AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Nica,” Theon said, and I could hear the tears in that one word.
Squeezing my eyes shut, I tried to keep my emotions at bay, but it was a fruitless effort. My heart was overfilled with love and joy. So overfilled that my eyes began leaking as badly as Theon’s were as I nuzzled him, rubbing my cheek along the soft skin of his neck and shoulder, my purr rumbling loud between us.
I held him tight, running my hands over his back, his hair, his legs, making sure he was truly here in my arms and not simply a figment of my imagination.
“You’re really here,” I said, or perhaps I asked because Theon let out a small laugh and answered.
“Yes, I’m really here.”
“Goddess, how I’ve missed you, Theon. I’ve missed you so much.”
He lifted his head and met my eyes, those gorgeous blue eyes that had always looked bright and innocent, and now were filled with joy. Joy and something else… something that looked like wariness. Maybe he should be wary after everything, but none of that mattered in this moment. I wanted to rejoice in his return, to celebrate being together again. Everything else could wait.
So I sent him a tear-filled smile, held him to me with one arm, and cupped his cheek with the other hand. Leaning in, I brushed his nose with mine, eliciting a smile from him. Then I gently pressed my lips to his, soaking in his sweet flavor and the feel of him, the weight of his body, here against me.
His tongue brushed against my lips, and when I opened them, it dipped inside my mouth, making me hum as everythingTheonfilled my senses. Goddess, he tasted so good, so damn good. A soft groan came out of him, and hearing it was like flipping a switch inside me. I pushed my tongue against his, taking control of the kiss, demanding and wild. I wanted to own him—own his mouth, own his heart, own his soul.
He groaned again, and it was all I could do not to strip my Theon bare right here in the middle of the field, surrounded by so many people. I wanted to lick every inch of his skin, rub my scent on him so everyone would know he was mine.
I felt Weylyn come up behind me, placing a hand on the back of my neck and squeezing, letting me know he was there. He anchored me, and I pulled my mouth back so we could breathe. Theon was panting heavily—so was I—but he smiled at me and twisted his fingers in my hair as he kissed me softly again.
And then his eyes shifted to the side, and his breath caught.
Without hesitation, I passed Theon over to Wey, not bothering to put the tiny mage on the ground—neither of us would be ready to let him go far for a very long time.
Theon only had time to breathe, “Wey,” before my gargoyle captured his mouth in a bruising kiss that made my toes curl.
Ripping my gaze from them, my eyes found Braz standing only a few feet away. A smile broke free, and I took two steps toward him before launching myself at him. He made anOomphsound but caught me easily around the waist. I wrapped my arms around his neck, my legs dangling a few feet off the ground, and I rubbed my cheek against his.
My purr was so loud I was surprised Braz could hear my words when I said, “I missed you, Braz.” Goddess, I hadn’t been away from my half-orc best friend for a single day for over seven years before they’d left. I’d hated not having his companionship these past seven months.
“I missed you, too, Nica.” He hugged me tightly, tucking his face into my neck.
I did the same, soaking up his familiar and comforting scent. We held each other for several minutes, my purr going strong the entire time, before I finally leaned back.
I opened my mouth to say something, but movement caught my attention, and I turned my gaze down to Florin, who stood beside us.
“What the hell’s on your head?” I blurted in shock.
Florin met my gaze and held it for a beat before rolling his eyes. “They’re called horns, Nica.”
I blinked at him, taking in the blue runic-like markings covering his skin and the way he held himself with a new confidence that seemed real rather than staged. He had an aura now, one that felt strong, one that felt like magic.
I couldn’t decide if I wanted to hug the little bastard or punch him in the face, maybe let my tiger take a big bite out of him while I was at it. But no, I wasn’t thinking about any of that right now. This was going to be a joyful reunion, no matter how punchable his face looked. Trying not to let my fists do the talking, I said, “Fae looks… good on you.”
He blinked at me, assessed whether I was telling the truth, then sent me a small smile. “Thanks, tiger. I’d say you look good as well, but you look like you just rolled out of bed.”
“Ass.” He was so lucky I was holding back. I snorted and gave Braz one last cheek rub and smile before the big guy set me on my feet.
For one awkward minute, I stood there, wondering whether I really should hug the tiny human—fae, the tiny fae—or not before he took the option away by stepping into my space. I gave him a quick squeeze that was probably the most cringeworthy hug I’d ever given in my life before we stepped apart. Both of us looked anywhere but at each other until Wey came over, patted Florin’s shoulder, then moved in to grab my waist, breaking the uncomfortable moment.
Wey kissed my cheek before moving over to Braz and surprising the shit out of me by pulling the half-orc into a half-hug. It only lasted a brief moment, but the fact that it’d happened at all went to show how much we’d suffered being apart from our family… if we could even call each other that anymore.
Braz met my eyes, and I shrugged with a smile, saying, “We both missed you.”
Wey didn’t even correct me, which made Braz’s eyebrows shoot up.
Yeah, my gargoyle had come a long way in the emotions department over the past few months. Not that he was about to walk around spouting romantic poems or anything crazy like that, but he’d told me he loved me every single day, usually more than once, and he’d even made an effort with friends. Actual friends. And forced me to befriend some people, too. It had been strange seeing him do that since I was the one who usually loved talking to people, but Wey had… done everything in his power to help me heal from Theon’s betrayal.
