Willow slipped her hands around his back and gasped when her breasts flattened against his chest. It was the first time she’d experienced all his bare flesh against hers, and it didn’t disappoint. Being with him was amazing, but she didn’t realize how much she missed their connection until now.
She marveled at the differences between their bodies as she ran her hands down the small of his back to his taut ass. Next, she explored the carved muscles of his abdomen while the thick evidence of his erection poked her belly.
When he grasped her ass and lifted her off the ground, Willow encircled her legs around his waist without breaking their kiss. He carried her over to the pile of straw and broke their kiss as he laid her down.
Kneeling between her legs, Declan untied her boots and removed her socks. His fingers trembled as he undid the button of her jeans and pulled them down. They’d done this before, but something was different now, and because of that, he was more nervous than when he was fourteen and experiencing a woman for the first time.
He’d only known Willow for a short time, but in that time, he revealed more of himself to her than anyone he’d ever known. In the time they’d been together, they’d saved each other, relied on each other, and grown to trust each other more than he ever would have believed possible.
He’d felt the connection between his friends and their mates, but he’d never realized how profound and life-altering it was until Willow. He’d revealed the worst parts of himself to her, and she hadn’t turned away; instead, she accepted him without hesitation.
Not only did she accept him, but she also welcomed him with open arms as he reclaimed her lips. She was more than his mate; she owned a part of his soul, and it was the best part of him.
When the head of his cock prodded against her entrance, Willow wrapped her legs around his waist and lifted her hips to give him better access. The last time they were together, he’d teased her until she couldn’t take it anymore, but now they needed each other too badly to wait.
The wonder of their joining caused her body to arch beneath him. Her fingers dug into his back as she savored the exquisite sensation of his naked body moving against hers.
She traced the edges of his scars as she clasped his head and pulled him down for a kiss. The scars didn’t bring her sorrow this time. Instead, love swelled within her until she could barely contain it. He was so different from anyone she’d ever met, and he was hers.
When Declan broke the kiss and leaned away from her, she clasped the sides of his face while he gazed at her in awe. The black and red color still covered his flesh, and he remained more demon than man in some ways, but his silver eyes were tender as they held hers.
“I love you,” he whispered.
Her eyes widened. “I was thinking the same thing.”
A sexy smile curved his mouth as he bent to nibble her ear while continuing to move within her. “You were thinking that I love you.”
She laughed as she played with the strands of hair falling against his nape. “No, I was thinking that I love you.”
He growled as he nipped her ear. He couldn’t recall the last time he heard those words or if he’d ever heard them. His mother probably said them to him as he remembered her hugging him and laughing while she kissed him, but if she’d said them, then it was centuries since he last heard them. And now, this beautiful woman with the soul of a warrior had given her heart to him.
“Say it again,” he said as his fangs grazed her throat.
Joy swelled within her as her fingers entwined in his hair. “I love you.”
He lifted his head to gaze down at her. “Again.”
She released his hair to clasp his cheeks. She’d say it a million times if it made him happy. “I love you. I love you. I love you.”
He groaned as he turned his head to nip her thumb. “Forever.”
“Forever,” she agreed.
His striking, silver eyes were the most beautiful she’d ever seen. As she rose to meet each of his thrusts, she lost herself to the flames of passion he stoked within her.
She was close to coming when he rested his palm against her face, and she turned to sink her fangs into his wrist. His blood and body filling her was her undoing. With a cry, she bowed beneath him as her body came apart.
Declan sank his fangs into her throat and pulled out of her as he followed her over the edge.
***
Willow lay on her side with her head resting on her arm as she ran her fingers over Declan’s chest. Now that she could finally see and touch all of him, she couldn’t stop doing it. Most of the color had faded from his flesh while they were making love, but faint tendrils of it remained around his eyes and fingers.
“You shut me out during the battle with the Savages,” she said. “I couldn’t communicate with you.”
“I did?”
“Yes. You didn’t realize it?”
“No.”
But he suspected he knew why he’d inadvertently shut her out. The swell of emotions energizing him was too much, and while they enhanced his abilities, they also blocked his mental pathways.
Then he realized there was still one more thing she didn’t know about him. She’d taken everything else better than he’d expected, but he had no idea how she would feel about him sensing her emotions. There were plenty of times she’d probably prefer to keep how she was feeling to herself.
“There’s something else I have to tell you,” he said.
Willow’s hand rested on his chest. “What else could there possibly be?”
She gave a small laugh at the end of her question, but the serious look in his eyes caused her amusement to abruptly end as a knot of apprehension formed in her stomach.
Declan rested his hand on her hip before sliding it up to her rib cage and tracing the underside of her breast while he contemplated how to tell her. However, this was one of those times when he didn’t think there was any easy way to break the news.
Goose bumps broke out on her flesh, her eyes dilated, and her mouth parted as he explored her body. He’d love nothing more than to continue his exploration, but he couldn’t put this off.
“I can sense emotions,” he said as he returned his hand to her hip.
Willow was so lost to his touch that it took her a minute to recall their conversation. When she did, she frowned at him as she flattened her palm on his chest.
“What do you mean?” she asked.
“I know when someone is sad, happy, plotting something, or aroused,” he murmured and ran his hand down her thigh. “Sometimes, those emotions can overwhelm me and take me over. I try to fight it when that happens, but there are times when I can’t stop it.
“I hate when someone’s emotions become too much for me to shut out, but when we were fighting the Savages, I let my walls down and allowed their bloodlust and hate to fuel me. Along with my need to protect you and your blood inside me, their emotions gave me more power than I ever believed possible. The swell of those emotions inside me, and the power they gave me, shut everything else out.”
“Including me.”
“Including you. I didn’t intend for it to happen, but it did.”
Willow leaned slightly back as his words sank in. If he sensed emotions, then every time she’d tried to hide her feelings from him, he already knew what she was experiencing. He would always know what she was feeling. There was something invasive and unnerving about that.
“You’re an empath,” she breathed.
“Yes,” he said hesitantly. “But my ability is more powerful than a normal empath’s, or at least that’s what I’ve gathered from my research on the subject. But then, most empaths are human, and I’m not.”
“Which makes your ability stronger.”
“Yes.”
Willow bit her lip as she studied his face. She didn’t have to tell him how unnerving this revelation was. He already sensed how she felt. But then, the second they completed the mate bond, he could see into her far more than anyone else ever
could. This ability of his just allowed him a little more insight. It would take some getting used to, but she would.
“When we were fighting the Savages, I looked up, and your eyes weren’t red—”
“They were black.”
“Yes!”
“That’s what happens when I can’t shut out the feelings of others and their emotions start to take me over. It’s as if they’re invading me and turning me into something else.”
And they were turning him into something else. She’d seen him fighting those Savages with his flesh covered in red and black while fury emanated from every part of him. He’d battled through and survived injuries that would have downed another.
“You were more demon than man when we were fighting the Savages; is that what happens every time someone’s emotions take you over?” she asked.
“No. What happened during that fight was something entirely different than anything I’ve ever experienced before.”
He hoped never to experience it again; he’d only ever been that out of control once before, and he’d nearly destroyed eight people. This time, the Savages provided him an outlet for his brutality, but he might not be so fortunate the next time. However, he thought as he stroked Willow’s leg, he’d also never had her to save him from the most malevolent parts of himself.
“Have you dealt with this your whole life?” she asked.
“Yes.”
Willow rested her hand on his chest. “So, if I ever tell you I’m fine…”
“I’ll know you’re lying.”
“That’s really annoying.” She’d meant it as teasing, but the troubled look in his eyes told her he hadn’t taken it that way. “I’m kidding. Well… mostly kidding. I’m sure there are times it will be really annoying, but there will be other times when it’s greatly appreciated. No wonder you’re so good in bed; you can sense what I like most, and that is one of those greatly appreciated times.”
He laughed as he kissed her forehead. “Maybe I’m just talented.”
“Oh, you’re very talented, but you also cheated.”
“I cheated?”
“Yep.”
She laughed when he rolled over to pin her beneath him. She ignored the bits of straw digging into her flesh as he pulled her hands over her head and held them there. When he kissed her, she lost herself to him again.
CHAPTER 51
The sun was starting to shine through the slats when Willow opened her eyes again. She hadn’t meant to fall asleep, but exhaustion eventually won out. The first trills of the birds rang out, and their tiny claws scraped against the roof as they landed there.
Declan’s body was warm against hers, but the pile of straw was nowhere near as comfortable now that she wasn’t immersed in the wonder of his body. She felt like the princess and the pea as every single piece of straw dug into her flesh. Running her fingers through his, she smiled when she saw the color no longer stained his hands.
“We have to go,” Declan said as he nuzzled her neck.
Willow rolled over to look at him and smiled as she rested her hand against his cheek. Only a hint of color remained around his eyes. “The color is almost gone. You’re coming back to me.”
“I’ve always been with you, and I always will be.”
“I’m going to hold you to that promise.” Unable to trust herself to do anything more, she gave him a peck on the lips. “Let’s get out of here. A roll in the hay is nowhere near as much fun at the end of the night as it is in the beginning.”
“Of course, it is.”
She gave him an exasperated look. “I have straw poking me in my bits.”
The crooked smile he gave her caused her heart to do a strange little flip-flop that would have killed her if she were human.
“I could make it better for you by poking your bits with my bits,” he teased as his fingers danced up her thigh.
Willow playfully slapped his hand away. If he kept that up, they would never get out of this barn. “I’m also itchy.”
“I could scratch it for you,” he said as he rubbed her skin.
“You’re hopeless.”
When he tilted his head to the side, a strand of hair fell forward to curl at the corner of his eye. It was so endearing she almost awwed out loud.
“I’m happy, really and truly happy,” he said. “Which is something I haven’t been since I was a child. It’s also a little odd considering we’re in the middle of nowhere and Savages could be crawling up our asses as we speak.”
She shut down the image of Savages tiptoeing toward the barn her mind conjured. “I’m really and truly happy too.”
“Then let me poke and tickle those bits.”
Willow laughed and shoved him away. “I’m not sure about the Savages, but there is straw crawling up my ass, so no more poking and tickling until we have a bed.”
“We haven’t had one yet; why start now?”
She shot him a look over her shoulder as she rose from the straw. “It will be fun to try something new.”
He laughed and watched as she sauntered out of the pile. Straw stuck in her hair, and imprints of it marred her pristine skin as she brushed it away. He knew they had to go, but he couldn’t stop himself from lying back, folding his hands behind his head, and admiring her supple body as she shook the straw from her hair. With the early morning sun illuminating her, she was magnificent.
“Are you getting up?” she asked.
“One part of me is already up and admiring the view.”
Willow rolled her eyes, but she couldn’t help smiling as she gathered her clothes. She loved the give and flow of their relationship and his playful banter. She loved that he was more than her mate; he was also her friend and someone she could trust.
When she finished dressing, Declan groaned and rose. As much as he would have enjoyed another hour with her in the straw, he had to admit he was a little tired of being poked in the bits too.
Willow bent to lift the sword carefully from where she’d hidden it while he dressed. He understood the expression on her face as she examined the weapon; the thing scared and amazed him too. He’d never seen anything like it and, as far as he knew, there shouldn’t be anything like it in existence.
However, it did exist, and there was a good possibility it was a demonic weapon. He much preferred it in their possession, and not that of their enemies, but he didn’t like how attached Willow was to it. She’d checked on it a couple of times throughout the night.
He walked over to stand beside her and held his hands out for the weapon. She hesitated before placing it in his palms. He had yet to touch it, but the second it connected with his skin, he sensed the power in it. It was forged to destroy.
“Do you think there are any other swords like it?” she asked.
“We might never know.”
When a car door slammed outside, Declan’s head shot up. Willow bit back a gasp when color flooded his body again. When it happened before, the color took time to seep through him, but now it was like a switch flipped, and the red and black hue instantly suffused him. His eyes burned like fire, and he bared his fangs.
Declan handed the sword back to Willow. “Go around the driver’s side of the truck,” he told her.
Willow clutched the sword before her as they separated to edge around the vehicle and toward the front of the barn. She listened for more noises as she scented the air, but the song of the birds and the crisp, spring air were the only things she detected. That didn’t mean the Savages hadn’t sent someone else to attack them while they remained hidden nearby.
Declan didn’t sense any hostility from whoever was outside, but when it came to Willow, he wasn’t going to let down his guard. He reached the door as Willow stepped out from the other side of the truck. From their positions, they could take out whoever came through the door.
The hinges of the door squeaked as it started to open. Willow stepped closer and raised the sword as a hand gripped the edge of the door and pulled it open. It rattled in
its frame while the light illuminated a blond man standing on the other side.
She released a strangled cry and lowered the sword to throw herself into her brother-in-law’s arms. Her impact caused Brian’s breath to umph out of him, but he lifted her off her feet and hugged her. She’d spent a lot of time annoying him over the years, but his hug was full of love as he crushed her against him.
“Thank God,” he breathed in her ear.
“I told Vicky to keep you away,” she said.
“When was last time either of your sisters listened to anyone?”
Willow leaned back to take in his handsome face, platinum blond hair, and ice-blue eyes. “Please tell me Abby’s not here.”
“Again, I ask you, when was last time either of your sisters ever listened to anyone?”
Willow’s heart sank. “I don’t want her here.”
“On that, we can agree,” he said as he set her down. “Are you okay?”
“I’ll be better when we’re far from here.”
“So will I.” Brian turned to look at Declan; an amused smile curved the corner of his mouth. “I’m glad I’m not the enemy.”
Seeing that it was Brian on the other side of the door caused some of Declan’s hostility to ease, but he couldn’t get himself completely under control again. He held his red and black hand out to Brian, who clasped it.
“It’s good to see you,” Declan said.
“You too.”
Over Brian’s shoulder, Willow saw Ronan and Nathan approaching the building. If Nathan and Abby were here, that meant Vicky was too. As soon as she finished hugging her sisters, she was going to strangle them.
“Did you find Lucien?” Declan asked.
Brian shook his head. “I can’t get a read on him.”
“What does that mean?”
“It could mean many things. My ability is far from foolproof. If he’s in a massive crowd, I can’t pick him out, or he could be underground, or in a concrete bunker, or he’s…”
“Dead,” Declan said when Brian’s words trailed off.
“Or he’s dead,” Brian agreed.
Declan’s teeth ground together as his fingers dug into his palms. All the deep breathing in the world couldn’t calm him. Lucien was his friend, his brother, and those fuckers had done something to him. There was a chance they might never learn of Lucien’s fate, but he would make them pay for it.
Bound by Torment (The Alliance, Book 5) Page 27