The Lycan King's Healer
The Lycan King’s Healer – Chapter 51

It was like the k**s at the palace. Our lips mended together with a delicate passion, like they were hungry but trying to save their rations. His hands found my face and caressed my cheeks, holding my face as softly as glass. I melted into him, threading my fingers through his hair. My whole world in that moment was the droplets of water on his skin, the fairy lights glowing beyond my closed eyelids, and lavender and sandalwood.

He was my entire universe.

In the midst of the slow k**s, I couldn’t help but feel suddenly hyper aware of our naked chests pressed together. He had never seen me this way; or at least, was never in the right state to remember being this way.

The reminder felt like cold water poured down my spine. I pulled away, my breathing increasing slightly.

“Let’s swim,” I said, flashing him an attempted smile that I hoped appeared enthusiastic enough.

He hesitated before nodding, sinking back into the water. To avoid seeming upset, I floated on my back, looking up at the stars as if they were my only focus in the world.

“You’re beautiful,” he told me, and I felt his gaze on my face.

“Thank you,” I whispered, still staring at the sky.

“How is Alan doing?” Aldrich asked after a couple passing moments. He seemed to not know what to say.

“Horrible,” I admitted, and a genuine smile spread my face at the memory of his attitude. “I feel bad that he’s in pain, but he complains worse than Theo.”

“He’s always been quite childish in nature,” he said with amusement, “that is why we get along well.”

I laughed, the memory of our wedding night no longer dampening the mood. I tried to push away all my worries; Alan’s recovery process, my lack of time with Theo, the fear of an arrow impaling our heads right now, and especially the deal I was cornered into agreeing to.

“I really appreciate this, Aldrich,” I said, closing my eyes as I floated in the water. Being a healer with the help of natural pharmaceuticals, I always felt the most calm outside or in the water, as if the b***d in me was concocted from dirt and trees and water.

“You’ve gone through a lot. I want to make up for my absence,” he said, and I opened my eyes and watched the tendrils of his hair float in the water. “I also still feel guilty about scaring you the other day.”

“You didn’t fully scare me…I always knew I could take you in a fight if I had to,” I joked with a crooked smile, “I was mostly angry.”

“No, I…I saw the look of fear on your face. And it stabbed me in my core,” he said, “I never want that look caused by me. Especially after remembering that same look the day I banished you…”

“It seems we’re both stuck in the past,” I said.

“What do you mean?” he inquired, looking down at me curiously.

I realized this was one of the first times I was being translucent with him, not withholding how I felt. He must have broken a wall down the past couple days. I wondered if he knew what he was doing, or if he was oblivious. “When we kissed…it felt like the one at the palace.”

Remembrance flashed in his eyes, and he nodded with a sympathetic look.

“I can’t stop remembering our wedding night every time I k**s you. I feel like I stole from you, like I took advantage of you. What if I am the monster Emily tricked you into believing I am?”

The memory of cursing that girl so automatically enhanced that insecurity. I could not even admit to him that I did that; he would never look at me the same. Maybe he’d even take Emily’s side after all and deem her innocent over me.

“I am the monster in our story,” Aldrich murmured, looking like he wanted to reach out and touch me but withheld. “Don’t ever start blaming yourself now that you care for me.”

I sighed, staring at the gleam of the moon on the water and how pretty it looked when I ran my arm through it to create glittering ripples. “I feel as if I don’t deserve you sometimes. I am strong but the past seems to plague me.”

He took my hand and pulled me from my back to my feet, my toes sinking into the soft sand. His tone and expression were fierce and final.“I don’t deserve you all the time.”

I looked at him in shock before kissing him again. His words influenced me to pull him to me with confidence, and even when the k**s increased in fervor, I did not fret nor pull away. Past Aldrich may have kissed the same as the present one, but I didn’t care. The one against my lips was mine now; present Aldrich was the only one to currently exist. I fought his tongue with mine for dominance and even won, aggressively pulling my fingers through his hair.

Our tempo softened despite feeling his growth against me; I knew it turned him on, but he was still being gentle, still kissing me just to k**s me. He did not need any more from me, but I needed more from him.

I wrapped my legs around his waist, securing my arms around his neck. He held me tightly in the water despite my weightlessness. I felt like we were floating in heaven, in some aquatic autumn realm.

I kissed his neck, tasting the droplets of water on my lips as I whispered into the crook of his neck, “I want to be as close to you as possible.”

His fingers dug into my waist at that, nodding. “I can make that happen,” he whispered ruggedly.

The s*x was otherwordly. I stared in shock over his shoulder as he entered me, both pleased and intimidated by his size. His breathing in my ear was immaculate, sending electric shocks down my core. I clung onto him, sounds coming out of me that I was not formerly aware I could make.

He moved his face in front of mine to indicate he wanted to k**s me, and he did, moving our lips together softly. I was grateful for the romantic notion, further proving that he did not only want the s*x, but he wanted me.

I felt like we were binding together. His soul and mine intertwined, and it was utterly more romantic than raunchy. I tasted him and felt him and understood him, moving in sync as we passionately kissed. Even when he turned me around and I faced away from him, my back against his chest, I felt the synchronous magic. He leaned down and kissed the back of my neck, surely leaving a mark.

When we finished, we laid on our backs in the water, gasping. I felt over the moon that we finally had romantic, meaningful s*x that he would remember for the rest of his life. Even though it was not our first time, by our definition, it was. Our first time feeling each other, our first time submitting ourselves fully to one another.

“Let’s go back inside, my love,” he suggested as the air began to cool more. His lips grazed my cheek.

As we began to step out of the water, mounting the small sandy hill to exit the pond, I saw him wince as he stepped up.

“You okay?” I checked, reaching for his arm.

He nodded, but his face did not reflect his answer.