by Sophie Stern
Of her.
“We need to stop him before he hurts anyone else,” Declan explained. He hoped that the explanation was good enough to show Zoa just how important she was to him. She was important to all of them. It didn’t matter that they’d just met. There was something very wonderful and very special about her. Declan had a feeling that his brothers both knew how he was feeling. That was why they’d rushed out into the wilderness to be by his side.
“I understand,” Zoa nodded.
“We’ll leave in the morning,” Christopher said. “That will give us plenty of time to strategize.”
“Strategize?”
“Yes,” Declan explained. “We’ll need to come up with a plan for how we want to infiltrate his place. He probably knows you’re missing by now.”
“Oh, he definitely knows,” she agreed.
“So, he’ll probably be on the lookout for you,” Declan continued. “We’ll need to make sure that we’re able to access the house without alerting any of his men to the fact that we’re coming.”
“You’ll be safe?” Zoa’s voice was a whisper, and Declan suddenly smelled the fact that she was nervous. Why was she nervous? Was all of that worry for him? He felt special, all of a sudden. The little human was concerned about the big, strong dragon man.
That was nice of her.
Declan wasn’t sure if anyone had worried about him before. Not like this. Oh, his mother had worried that he’d be late to dinner and his father had worried that Declan would make bad choices, but this was different. This was a deeply genuine, wildly kind gesture of concern, and the thought was both sobering and exciting to Declan.
“I’ll be safe,” he promised.
“Don’t worry,” Christopher grinned at Zoa. “I’ll take care of him.”
“As will I,” Brian agreed.
“Good,” Zoa smiled. “I’m glad you’ll both be with him to keep him safe.”
“In the meantime,” Declan turned back to Zoa. “We should get you some food.”
“Food?”
“Food.”
“I’m not hungry,” she whispered. “I don’t think I can eat.”
“What’s wrong?” Declan looked at her, surprised.
“My stomach hurts,” she explained. “I’m not trying to be rude or difficult. It’s just that I feel a little upset and nervous about everything that happened today. I’m worried that if I try to eat something, I’m going to puke it right up.”
“Don’t force feed her, bro,” Christopher laughed and stood up. He stretched and looked around the room. “Let the girl rest if she wants to.”
“I agree,” Brian said. He, too, stood. “You two should go upstairs and get ready for the night. Christopher and I will sleep on the couches, and we’ll guard the door.”
“The door?” Zoa peered toward the trapdoor that led out of the treehouse and out into the wilderness. “Is guarding it something that needs to be done?” Then her eyes narrowed. “Are there monsters in the woods?”
“The only monsters you need to worry about are the three in front of you,” Declan told her. “Now let’s go.”
She stood up reluctantly and allowed Declan to lead her to the little ladder that went upstairs. She climbed, and he did his best not to stare at her ass wiggle in those cute little unicorn pajamas he’d given to her. It was ridiculous, really. Christopher had bought them for an ex-girlfriend who had hated them. She’d thrown them across the treehouse and then stormed out. Christopher had chased after her, and Declan had set the pajamas aside in case he ever met someone who could use them.
Now he had someone.
They looked perfect on Zoa, too. They were the kind of clothes that a woman like her was made to wear. They hugged every one of her soft curves, and it was so hard for him not to focus on the way she looked. He followed her upstairs and when they emerged on the second floor, Declan gestured to the bed.
“You can have the bed tonight,” he told her.
“What about you?” Zoa looked at him nervously. “Where are you going to sleep?”
So, she was worried about him, was she? How interesting. It had been a long time since anyone had worried about big ol’ Declan. He was used to people like his brothers teasing him. It was easy to make fun of the big, bad dragon because he was kind of a monster. In his daily life, he worked at the company and installed security systems. His own home had one that was state of the art. When his brothers joked about guarding the door, it had been just that: a joke.
Nobody needed to guard the door.
Declan would know immediately if anyone was within 200 yards of his treehouse. Nobody was getting close. Nothing was getting inside. This was one of the safest places on Sapphire Island. He wasn’t about to let Zoa get hurt.
“I can sleep on the floor.”
“Declan...”
“It’ll be fine, Zoa.”
“You can’t sleep on the floor.”
He raised an eyebrow and looked at the little human. Oh, she was cute when she got bossy. Her hair bounced a little, and she crossed her arms over her chest. He tried to ignore the way the gesture pushed her tits up even more. His cock didn’t get the message to be cool, though. Instead, it hardened as he watched her.
“I can’t sleep on the floor?”
Declan thought she would say something about propriety. He expected that she would say something like, “it’s not right.” Maybe she’d say, “It’s your room, so you should take the bed.” He thought that she’d offer a suggestion of a more appropriate sleeping arrangement. Maybe she’d even go all out and offer to take his place on the floor.
She didn’t.
Instead, Zoa hugged herself even tighter, and she licked her lips. She seemed to take a long time to think about how to verbalize what she wanted to say.
“Zoa, why can’t I sleep on the floor?” Declan asked her again.
This was her shot.
What would she say?
“Because I’ll get lonely in the bed,” she whispered. She looked up at him sharply, and her eyes were blazing. She wasn’t trying to show off her good manners at all, Declan realized. She was excited. She was turned on. She was hot and bothered and wound up, and it was all for him.
She wanted him.
She wanted him close, and she wanted him in bed with her, and who was he to deny her that? The appropriate thing to do would be to sleep on the floor. That would be the right choice, the safe choice. Well, Declan wasn’t a safe sort of dragon.
He took a step forward, and then another. His brothers were right downstairs, but he didn’t care. They were heavy sleepers, and besides, he’d be quiet. He could be quiet for her.
“Tell me what you’re saying,” he whispered. He needed to be sure.
“Please,” she said. She reached for him, touching his bare chest. Then her hands traveled up to his neck, and she wrapped her arms around him. “Please, Declan. Come to bed with me.”
Chapter 6
In all of her life, Zoa had never been blunt with a man. Never. She hadn’t been blunt with Timothy Jergenson in the 7th grade. She hadn’t been honest with Ryder Mockingbird in 9th. She hadn’t been truthful with Peter Smith during senior year, and she hadn’t been honest with Weston Winters in college. No, she hadn’t slept with all of those men, or even most of them. She definitely hadn’t told them what she wanted, though.
Well, now, apparently, she’d gotten over her fear of dudes.
It was strange, really. Out of all of the men she’d ever faced, it seemed as though she’d held little bits of herself back. Why wasn’t she feeling that way with this man? With him, she felt different. Zoa didn’t want to hold anything back with him. She felt open and honest, and she felt a little bit wild. She wanted to be herself with Declan, she realized. She wanted to be forthcoming, and she wanted him to see everything that she was.
Sometimes, being a human was hard because there were all of these social rules about what you could and couldn’t do.
You could go on a date, b
ut you couldn’t sleep with someone the first time you went out.
You could sleep with someone, but you couldn’t sleep with someone too fast.
You could have sex with someone, but you couldn’t ask them for sex straight up.
Well, she was kind of blowing those rules out of the water tonight, wasn’t she? She was going all out, and she was wildly excited about it. She wanted Declan to see everything she had to offer, and what she had to offer was herself. All of herself. She wasn’t under the impression that Declan wanted a relationship with her, and she wasn’t under the impression that this would be some wild and wonderful way to thank him for all that he’d done for her.
She just wanted him.
Zoa had a pretty good idea that he wanted her, too, judging by the way he’d been looking at her all evening. He’d been hard when she sat in his lap. He’d liked it. She’d loved it, too. Touching him felt right and good and perfect. Now she had a chance to take things forward. She was going to shoot her shot. What was he going to say?
“Come to bed with me,” she repeated. His face didn’t change. Had he heard her? He must have heard her. A quick glance at his pants let her know that he had definitely, totally heard her. Yeah. He knew what she wanted. He had heard.
“Zoa, nothing has to happen,” he said. Declan’s voice sounded thick, like it was hard for him to get the words out. He was aroused, she realized. He was turned on because of her, and she liked that. It delighted her, really. Now, despite the fact that he wanted her, too, he was being polite. He was offering her an out.
“I want it to,” she said.
“I don’t have any expectations.”
“I do.”
“Oh?” Declan raised an eyebrow, as though the idea of a woman having expectations amused him.
“Yes,” Zoa nodded. Her arms were still around his neck. She wiggled her feet closer to his, so their bodies were pressed even more tightly against each other. She could feel his cock now, straining at his pants. It wanted to be free. She could tell. She wanted it to be free, too.
“Tell me what you want.”
“I want this,” Zoa reached between them and started rubbing his cock over his pants. It was thick and hard, and her body hummed with need. She was like a cat, purring with happiness. Only, she wanted even more than this. “I want you inside of me.”
She knew she was being bold. This was the most direct Zoa had ever been with a man, and it had nothing to do with the fact that Kellen had abducted her and stolen her away and broken her down. Nope. Nothing like that.
Her desire for Declan was separate. She knew that in her heart. Okay, so someone looking in from the outside might not get it. They might think that she was being crazy or stupid or silly, but she wasn’t. She knew that she wasn’t.
“You don’t know what you’re doing to me, little human.”
“I think I know.”
“You’re playing a dangerous game.”
“Tell me you want to play, too.”
He growled, and then he kissed her. Hard and fast and deep, he kissed her like he meant it. His hands were in her hair and then her face, cupping it. He pulled her close to himself and he claimed her mouth for himself. She’d never felt so dominated before. She’d never felt so taken by a lover. Over and over, Declan kissed Zoa, and she wondered how she’d never found someone to kiss her like this before.
He was addicting. That’s what Declan was. He was like a drug: a tasty, delicious drug, and she wanted more of him. His hands were on her face, but hers were on his chest, and then they were dipping down into his pants. His cock. She was touching his cock. She started stroking him quickly, desperate to make him feel as good as she did right now. A groan escaped his lips.
She was doing a good job.
He reached for her hips and she leapt up into his arms. She wrapped her legs around his waist, and he carried her to the bed and tossed her down. Zoa giggled and gestured for him to climb up on the bed with her. He shoved his pants to the ground and climbed right on up, kissing her body from her toes to her neck.
Zoa had never laughed during sex before. She’d never felt comfortable with it before. Hell, she’d never felt crazed with need like this. She was going crazy, desperate to feel him inside of her. When was the last time she’d wanted anything this badly?
Had she ever?
She reached for him, clawing at him and tugging him to herself. He hovered over her, kissing her. He started to grind against her, and she thought she might go crazy. She was still fully dressed. He hadn’t tugged her clothes off to reveal her body yet, and somehow, she still felt like this was the most intimate experience of her damn life.
Her soul felt like it was going to fly right out of her body. She needed Declan in a wild, desperate way.
“Please,” she whispered, kissing him. “Please.”
She didn’t understand what she was asking for. Did she want him to fill her instantly? Did she want him to tease her clothing off? Did she want something else? She couldn’t put her hopes or her needs into words, but it didn’t seem to matter to Declan. He seemed to understand what it was that she wasn’t saying.
“Anything,” he whispered, kissing her. Then he stroked her face and pulled back to look at her. “Anything you need, little human.”
Somehow, the words warmed her heart. Zoa felt like she might burst into tears right then. Even though they were in the middle of being intimate, and they were about to have what she knew would be the best sex of her life, she thought her heart was going to explode. He was caring. He was kind. Nobody had ever been like this before.
Declan slid a hand beneath her shirt. His skin grazed over hers as he moved up to her breasts. He fondled her, touching her gently as he kissed her over and over again. She felt like she was soaring. She was flying higher and higher, and she was worried she might fall, but she needn’t be scared. Declan was here, and she knew without a doubt that he was going to protect her.
Slowly, he pushed the fabric of the shirt up to reveal her breasts. He lowered his mouth to them. He tasted one, swirling his tongue over her nipple over and over. She reached for his hair and touched it as he did. Oh, it felt like heaven. He moved to the other breast and did the same thing. He sucked on her nipple, licking it over and over until it was hard and pointy and more sensitive than it had ever been before.
He pushed at the shirt, tugging it up and over her head, and then he tossed it off the bed. It landed on the floor in a messy pile, but she didn’t care. That didn’t matter. The only thing that mattered right now was him. It was the two of them right now. They were locked up in their own little world. They were together, and nobody else could bother them or touch them or hurt them.
Nothing else mattered now, and it might never matter again. He kissed her over and over, locking her attention solely on him. In this moment, it didn’t matter who she was or where she was from or what had happened to her. He was cleansing her of her past. He was worshipping her despite her history.
“Declan,” Zoa whispered to the man above her. “Please,” she said. She knew other words. Really, she did. It was simply that in this moment, please seemed to be the only one she could remember.
“You’re perfect,” he whispered, kissing her again.
“I need more,” she finally said. She reached between them to the hem of her pants, and she pushed them down over her hips. She shoved until they were off, and there was nothing between their bodies at all. Declan smiled down at the sight of her, and then his eyes returned to hers.
“Tell me you want this,” he growled, nipping at her lips.
“I want this.”
“Tell me you need this.”
“I need it.”
“Tell me you can’t fucking wait to have me inside of you.”
“Declan, I need your cock inside of me right now!”
The entire time they’d been speaking, he’d been rubbing his cock against her. She was slick with arousal. She was wet with need, and her entire body ached. It ph
ysically hurt from being empty of him. When she begged him – she actually begged! – for his dick, he acquiesced to her request, and he slowly began to nudge her at entrance.
So slowly that time seemed to stand still, he slid inside of her. She grabbed his shoulders, holding on tightly as he filled her. Their eyes locked, and she couldn’t breathe. She couldn’t move. All she could do was lie there and accept what he was offering. He was giving her everything, and she couldn’t breathe.
“You’re perfect,” he whispered. “You feel so perfect.”
“You keep saying that.”
“I mean it every time.”
Declan nipped at Zoa’s lips before moving to her neck. He slid his tongue over her skin, teasing his way to her ears. He nibbled on her, nipping and biting at her. She closed her eyes. The sensation was everything.
She could feel her body nearing orgasm. The way he was gliding across her body gave her everything she needed. He could tell, too, and he smiled as she grew more and more tense.
“That’s it, perfect girl,” he murmured. “Come for me, little human.”
She’d never been called perfect before, and she’d never been called human before, and in any other situation, she might think it was silly and stupid and annoying, but not here. Not with him. With Declan, he could call her anything he wanted if he would just keep touching her.
When she finally came, it was like the entire world stopped and exploded. Her heart seemed to fly out of her body as the waves of pleasure washed over her, rocking her world. She might have cried out, or maybe she just thought about it. It was the best feeling in the world. She was complete. She was out of control. She was his.
And when Declan came, too, looking into her eyes, she realized something else.
She was in over her head.
She was in trouble.
Chapter 7