“I’m going to let go of your wrists, but don’t lower your hands,” he said. “Do you understand?”
“Yes.”
To her dismay, he released her and walked away. When she heard him rustling through some of Cheryl’s craft drawers, she almost turned to see what he was doing but refrained, because she was more curious about what was coming next and didn’t want to spoil it.
When Declan returned, he held a couple pieces of black cloth in his hands. They dangled from his fingers as he held them up for her to inspect.
“Will you let me bind your hands?” he asked.
“Yes.” Willow was a little surprised by the ease with which the word slipped free.
Declan smiled as he wrapped one of them around her wrists and pulled her hands up the back of the chair until her fingers were in the air. He tied the other end of the cloth around one of the legs.
“Does that feel okay?” he asked.
“Yes.”
Declan held up the other piece of cloth, and leaning over her, he wrapped the velvety material around her head, covering her eyes. With tender care, he tied it behind her head. Willow bit her lip as unease rose in her belly; she’d never been this vulnerable to someone before. She trusted him, but it was still a little unnerving to be exposed in such a way.
Willow’s uncertainty and excitement beat against him as he knelt to untie her boots. After centuries of honing his control, he would keep himself restrained from easing the desire she emanated by taking her now.
Instead, he set one boot down and pulled off her sock before turning his attention to the other boot. Next, he undid the button on her jeans and pulled the zipper down.
He breathed in the scent of her arousal as she lifted her hips so he could tug the jeans down her legs before tossing them aside. Leaning back on his heels, he savored the sight of her. Mostly naked, she was beautiful in a way few others were as her beauty radiated from the inside out.
Resting his hands on the inside of her knees, he pushed her thighs apart to expose her sex to him. Her chest rose and fell a little faster as her scent permeated the air. When his fingers skimmed the inside of her thighs, she whimpered. He stilled his hands before her dark blonde curls; she lifted her hips toward him.
“When you were fucking yourself while thinking of me, was I doing this?” he asked as his finger grazed her wet center.
“Yes,” she breathed. “But more.”
“Like this?” he asked as he slid the tip of his finger into her.
Willow bit back another whimper as he teased her. She craved more, but he didn’t give it to her. She hadn’t believed it was possible to ache this bad for another, and she hated and loved this torment.
Desperate to find some release, she tugged at her binding, but the knots held firm. She could break the chair apart. She dismissed the idea as soon as it entered her mind. Yes, she’d love to break free, to touch him, and hold him, but she had to see where this would go.
Not being able to see him made the anticipation worse; she had no idea what he was going to do next or where he would touch her. Being unable to see heightened all her other senses as his touch made her skin come alive, his scent filled the room, and his heartbeat pounded in her ears. He was as aroused as she was, which meant she wasn’t the only one suffering.
“Or was I doing this?” he asked.
His stubble-roughened cheeks grazed her inner thighs a second before his tongue stroked her clit. She nearly came out of the chair. “That! You were doing that!”
Declan chuckled as he pushed her thighs further apart. The sweet taste of her seared itself onto his tongue, and he delved deeper into her honeyed recesses. He couldn’t get enough of her as his hands slid under her ass and he pulled her toward him.
Willow’s binds pulled tight when he dragged her ass to the edge of the chair and tongue fucked her until she was on the verge of screaming. He stoked her need into a fiery crescendo that threatened to consume her.
Willow’s desire slipped inside him until he couldn’t tell which of them was hungrier for release, and he couldn’t tell where she began and he ended. She was a part of him, and she was sliding deeper and deeper into him as her excitement built.
Before, he’d always fought against the emotions when they tried to take him over, but he didn’t resist as they guided him. When he moved his tongue this way and rubbed her clit with his finger, he felt her enjoyment. And when he did this….
She arched off the chair and thrust her hips toward him as she came with a cry that she muffled by biting her bottom lip. The scent of her blood and her release almost sent him into a frenzy, but when she collapsed onto the chair, he gripped her thighs and took a steadying breath.
After releasing his hold on her, he untied his boots as he stared out the window to make sure the street remained clear. He didn’t see anything out there. Unbuttoning his pants, Declan kicked off his boots before removing his socks and jeans.
His hands hesitated on the bottom of his shirt before he pulled it off; the blindfold kept her from seeing him, and her hands were tied. She couldn’t touch or see him, and he craved feeling her skin against his. Glancing down, a ripple of shock ran through him when he realized the scars on his chest had faded.
It’s from her blood, he realized. They may never go away completely, but she’s helped me heal further.
A lump formed in his throat as he lifted his head to gaze at her. This time, the emotion running through him was all his, and the wealth of caring in it was something he’d never experienced before. This beautiful, warrior woman was his, and he was falling in love with her.
He stood and gazed at her as sweat dotted her forehead, and a bead of it slid between her alluring breasts. He tracked the movement, and unable to resist, bent to follow its path with his tongue. Willow shivered as her breathing gradually returned to normal.
“I’m not done with you,” he murmured before nipping her earlobe.
“Good.”
Walking around the back of the chair, he undid the knot and freed her hands. Keeping hold of the fabric, he returned to standing in front of her and gently tugged her up from the chair.
Willow realized his shirt was off when her bare skin connected with his chest. She rested her fingers on the chiseled flesh of his abdomen, but he pulled her hands up before she could explore further. She almost stomped her foot, but her frustration vanished when his lips brushed hers and he backed her up until a cool wall pressed against her back.
Releasing his grip on the fabric, Declan clasped her ass and lifted her until her legs encircled his waist. Before her hands could settle on his shoulders, he reclaimed them and kissed them before lifting them to pin them against the wall.
He sensed her irritation over not being able to touch him, but he’d revealed enough of his past today; he wasn’t ready to discuss the worst part with her. Inevitably, she would one day see the scars, but it wouldn’t be today. There had been enough sadness today, and he wanted to forget it all as he reveled in the joy of her.
Keeping hold of her wrists, he ran the tail end of the fabric over her collarbone and down to dip teasingly between her breasts. He followed each of the movements with his lips as Willow lifted her hips until the head of his dick teased her entrance. One day, he would draw this out for hours, but they didn’t have all the time in the world in this place.
Willow sighed as he settled deeper inside her. She expected him to start thrusting into her; he had to be dying for release, but his hips moved slowly as she worked his cock while he continued to leisurely tease her with his mouth, hands, and the fabric.
The sensation of his flesh against hers, the hardness of his body, and the heat of him burned into her until she was sure all her cells memorized the feel of him. She was desperate to explore more of him, but this was more than she got to experience last night.
She reveled in every second of his deliberate movements even as they nearly drove her mad. This man, with his amazing hands, tormented eyes, and the p
atience of a saint, was nothing she ever expected to find and everything she never realized she was missing. She hadn’t been looking for her mate; she certainly hadn’t expected to discover him in a member of the Alliance, but he was everything she wanted and more.
When his fangs pierced her throat, she lowered her head to his shoulder and bit him. His blood filled her mouth as she came with a muffled cry.
At the last second, Declan pulled out of her and spilled his seed against her stomach.
CHAPTER 38
Fully dressed again, Willow lay on Declan’s lap while his hands ran idly over her hair. She clutched the shirt he’d put back on before removing her blindfold. He hid something beneath it, but she didn’t ask, just as she’d decided not to ask about his “sensing” of things. When he was ready, he’d show or tell her. For now, she was content to learn more about him gradually.
Besides, she had something else to discuss with him. “I know it’s a bit late for this conversation.” She lifted her head to look up at him. “But I’m not on any birth control. I’m not even sure human birth control would work for vamps.” She’d used condoms with her other partners; she wasn’t concerned about diseases, but she was about babies.
“Probably not.”
“You pulled out earlier, but…”
“I didn’t the first time we were together.”
“Yeah.”
“That was a mistake; it won’t happen again. I was… I was…”
“Celibate for five hundred years and a little excited?” she suggested with a teasing smile.
His silver eyes sparkled when he grinned at her. “I could have been celibate for five hours, and I still would have been overexcited with you.”
“So, in the future….”
“I’ll be more careful and more restrained. I don’t want children.”
Willow’s eyebrows shot up. “Ever?”
He didn’t know what to say; chances were she wanted to have a child someday, and he didn’t want to deny her anything, but… “I’d be a horrible father, Willow.”
“You’re kind, patient, and have spent your whole life protecting others. What about those qualities makes you a horrible father?”
His eyes flickered away from her, and he focused on the window. The set of his jaw told her that he wasn’t going to answer.
“Do you want children?” he asked.
“Not now, but yes, one day I’d like to have them.” A muscle in his cheek jumped, and something inside her shriveled as she took in his harsh countenance. “Declan—”
“I’m not the type of man who should father children.”
Willow struggled to understand his words. Did that mean she would never get to experience a child of her own, or would he one day change his mind? Or worse, would he cave to her wishes for a baby and resent her and the child afterward?
As her distress beat against him, Declan closed his eyes. She’d accepted what he was and what he’d done in his past, but this was tearing her apart inside. “If you want them,” he murmured, “then I would have them.”
He realized he’d said the wrong thing when he felt anger spear through her.
“I don’t want to have children with someone who’s only doing it as a favor to me,” she snapped.
“That’s not what I meant.” He pulled her back when she tried to climb out of his lap. “It came out wrong. It’s just.…” His voice trailed off as he tried to think of how to explain it to her. “I don’t want to become my father.”
Some of Willow’s tension eased as she realized that it wasn’t that he didn’t like kids; he was afraid he’d turn Savage.
“But you have me to keep you from becoming a Savage,” she reminded him.
He smiled at her, but it was strained and didn’t reach his eyes.
“I have you,” he murmured. He looked toward the window as the sun started to set. “And I would love to have children with you. You’ll be a fantastic mom, but I’ll….”
He recalled the last time he saw his father, the blood and suffering of those final days with him. Willow would keep him more stable, but he’d vowed never to have children, vowed never to take the chance he would turn into his father with them.
Willow rested her hand against his face when his gaze took on a distant, haunted look. “You’ll be an amazing dad,” she assured him. “But we’ll discuss this later. Like after we make it out of here alive and about ten years have passed.”
Unless I’m already pregnant, but that was something she’d would worry about later. Besides, they had bigger problems to face… like the setting sun.
“That sounds like a plan,” Declan said as he kissed her forehead.
Willow turned her attention to the window as the sun descended lower in the sky. They’d cleaned up the wood shavings and buckets earlier and stashed their stakes in their jackets. Now, there was nothing to do but wait.
The lower the sun descended in the sky, the more Declan’s stress ratcheted up until his muscles were like rocks beneath her. When the sun touched the horizon, a howl reverberated through the houses.
Willow sat on his lap. “Why are they making noise again when they were quiet last night?”
“Because last night they were hoping to take us by surprise,” Declan said.
“And tonight?”
“They’re letting us know they’re coming at us with everything they have.”
Willow was reluctant to leave his arms, but she pulled away and walked over to the window. Gazing out at the street, she watched as a few doors opened, and people poked their heads out as more howls resonated over the land. Some of the doors quickly closed again, but a few brave souls wandered onto their porches.
“Go back inside,” she whispered at them.
From somewhere inside the house, a ringing started. Willow was so intent on willing the people to return to the safety of their homes, she didn’t realize what the sound was until Declan said, “Phone.”
She spun away from the window as Declan opened the door and left the room. She chased him into the hall and down the stairs as he stalked toward the kitchen. They were entering the room when Gus hung up the phone and turned toward them. Alarm registered on his face, as well as the faces of his family, who were sitting at the dinner table.
“We’re not here to hurt you,” Declan told them in a low voice. After bringing the buckets and knives down earlier, he’d left them with no memory of them, instructions not to enter Cheryl’s craft room, and to ignore any sounds they might hear. “Stay calm, and you’ll be fine. Go back to eating.”
The family resumed eating as Declan focused on Gus. “Who was on the phone?”
“Bob.”
“Who’s Bob?”
“He’s the chief of police.”
“What did he say?”
“It was an automated message; they’re doing another search. It said we’re to let anyone who comes here into the house and not to get in their way.”
Willow’s heart dropped into her stomach. They were instructing the entire town to allow Savages into their homes. And if they told Gus to refuse them entry, they would know they were here, and they would punish the family for helping them.
“Is the phone still working?” Declan asked.
Gus lifted the phone. “No.”
Shit, Declan thought, but then, it didn’t matter. Unless Ronan was within a hundred miles of them, it would be too late. He could be ten miles away and still might not arrive in time.
Willow couldn’t tear her gaze away from the phone. They’d been so close to a way out; it had worked. For one brief, shining moment, the stupid thing had worked again. But at least it had alerted them the trap was closing in on them.
Willow walked over to the back door and stared out the window at the warmly lit, cozy homes lining the street. There were so many innocents out there, and all of them were in danger because of them.
The Savages weren’t going to give up and go away; they weren’t going to think their trap hadn’t snared t
hem. They were going to tear this town apart until they discovered them. If they stayed here, they would get caught and sign the death certificates for everyone in this room.
Willow rubbed her arms as goose bumps broke out on them. In the glass, she watched as Declan approached to rest his hand on her shoulder. He didn’t tell her it was going to be okay; he just drew her closer before kissing her temple.
“I’m going to keep you safe,” he vowed.
Willow looked over her shoulder at Gus and his family. They’d stopped eating again and were watching the two of them. If the Savages caught them, she would make sure the Savages never knew where they hid.
“We have to keep them safe too and the rest of this town. They’re in danger because of us,” she said.
“They’re in danger because of the pricks hunting us.” He didn’t want her to feel guilty if something happened to Gus or anyone else in this town. “You never knowingly put anyone at risk.”
“Maybe not, but if we stay here, we are.”
Her eyes were large and soulful when they met his. He hated the idea of taking her out there with those things, but they couldn’t stay here either. His mind spun as he tried to come up with a plan.
CHAPTER 39
Willow saw the flames leaping into the air before she spotted the Savages. The fires of the torches they held sparked and jumped as the Savages rounded the corner and came into view. She felt like she was watching the villagers from an old horror movie coming for them. All they were missing were the pitchforks.
The few people who dared to venture outside earlier had retreated hours ago, but there were people mixed in with the vampires. Savages weren’t stupid; they knew they required the strength numbers provided them.
“What’s with the flames?” she whispered.
“Intimidation tactic,” Declan said. “And if someone refuses to let them in their house, they’ll set it on fire.”
“Shit.”
Hiding in the attic wouldn’t be enough this time. Before, only humans were doing the search, but Savages might detect their heartbeats or smell them. Some of the Savages broke off from the main group; they took some of the people with them as they approached two of the homes and knocked on the doors.
Bound by Torment (The Alliance, Book 5) Page 20