“Eliran,” he shouted.
“Get her in the room with the tanks; I’ll find a cot for her. She needs to rest. I have no idea how she does that, but, right now, she needs rest before she passes out from tapping out her system,” he replied.
I was fighting the darkness this time, refusing to allow it to descend and steal away my consciousness. I blinked repeatedly until the stars broke away, and I could see once more. Silver and black patterned eyes looked down at me as strong arms carried me from the room. “Ryder?” I asked, worried that I had failed.
“He has to go in the tank, Syn. It will speed up the healing process so we can get him to a state where he can feed. You may have removed the iron, but he took a lot of internal damage from the bullets,” Ristan replied.
Ristan held me until one of the healers pushed in a small bed that he positioned next to one of the giant tanks, and then Ristan tucked me onto it. I watched as Ryder was brought in, naked and covered in blood. He looked as if he was asleep if you could ignore the blood, which I couldn’t, but I wasn’t fooling myself. He was severely injured, and in my head I knew it.
His men came in and helped remove him from the gurney. Eliran followed closely behind them, attaching cords that flowed from a beeping machine to Ryder’s naked flesh. It took four of his men to hold him above the huge tank as Eliran finished the last few connections. When he was done, they released him into the water, with an oxygen mask covering his nose and mouth. He sank lifelessly to the bottom of the tank. Everyone seemed to be holding their breath as they watched him until his body slowly began to rise, and stopped in the middle of the tank and floated there. Dristan closed the lid on the tank as Eliran turned a dial on the bottom, at the control panel, and millions of tiny bubbles started popping up crazily from the bottom of it. They’d stuck Ryder in a giant fish tank. I couldn’t quite picture what Adrian had described earlier; this was an amazing blend of Fae magic and technology.
“I am far more optimistic about his recovery, now that you removed the iron from him,” Eliran said as came over and held out his hand. I accepted it and let my eyes move back to Ryder. His hair was moving in the water as if he was weightless.
“When will he wake up?” I asked, wanting him to do so already.
“That depends on how much damage he took trying to save his men. I couldn’t open him up because—”
“Enough,” Zahruk said, strolling in. “He needs to heal, Synthia. Ryder will pull through this by morning; he’s very strong.” He was very confident, as though he know something I didn’t.
“I’m staying,” I whispered, reaching out to place my hand on the tank.
“That’s fine, Synthia, but nothing changes. In one more day, you go to the Dark Heir, to become his wife,” Zahruk said, lowering his eyes to Ryder’s closed ones. The tick in his jaw was hammering, and even through his anger, I could see the pain of the unknown. They loved him, and it showed in their eyes, even if they refused to show it otherwise.
I felt drained, mentally and physically. I closed my eyes and closed out the sound of everyone around me. It was odd. For the first time, I could hear Ryder’s heart beating through the brand on my hip. I fell asleep to its soothing beat. It was comforting, and told me he was alive, even if he was floating in a tank of water.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
I awoke, warm and snug, to the sound of snoring all around me. Ryder’s men hadn’t left the small room and slept in uncomfortable positions around us on the floor. Sometime in the night, Ristan had gotten into the small bed with me and was even now curled around my body like a gigantic cat. I wasn’t sure if he had done it to protect me, or to push power into me like he had done before, as I felt really refreshed and strong. No matter the reason, he was going to know the moment I woke up, or moved.
I didn’t move, other than to turn my head to look at Ryder. He was still sleeping, submerged in the water tank. My hand hadn’t left the spot on the tank where it had been when I had fallen asleep. His hand had found mine, and was pressed against it. As if he could sense, even in his healing sleep, that I was there for him, waiting.
My eyes drifted slowly down his very naked body, taking in every red angry mark that had been an open wound only last night. He was healing, and it was a relief, since I would be leaving here soon, willingly or not. I flinched as my eyes landed on his leg close to his glorious cock. They’d tried to shoot him there. Sick bastards.
I exhaled softly, and lifted my eyes back to his face, and yelped in surprise as I found his eyes watching me. “Ryder,” I whispered, sitting up to look at him better.
“Shit, he’s awake. Aodhan, go get Eliran,” Ristan said, unwrapping himself from me and coming off the small bed to stand and stretch. He walked around to tap on the tank with a relieved smile plastered to his face.
Ryder tapped it back three times. His golden eyes met Ristan’s briefly, before coming back to land on me. Eliran was in the room within moments of being told Ryder was awake, and was now barking out orders. Zahruk grabbed my arm, and was a little sharp, but his words had me off the bed and following him without hesitation.
“He’s going to need to feed, Synthia. They will be bringing him to his bedroom; to you.”
I didn’t argue; didn’t struggle to remove my arm from his hand as he sifted us to Ryder’s entryway. “Strip, and be ready for him. He’s going to need everything you can give—and more.”
“Okay, I’ll strip when you get out.”
“Be under the covers when they come in, Syn, and, fair warning, he won’t be gentle.”
“Ryder doesn’t do gentle very often,” I said before I could stop the words from leaving my mouth. He’d been gentle once, and I remembered every single second of it. It wasn’t an actual lie, though. Ryder was, as a rule, rough—just the way I liked him to be. I nodded as Z made a grumbling sound, but left the room.
I looked down at myself and decided I needed to kill Ristan at the first opportunity. The demented pervert had cleaned me of all the blood and woad and had managed to dress me in a skimpy black baby-doll nightie and tiny black lacy thong. It’s a good thing that Ryder said he trusted the Demon. Ristan might mess with me, but he wouldn’t seriously do anything. I groaned as I realized he had been pushing power into me—he’d been getting Ryder’s ‘dinner’ ready. I closed my eyes, and the little baby-doll top disappeared with nothing more than a thought. It was one of the nice things about being Fae. Well, it was now that I was learning to use it. I quickly climbed beneath the covers as the door opened, and Ristan came in.
“Covered?” he asked with his eyes landing on me. I’d just barely managed to pull the covers up to my chin. “Damn,” he smirked impishly, but it was short lived as the others carried a limp Ryder in, and placed him on the bed. “All yours. This might get a little crazy, now, he might not know who he is feeding from. I’m going to be outside the door, just in case. If he gets to be too much for you, I can call another in to finish feeding him.”
As if! “I can handle him,” I whispered, lifting my hand to touch his cold face. The only sign that he’d been submerged in water was the small droplets still dripping from the tendrils of his inky black hair.
“Flower, I’m serious. If he hurts you, I need to know. If he gets too rough, it could be a sign that his mind has been infected by the iron. He would be livid if I allowed him to hurt you while he was unable to stop himself. Better one of the women who are here to serve the mass of Fae, then the fucking Light Heir. Understand what I’m saying?”
“Go. We’ll be fine.”
When the room was cleared of his men, I sat up on my knees letting the sheet drop to the mattress. He was deathly still. His chest wasn’t rising. No air was coming out of him at all. I bent over him and kissed his lips gently as he watched me.
“You don’t get to die on me. Not now; not ever,” I whispered brokenly.
I stared at Ryder as he watched me from the bed. His eyes were hazy, as if it wasn’t Ryder who was watching me now. He growled as
he moved closer to where I sat on my knees on the soft bed. A feral growl erupted from deep in his chest, and, before I knew it, he had pinned me flat on my back to the bed, his hands firmly holding mine down to the mattress. He let out another growl and my panties dissolved as he’d intended them to.
“Mine,” his voice resonated, with so much force that it constricted my throat and blocked the reply from coming out. Yes, I was his.
His legs parted my thighs roughly as his mouth lowered to my neck. Blunt teeth nipped and scraped over my skin, causing a small surprised cry to break past my lips. Ristan sifted in, as if he’d been outside the door with his ear pressed against it.
“Out, Demon!” Ryder growled, sending a chill racing down my body to my toes.
“Synthia,” Ristan said as he ignored Ryder’s forceful demand.
“I’m fine, Ristan, really.”
“She’s mine,” Ryder warned the Demon in a tone so chilling, and filled with such a silent threat that I closed my eyes as a bit of fear took root in the pit of my stomach. I somehow knew he wouldn’t hurt me—other people were fair game—but I knew he would protect me no matter what craziness was going on around us.
“Yes, she’s yours,” Ristan said as he met my eyes and glanced away quickly. He didn’t hesitate as I shot him what I hoped was a reassuring look as he sifted out, leaving me alone with Ryder.
“Spread your legs,” he said as he went back to nipping at my neck.
I obeyed him, and felt as the head of his swollen cock entered swiftly. I cried out at the invasion of my body. His hands kept mine pressed firmly to the mattress, and I was helpless to move. His mouth growled against my neck as he continuously fucked me until he cried out with his instant release.
I held still, waiting for him to climb off. He didn’t. Instead, he released my arms and flipped me over onto my stomach and entered me from behind as his hands reached for my hair, and the small of my back. One pulling, one pushing as he rode me from behind, roughly.
“So fucking good, so fucking tight. Mine,” he snarled and lowered his mouth to nibble at my shoulder. He was rough, and yet tender as he took me until we both shook from release. He hadn’t fed enough, though. I could feel his hunger as surely as I could feel my own.
“Syn,” he whispered after the trembling of our bodies had subsided.
I didn’t reply as he pulled me over. Tears of joy erupted from my eyes as I realized Ryder was back; my Ryder was alive and sound in mind, unaffected by the iron.
“My beautiful Fairy,” I whimpered with relief.
“I hate when you call me beautiful. I’m not beautiful. I’m bad. I do terrible things and, I do them very fucking well.”
“I don’t care,” I replied vehemently because, right now, I didn’t care.
“You should, since I’ve done some of them to you,” he whispered.
“But I don’t care, Ryder. You almost fucking died on me!” I snapped, finally letting out some of the pain and worry I’d felt.
“I wouldn’t have died,” he said, lowering his mouth to claim mine harshly. I opened for his assault, and met it with a force that matched his.
He pulled away and smiled. “I’m going to fuck you,” he warned.
“Good,” I replied, uncaring of the soreness between my thighs he’d just created.
“Did I hurt you?” he asked as his knee once against parted my thighs.
“No, I want it harder,” I replied nibbling my bottom lip as he watched.
“I don’t want to hurt you.”
“I want you to fuck me, hard.”
“Remember, you asked for it,” he replied, before nudging me with his sex between my legs as it sat poised at my entrance.
“Then I guess you better stop talking, and give me what I asked for, Ryder,” I whispered through the tears building in my eyes. I was tired of being strong; tired of doing what was right. I wanted this beautiful creature who had been my enemy, and now held my heart.
“And, is that all you want, Pet?” he whispered back, kissing my forehead softly.
“You…I just want you.”
He hissed as the glow ignited inside of his eyes, lighting them up with my words. He kissed small lines down my face and neck, until he hit my carotid artery where his tongue came out, and licked the wild beating pulse that his touch was creating inside of me.
“You’re so fucking addictive, Synthia Raine McKenna,” he growled, not letting me down as he sat us slowly to the bed as his hands cradled my face between them and his eyes searched my face.
“Good,” I whispered, before crying out as he dropped me to the mattress, still standing.
“I’m going to fuck you hard and fast. I’m going to worship every inch of you with my tongue until you tremble and beg me to fuck you even harder. I’m going to make you remember me forever, right now. Then I will fuck you slow and gentle, and show you what it is like to be cherished, by me.”
“Is that so? And what if I want to fuck you with my mouth, hmmm? What if I want to lick you until you come? Would you let me?”
“Saucy little Witch. What happened to my Fairy-hating death on heels Witch, who wouldn’t fuck me ever?” A small smile played on his lips.
“You happened to her. What happened to my Witch-hating Fairy, who didn’t fuck lesser beings?” I said, running my hands over my breasts as he watched from where he hovered above me.
“I think she must have cast an enchantment spell on me. To think, all the time we wasted arguing, when we could have been busy fucking instead. Stubborn fucking Witch.”
“Fucking Fairy,” I shot back, smiling as I watched his cock grow in size.
“I love to watch you touch yourself. It’s what made me act selfishly, and order Adrian be removed. Your small hands stroking your wet slit, as your fingers sank inside, and came out wet with a need that they couldn’t cure. I wanted to cure the need; to replace yours with mine, and watch as you lit from inside with desire for me. I’ve never wanted to have something as much as I want you.”
A single tear rolled down my face to drop into my ear. The sob built inside of me was too much to push away and he was instantly there, pulling me against his chest. “Don’t cry. Please. I can handle many things, but you crying, is not one of them.” He kissed the tears as they dropped, and cradled my face between his hands. His lip’s drifting slowly over my flesh until they swept across mine, and ignited the flame inside of me.
“I don’t want to leave you, Ryder,” I whispered in a cracked voice as I brought up my hands to wipe his hair away from his face.
“If it was for any other reason, I’d fight it, but you can save my world. You and Adam can do what’s taken me thirty years to come to get close to doing. That’s not something I can control; you’re a cure to something that is killing my world and my people.”
I smiled, even though the situation was serious. We’d been through hell together, and nothing had changed. “So, this is goodbye sex?” I asked, trying to lighten the situation with a soft smile.
“Let’s not say goodbye. That’s not us. We do the angry, snarky comments. Right now, I just need you to stop crying, so I can lick you from head to toe, and make you scream.”
“Then why are you still talking, Fairy?” I asked, smirking as a single tear rolled down my cheek.
“You’re so fucking beautiful, Synthia. You’re going to make beautiful babies.”
He smirked, and lowered his mouth to mine, effectively stopping the argument that was bound to happen. His kiss was soft, yet scorched me inside until I felt him in my soul. His hands still cradled my head gently. He deepened the kiss, and, when he ended it, he slowly trailed his kisses down my neck.
Ryder didn’t just touch. He consumed with his fingers and magic as he discovered sensitive places. His mouth left a blistering trail as it drew lower on my skin. His teeth nipped and teased as his eyes locked with mine. They were filled with lust and desire, but I could also see the pain that he was trying to hide.
He’d taken so
many shots of iron to his body, and he was trying to pretend he wasn’t in pain. “Ryder, you need to feed a bit more.”
“I will. Trust me, Syn. I’m no fucking saint, but let me do this.”
His finger slid inside of me, making my back arch up and off the bed. I moaned loudly, and he growled with approval. His eyes lit up once more with hunger. He lowered his mouth and kissed my thighs, one and then the other, trailing his way up until his breath fanned against my sensitive flesh.
“You’re wet. I like you wet; knowing that it’s for me.”
“You’re so bad,” I whimpered as the storm started building as his fingers hit the perfect rhythm and his tongue played over my clit.
“I’m very good at being bad, my little warrior Goddess.”
“I’m far from a Goddess,” I uttered in a husky voice.
“You want my cock. I can see it in your eyes. Such a greedy little Pet I’ve created.”
“Taking credit for it? How do you know I wasn’t this way before you?”
“Because I don’t think that boy taught you how to fuck. He taught you the basics; I’ll give him credit for that. He taught you how to make love. I don’t make love, I fuck. This,” he pushed another finger in, stretching me until I shuddered from the feel of it. “Didn’t get played with enough by him. I make you wet without even touching you. Did he?”
“Flattery will get you nowhere with me, and I damn sure don’t plan to be adding to that ego you got going on, Fairy.”
His mouth lowered as he laughed roughly. But, the instant his mouth made contact it was back to business. His fingers came out, and trailed down my leg before he pulled it back, and kissed me from my thigh to calf, and back up again just as slowly.
When he had finished with one, he moved to the other. “You ready to beg yet?” He gave me a wicked grin, before moving back up and spreading my thighs with his knees. His cock pressed against my opening, but only entering an inch before he pulled it back out.
“Ryder,” I growled, and rolled my head back as his mouth clamped over one nipple; sucking, teasing, nipping and caressing it with his mouth.