms at the sight of the Calder, Portia, and Jack talking about our plans, Calder’s lips quirked in a smile I’m starting to get used to. He’s happy sharing his bed with me, making love to me through the intergalactic nights. Dressed in soft black pants and a shimmering golden robe that drags the floor at his feet, Calder looks every bit the dashing captain of the Fury.
My husband. My mate.
Or at least, he will be soon.
He catches my eye from where he stands by his throne and beckons to me with a glance, his expression sobering, his stardust eyes full of promise. Tonight is the marriage rite: the feast, the dance…the consummation. We’ve spent the past week talking about it and planning, with Calder offering me an out if I want. I didn’t know if I would be comfortable doing that in front of all these people, but he says it’s normal.
It all has me on edge, but the warmth of the room, and the safety I know I’ll find in his arms sets me at ease. He’s never forced me to do anything.
And part of me wants the world to know that he’s mine.
The crowd hushes as I step inside, my bare feet barely making a sound against the plush decorative rugs thrown across the metal floor. Glow lamps float along the ceiling above me, skylights giving us glimpses of a celestial starscape painted in blues and violets. My dress drags across the floor behind me, a gown of glittering gold that matches Calder’s robe, the sleeves falling around my shoulders. The fabric is thin and sheer, and I blush a little at the thought that everyone here can see my breasts through the draped fabric. My hair is down and wild, glimmering jewels set amongst the curls, and a sudden sense of confidence overtakes me.
I’m not just a girl from Earth.
To be honest, I never was.
I am, and always will be, the warrior queen of Freyr’s Fury.
I stride forward, lifting my skirts around my ankles, and Calder comes to meet me, extending his hands. His fingers clasp around mine and he pulls me in for a passionate kiss, plundering my mouth in front of all these people. My nerves don’t hit me again, and instead I take pride in it, throwing my arms around his neck and pulling him closer. He chuckles against my mouth, a deep, growling sound that nestles its way into my heart.
I’m so in love with him I feel like I could explode.
“Brazen woman,” he purrs, “If you continue like this I will be forced to take you here.”
“I’m ready when you are,” I challenge him.
He pulls me along to the back of the room, where his throne sits high on a dais. Another seat has been placed next to his, more elegantly designed but just as ornate: a throne of my own. A mosaic depicts a woodland scene behind the two seats in gold and jewels, sparkling in the light of the glow lamps, while a long table sits before it, draped in garlands of flowers. Calder leads me up the stairs and to my seat, bowing to me and kissing my hand once I’ve settled into my chair. My lips part at the heat of his stare, enhanced by the simple brush of his lips on my skin.
I’m ready for this. For him.
He turns to face the room and raises his glass, and the gathered celebrants quiet once again.
“You all know I am a man of few words, so I will keep this brief,” Calder says, “All I ask is that you eat, drink, and sing together tonight. To the Fury, to freedom—” He pauses and looks over his shoulder, and I see the desire in his eyes. “And to my wife.”
The others in the room shout in approval, and the music starts again, the conversation rising to fill the room. The sound of utensils on dishes clatters in the great hall, three hundred people beginning the feast. They don’t pay any attention to Calder when he turns and gathers a plateful of food. My stomach is in knots and I don’t think I can eat, but he comes to stand before me, extending the platter of alien fruit.
“You should eat,” he murmurs.
I raise a hand, shaking my head. “I’m not hungry.”
He kneels before me and I take a shuddering breath as he picks up what looks like a bright blue grape, rolling the fruit between his fingers. He holds it out without pressing me, and I lean forward to take it from his hand, sucking on his fingers as I do.
Calder sets the platter down next to him, dragging his gaze over my legs before he makes eye contact again. He places a big hand at the hem of my skirt and then drags it up over my knee, settling his palm against my inner thigh.
“May I?” he asks.
I can only nod, feeling like the room has been emptied of anyone but him.
“Have I told you how I hungered for you?” he rasps, never taking his eyes off me. He presses a kiss to my leg and I tremble under his touch. “How I felt like a man dying of thirst until I tasted you?” He kisses me again, higher this time, and I slide my hips toward him instinctively. “For nine hundred years, I starved in anticipation of this night.”
He grabs my hips and pulls me closer, and smiles in approval when he sees I’m not wearing anything under my dress.
“Let me put you at ease, sweet beauty,” he says.
I nod, breathless. “Yes.”
He lowers his mouth to me, dragging his tongue over my sex, and I gasp. I concentrate on him and him alone, phasing out the sounds of conversation, tangling my hands in his hair as he sucks and bites at me like only he knows how. The table must obscure most of what’s going on, though I know anyone looking can see Calder’s horns rising from between my legs, and the look of sheer euphoria on my face.
But I don’t care, taking my pleasure how I want it as he ravishes me, his hands holding me open to him.
I didn’t think I’d be able to come like this, so my orgasm takes me by surprise. I think I like that they know; that our crew sees that their captain knows how to pleasure his woman, and that he’ll kneel before no one but me. I open my eyes and gaze boldly around the room, catching side glances from the celebrants, the knowing exchange of whispers, while I clench around Calder’s tongue.
He withdraws slowly, dragging his forearm against his mouth with a wry smile, and stands to settle into his throne. I can see his erection clearly. Back on Earth all those years ago, it would’ve embarrassed me.
Now all I feel is pride.
He doesn’t have to speak, keeping his eyes on me as I stand and circle toward him, keeping my eyes on his. I’ve imagined this scene enough times that I feel the anticipation crawl over my skin, my nipples hardening under the dress draped around me. Calder gazes admiringly at me as I come to stand before him, and his eyes on me make me feel like a goddess, shining and celestial.
I put one knee next to his hip, then the other, straddling him and wrapping my arms around his neck as my skirt drapes over us both. He hisses out a breath when I press my core against his erection, every nerve in me firing at the sensation of the fabric on my clitoris. He waits for me to act, and inhales sharply when I slip my hands between us and pull him free of his pants.
I grip his cock and stroke down and then up again, and Calder’s eyes flutter shut, even as he tries to keep his gaze on me.
“You are mine as I am yours,” I whisper, and then sink down onto him, forgetting the rest of the world.
His arms come around me and he rocks his hips into me, thrusting slowly and deliberately. His mouth marks my throat, adding to the love bites from our week in bed, and I let out a careless cry, unashamed of the audience around us. Calder is my anchor to the unreality of this strange world, calm in the storm, bliss and rapture and passion, and I can’t get enough of him. I press my lips to his neck, grazing my teeth over him, biting down, and his cries of pleasure join mine.
He fucks me harder and faster, pressing his fingers into the fabric covering my hips, and I feel another orgasm coming on fast. I clench around him and lower my lips to his ear, flicking my tongue over the shell as I whisper the word again that makes him so aroused.
“Mine…”
His fingers dig into me and I feel him pulse, coming. His breath is short and gasping as he presses his mouth against my throat, my collarbone, and my breasts, then he raises his eyes to mine.
“My mate,” he whispers, “My wife…my warrior.”
I let my forehead fall to his and breathe him in, the intimacy of the moment startling given the setting. I only remember myself slowly as he extracts himself from me and pulls his pants back up so I can settle into his lap, still gazing into his eyes.
The sounds of the room come back to me, the conversation and music and laughter never having stopped. I lean down to pick up the platter and pick up a piece of fruit, sliding it past my lips and chewing thoughtfully. The sweetness hits my tongue and I let out a sound of satisfaction, making Calder’s cock twitch against me. He watches in wonder, stroking his fingers through my hair.
“You never cease to amaze me,” he murmurs, “We’re going to do great things in this galaxy, Ella.”
I smile.
“We already have.”
The feast continues, and we join the party, dancing and singing until we retire to bed and lose ourselves in each other.
The curse is broken.
We’re captive no more.
And I warmed the cold, callous heart of the beast.