-Chapter Eight-

I was sad that I did not have better news to give to Kalin about Bo-An, but she nodded, her eyes full of sadness.

"He was a dear friend of mine," She explained. "The only one to survive The Darkness all those years ago. I had hoped..." She trailed off. "It does not matter, now. Thank you for what you have done, Your Majesty, and you Mister Reaver, and Major Kent."

"Lady Kalin, please allow me to express my deepest sympathies," Reaver said, taking off his hat and bowing. "I...realize what you must be feeing." He glanced over to me briefly, and he straightened.

"Thank you, Mister Reaver," She said, nodding in return. "Your Majesty, you have done your duty...and more. I have heard of what you have done in Shifting Sands. Perhaps the desert can rest in peace."

"Perhaps," I echoed, straightening. I looked over to Reaver, and I saw that his eyes were all over me. Though we had been back for a full day, Reaver and I hadn't seen very much of each other. While Reaver slept, I visited businesses and made appearances of goodwill, and while I slept, Reaver negotiated with contractors, expressing his interest in building factories on a "nice little plot of land" he "stumbled upon" while wandering the desert.

"You must be eager to return home tomorrow," Kalin said.

"Yes," Reaver chipped in. "We have a wedding to plan, don't we, my dear?" He took my hand and brought it to is mouth. He hadn't done that in a while.

I smiled softly, and I nodded. "Yes. We do."

"I look forward to making the journey, Your Majesty," Kalin beamed. She seemed to think much more of Reaver now, as she didn't grimace when looking at him anymore. "I will bring the most fragrant flowers in all of Aurora for the occasion."

I nodded eagerly, and I saw Kent shifting back from foot to foot.

Kalin saw him as well. "Major Kent, are you excited to be returning to Albion? It has been a long time, has it not?"

"Yes," He said with a nod.

"And I hear that Her Majesty has asked you to become her new personal guard,"

He, once again, bobbed his head up and down. "Yes. It will be a great honor."

"I'm afraid that I must cut our visit short," Kalin told us, reluctantly. "I will have to arrange the proper tribute to Bo-An's honor soon enough. He still has family that needs to be informed."


I exhaled as I examined myself in the mirror. The rings of worry and sleeplessness had been erased from around my eyes, and all of the grime of the desert had been washed away. I wore one of the flowing, almost see-through gowns that Reaver liked so much. He had purchased one in every imaginable color, proclaiming that I would start a new fashion in Albion, but if it didn't take off, he would still very much enjoy seeing me wear them just for him.

I heard him enter the room, and I looked back over my shoulder to see him remove and toss his hat into a chair in the corner.

"I've been waiting to have you all to myself," He said, moving across the room in a few large steps. His hands tugged me to him, and our love-starved bodies touched.

My desire set in quickly, his mere closeness setting me ablaze. "You have me."

"Yes," He said his mouth inching toward mine. "I have been aching for you ever since we left. Even as I lay dying face down in the sand, I was fantasizing about your body and all of the miraculous things it can do to mine. Though, at one point I did fantasize about you and Major Kent rolling in the sand, kissing like mad, so perhaps my brain was a mite addled."

I inhaled to speak, but I wisely held my tongue.

He caressed me through the thin material, and he whispered. "You can't fathom how much I needed you...how I still need you." His mouth touched mine briefly. "I daresay, I will never let you out of my sight again."

I had no problem with that. I snaked my arms around him, and I caressed his lips with mine. "I promise that I won't put you through that again."

He sighed, stroking my face. His eyes were full of unspoken words. He kissed me again, this time deeper, and more hungry. His hands traced every curve they could reach, as if he were trying to commit them to memory.

I grasped him by his lapel, and I pulled him back toward the bed. He followed with matched enthusiasm, and he separated from my mouth to push me against the mattress, perhaps a little too hard. I heard the wood of the frame groan underneath the force. I just grinned and watched him hastily remove his jacket and vest. I slipped my arm around my neck, slowly untying the straps of the dress. Letting the material slide off of my skin. I pushed it teasingly off of my hips and revealed that I hadn't bothered wearing the tiny underclothes that usually accompanied the Auroran dresses.

He watched me intently, accidentally popping a button or two off of his shirt as he worked to remove it. When he was bare-chested, he decided he couldn't wait any longer, and he threw himself against me, our combined force effectively snapping the already strained support beneath the mattress into pieces. The mattress fell a few inches, eventually coming to rest much closer to the ground than it originally had, but it didn't give us any pause. He took my mouth once more, and his hands cupped my breasts, squeezing and enjoying.

I felt his legs moving, and I heard his shoes clatter to the ground. When he settled back against me, I could feel the steely readiness of his arousal pressing against my thigh.

I groaned, reaching between us to unbutton his pants a little too hastily. More of Reaver's buttons hit the ground. He was out of his pants in moments, and his grabby hands moved down to my womanhood, which was so very ready.

He pressed against me, and he entered slowly, gasping, "Ah...Lilyana."

The bare feel of him was so filling and needed. I moaned his name against his shoulder as he pushed himself as far inside of me as he could. I wrapped my arms around him, needing the closeness of him. I breathed in his scent, touched his skin, reveled in everything that I had worried that I would never experience again.

He took up a slow, thorough rhythm with his hips, his mouth drifting in a bath between my jawline and my neck, every so often, sweeping to give the other side attention. "Oh, love, you are so deliciously wet."

I used a great deal of strength and speed to flip him onto his back on the bed, never breaking away from him.

A gasp of delight escaped him, and his eyes were alight with desire.

I moved my hips against him, and his hands grasped me firmly, driving me down roughly on top of him. A cry of pleasure left my lips, and I reached to trail my fingers down the taut sinew of his chest and stomach, digging my nails gently into his flesh as I neared my climax. Heat coursed through my body as the sensation built, and he sensed my closeness.

He bucked his hips upward, thrusting repeatedly into me from below, and I toppled over my edge, moaning and trembling on top of him. I crumbled forward, and Reaver sat up quickly to catch me, his mouth taking over mine.

My hips slowed, and I pressed my chest against his. I pulled from his mouth to catch my breath. "I love you."

He placed his smirking mouth against my neck. "I know you do."

"And?" I asked, rocking my hips.

He groaned. "You just love to hear me say it, don't you?"

"Mmhmm," I hummed into his shoulder as I nipped a trail to his ear.

"I love you," he said, driving into me from below. "I want you." He squeezed my rear, and his lips caressed my collarbone. "I need you...more than anything." I heard him gulp as he trailed his fingers up my back.

Satisfied with his answer, I leaned to explore his mouth with my tongue. Closing my eyes, I felt him shift, and my back was on the bed. A grunt of surprise escaped me, but I sank into the mattress, and I wrapped my legs tightly around his hips.

As our bodies slid against each other, I wasn't sure how much time passed. I was utterly lost in the sensation of being entwined with him.

Reaver moved steadily against me as some of the most carnal, desire-inspiring noises left him. He was nearing his completion. He slid his arms beneath me, clutching me tightly against his chest. A final cry of pleasure erupted from him as he emptied himself inside of me. His hips slowed, then eventually stopped. He let his body down gently to cover mine, being careful not to put too much weight on me. He didn't break the union of our flesh. He instead pressed a few slow, exhausted kisses against my cheek and neck.

"I could make love to you forever," He whispered, taking the lobe of my ear between his teeth. "There is simply not enough time..."

I moved my arms to wrap around his neck, and I squeezed him tightly. "You have me...for the rest of my life."

"Yes," He said softly. "I know." He looked away from me, and he withdrew, rolling back onto the bed.

I inched closer nuzzling against his chest, and I closed my eyes.

"You wouldn't consider it?" He asked.

"What?" I opened an eye.

"Spending the rest of my life with me," He said.

I closed my eyes again. "Reaver, I don't-"
"Nevermind, love," He sighed, interrupting my words. "Just sleep for now."


When I woke the next morning, I surveyed the wreckage that used to be the bed. I blinked slowly, shaking my head, and I rolled onto my side to watch Reaver sleep. He looked almost angelic, but even in sleep, calling Reaver angelic was a stretch.

I sighed, observing him. He'd brought it up. The issue we'd been tiptoeing around since he'd put the ring on my finger. He may be able to spend the rest of my life with me, but I would die. Then he would be left alone once more. I exhaled. What he was suggesting was not something I'd ever considered, but I knew it wasn't something that I wanted to do. As much as I loved him, I couldn't sacrifice others just to be with him. If I were that type of person, Elliot would still be alive, Kent would be trapped in a cave with Sharreen, and I wasn't sure that I would be able to live with myself.

I gulped, trying to push the thoughts from my head. It wasn't something I wanted to think about anymore. I didn't want a seed of doubt to bloom when we had just gotten back to each other. I focused on his face again.

His beauty mark, despite all of the sweating and rubbing was still penciled in perfectly in the shape of a heart. I reached a finger out to touch it, possibly wipe it away, but his hand shot up before his eyes even opened, catching me effectively.

"Don't even try, my pet," He said. He took his beauty mark seriously, and I knew this. I just loved to torture his vanity. A smile settled across his lips as he brought my hand down to his mouth. He kissed the tip of my finger, then he bit down gently on it, as if to deter me from repeating my naughtiness.

"Good morning," I greeted him, yanking my finger out of his mouth.

"It would be if you weren't trying to sabotage my dashing good looks," He said, his eyes finally opening. He gazed over to me.

I smiled innocently.

"Are you ready to hit the open sea, my love?" He asked, his grin shifting to an evil one.

My stomach churned at the thought, and it must have shown on my face.

He laughed, and he sat up, looking around. "My...we have thoroughly murdered this bed, haven't we?"

I nodded.

"It clashed terribly with the paint on the walls," He said with a small shrug. He pushed off of the bed, his manhood standing fully erect.

I chewed on my lower lip.

"Now, don't give me that lip, darling. We've got things to do," He tutted. "Though, I suppose maybe just for a while..."

A/N: I hope you enjoyed! I had to throw some lemons and fluff in there since they'd been separated so long! Leave a review and let me know what you thought!