Lucian sat on a chair that looked more like a throne than anything else. The high back of the chair was silver, etched in runes glowing an eerie blue. The power inside the room was stifling, and no one had to tell me it was Lucian, unsheathed and unleashed as a warning to those present.
We paused at the stairs briefly, and Spyder dropped his hold on my hand. Swallowing past the lump in my throat, I peered at the pillow that sat on the stage at Lucian’s feet. Anger at what I thought was about to happen erupted from me, causing my eyes to water.
He was going to sit me at his feet, which was just another display of ownership. I climbed the stairs silently and waited mere feet away from him while the guests and party-goers observed. Lucian rose from the throne, leisurely eyeing the crowd before he closed the distance between us. He lifted his hand, cupping my cheek with his palm, searching my face. The song ended, but neither of us moved or spoke.
Lucian remained in front of me, our eyes locking before his gaze dropped briefly to my mouth. His thumb trailed over my bottom lip, and he lifted his eyes, holding mine captive. Everyone in the room went silent, uncertain of what was happening between us.
My anxiety rocketed into worry, mingled with uncertainty. What was he doing? Was he changing his mind? My chest rose and fell with labored breathing.
“You are mine, Magdalena Fitzgerald,” Lucian whispered. This level of the club was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. “From this day on, you are mine and only mine.”
Lucian leaned closer, claiming my lips hungrily. One hand wrapped around my neck while the other left my cheek to slide down the open back of my dress. Lucian didn’t make it a practice to kiss me in front of a crowd. I could probably count the times he had on my fingers and toes, but this kiss felt different from all the others.
This kiss was deeper and caused my toes to curl. I moaned hungrily against Lucian’s mouth, allowing him to control the pace and the kiss. He pulled me tightly against his heat and ended the kiss, peering down at me. If I had a soul, he’d be staring into it, but I’d lost it to protect him and our son.
“You’re the queen of my kingdom, Lena. No other will ever sit with me nor hold the position I am giving you here, tonight. You are forevermore, my woman.”
“I have always been yours, Lucian,” I admitted because it was the truth.
From the moment he’d kissed me outside my ancestral home, he’d placed his name on my ribcage. It went deeper than that, though. This monster had walked into my life like a storm and unleashed something unexplainably right when everything had gone wrong.
Lucian had kept me safe, even when I’d understood he was the bad guy. He had picked up my broken pieces after Todd had attacked me and had known exactly what I’d wanted and needed from him. When the world had turned against me, Lucian protected me, even though he’d thought I’d purposefully slept with him to awaken my magic.
For good or bad, Lucian was my end game. He was the part of my life that I couldn’t live without. No matter what I ended up as or where I sat, whether at his feet or by his side, I was his. It wasn’t only the furies within me that wanted him. I wanted him.
I loved Lucian, and the thing scaring me most right now was not knowing if he needed me as much as I needed him.
Without him, I was lost. I had fallen in love with him, but more than that, I wanted forever with him. Lucian was my soul, and even though I’d lost mine, he kept me grounded.
He was my warmth when I was cold and my security and protection when I did stupid shit.
Lucian’s smile was blinding while he watched me, taking my breath away with the unguarded look burning in his gaze. He slid his eyes over my face, grinning and pulling me in for another kiss as an animalistic sound escaped his throat. His tongue traced my lips, pushing through them to find mine. He subdued me easily, groaning as I melted into the strength of his body.
When the kiss ended, he pulled me with him toward the throne that sat in the middle of