Rapture (Elfin Series) (18 page)

He pressed her into the mattress and covered her body with his much larger one. The little noises she was making were beginning to drive him crazy and when her hands drifted under his shirt to meet flesh on flesh he heard himself growl. He fought the need to take her, though his soul was telling him he had every right to her innocence because she belonged to him. The man knew that despite her urgency now, he knew she wanted to be married in the way of the humans. It was the only life she knew and he wouldn’t allow her to do something in the heat of passion and emotion and then regret it later. He let her explore him a little longer and even ran his hand across the warm skin of her stomach
, enjoying her gasp before he finally began to pull back.

“Elora,” he murmured against her lips. “My precious
little raven.” He nipped her bottom lip and had to quickly grab her wrists when her hands began to wander to places he would really like them to, but knew if he allowed it, she would be a naked little raven all too quickly.

“What?” s
he asked tilting her head to the side. “What were you just thinking?”

He considered blocking her, but he was tired of
the walls between them so he showed her. She gasped and turned several beautiful shades of red.

“You’re expectations of me are much too high
, Warrior,” she told him slightly embarrassed.

“You have already exceede
d any expectation I’ve ever had, Love, and I know for a fact that you do not see yourself in an accurate light.”

Her eyes widened and he wanted to laugh at the worries he saw dancing in her mind. “Have you seen me
? Like, through my own memory?”

He chuckled. “No
, Elora, calm down. What I showed you is something that every guy wonders about their female. That was my imagination, Love, not your memories.”

“Well you’re very,” she cleared her throat and looked at him pointedly, “generous.”

He kissed her slowly one last time before standing and pulling her up with him. He held her stare, wanting to make sure she took his next words very seriously. “No more talk of being apart. Once Lorsan is dealt with, you will marry me. We can discuss where we will live once we are joined and then,” his lips twitched in amusement as he watched her hackles rise, “then you will give me lots and lots of children,” he paused and licked his lips then added for good measure, “lots.”

“If I kick y
ou in the junk for being an asshat will you still be able to procreate later when I’m no longer mad at you?” Elora asked him calmly as if she were asking about the weather.

“You’re sexy when you’re violent,” he told her with a smirk.

She threw her arms in the air walking past him to the door with a huff. “Great, can’t even threaten my man because he thinks it’s a turn on. Nice.”

He chuckled as he followed her, enjoying her aggravation
a little more than was healthy.

“So many lives have
been lost at my hand; so many hearts destroyed, both figuratively and literally. Still, there will be more before the day is done. I will have to kill; I will have to slay in order to keep the one I love safe. I must unleash the darkness just one more time. I hope she can forgive me for what I have to do.” ~Trik

Cassie could feel him pulling away, putting distance between them. She watched as he laced up his boots, such a human task
, and yet he did it with the grace of an otherworldly being. He didn’t look at her, but she knew that he could feel her eyes on him. Finally, after a morning of quiet, he stood and met her stare.

“What
, Cassandra?”

“I know that today isn’t going to be pretty. I know that there will be casualties and that you are going to have to kill. So why are you treating m
e as if I have condemned you?” she asked him suddenly sounding every bit as desperate as she felt. She didn’t need him pulling away from her, not now, not just before they went up against the one man who had stripped her of her dignity.

Trik let out a deep breath and looked away from her as h
e spoke. “You are so very young and so very innocent, and I don’t say that,” he hurried on, “to make you feel like a child or to insinuate that you aren’t capable of handling what we are going to face today. I say that because I have to remind myself that not everyone has been in battle. Not everyone has killed for a living and not everyone is as cold on the inside as I am.” He turned back to her and his silver eyes locked onto hers. “Let’s just get through this alive and then we can deal with the aftermath, whatever that may be. Meet me in the throne room when you are ready.”

She started to say something but he was already closing the door behind him. Cassie stood staring at the door
, wondering what she had done wrong. All night he had held her, kissed her, and told her how much he wanted a future with her, and then this morning it was as if he had just turned a switch and suddenly he was Trik, dark assassin, again. She didn’t know how to talk to this Trik; she didn’t know how to reason with him.

She finished getting dressed and decided to do just what he said, focus on staying alive and get through the fight. She could deal with him when everything was said and done. She just hoped that
they were both alive to do that when the time came.

Suddenly the door flew open and Trik came storming in.
On his face, a mixture of pain, anger, fear, and love warred as if he couldn’t decide which one ruled him. He walked right up to her and looked into her eyes. “Marry me,” he told her. “Marry me right now.” He turned then and Tamsin walked in much more calmly.

“Cassie,” he smiled gently.

Cassie looked back at Trik. “Is this what your problem has been this morning? You’re cranky because I haven’t married you?” They had talked about it at length in the dark of night but Cassie hadn’t committed to a time frame. She still felt too young in many ways to marry, but she also knew that in many ways marrying Trik was the least of her responsibilities.

Trik ignored her and turned instead to Tamsin and motioned for him to start.

“We are gathered here today,” his words flowed out and Cassie looked up at Trik in shock. What on earth was he doing? She wasn’t really listening to Tamsin; her attention was too focused on Trik.

“I do,” Trik said as his eyes bore into hers.

“Cassie?” Tamsin called her name. She turned and looked up at him.

“Do you take Triktapic to be your lawful wedded husband?  Will you love and comfort him, honor and keep him, in sickness and in health
, and forsaking all others, keep yourself only unto him as long as you both shall live?”

Cassie looked from Tamsin to Trik. S
he knew what she wanted to say—knew that she wanted this more than anything, and yet the words were frozen on the tip of her tongue.

“Cassie?” Tamsin asked again.

“Why?” Cassie managed to get out finally.

“Why what?” Trik asked.

“Why now? Why are you doing this now?”

“Because if I die today I need to die knowing
you were mine in every realm—my Chosen in this realm and my wife in yours. I need to know that I laid claim to you in every way because I love you. From the moment you came running into that boardroom looking utterly terrified and beautiful, I knew you were it for me. Marry me, Cassandra. Be my wife, my Queen, my love.”

Cassie felt the air sucked from her lungs as she heard the sincerity in his words. The silver in his eyes swirled as he held her gaze
. As his hand cupped her face, she felt his soul calling out for her.

“I do,” she found herself saying almost without thought. “I do,” she said again more firmly. Trik’s face broke out into a breathtaking smile and his lips were pressed to hers before Tamsin could even get the words
kiss your bride
out.

Cassie didn’t hear the door click close
d when Tamsin left them alone. All of her focus was on her husband. He kissed her as though his life depended on it, as though the air from her lungs would give him that life.  Cassie felt their souls touch and felt the rightness between them. Trik was where she belonged. She missed her parents, she longed for her world, but with Triktapic, her dark assassin, was where she was meant to be.

“Thank you,” he murmured against her lips as he pulled back and then peppered her jaw with gentle kisses.

Cassie laughed. “You’re thanking me for marrying you when you pretty much ordered me to?” she teased.

He paused and looked at her, his head tilted ever so slightly. “I guess I am.”

She shook her head at him and kissed his neck. “You do realize you’re stuck with me now, right?”

“I think I can handle that.”

He continued to kiss her neck down to her collar bone.

“Um
, Trik,” she cleared her throat as she felt his hands slide lower on her back and lower still. “Don’t we have a dark-elf king to de-throne?”

His hands stopped and his forehead pressed against hers. “Dude is so dead for interfering in my honeymoon.”

“I don’t think you can blame this one on him, Quiver Boy. It’s your fault for planning your wedding on the day you are supposed to attack him,” she pointed out, oh so helpfully.

“Oh
, I’m blaming him alright.” Trik held her hand and pulled her after him as he strode from the room. “If he wasn’t an evil bastard, I would be bedding my woman right now instead of hauling her off to war.”

“Be still my beating heart
; my man has a way with words,” Cassie crooned sarcastically as she hurried after him.

“I never claimed words to be my specialty
, my love. But what I can do with my hands, now that’s talent.” Trik looked over his shoulder at her and winked just as they entered the light-elf throne room.

Cassie grinned wickedly at her mate as she spoke. “If Elora were here right now she would tell you that it’s
actually what you do with your quiver that counts.”

Trik let out a low chuckle as he stepped up to the f
ront of the room and turned then to gaze at the eager faces of the warriors gathered.

Syndra stepped up beside them and
looked from one to the other and then shook her head. “Married and still haven’t done the deed,” she muttered.

Cassie’s jaw dropped open at the queen but she quickly clam
ped it shut as Tamsin’s voice rang out.

“All hail
, King Triktapic and Queen Cassandra!”

The room erupted in a united chorus
, echoing what Tamsin had said. Cassie took that moment to lean towards Syndra. “We’ve been married all of twenty minutes.”

A single brow on the light-
elf queen’s face rose. “Well how long could it possibly take?”

Cassie bit her lip to keep from busting out in completely inappropriate laughter and wished for the hundredth time that Elora was there to
say the inappropriate things that she could not.

“Let’s just get the dark elves under control and not worry about my virginal status
, okay?” she retorted.

Syndra covered her laugh with a cough. “Virginal? Really
, my Queen?”

Cassie shrugged. “It was all I had.”

“Today is a great day,” Trik’s voice boomed, effectively drawing her attention. “Today I have taken Cassie to be my wife in the way of her people.” Cheers erupted. “And today we take back our freedom as a people, one sovereign nation of elves. We will no longer be divided by tyranny—no longer be separated by a chasm of hate.” The room grew quite as they hung on his every word.

“We are no longer light or dark. We are the Elfin nation, one people, with one
purpose—to do what is right in the sight of the Forest Lords—to stand for what is good, to protect those who need protection, and to fight for those who cannot fight for themselves. Today we go to war!”

Cassie felt her heartbeat speed up as the room roared its approval of Trik’s words. The walls seemed to shake around them as the cheers grew louder. Trik held his hands up and just as quickly as the noise had risen, it dissipated.

“Tamsin has no doubt given you your orders. Each elf has his or her part to play. Stick to the plan and we will be victorious!”

There was a flurry of movement as Tamsin began directing
the warriors. Trik turned to Cassie and leaned down so she could hear him over the noise. “You stay close to me. The world will not be safe from my wrath if something happens to you.”

“We’re doing this to protect the world
, remember?” she asked him coyly.

Trik gave his famous smirk as he rubbed his thumb across her lips. “Just stay alive for all our sakes.”

“As you wish, my Lord,” Cassie said in syrupy sweet voice.

“Remember that phrase for later,” he purred back.

“I’m seriously going to gag to death if I have to listen to you two toss sexual banter back and forth the entire way to the dark castle,” Syndra huffed.

“Could you please refrain from dying until after we’ve won?” Trik asked her.

“Only if you can refrain from getting it on in the bushes.”

Cassie snorted but quickly schooled her face when her husband shot her and Syndra a warning glare.

“He’s cranky,” Syndra muttered.

“
He
didn’t get to
get it on
with his new bride,” Trik growled back as he motioned them to follow.

Cassie shook her head at his back as Syndra smiled unrepentantly.

They traveled surprisingly quickly for such a large group and after a half hour on foot in the forest
, Cassie found herself in Trik’s arms.

“Yo
u’re going to carry me there?” she asked him skeptically.

“I didn’t get to carry you over the threshold of a new house, so I suppose the threshold of the castle we’re storming will have to do,” he teased.

“Trik, seriously I can keep up,” she said as she attempted to wiggle out of his hold.

“I’ve no doubt about your ability
, Beautiful. Perhaps I simply want to hold my wife.”

Her mouth dropped open as she looked up at him. She
was still in awe of his beauty but even more so because of the charm that came with it. He was a warrior, assassin, and king, but he was also the flirty bad boy she’d met in an office conference room and he was hers.

“You like calling me your wife,” she pointed out.

He grinned down at her briefly but then looked back up to watch where he was going as he moved swiftly around trees and bushes. He wasn’t even breaking a sweat as he hauled her with his army through the forest. She didn’t know how long it had been when he began to slow and then finally came to a stop. He slid her to the ground and kept his hands on her waist until she was standing steady.

“Are we
here?” she asked in a hushed whisper. Trik motioned with his head behind her and she turned. She felt chills break out across her skin as the dark-elf castle rose up before them. She squeezed her eyes shut tightly, pushing away the memories of what had taken place the last time she had been there, but still her heartbeat quickened with fear.

“Cassie,” Trik’s lips were against her ear. “He’s not going to hurt you
, Love, not ever again.”

She nodded. She knew his words were true. She knew that Trik would walk through the fires of hell to keep her safe.

“And kill every demon I meet while there,” he told her, having heard her thoughts.

She pulled her shoulders back and straightened her spine. She was a queen; she would not give Lorsan the satisfaction of seeing her scared.

“That’s my girl,” Trik said as he pressed his lips to her forehead.

He made a motion with his hands and slowly warriors began making their way closer to the castle. She followed his lead
, all the while silencing the little girl in her begging her not to go any closer.