Hotbloods 6: Allies

“When I was very little, love didn’t come easily to me. I didn’t know what love was, and it took a long time for me to learn how to embrace it. I always thought of it as a weapon instead of a gift, until Jean and Roger showed me that, sometimes, people come into your life who will never leave. I got lucky with them as parents, but I never thought I’d ever be lucky in love,” I said, feeling tears brim in my eyes. I took a moment to steady my voice before I continued.

“When it came to romance, I always felt a disconnect, like it was something that wasn’t intended for me. Little did I know that it was intended for me—it was just hiding on the other side of the universe. Navan Idrax, you’ve opened up my entire existence to things I never thought possible. You’ve shown me the stars and what it means to be free with my heart. You’ve protected me when I needed it most and stood at my side as my equal. You’ve given me the love I never thought I deserved and made me realize that I was worthy of it all this time. That is the greatest gift anyone could give. Navan, with this ring, I ask you to be my husband.”

He grinned as I slipped the ring onto his finger. “Riley, I will be your husband.”

With that, he picked up the ceremonial knife and made a small incision in the center of his palm. I took the knife from him and did the same, wincing as a flicker of pain shot through my hand. It lasted only a moment, and a bead of scarlet rose up to the surface of my skin. We were doing this slightly differently than the way I’d seen it done before, and for that I was glad.

He lifted his palm and gestured for me to place mine against his. It felt strange and a bit gross, knowing his blood was mingling with mine. To anyone else, this would have seemed weird, but it was the Vysanthean way. Besides, there was something ancestral about it that I liked, which I guessed was the point.

“Your blood runs in my veins,” Navan began. “My blood runs in your veins.”

“Your blood runs in my veins,” I echoed. “My blood runs in your veins.”

“Blood of the future, and blood of those we love,” Navan continued, altering the words slightly. “Now, we are one.”

“Blood of the future, and blood of those we love,” I replied. “Now, we are one.”

“You don’t have to drink the blood. For us, it can be purely symbolic,” he said, much to my relief. “Now, we are husband and wife.” He grinned from ear to ear as he removed his hand from mine and wiped the blood away with a cloth he had lying on the chair next to us. He handed it to me, so I could clean away the blended blood of our species. It was strange the way his darkened mine, though I felt weirdly satisfied knowing that a tiny fragment of his blood did indeed run in my veins. Now, he would always be with me, no matter where we were in the universe or what separated us.

He closed the gap between us and slid his hands around my waist. I realized how ridiculous I must have looked, getting married in my silk nightdress, but it could have been far worse; I could have ended up getting married in my favorite pair of Care Bear pajamas that I still wore back in NYC. As I pressed my hands to his chest, feeling the flutter of his heartbeat, I stared at the two new rings on my left hand, both of them interconnecting perfectly. They didn’t seem real.

“I have a husband,” I murmured, almost to myself.

“And I have a wife,” Navan whispered back, lifting his hand to my chin and tilting it upward. He pressed his lips to mine, and his other hand wandered over the curve of my hip. A shiver of bliss ran up my spine, as I knew there would be a whole new level to our lovemaking now that we were married. His kisses definitely took away the flicker of guilt I felt at not bringing our friends in to witness the ceremony. After all, we couldn’t have done any of this if they’d been here.

Navan scooped me up into his arms, carrying me bridal-style out of the storage room and into the hallway beyond. With my arms looped around his neck, he carried me through the ship to our bedroom.

There was a desperation in the heat of our passion as the hatch opened and we entered. I couldn’t get enough of him, my tongue exploring his mouth, his lips setting my body alight. Without a word, he moved me over to the bed and lay me down. His hand slid down the contours of my body, a gasp rising from my throat as my back arched in anticipation of his touch. In one swift motion, he tore away my nightdress, as my hands grasped for the edge of his shirt and pulled it over his head.

I wanted to feel every inch of him, unifying us completely in the eyes of the universe.





Chapter Thirty-Five





The following morning, beaming and feeling thoroughly in love, I cuddled into Navan’s side as we walked through the ship toward the kitchen. Nestling closer to my new husband’s chest, I marveled at the ring on my left hand. It would be a while before that word felt comfortable… husband. And yet, it felt completely right.

“Ready to face the music, darling wife?” he whispered conspiratorially, the sound of the others making breakfast echoing out toward us.

“Of course, darling husband.” I grinned as I said the word out loud. It was weird enough to think about, but to say it was a whole different ballgame. It didn’t feel real yet.

“All I’m saying is, perhaps you could keep it down a bit. The walls aren’t as thick as you think they are,” Lauren said to Angie, with an embarrassed look on her face. She looked up as we entered.

“And I’m telling you, Bashrik and I… Well, we weren’t up to anything last night. I conked out as soon as my head hit the pillow, and Bashrik stayed up most of the night playing some silly game on the ship’s entertainment system,” she retorted, a forkful of mystery machine food halfway between her plate and her mouth.

Navan and I exchanged a glance, while I struggled to stifle a laugh. It seemed we hadn’t been as discreet as we’d thought last night, and poor Bashrik and Angie were taking the rap for it. Even so, I wasn’t about to own up, not when there was something more exciting to tell everyone.

I looked across at my best friends, feeling nervous about what we were about to say. I had a feeling they’d be miffed at me for not waking them up when they were only down the hall, and I wasn’t sure if they’d understand my explanation. It had been a private moment that needed to be between just the two of us, but in their situation I knew I’d feel a bit upset at being left out of my best friend’s wedding.

“You’re up early,” Bashrik remarked. “You managed to sleep off this sickness that’s been bothering you, Navan?”

“Why does everyone think I’ve been sick?”

Ronad arched a knowing eyebrow. “Because you’ve been wandering around this ship like a zombie for days. I’ve tried to reassure everyone that you’re just tired, but nobody seems to listen.”

“That’s because nobody can be that tired. It’s just not possible,” Angie explained, pushing her food around. “I mean, the other day, he was chattering on about goblins in a forest. You tell me what kind of healthy person—oh my God! Have you… Are those what I think they are?!” Her eyes were bugging out of her head as she stared down at my hand and Navan’s. “You didn’t! Did you?!”

“What are you going on about, Ange?” Lauren asked, peering over.

“Those RINGS on their fingers!” Angie pointed wildly at our hands as she hurried over, shrieking so loud I thought the windows might crack.

“No way!” Lauren yelled, jumping off her stool and sprinting over to where I stood, wrapping her arms around me while Angie sandwiched me from the other side. “You naughty little monkey! Why didn’t you say something?”

“Yeah, why didn’t you come and get us?” Angie sobbed, though I had a good feeling they were tears of happiness.

I smiled. “We sort of got swept up in the moment and didn’t want to disturb anyone.”

“You wouldn’t have disturbed us! I could have been on the toilet with my panties around my ankles and you still wouldn’t have been disturbing me!” Angie lamented, squeezing me with all her might. I knew there was a hint of hurt in her squeeze, but she was getting it out in a healthy, loving manner. I just hoped my ribs could take it.

Lauren nodded. “We would have come running, Riley. All you had to do was call.”