“Is there an emergency?” Ava replied airily, her whole body thrumming with desire for him.
“Yes,” he said. “In my pants.”
She laughed and let herself be caught up in his arms. He silenced her laughter with fierce kisses, nipping at her bottom lip and tasting her with his tongue. His kisses were insistent and unrelenting, and she struggled to get enough breath into her lungs, yet enjoyed the sensation of becoming kiss-drunk and dizzy.
One of his hands moved from her waist to grip her bottom and press her against the hardness in his pants. His erection seemed to jump toward her as she moved herself to grind into him, seeking her own arousal.
He picked her up by the ass, hitching her up so she could wrap her legs around his waist, and he carried her over to the bed. The air in the cabin was warming up now, just like her blood as desire fired her nerve endings to hypersensitivity. She could feel the denim against her legs, the socks encasing her toes, her bra against her nipples. His rough fingertips traced her jaw and down her throat, leaving a mixed shiver of hard and smooth.
“Are you warm enough, sweetheart?” he asked against her lips as he began to help her shrug out of her parka.
“Yes,” she breathed, pulling off her hat and tossing it aside.
“I need to see you,” he said, his hot breath on her skin. “All of you.”
His words sent a thrill of excitement through her body, and her sex clenched in anticipation. She responded to him with fierce kisses of her own, wanting to devour him, swallow him into her, be filled with him, feel him wrapped around her body, trapping her in pleasure.
To her surprise, he pushed her back against the mattress, pinning her down. He grinned at her and nipped at her bottom lip.
“No, sweetheart,” he said. “We do this my way.”
“What way? I don’t understand?”
“Shhh, Ava. Don’t fight me.”
Fear slashed through her veins as her mind went wild with ideas of what he was going to do, and yet, she couldn’t deny the deep, palpable excitement that made her nipples and pussy throb and ache.
Slowly, holding her gaze with his, Declan stripped off her sweater and began to unbutton her cotton shirt. He straddled her, basically pinning her in place. His deliberate movements frustrated her. She wanted him now. She needed more arousal and a climax now. Her hand snaked down to between her legs, trying to squeeze between Declan’s erection and her sex to stroke herself through her jeans.
Lightning fast, he grabbed her hand and pinned it above her head. He took her other and did the same.
“You’re being a bad girl, Ava,” he said, darkness and desire thick in his voice, making her tremble with forbidden fantasies. “Keep your hands above your head.”
He ripped open the rest of her shirt, sending buttons flying, and frowned at her plain white bra.
“I don’t ever want you wearing this again,” he said coolly. “It’s ugly, and you, sweetheart, are beautiful.”
He reached around underneath her to unhook her bra then pulled it off her. He yanked her shirt off as well so that now she was bare from the waist up, exposed to him.
“Beautiful,” he whispered, lowering his mouth to a nipple and flicking it with his tongue. “Sweet.” Another flick that sent a jolt of joy straight down to her pussy. “Tweakable.” He lightly brushed the very tip of her nipple. She lost control and tried to buck up against him, only to have him lift up slightly on his knees so she couldn’t reach him to grind against his cock.
“No,” he said, his golden eyes narrowing. “Not yet. That would be too damn easy.”
Ava’s heart raced, and her breathing began to come in quick gasps. This was a totally unexpected side of Declan, something unknown, a little dangerous and completely exciting. What was he going to do to her? The suspense seemed to heighten the awareness of the growing arousal in every part of her body.
He leaned over and flicked her other nipple with his tongue, and she moaned for more. Chuckling, he grabbed a coil of sail rope that was stored to the side of the mattress along with a few sail bags.
“What are you doing?” Ava demanded, suddenly snapping out of her delirium of desire and becoming very aware of his movements.
“Taking you out to sea, sweetheart,” he said as he grabbed her wrists and tied them securely with the rope, knotting it against a bar at the head of the bed. “I want to dive deep to discover your ocean floor, the darkest and most forbidden places inside you. I want to chart the waters of your desire. I want to ride the waves of your pleasure.”
Ava’s eyes went wide as she felt herself restrained before she could think to protest. No one had ever done this to her before, and she felt a delicious nervousness at what was to come. She realized that she wasn’t truly afraid because somehow, for some reason, she absolutely trusted Declan. Restlessly, she shifted, testing out the bonds around her hands. They were tighter than she expected, and that excited her. She was actually tied up, not just loosely restrained. There was nothing she could do to keep Declan from doing whatever he wanted to her. Her pussy pounded with unrelieved excitement at the thought.
Declan’s eyes were alight with desire as he surveyed her. Deliberately, he lowered one finger to her nipple and brushed the tip of it over and over.
“Oh God!” Ava cried out, bucking and moving in frustrated need.
He moved to kneel on one side of her, unbuttoning and unzipping her jeans, but leaving them on her. Damn, it wasn’t enough! She wanted to be naked, completely exposed to him. The excitement and need she felt were almost overwhelming.
He chuckled as he licked her other nipple and slid his hand down into her panties, his fingers running over her folds but studiously avoiding the one place that needed his touch the most.
“You are so wet!” he exclaimed as he dipped his fingers into her opening and felt the slick moisture that drenched her and her panties. “I want to know how you taste, sweetheart.”
She moaned as he drew his fingers way too lightly over her sensitive nub, giving her a frustratingly feathery flick. Something wet touched her nipples, and she realized it was his finger, covered in her juices. She needed to come so badly, and it only got worse as he lowered his mouth onto her nipple, sucking hard and swirling his tongue around it. With his other hand, he began to play with her other breast.
“You taste like saltwater taffy,” he murmured against her breast. “Sweet and salty and musky. Just the candy I like best.”
Now, she was in a frenzy and cried out in frustration as he suddenly stopped. He got up off the mattress and quickly pulled off her boots and stripped off her jeans and panties, leaving her completely naked while he was completely clothed. She wondered at her own incredible arousal at feeling so exposed and vulnerable. Nothing like this had ever happened to her before, and she was loving it and even craving more.
“Oh please!” she cried out. “I need you!”
“Not another word,” Declan ordered, and the harshness of his voice thrilled her.
He kissed her lips as if to seal them with his touch, and he gently caressed her waist, running his hands down to her hips and thighs. He trailed his kisses down between her breasts and over her belly until he reached her mound. With an excruciating deliberateness, he parted her folds and began to taste and tease her.
Ava fought against the words on her lips that burned to be said. Her entire being was focused on one place in her body. No matter how hard she struggled, twisted, and bucked, between the rope on her wrists and Declan’s hands, she was held securely in place. He set the pace for her pleasure, bringing her mind-numbingly close to ecstasy then pulling back.
Her words melted away, and all that was left were incoherent whimpers of need. Declan lifted her hips with his hands, easily holding her off the mattress and taking away what little leverage she had had to move against his mouth. Now, the only way for her to reach her bliss was through Declan’s mouth, through his choice and his time.
The feelings of being so completely abandone
d, wanton, and helpless thrilled her. Wordless whispers in her mind hinted at dark pleasures, and every nerve in her body was tight from overstretched desire.
“Now, Ava,” Declan growled. “Now!”
He sucked hard on her clit, swiping it roughly with his tongue, and she was flung ashore by wave after wave of pounding pleasure. Her mind completely blanked, and the only thing that existed in that moment was the ecstatic sensation of climaxing. He continued to stroke her even as the pleasure tide began to ebb, stretching out the feelings of bliss until it was almost painful.
Empty, gasping, and limp, she lay still with her eyes closed, shivering with the last twinges of pleasure.
“Look up at me, Ava,” Declan ordered, and she opened her eyes to find he had stripped out of his clothes and was poised above her.
A fresh wave of excitement flowed through her, and she tugged at her bonds, wanting to run her hands over his magnificent, lean, muscled chest. His whole body was amazing, lanky but defined with long muscles. She gazed into his eyes and became trapped in amber.
Keeping his eyes on hers, he eased himself into her. God! He was big! All the brothers were huge. She took a deep breath and forced herself to relax her muscles and accept him. With agonizing slowness, he entered her all the way until she could feel him touch her womb.
“Oh my God!” She gasped as he shifted inside her and brushed her G-spot.
Instantly, he nipped her bottom lip and ran a finger over her tired clit, jolting it back to life for a moment.
“What did I say about no more words?” he asked, steel edging his voice in a way that turned her on and on and on.
She nodded, and he smiled knowingly at her. He petted her nub as he began to stroke in and out of her, slowly, deliberately. He thrust his hips in a way that touched her G-spot with every stroke, sending her into a frenzy between his cock and his finger. Crazy to move against him or touch him or do something, she writhed and twisted, only to have his hand come around her throat and hold her in place. His grip on her throat was careful but firm, and the dangerous edge of it tossed her into the abyss of her dark fantasies.
“You like that, sweetheart, don’t you?” he murmured, his eyes glinting with the knowledge of her pleasure at being so helpless. “You want to sail to the edge of the world and fall off, don’t you?”
His thrusts came harder and quicker now, and the double pleasure between her G-spot and her clit had her crying out for release. He leaned over and suckled her nipples, his hand tightening on her throat just slightly as she came, drowning in the intensity of all the sensations ripping through her body. With a growl and a hard thrust, he came as well, riding the swells until they were both in calmer waters.
Quickly, he untied her wrists and massaged her arms down so they wouldn’t be stiff. He gathered her into his arms and pulled a thick white quilt over them.
“You’re one hell of a sailor,” Ava murmured, letting herself sink into clouds of pink, warm, fuzzy bliss.
Declan chuckled and kissed her gently, stroking her hair and her shoulder as he snuggled her against him.
“I’ve never met anyone like you, Ava,” he said quietly. “You’re everything I’ve ever wanted.”
No, no, no! She didn’t want commitment crap intruding on this nice, cozy drifting. Boston in a month. She sighed and kissed his chest, nestling up to him.
“Let’s drop anchor here for a half hour,” she said lightly. “I’m beat.”
Declan smiled and nodded. Relieved, Ava closed her eyes and let herself drift. She heard the sound of his breathing, the faint patter of rain against the barn, the low hum of the heater. Everything was warm and comforting in her little cocoon of pleasure and happiness.
Layer by layer, she sunk deeper into the stillness before sleep, her body and mind heavy and quiet.
It all happened too fast—the shaking, the roar, the violent throwing of the boat onto its side. Ava slammed into Declan as they fell against the wall of the cabin. Jerked awake and confused, she lay there, her heart pounding as if it was trying to shake her entire body. Terror paralyzed her as her brain slowly processed and played back what had just happened.
The boat had gone from complete stillness to shaking wildly for a few seconds. She had been yanked from her deep rest by a soundless roar that filled her ears and blocked out everything else. Then, a second later, someone…or something had thrown the boat onto its side with a stunning suddenness and power.
“Ava!” Declan yelled, scrambling out from under her and cradling her in his arms. “Are you all right?”
“Yes,” she gasped. “Fine. What…what was that?”
Declan wrapped her tightly in the quilt and said, “Stay here. Do not move.”
Before she could object, he had hoisted himself out of the cabin, and she heard him moving around in the barn. Something about his footsteps sounded odd, though. It was almost as if something was padding or trotting around instead of walking. Then again, nothing seemed to be registering right. The boat was too full of shadows, and she was icy cold despite the heater and the quilt.
Dizziness and nausea threatened to overwhelm her, and she began to shake violently. Something was pressing against her, trying to squeeze her or crush her or…or…get inside her somehow…
“Our Father,” she croaked out hoarsely with the last of her rational thought. “Who art in heaven…hallowed be Thy…”
An invisible hand closed around her throat, and there was no more air to pray with. Then, there was no more air for anything.
There was only darkness.
Chapter 13
The first thing Ava noticed when she woke up was that she was alone in her head.
She had been having crazy dreams about fighting to keep a beautiful, pale woman from taking over her mind. At first, the woman had looked so sad and forlorn standing in the vast, empty plain of her unconsciousness that Ava had wanted to reach out and comfort her, but something had stopped her from doing it. A man’s voice from deep inside her thoughts and memories had forbidden her to do so. At that moment, the pale woman had looked at Ava, and suddenly, her beautiful face was a horrifying, contorted mask of leering evil. Dark eyes bulged, lips pulled back from sharp teeth in a feral snarl, and a viscous black slime began to ooze from her eyes, nose, and ears.
Terrified, Ava had mentally retreated as far away as she could from the woman, and everything faded again into a cold, lonesome black. The pounding in her head had eventually broken through the layers of dreamless sleep to call her back to the land of the living, and when she awakened, she felt a curious emptiness inside her head. There were no other voices, and thankfully, the pale woman had disappeared. Now, there was just the mother of all headaches to deal with.
Testing out a groan, she gingerly rolled onto her side, becoming aware that she was wearing a giant T-shirt that clearly didn’t belong to her.
“Ava! Are you all right?” Declan’s voice came through the haze of pain, full of tenderness and warmth.
“Love, what’s wrong? Where does it hurt?” There was Robert’s voice, too, an authoritative ring behind his concern.
“Hey baby, just lie still and tell us where you don’t feel good, okay?” Sean was there, too? Oh Lord help her, the three of them hovering while all she wanted to do was to groan and be vilely sick.
“Don’t crowd her,” said a new voice with a slight Indian singsong accent. “And, I would suggest getting a basin of some sort that she can use. Quickly.”
Ava was too nauseous to speak, but if she could have, she would have expressed undying gratitude to the new voice’s foresight. As soon as she sensed the basin’s arrival, she cracked open her eyes to verify her trajectory and proceeded to be violently ill.
Ironically, she felt somewhat better afterward. Even the pounding in her head seemed to ease up. She tested out opening her eyes and found it wasn’t going to kill her. The first thing she saw was the men’s stricken faces as they stared at her.
“What?” she asked. “I’m sorry y
ou had to see that, but I feel so much better now.”
“Ava,” Robert said, coming to sit on the edge of the bed with her and take her hands in his. “Are you sure you’re okay? That you’re…yourself?”
“Ye-e-e-s, why?”
“Sweetheart, you threw up some kind of black slime,” Declan said, coming to sit on the other side of the bed next to her.
She couldn’t have been more stunned or horrified if someone had just plunged an icicle into her heart. The image of the pale woman, oozing black slime from every opening in her face, broadcast itself in HD in front of her eyes. Ava opened her mouth to say something, but there were just no words to define what she was feeling. Was this all even real or a nightmare-within-a-nightmare?
“Gentlemen, please,” said an older Indian man as he came over to Ava’s bedside. She looked up at him and saw his broad, kindly face, with piercing black eyes and salt-and-pepper hair and instantly liked him. He was tall and rangy, and he wore a stethoscope around his neck.
“Hello, Ava,” he said, smiling as he shooed off Robert and Declan. “I’m Doctor Jibreel Nasir. I’m going to take a look at you and see how you’re doing.”
“How do you?” Ava murmured, shaking hands with him.
Deftly, Dr. Nasir listened to her breathing then took her temperature and blood pressure.
“Well, young lady,” he said, standing up. “Your blood pressure is slightly elevated, but I believe that is due to all the excitement. I could give you a mild sedative, but I would rather see you drink some tea, eat a good dinner, and get a good night’s sleep.”
“I couldn’t agree more,” Ava replied, smiling.
“Take some aspirin if you have any headaches or ache anywhere,” Dr. Nasir continued, going back over to his medical bag. “I don’t want you being brave about pain. It takes a lot of energy for your body to deal with pain, energy that could be used for healing instead. A mild analgesic like aspirin or acetaminophen alleviates the pain and helps your body focus on getting better.”
“Understood,” she said, surreptitiously testing out her muscles and feeling the creeping soreness through her body. Wow, Dr. Nasir was good. She hadn’t even been aware of how banged up she had gotten.
Blackthorne, Fiona - Moonstruck [Blue Moon 1] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Page 9