Light Within Me

by Fall, Carly

  “She’s right in front of you, Noah,” Rayner said quietly. “She’s touching your cheek.”

  Noah shut his eyes and nodded. “I feel something. It’s just a slight warmth. I wouldn’t pay any attention to it if I didn’t know she was here,” he whispered. All of a sudden he felt a slight difference, as if she had pulled her hand away.

  “She’s still here, right?” Noah asked, panic seeping into his voice. “She’s not touching my face anymore.”

  “She’s here,” Rayner said. “But getting her back in there,” he pointed to her body on the bed, “is going to be up to you, Noah.”

  “What do you mean it’s up to me? You’re the one from the forest with all the hocus-pocus shit. It’s up to you!”

  Rayner shook his head slowly, his stoic face dead serious. “No, my friend, it’s up to you. She can only get back to her body if there’s a good enough reason pulling her there. And the only reason I have ever heard of that was good enough is love. Do you love her enough, Noah? Because if we start this, and you can’t hold up your end of the bargain, she will go on to the next life, regardless of what she wants.”

  Noah sank to the side of the bed, his head in his hands. He took a good look at what was in his heart. The revenge still lived; the hate still lived. However, it wasn’t as strong as it once was. And what didn’t make him feel like he was eating himself alive was love. The ache in his heart for Abby was stronger than ever, more important than ever.

  He hoped what he felt for Abby was enough. Because if he lost her, his soul would be lost too.

  Chapter 56

  Three Weeks Later

  Abby rode down the elevator with Noah. They had just completed their mating ceremony and the feast afterward. Hudson had whipped up nothing short of a masterpiece, serving beef Wellington, perfectly seasoned baby red potatoes, a salad, and a three-tiered cake, of course.

  It had taken Abby two weeks to heal, despite her frequent visits with Cohen. During that time, Noah had waited on her hand and foot, making sure all of her needs were met. Gradually, she had regained her strength. She and Cohen agreed that she would have a slight scar on her neck. She figured she could look at the mark every day and think about the terrible experience it signified, or she could look at it and appreciate her life.

  She chose the latter.

  While in bed, she had given a lot of thought to what she was going to do once she was back to her old self. She had some things she wanted to get from her apartment, and Noah had taken her there. She knew James was dead, but being in her apartment still made her uneasy. When she saw Cohen, Jovan, Hudson, Talin, and Rayner pull up in front of her building, each with a gun strapped across their chests, her anxiety eased a bit. As they fanned out, scanning the neighborhood, she had to laugh. She looked over at Noah, who stood by the door with a gun in his hand. He smiled slightly and shrugged, as if to say, “Hey, we almost lost you twice before, it ain’t happening again, sugar.”

  Apparently, she still had a lot of work to do on them being overbearing and overprotective.

  With her permission, Noah had called Bob and said that Abby wouldn’t be returning to work. When she was better, she would write up her piece about being a victim of a crime, but she wouldn’t be stepping foot in that building again.

  She had thought about what her next endeavor would be. She couldn’t hang out all day playing pool, and Noah wanted to keep her at arm’s length from his work and the Colonists. Abby had always wanted to try her hand at fiction, so she decided to write a book. She was excited by her life. First and foremost, she was alive, she was with the male she loved, she had a good relationship with her father, and she was growing to love all the men she lived with. And she felt their affection as well.

  Abby and Hudson had talked about the ceremony.

  “We really don’t need one, Hudson. I know I’m totally devoted to Noah, and he feels the same way.”

  Hudson had blanched white, then crossed his big arms across his chest. “Oh, there will be a ceremony, Abby.”

  She opened her mouth to argue, but Hudson was having none of it. “My little girl will be properly mated. No arguments.”

  A few minutes later, she knew she was on the losing end of the discussion, so she gave in. Well, it wasn’t even a discussion. She talked and Hudson simply shook his head or said, “no.”

  “Just remember who you got your stubbornness from, doha,” Hudson had said with a smile. “Besides, we need a party around here. Might as well celebrate something spectacular.”

  The mating ceremony had been a hybrid of a human wedding and a ceremony on SR44. On SR44, it was customary for the father of the bride to give the mating incantation. This was done while the mating couple was surrounded by their families, and only done when all three moons of SR44 were full.

  Hudson had spent days preparing the menu, recruiting a very willing Jovan and Cohen into the kitchen both as helpers and taste testers. As Abby watched the flurry of activity around the house increase as the chosen day came closer, she also got caught up in the excitement and wanted to help. None of them would hear of it.

  The ceremony was held outside the silo. It was tradition of the ceremony to feature the color of the female’s SR44 form. Abby had chosen to wear a white flowing sheath, not a wedding dress. She let her hair fall down around her shoulders. When she emerged from the silo, she gasped. All the Warriors were dressed in black pants with white silk shirts, a full moon casting a light illumination on them. They stood in a circle of hundreds of white candles lodged in three-foot-high candelabras. Within that circle, the Warriors stood in a semi-circle around Noah, all of their eyes gleaming the colors of their SR44 forms, looking at her. She stepped onto the white silk runner that had been laid out for her and walked over to Noah. As she stepped up to him, the other Warriors closed the circle. He smiled down at her and took her hands.

  Hudson began the incantation in a loud voice, and the other Warriors joined in. Hudson had translated it for Abby so she would know exactly what was being said. It spoke of love in the present, a union, honoring each other, and love transcending time. After the third time around, they stopped the incantation, and Hudson performed a traditional human ceremony. “I do’s” were exchanged, they kissed, there was a lot of shouting and back slapping, and then the party began.

  It had been a wonderful night, and both Noah and Abby were thrilled with the ceremony.

  When the elevator came to a halt on the bottom floor, they made their way to their quarters. Noah pulled Abby in his arms and kissed her gently. They had not made love since before the attack.

  “Are you sure you’re up for this?” he asked. “We can wait, honey. Until you’re a hundred percent.”

  “I’m very sure, Noah. I’ve missed being with you.” She kissed him again. “Just let me splash some water on my face.”

  He watched her as she made her way into the bathroom. God, he couldn’t wait to get her naked, to feel her skin. Then he remembered their conversation weeks ago in Abby’s apartment.

  A slow smile crept across his face and he went into the bathroom. Abby met his eyes in the mirror as she dried her face.

  “What’s going on?” she asked.

  Noah put his hands on her hips and kissed her neck. He let his hands leisurely travel to the hem of her dress, grinding his erection into her behind, his eyes never leaving hers. He lifted the skirt up, hooked his thumbs through some small silk thing that was considered underwear, and slowly went to his knees, bringing that little slit of silk with him.

  “I’ve gone so long without my special delicacy,” he said in a low voice as he kissed the back of her thigh.

  Minutes later, a piercing white light exploded in the bathroom. Noah came to his feet and met Abby’s brilliant white eyes in the mirror, slowly running his hands over her bare shoulders, her skin shimmering. He ran his hands down her arms to her hands that were gripping the sink with such force it was as if she were holding on for dear life.

  “I love that I’
m the only one who gets to see you like this,” he whispered in her ear as he kissed her neck.

  She turned to him, hitched her butt up on the sink, and kissed him deeply.

  She slowly removed his shirt, her hands making their way down to his belt buckle, and he moaned as she freed him and gently stroked him. He felt his body begin to vibrate with such a force of desire it almost buckled his knees.

  “You’re killing me here, Abby,” he growled after a minute.

  A devious grin crossed her face, and she said, “I am?” She actually batted her eyelashes at him as if she had no idea.

  “Don’t you dare play coy with me, woman. You know exactly what you’re doing.”

  She laughed throatily. “Well, I certainly don’t want to kill you, so what can we do to make sure that doesn’t happen?” She gripped him tighter, stroked him harder.

  “Jesus, Abby,” he hissed.

  “Do you want me to stop?”

  “No,” he croaked. But he also knew that anymore of this, and . . .

  She kissed his chest, her tongue rolling a small circle, and he was done with the teasing.

  He shucked his shoes and stepped out of his pants in record time. He thrust himself into her, and stopped, his breathing labored. God, he had missed this. She was hot, wet, and wonderfully snug around him. He wondered how he had gone so long without having Abby in his life, how he had lived so long in such misery. She was his light—literally.

  “Take me to bed, my lovren,” she whispered in his ear, “and let’s see just how bright—”

  His lips were crushing hers before she had the chance to finish. Her legs gripped his waist, and he carried her to their bed.

  Chapter 57

  The next night, Noah and Abby went outside and climbed the small hillside behind the silo, finding a large rock they could sit on. Abby was sitting between his legs, her elbows hooked over his bent knees. Noah wrapped the blanket around them to keep them warm.

  They talked in whispered tones, stealing kisses every now and then, so they wouldn’t disturb the peace of the moment. Both stared up into the desert sky that was full of stars and a huge full moon staring back at them. Not a cloud was visible.

  “Noah,” Abby said, gesturing to the night sky, “where’s your home out there?”

  Noah was about to point to the Big Dipper, and tell her to hang a left and go a zillion-and-one light years, but then stopped himself.

  He hugged her closer and thought about the question. If she had asked him the question weeks ago, he would have given her directions to SR44. But as he sat there with her, he realized he wasn’t just existing on Earth any longer—he was living.

  He turned her face so her eyes were just inches from his. The orange glow from his eyes illuminated her. He looked at her big brown eyes, her pale skin, and every blessed freckle.

  “My home’s right here, Abby.” He kissed her gently. “Right here.”

  Other Books to Enjoy by Carly Fall

  The Six Saviors Series - in reading order:

  The Light Within Me

  Finding My Faith

  REBORN

  Beverly’s Rebirth

  Destiny’s Shift

  Tangled Fates

  The Dream Walker

  Contemporary Romance:

  Chica Bella

  Time or Money

  Against the Ropes

  About the Author:

  Carly Fall is a wife, a mother and a slave to Nicky the dog.

  She loves to laugh, thinks chocolate and wine should be considered their own food group, and wishes Christmas happened twice a year.

  She is the author of the award winning and Amazon best selling series, the Six Saviors, as well as contemporary romance.

  To connect with Carly:

  CarlyFall.com

  Newsletter: http://www.carlyfall.com/newsletter-sign-up/

  Facebook: FacebookCarly.com

  Twitter: @CarlyFall1