19. Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Nineteen
E mma
Declan's fingers drift, spreading across my stomach. My skin starts to hum at the points of contact, and my heart begins a steady thump.
I've been hyper aware of my body, ever since he curled up behind me, and his heat pressing against me. My heartbeat sounds so loud that I’m surprised he hasn’t heard it yet. It's all I can hear, and all I can see is the storm raging outside through the windows, the whistling wind slamming against the wood. It all echoes the tornado within me.
I feel crazy.
Declan hasn't even done anything yet, and I want to moan from the tension and pressure building up inside me, the sheer anticipation making me want to beg. His index fingers trace circles around my stomach and my sharp intake of breath wrecks the intimate hush of the room. Declan's subtle touch makes goosebumps break out over my body, his touch awakening something needy and desperate inside me.
It lulls me into a trance, and I forget the storm outside and the dirty mattress pressed against my side. I forget the scent of mold and wood, the fireplace spreading heat over my skin.
I'm surrounded only by him.
Without even knowing it, I’m moving into his touch in a slow, subconscious way.
His chest is so warm behind mine, so solid. I remember it pressed against mine as he carried me through the forest effortlessly. Ironically, I came out here to save him, but the reverse happened instead.
If I'd fallen and tumbled down the hill, God only knows what would have happened to me. Probably something worse than a sprained ankle.
I could have died by landing the wrong way.
But he saved me.
And now he’s making me so damn glad to be alive.
I feel the whisper of lips at my neck, and I jerk. My body's response is far too abrupt, contrasting with the ease of his movement. But his barely-there touch wreaks more havoc than some of my most intense make-out sessions ever did. Arousal sharpens its teeth. Declan constantly has me on the edge, waiting for the next thing he does.
He presses gentle kisses down the line of my neck, lips soft, his finger continuing to trace circles on my skin.
And then, when he reaches the base of my neck, sucking at a spot that makes my pussy tingle, he whispers, "Do you have any idea how good you feel? How good do you taste?"
As if to prove his tongue flicks out and licks back up the line of my neck. A strangled moan flies out of my lips, and I feel dampness near my upper thigh.
"Sometimes I swear it’s all I can think about." His torturous words continue against my neck. "I sit and my mind drifts and all I can think about is touching you again. Tasting you again. Being inside you again."
I moan again as he slowly suckles, pulling at my skin. I didn't know my neck was an erogenous zone, but it's acting like it. I move closer to him, the pleasure unraveling me like a slow, heady drug.
And then his hand lowers, dipping into my underwear.
I arch before he even touches my slit, and tremble when his fingers divide my pussy, one finger lazily strumming the center. A tremor starts in my stomach and parts of me feel like they are pulsing with the ecstasy that radiates through me. I hitch my breath and try not to sound off too loudly, not wanting to break the moment.
It feels like the darkness and silence have rendered a spell on us making us conveniently forget that we promised each other not to do this again.
Just this once, I tell myself, overlooking the fact that the thought makes me sound like an addict. Just one more time with him. And then never again.
Declan licks my skin again and I arc into him.
Maybe, I am an addict.
Declan certainly makes me feel like I’m addicted to him.
I lose control of my breathing again when his finger permeates my center, pushing deeper. A strangled moan wrenches out from my throat. Declan fucks me gradually while I fumble around with my hands, grabbing his wrists tightly and trying to maintain control of myself.
But I’m quickly losing my grasp on reality, on everything that isn’t this. My entire body is focused on the sensation of his finger penetrating me, scraping along my nerve endings going in and out slowly, as though trying to pull the pleasure out of me.
"Faster," I whisper, feeling like bliss is right on the horizon. Please."
"No," he says in that sultry tone. "We’re going to do it like this today. Slowly. I want to experience all of it this time. I want to see you unravel."
He says the last part like he's giving an order, and my body is helpless to obey. I'm already unraveled. He's torturing me with his touch and my entire body is on fire, slowly burning from the inside out.
"Please," I beg, and the word falls several times from my lips.
He murmurs something sexy in my ears, but not once does he stop. He keeps up the steady thrust, in and out, hooking his finger around so it can skim over my G-spot.
And then, without warning, he slides in and hits me deep.
"Oh!" Energy zaps through me, triggering a long drawn-out orgasm that seems to go on forever. I bite my lip holding back the scream that builds up in my throat. I squeeze my eyes shut and my entire body stiffens from the pressure inside me.
It's too much.
I want it to stop.
But I also want it to go on forever.
The dam bursts and pleasure trembles out of me, leaving me a shaking moaning mess.
And then finally it’s over, I release his wrists and gasp to catch my breath.
My soul sinks back into my body, ushering an awareness of the large bulge digging into my back.
Oh.
But when I reach for it, he shakes his head and stops me with his hand around my wrist.
"No," he says. "Go to bed."
"But...you haven't..."
"Don’t worry about it," he says. "I just wanted to touch you. I needed to touch you, or I would go insane."
"Oh." The guttural words shoot desire through me once more and I swallow. I don't know how to express that I want the same thing too.
I want to touch him too, crave the taste of him. I want to be on my knees with his cock in my mouth as he groans and trembles above me.
Heat flashes through me at the thought, and just like that I'm ready for round two.
But Declan shakes his head firmly and wraps his hand around my body.
And despite his arousal, he sighs contentedly. "Let’s just go to sleep."
The rain must have stopped sometime during the night because it's bright and sunny the next morning, the rays streaming in through the window. I slept through the whole night, waking up to the sound of shuffling beside me.
When I open my eyes, Declan is already on his feet with his pants on and in the process of throwing on his shirt.
As I sit up, his gaze runs appreciatively down my body, but then he shakes his head, pressing his lips together. He looks away and gestures to the pile of clothes he must have folded and placed by the mattress at some point during the night.
"I turned our phones off last night," he says, still not looking at me as I start getting dressed. "So that the battery wouldn't die. I don't have a charger here, but there's one in my car, probably about fifteen to twenty minutes down the hill."
"I have one in my car too." I rise to pull on my jeans, leaning against the wall to make it easier.
"Great,'" he continues. "I’m going to wander around. See if I can find cell service anywhere. Either that or return to where my car is and see if I can get it started."
"I’ll come with you," I tell him. "Annie–Lou’s sedan–is at the base of the hill too.
You’re not going anywhere on that ankle."
"It’s just a strain," I tell him, stepping gingerly on my injured leg to prove a point. My ankle stings but not too badly.
Declan doesn’t look convinced though. "I won’t go too far." He stalks to the front door, undoing the deadbolt. "Just stay put."
"But I– "
He pulls open the door interrupting the rest of what I have to say. With a last warning look, he walks through the doorway and shuts it behind him
"Ass," I mutter under my breath, hobbling to the door. "I don’t know who told you that you could boss me around, but you can't." Declan's probably used to people falling over themselves to do his bidding. But that's not how I operate.
I open the door and his head pivots from a few feet away. He has one hand out in an oak tree and seems to be judging the best way to make it down the hill.
"I’m coming with you," I say as displeasure sets in his face.
"No, you’re not," he responds.
"Yes, I am."
He releases an irritated exhale like I’m the one being difficult
I cross my hands over my chest. "It’ll be faster if we both look. Plus, what if you get lost? I know this area better than you."
"You’ve been here before?"
"Not this up high," I admit. "But my friend Tate and I used to come exploring all the time. We never made it this far though." I survey the terrain below us, endless green going on for miles before blending in with the blue sky and bordered by a separate blue of a lake. "It’s actually really pretty up here."
"You'll get a much prettier view if you sit your ass back in the cabin."
I shake my head. "Not happening."
"Emma – "
"Look I wanna go home as fast as possible too. My Grandpa just had his surgery yesterday and I wanna see him when he wakes up."
Declan lips close. "The surgery was yesterday?"
"Yeah," I say, and for whatever reason a tiny tendril of guilt assails me. "I didn’t want to tell anyone before it happened because well…"
"I get it," he says, and his understanding is reflected in his soft smile. "It can get overwhelming living in a small town like this right?"
"That’s one way to put it," I say but I’m relieved I don’t have to explain myself to him
"Remember you don’t owe anyone anything," he says. "But you should go back inside."
"That's not happening." I take a few steps forward, trying not to hobble as I walk. Declan still frowns.
"You said you won't go far," I say. "I should at least be able to walk a little. And while you're looking for cell service, I can keep an eye out. See if I catch any Rainbow Pearls. Rick told me you came here to get one for Amelia, right? I'll help you look around. Sometimes, you get lucky and find them in the most unexpected places. "
"There’s no such thing as a Rainbow Pearl."
"And you're giving up that easily?" I snort and his lips press together. "Didn't think you were the type."
"Look, I don't have time for this superstitious nonsense," he says, rubbing his hand over his face. "And I don't have time for you to play stubborn either. Here's what's going to happen. You're going to stay in the cabin if I have to carry and lock you in there myself. Then I'm going to go and try to find cell service. I'll only be gone for about thirty minutes, but if you need anything shout and I should be able to–where the fuck do you think you're going?"
Like he did to me, I start walking away during the last part of his sentence, venturing down the hill myself. I keep my eyes on the grass, avoiding slippery patches and rocks.
"Emma-" He starts moving toward me. "Don't make me have to-"
"Wait," I say as a glint of something catches my eyes. I squat and brush the grass away, retrieving it.
My heart pounds.
It can't be. I couldn't have gotten that lucky.
"What are you doing?" I hear him behind me, as I rise to my feet, excitement rippling through me. "What are you holding?"
I turn around triumphantly, holding my palm out to him. "Superstitious nonsense."