by Lyra Evans
Instead, now every movement and thought was echoed somewhere in his mind by something else, by someone eyes. Connor was bound to his soul and his heart, and Oliver felt a euphoric grin spread across his face.
The moment they settled, Connor’s face broke in a grin as well, and he reached out a long arm to pull Oliver up against him, their bodies sliding together in a way Oliver had never imagined possible, their spirits dancing in response to one another. Like a bonfire lighting a fireworks show in his chest, the bond between Connor and Oli boosted the sensation of everything he did with Connor.
His mate leaned over and captured Oliver’s mouth in a deep, slow kiss, his tongue probing gently at the part of Oliver’s lips. Oli allowed him entrance, his mind unable to conceive of a time when that might not be true, and Oliver melted into Connor, humming into the kiss, and desperate for more.
A resounding cheer broke the spell between them, the closeness and intimacy of their desire for one another, and Oli and Connor broke briefly apart. The gathered people cried out and clapped, encouraging and supportive, their faces painted with joy. Nimueh and Maeve got to their feet and bowed deeply, heads nodding low and their hands meeting in applause for the new couple. Somewhere to Oliver’s side, Rory was whooping and hooting at them, jumping to punch the air. Donna, to Oliver’s surprise, jumped and danced with her. Celebrating with a wild excitement Oliver had never seen in her.
Oliver fell into Connor, watching his friends and loved ones so pleased for his bonding. Connor shook slightly against him, his chest rising and falling quickly with the quiet chuckling coming from him, and Oliver descended into laughter too. His arms around Connor, Oliver pulled him in for another kiss, and another, and he felt Connor swing him atop the dais, pinning his back to the stone ground. Oliver laughed still and smiled into the embrace that followed, his heart bursting with joy. When Connor pulled away, staring down at Oliver from up above, his white-blond hair glowing in a halo produced by the pixie lights, Oliver bit his lip, afraid to say what he wanted to.
“I’m sorry,” Oliver said, and Connor cocked his head to the side. “That it took this long. To get here.”
Connor smiled again, leaning low to press his lips to Oliver’s. He sucked Oli’s lower lip in between his teeth and nibbled there, his pale hair falling in a light dusting across Oliver’s forehead.
“No matter how long it took, or how long the future might still take,” Connor said, “you were, and are, most definitely worth the wait.”
Oliver laughed and nuzzled Connor’s face gently, eyes closed to soak in the feeling of his mate—his mate—hovering over him. They’d been through so much in such a short time, and so much had already changed. Connor was Alpha of his own Court now, one of the Three Leaders, and a new Treaty was signed, ensuring peace and mutual friendship between all three Courts and their citizens. Captain Marks had been promoted to Commissioner, Rory had been nominated for the Pulling-Star prize she’d joked about getting from her story, and Donna was set up as both second to the Alpha and Alpha in her own right, leading Connor’s old pack. Rory’s parents were both fine, both in attendance, and they danced and rejoiced as though it was their own child being bonded.
The world was still dark sometimes, some people taking the changes to foreign policy and foreign relations rather hard, but Oliver didn’t let himself worry too much about that. Sky was safely ensconced in a maximum security prison in Maeve’s Court, his powers bound and his mouth blocked at all times, and the High Warlock had lost his powers and been relegated to a maximum security prison in Nimueh’s Court. So Oliver didn’t need to think of those things. Plus he had more than enough to worry about with his new job as Chief International Investigator, a department he headed up and furnished with recruits himself. The position would make it a lot easier to take up residence in Connor’s manor, frankly, and Oliver was looking forward to it. Though he was more excited about their honeymoon adventure to Atlantis to learn about the Selkies.
Connor peppered Oli’s face with kisses, laying himself down against Oliver, their bodies fitted together more perfectly than ever before, as though they were now a fully matched set. Oliver’s eyes darted up to the stars, following the lines of random stars and still thinking over Fate and what it really meant.
“What is it?” Connor asked, pressing another kiss to Oliver’s jawline. Oliver moaned softly into the feeling.
“Just thinking about Fate and forever,” he said. Connor considered him a moment, tracing lines down Oliver’s bare chest with one fingertip.
“What about them?”
Oliver pulled Connor into a longer kiss, tasting his mate deeply and drinking of him. When he pulled away, Connor’s blue eyes were darkened with pleasure and wanting, his slow finger trails down Oliver’s belly very clearly intent on one destination. Oliver smirked.
“Just that I’m not afraid of them anymore,” he said, unable to stop himself kissing Connor once more. “No matter what happens now, we’ll face it down together.”
Connor brushed a thumb over Oliver’s chin, in the precise way he always did just before he leaned in for a kiss. Oliver shivered, loving every little detail of Connor, and Connor loving every little detail of him.
“Together,” Connor said. Oliver smiled.
“I love you,” Oliver said, feeling the words on his tongue, tasting them, and deciding he had never tasted a sentence so true or so sweet.
Connor pressed the tip of his nose to Oliver’s. “I love you too,” he said. “Always.”
And lips pressed to lips, they lost themselves in the kiss.
Acknowledgments
There are many people without whom these books would not be possible. At the top of that list are the readers. There is no one more important to an author than his or her readers. Thank you all for reading, for joining Oliver and I on this journey together, solving crimes and finding love. I hope you had as much fun with the Worth Series as I did! If you did enjoy the books, I hope you will consider leaving a review, and to those that have left reviews in the past, I am eternally grateful. Reviews are the most effective way you can help support authors you love.
For updates on my new books, thoughts on my writing process, and content that inspires me in my novels, follow me on Twitter @WriterLyraEvans.
