“I don’t want you to hurt for me.”
“I’ll always hurt for you. I want to hurt for you, to take it away from you so that I can bear it for the both of us,” he whispers and then seals his lips with mine in a passionate kiss. But he can’t take my pain away. Nobody can. Pike tries, but it never lasts longer than a brief moment. My pain is threaded within the fibers of my existence. Here to stay. A reminder that we all come in different forms of decrepit.
Declan drags his lips away from mine, saying, “Open your eyes.”
Blinking them open, I stare up into his green emeralds when he tells me, “Leave him.”
“It’s not that simple.”
“Leave him.”
“It’s not easy like that,” I say, needing him to understand that I can’t just walk away, but he moves past my words, telling me, “I don’t want easy. I want you.”
“I . . .”
“Tell me what you feel for me,” he says as he parts my legs and settles himself between my thighs.
“I don’t know if there’s a word for it, because it’s strong, but it can’t be love.”
“Why not?” he says, his cock growing harder with each word spoken.
“Because I’ve only known you a couple of months. It’s crazy to think about how much I already feel for you. I feel crazy for having the feelings I have for you.”
“Why?”
“Because I hardly know you.”
“You know me,” he states as he rocks his hips, pressing his erection into me.
“Do I?”
“I adore you. Do you need to know anything else?”
My breathing grows unsteady as he continues to grind himself against me.
“Open up to me. Tell me how you feel. Give me the words,” he insists.
“I don’t know,” I release on a staggered voice.
“You do. You’re just scared.”
“Let me be scared then,” I request, but he turns it down, saying, “I won’t ever let you be scared, baby.”
He reaches back and pulls off his shirt before sitting on his haunches and telling me, “Undo my pants.”
Sitting up, I slip the leather strap of his belt out of the buckle, and unzip his slacks. He watches me as I reach my hand inside of his boxers and take his stiff cock in my hand, curving my fingers around the thick shaft. Without taking our eyes away from each other, I begin to stroke along the velvet smooth skin sheathing his rock hard erection. When his breathing begins to falter, he grabs ahold of the end of his belt and pulls it free from his pants.
“Take your hands off me and put them above your head.”
I lie down on my back and place my hands where I was told. He pulls my top off and unclasps my bra, tossing it to the floor before lacing his belt through the slats in the headboard, tying my wrists together, and securing them in an unrelenting bind.
“Tell me how you feel right now.”
As we look deeply into each other, I reveal softly, “Safe,” and there’s a part of me that doesn’t believe that word is a lie.
“Say it again.”
“Safe.”
Leaning down, he brushes his soft lips along my bruises. “Always.” He then begins running his warm lips down between my breasts, taking them both in his hands when he peers up to me. “Always safe with me.”
THE SHOCK OF cold touching my skin jolts me awake.
“It’s just me, darling,” Declan soothes as he presses an ice pack to my cheek. “I didn’t want to wake you, but your bruises look to be swelling.”
I stare up at him as he takes care of me and just watch as he examines my face.
“You okay?”
“Sleepy,” I mumble as I move to sit up.
Declan releases a soft growl when the sheet drops to my waist, exposing my naked breasts.
“You’re obscene,” I tease with a grin and then pull the sheet up to cover me, but he yanks it away.
“Don’t cover yourself; you’re too beautiful.”
“What about you? You expect me to be naked while you’re fully clothed?” I argue weakly with a smile.
Dropping the ice pack onto the pillow, he stands beside the bed and looks down at me, saying, “You want me naked?” and when I nod, biting my lip, he tells me, “Then undress me.”
“Now, not only are you obscene, but obnoxious.”
“You love it,” he states with a devious smirk.
“Mmm . . . maybe.”
“Say it. Tell me you love it,” he urges.
“No,” I squeak out in laughter, and with a stern tone, he retorts, “Don’t ever tell me no.”
“No,” I repeat with a flirty wink.
He crawls back into bed and over the top of me with a sexy growl. “Bad girl.”
“I thought I was a good girl?”
“Only when you listen well,” he responds as he lies next to me. “Come closer. Wrap yourself on me.”
And I do, rolling over, draping my arm across his chest and wrapping my leg around him as he bands his arms around me.
“You feel so good like this,” he releases on a heavy sigh.
“Like what?”
“Covering me like you want me.”
“You think I want you?”
“I can’t seem to figure out what you want,” he exhales. “I hate that you won’t let me inside your head.”