by K L Clare
I was out of my mind for his touch. I wanted to feel his skin on mine. More than that, it was a need, something I began to ache for while he was away in London. I stepped out of my shoes and fallen dress, anchored my arms around his long neck, and melted into his body as I inhaled the warm scent of that sensual spot at the base of his throat. His full bottom lip caught my eye. I lifted onto tiptoes and nipped it.
“Ten years—that’s how long I’ve wanted you. I swear you’re a witch.”
“So be it,” I teased with a wicked smile.
He moved our bodies with speed and grace as though we were one, like a predator stealing its prey. My back was pressed against the wall, and he was against me. A guttural vibration moved upward until catching at the back of his throat. Capturing both of my roaming hands and holding them in one of his above my head, he dragged his other hand from my lips down to my thigh and kissed me hard.
I moaned against his mouth.
A framed picture loosened from the wall. Will instinctively batted it away before it hit me and sent it crashing to the wooden floor.
I locked my legs around him when he lifted me into his arms and carried me to his bed. He sat down at the edge and pulled me tight against his erection, and as I straddled his lap, he filled his hands with my hair again and kissed me until we shared a single, ragged breath.
I bit his neck, and he tossed me onto the bed and prowled up my body. He was so far gone he didn’t realize he was crushing me with his weight. I pushed hard against his chest and dug my nails into his flesh. He lifted and effortlessly supported himself.
Smooth lips slid down my neck to my breasts and sucked and pulled on my nipples through the lace. He came back to my mouth and claimed it as he dragged his fingers down the front of my body. He stopped only when he reached my panties. With one powerful tug, he snapped the delicate lace and tore them off.
I cried out when he pushed his fingers inside me. “So fucking tight, Elle,” he said against my mouth. He pleasured me with his thumb as he had on the plane. His fingers moved in and out, and he pushed me higher as he increased the intensity. Another cry parted my lips and swept against his as I came.
“I need you.” His words were desperate but controlled. His body stilled, and he waited with burning eyes for my response. The growl lying in wait at the back of his throat vibrated.
“I’m yours. . . . Take all of me.” It was nothing more than a whisper, but inside my head the words screamed. Because he made me feel. Because my soul was no longer uninhabited.
I reached down between our bodies to help get his trousers out of the way. As soon as he was free, I wound my fingers around him, sliding my hand up and down his length.
He groaned, a throaty sound of torment and pleasure. The band of my bra abruptly contracted as he unfastened it, then he captured my hands and confined them above my head once more. He released them when he took control of the rest of my body, anchoring me tightly in one arm and yanking the lace from my chest with the other hand. His knees pushed my legs open wide. Cool air hit my wet core, driving my need for him higher.
My body responded to his every touch, arching closer as his mouth lightly teased my skin. I moaned, pleaded with him, begged. But instead of pushing himself inside me, he slid his hand between my thighs and pushed his fingers into me again.
“Will, please. I need you now . . .”
He shut my mouth with his. “You’re small. . . . I don’t want to hurt you, baby.” His voice was all gravel.
Will was huge. He was power, and by comparison, I was small and delicate. But I didn’t care. If he hurt me at first, it would be good pain.
“Please, Will . . .” I begged.
He smirked, pleased with my desperation for him, and then he kissed his way down the front of my body. Heat blasted through my blood. My hips bucked when he gripped them and drew me to his mouth. He buried his face between my thighs.
“Oh, God,” I cried out, panting and pulling his hair. Each time he intensified the pleasure, I pulled harder. I cried his name as my body shattered, fragmenting into billions of pieces against his mouth.
When he finally shoved inside me with one fierce thrust, his mouth owned mine and he swallowed my scream. He buried his face in my hair as his body shuddered with need. He forced himself to be still and cursed against my neck as he kissed me there, buried deep inside me. He filled me completely. I could feel him throbbing—he was a second heartbeat within my body.
Those white-hot eyes burned into my soul when he lifted his head and they found mine.
Will’s embrace tightened as he balanced his weight and mine and then lowered his face to my neck again. “Christ . . . you’re so tight,” he mumbled while battling hard to find the strength to calm himself, wrestling with self-control.
I clung to him with all that I had when at last he moved inside me. I cried out as he stretched me. Though he’d commanded my surrender, he held back. I could feel the restrained power surging within him. Before my brain could stop it, my body arched up against his heavy thrusts, and I writhed beneath his dominance, pushing him to let go of more. “I want more, all of you,” I demanded.
And just like that, he gave me what I desired. He covered my mouth with his, the kiss intense as always but different. It was a claiming kiss. Our teeth banged. My bottom lip split and bled from the force. His chest vibrated. “All that I have is yours,” he said, his voice raw as he sank deeper inside me. He drove hard and fast, filling me over and over until everything we were had burned away. We became something else, something we’d never before been separately.
We were remade.
Another orgasm—an unexpected culmination—ripped through me. I screamed his name against his lips, my body and soul shattering a third time.
Every muscle in his body tensed. He lifted his head and threw it backward. The growl once lodged at the back of his throat broke loose, morphing into a roar as he came. His breath was heavy as he dropped and burrowed into my hair again. When the shuddering of his body settled, he turned his face and kissed my neck, kissed my butterfly.
“I’ll never let you go, Elle. Never.”
I was breathless. Thunderstruck by his storm.
Will rolled onto his back and pulled me to his chest, and in his arms, he owned my body and possessed my rousing soul with strength and tenderness.
17
Will was already downstairs in the gym by the time I woke. I’d slept in his arms without dreaming through the entire night. There’d been no nightmares—no knives, no distorted faces, no death. There was only Will.
He planned to leave for London after he trained with Thomas, and I couldn’t bear the thought of not kissing him once more before he left. I leaped out of bed and found my dress where he’d draped it neatly over the back of a chair and hurried down the corridor to my room.
“G’morning, dearest. Lily will get on with breakfast soon,” Mrs. Bates lilted as she misted the roses with water, doting on them with the affection of a proud parent.
“Mrs. Bates, really, I don’t mind having breakfast in the kitchen.”
“Neither you nor dear Mary will be subjected to breaking your fast with those lads or the children,” she harrumphed. “Ladies of this house will be afforded the respect of privacy in the morning hours. I’ll see to it.”
I picked the same fight with her every morning, battling an antiquated custom, and every morning she refused to yield. I could demand what I wanted from Will, but I decided instead to make an effort to accept the traditions of his family home while I was there.
“All right, you win.” I flashed a smile and headed for the shower, though I rolled my eyes at the thought when I stepped under the spray of warm water.
After a quick shower, I headed down the staircase just as John climbed up. His sweat mixed with the trickle of blood from a small cut above his eye.
I stopped short. “You’re hurt?”
He dabbed the laceration with a fingertip and grinned. “That’s nothing. It ha
ppens.”
I lifted a brow. “Which one?” Will and Thomas were massive by comparison.
“Thom. Did you see how the rain cleared out? The weather is perfect.”
“Don’t tease me, John. Where is Will now?”
“Going at it again with Thomas, repaying him on my behalf, I think.”
As John resumed his climb three stairs at a time, sunlight burst in from the foyer. Eastridge was a fantastic house, but I craved more. I needed that sunshine touching me, warming me—needed to walk along the edge of the sea and feel its energy. South East England was known for its verdant landscapes, quaint villages, and charming coastline, and I wanted to see it for myself. I stuffed my phone into my back pocket and hit the foyer, hoping for one or two breaths of fresh air.
“I can’t let you out, Ms. James,” one of Will’s soldiers said as he stepped in front of me. His expression was sober, but his eyes were kind. He smelled of evergreen and new leather.
“Are you serious?”
“Sorry. You’ll need to speak to Will. His orders. Shall I take you to him?”
It wasn’t his fault, but I snapped anyway. “Count on it. Yes, take me to him.”
We headed for the double doors beneath the staircase in the central hall. At the bottom of the stairs was a fluorescent-lit corridor full of closed doors. The first three were solid wood with no visible handles. Electronic pads were mounted to the right of each. We walked farther down the corridor, where two sets of steel doors led into the gymnasium. The soldier pushed one open wide and waited for me to pass through, following as I made a beeline for Will.
Will stood with Ben and Thomas at the far end of the gym, toweling sweat from his face and neck. He saw us and sprinted across the pale wood floor. “What happened? What’s wrong?”
“This happened.” I pointed at his sentry.
He dismissed his soldier with a slice of his chin. “Why are you upset? You know what we’re up against. There’ll be a guard at the door from now on. Eric was doing his job.”
I hooked my hands on my hips. “I only wanted some fresh air. I wasn’t going to leave.”
Will closed the gap between us and forced me to meet his eyes. “I’ll do whatever is necessary to keep you safe, and you will cooperate.”
I narrowed my eyes. “I’m not your prisoner.”
“Goddammit, Elle.” His jaw clamped and his eyes flashed, warning me that he was prepared to fight and win. “We’ve been through this.”
“You—” I halted my argument. I wouldn’t fight with him. I couldn’t bear the idea that we’d be distant in both the physical and emotional sense while he was away. Instead, I placed my hands on his forearms. As I traced the veins there, my thoughts changed course, and I made a gentle demand. “Take me to the beach, Will.”
His face relaxed as he exhaled. A bead of sweat fell from his forehead and landed on my cheek. He was thoughtful for a minute before he nodded. “After I finish here and make some calls. I’ll drive back to London later.” He wiped the drop of sweat from my face with his thumb.
“Really?”
He lowered his head and pressed his salty lips to mine. “I’ll deny you nothing.” Then he grabbed the phone from my pocket and shouted for Thomas.
“Oh. I listened to the messages.” I looked to the floor. “I’m officially a suspect now. Josh wants to know if you—” I didn’t know how to finish the sentence.
“I know. He called me, found me in London at my office. It’s all right.” He pulled my chin up. “U.S. police demand you be interviewed. My lawyers will make certain it’s conducted by the London Metropolitan Police Commissioner. He’s an appointee of the Queen, and we know she doesn’t want an investigation from abroad any more than we do. If we grant this request, I think they’ll drop the matter.”
“What do I say?”
“The lawyers will prepare you and do most of the talking.”
“But—” I tried not to panic, my body vibrating with the need.
“You didn’t do anything wrong, Elle. You’re an innocent victim, not a criminal. I’ll get the cop anything else he needs privately. He and I agreed to clean it up, and we will. I promise.” He handed my phone to Thomas. “Destroy this and make the account go away. Remove her online presence.”
Thomas was a genius with devices, the internet, and computer systems. I had heard that he and one of his close friends from Oxford could hack anything. He would break through the firewalls of the phone company and the social media sites to remove all traces of me.
Vanished, just like that. Gone like the rest of my family.
Thomas quickly swiped through my apps. “I’ll get you another phone this afternoon. You can still follow Jessica’s tweets, but wait for me to set it up so it’s secure.”
18
I was shocked at first but ultimately thankful for the way Lissie spoke to Mary with such ease—or Grannie, as she and Chelsea, Ben’s three-year-old daughter, called her.
Mary Hastings was a gentle, loving woman, and I couldn’t imagine any child rejecting her kindness. It must have been difficult for her to hold back with four warrior-born sons. Even so, there was no doubt she had imparted her love and strength. The tenderness Will drew from his fierce depths for me was proof of his mother’s influence.
It was written on my heart how unprepared I was to raise a seven-year-old. I’d ruin Lissie on my own. Her growing relationship with Mary relieved me of the pressure and afforded me time to search for the best path forward for Lissie and me. If one existed. My role in her upbringing would change if Ethan were her father. I would no longer be her guardian.
I inspected Lissie’s hands after she scrubbed the purple finger-paint from them. “Good job, girlie. Paint’s all gone.”
She smiled at me with Ethan’s eyes and Isobel’s mouth.
“Your turn, Chelsea.” I lifted the toddler to the sink and washed her hands. “Good?”
“Good!” she squealed, clapping her hands under the running water.
“You’re getting Auntie all wet, silly girl.”
“Me too!” Lissie shrieked.
The three of us giggled as I shifted Chelsea to one hip and reached for the faucet.
Will caught my hand and pulled it back. He kissed my fingers and shut off the water. “Ready, Elle?” His grip was firm as he eliminated the space between us.
Chelsea twisted, uncomfortable with the closeness of the giant looming above.
“Let’s go,” the giant said before he bent and placed a kiss on my lips.
I stared up into his magnetic smile, stunned by his display of possessive affection.
Mary stood at the center island, slicing bread and cheese for the girls. She narrowed her eyes and scolded her son. “You’re old enough to know better, William. Go and wait for Ellie in the hall.”
Will scowled at his mother, and as he left the kitchen, he mumbled an apology to her.
A giggle escaped my lips. I covered my mouth before another slipped out.
“It’s all right, dear. That one,” she said, gesturing with knife in hand in the direction he’d gone, “has always been a handful. Stubborn like his father and equally lionhearted.” She smiled then and stared at nothing with distant eyes. Her unfocused face was beautiful. It was clear she was caught in the memory of her late husband.
I gave her another moment. “Does he look like Richard?”
“Quite like Richard. In fact, he’s the spitting image. His walk, even his voice. All four of my boys have their father’s eyes.”
My gaze shifted to Lissie. I wasn’t sure if Ethan had discussed it with anyone other than Will, so I self-corrected and hoped she hadn’t noticed. It wasn’t my place to tell her.
“Hastings eyes are hard to miss,” she added. “There’s a fiery element. Only it’s—”
“White,” I finished.
“Yes, white. Like lightning. You know, dear, when he came back from America the first time, the clarity in his eyes was unmistakable. We knew then if the conflict wit
h the Order resumed, it would be Will’s war, not Ethan’s. We didn’t know how it would unravel, just that it was so. I suppose Richard knew in his heart long before that—he’d always been much harder on Will.”
“Will’s a good man with a good heart despite the cards he’s been dealt, the game he’s forced to play. His tenderness with me is unmatched. You know that, right?”
She smiled wide, and a twinkle bounced around inside her honey-brown eyes. “I do. Go on, Ellie. He’s done his time.”
The back staircase was perfect for my escape from the kitchen. In my room, I stepped into faded denim boyfriend shorts with split side seams, a sleeveless white blouse, and black strappy heels. I tossed lipstick and sunglasses into my black leather shoulder bag before dashing out the door.
Will waited in the grand hall as his mother had instructed. He met me at the bottom of the stairs wearing one of his confident smiles. His brows flashed and he rubbed his chin. “Christ. Elle. Your legs are a mile long. Maybe we should just go upstairs. We can go out another day.”
“Oh, I think we’ll do both.” I flipped several strands of hair over my shoulder and treated him to a slow, mischievous smile. “Beach first.”
“Not until you kiss me.” He lifted me from the last step.
“If I do that, you’ll not want to leave. Swear we’ll go.”
He nodded.
I hooked my legs around his hips and cradled his face in my hands, then slanted my mouth over his, tickling his lips with my tongue. He opened wide and thrust his tongue impatiently against mine. When he was satisfied with his victory, he put me down but didn’t loosen his grip on my waist.
“Is it still the beach you want?” he teased.
I thought about it, shaking my head as though the image of us tangled up in bedsheets could ever be erased from my mind. A cocky grin slid across his face.
“Yes.” I pulled back and dragged my eyes to the bulge that would soon push above the waistband of his jeans if he didn’t cool it. “And if you’re a good boy, maybe we’ll use that later.”