FULL NOVELXO Chapter 0352
Chapter 0352
"No," I murmur, shaking my head, denying it - categorically. "I helped, Luca, but you..." I take a moment then, looking around at everyone shouting his name - chanting it - shouting and screaming his victory. "Luca, this is all you."
He just shakes his head at me, marveling a little, loving me a lot, and then he loosens his anms just slightly so that I slip down lower against him, until I'm close enough to kiss. Immediately, I lower my face to his, and kiss my mate, cupping the back of his head in my hands, treasuring him- every moment of it. And he kisses me back, passing me all of his joy, and his thanks, and his pleasure, and his pride. All of it - everything he is - to me.
My sweet mate- my fighter.
God, but I love him.
The crowd now, I know, is cheering for both of us. But I don't care. I don't care at all that the whole nation is seeing this - that our secret is laid bare. The only thing that matters now is being in Luca's arms, his mouth on mine.
Or, at least, it's the only thing that matters for a long, long moment. Until someone comes and taps Luca on the shoulder. "Um, Mr. Grant?"
Luca growls as he pulls his face from mine and shakes his head a little, clearing it, looking down at the judge next to him.
"Um, sir?" the little man says, taking a step back at Luca's ferocious growl, staring wide-eyed at both of us. "There's the little matter of...declaring the victor?"
Luca bursts into laughter, smiling at the man with his most dashing smile, and I can see that the judge is immediately dazed by it by the raw beauty and power of my mate. But then Luca turns it on me, and I swear that if I was standing my knees would go weak. "Got distracted, didn't I?"
"Oh, I think they'll forgive you," I murmur, grinning at him.
His smile deepens and then Luca carefully places me on my feet. "I like your dress," he murmurs, making me burst into laughter. Because honestly- of all things to be thinking about right now-
Luca seems to agree with me though, tugging me close to his side and turning us both so that we face the judges and the little committee that must have climbed into the ring while Luca and I were inappropriately distracted. They all bearn at us, and none of us spare a glance - not really - for the Atalaxian champion, who is being rolled moaning onto a stretcher, begging to be let back into the ring, begging to finish the fight.
But as he's moved away, a woman steps forward, a ceremonial belt stretched out over her hands. I grin when I see it, and then look up into Luca's happy face. A little bit of the pain is coming back now as the euphoria fades, and I know that soon we're going to have to get him into his locker room, and then get my mom down to patch him up-
But for the moment? For the moment, this is all that matters in the world.
The announcer comes forward, declaring Luca Grant officially the winner of the bout, champion of the two kingdoms.
The crowd goes wild again, only softening when the announcer holds the microphone out to Luca, inviting my mate to say whatever he wants in this moment of his victory. Luca looks down at me with a smile, and I know what he wants to do - that he wants to give all the victory to me.
But gently, leaning against his non-injured side, I shake my head, not wanting that.
So, he does the next best thing, and simply raises the belt high above his head with his spare hand and says, his voice booming, "to Victory! And Moon Valley!"
And then Luca drops his hand, and kisses me again, as the crowd again screams their approval.