Chapter 20
Chapter
Twenty
SIN
The warm ocean breeze brought the scents of plumeria and sea salt to the forefront of my awareness as my dream came into focus.
I knew the moment I turned my head I’d find Merri next to me, and I was right.
Since coming to Malice, she hadn’t missed a night.
Loath as she’d be to admit it, she needed us.
And I was not-so-secretly preening because if you counted my venture into her dream a few nights ago, I was the only horseman she’d talked to twice.
Grim hadn’t even gotten to see her once yet.
Not that anyone would be surprised she was avoiding him. The real question was whether she would visit him next or just circle straight back to Malice. It would serve that stuffed shirt right if she skipped him altogether.
My mouth ran dry at the sight of Merri, posed on a lounger in a tiny black bikini with her hair piled high on her head in a messy bun. She was reading a paperback, lower lip pulled between her teeth as she focused on the words on the page and ignored me.
“You need a cocktail, kitten. Can’t be sitting poolside on a day like this without one.”
Without missing a beat, she reached beside her and lifted a fruity umbrella drink, the glass dripping with condensation as she put the tiny straw between her lips.
I’m not ashamed to say my gaze followed a drop of water as it fell from the base of the glass and hit her chest, sliding slowly down her body until it disappeared in her bikini bottoms.
“You’re drooling,” she murmured.
“You’re gorgeous.”
She flipped a page, still mostly ignoring me.
It might have hurt my feelings if Malice and Chaos hadn’t both warned me that she was definitely still punishing us.
And fair enough, honestly. We deserved it—some more than others.
The difference between me and them? I wasn’t going to roll over and take it.
No way. No how.
I was going to fight fire with fire. Or lust with love. The details were fuzzy, but I had the makings of a plan. The pieces, at least. Kind of like when you got a box from Ikea and you had it all laid out but still needed the instructions to help you put it all together.
Hmm. I wonder if they serve Swedish meatballs at this joint . . .
I supposed the best way to start was with the direct approach. I could seduce her better than anyone, but we already knew that.
Clearing my throat, I swung my legs over the side of my own lounger and faced her.
I eyed the banana hammock she’d put me in with a twist of my lips.
“You summoned me to this fancy resort. Are you just missing me? Need to breathe the same air as me for a while? Or can I help you with something you need?”
She turned another page and let out a soft, musing sound. “It doesn’t have to be so one-sided, Sin. This can be a mutually beneficial arrangement.”
“It’s never one-sided. You get to feed. I get to come. Although I like it so much better when we feed from each other.”
Putting down the book, she leveled her gaze on me. “That’s what I meant.”
“Does that mean you’re going to unlock that chastity belt of yours?”
“Chastity belt?”
“They told me you’re locked up tighter than the Vatican’s secret archives.”
“If they’re a secret, how would you know?”
I gave her a pointed glance. “Is that really a question?”
She rolled her eyes and resumed her reading. “To answer your original question, I haven’t decided yet.”
My heart skipped a beat. If she hadn’t already ruled out the possibility, it meant there was still a chance. The fact that it was with me when she’d been adamant about the others had me feeling some kind of way.
Then again, it shouldn’t be a surprise. Merri and I had a thing for firsts.
I reached out and ran my fingertips along her leg. “Anything I can do to help you make up your mind?”
Vulnerability flickered in her eyes as she looked at me over the edge of the book. “Say you’re sorry.”
“I di—” I began, but the protest died on my tongue. Had I never actually apologized to her?
Shoulders slumping, I heaved a frustrated sigh.
“Merri, I’m so fucking sorry for everything that happened.
I’m sorry I hurt you by being silent. I’m sorry I let you down and didn’t defend what we have immediately.
I’m sorry I made you feel anything less than what you are: The most important person in my entire world. ”
She held my gaze, her eyes searching as her lower lip wobbled. “Do you really mean it?”
I wanted to tell her to check for herself, but I knew it was only natural to question everything after a betrayal like the one she’d suffered at our hands.
Her gut had her believing one thing, and Grim was trying to gaslight her into something else.
It would take a long time to repair the damage he’d caused.
Prick.
“You don’t have to believe me. I know I don’t deserve it, but, Merri, if I could go back in time and change the way everything played out, I would.
I’d tell Grim how wrong he was and make sure you knew how proud I am to be your mate.
I swear, if you give me the chance, I’ll prove it to you with more than words. ”
Silence stretched between us as she weighed my vow. I knew she’d come to a decision when her expression cleared and she set down her book.
“Well, I guess you'd better get started then.”
Okay, well, fuck. How did I go about doing that?
I glanced at the romance novel she’d placed on the table between our chairs. Right. Book boyfriend shit. I could do that. I was made for it.
As soon as I got to my feet, I leaned over her and scooped her into my arms, smirking at the little yelp of surprise she couldn’t contain.
I angled away from the loungers and headed for the cabana just a few feet behind them.
The white fabric walls blew in the ocean breeze, revealing the two-person daybed within.
It was like she’d planned for this exact scenario. Which meant I was on the right track. Good job, Sin.
She didn’t say a word as I laid her down in the nest of pillows and soft blankets, but her expression was less guarded, less reluctant. And then there was the lust coming off her that hadn’t been there before. She wanted me—not just to feed from, but to connect with—and she couldn’t hide it.
“I’ve missed you,” I murmured, brushing a few fallen strands of hair off her face as I curled up beside her.
Her breath stuttered out, and for a second, I didn’t think she was going to say anything, but then the words left her in a rush, “I missed you too.”
Reaching for her, I cupped her chin and turned her to face me simply so I could gain access to her perfect lips. I hadn’t kissed her in so long. It had been a special kind of agony to go without now that I’d found her.
I moved until I hovered just over her lips and then lifted my eyes to hers. “Stop me now if this isn’t what you want.”
She tilted her chin up, her lips feathering against mine in the palest imitation of a kiss. “Don’t stop.”
“I love you, Merri. It kills me that you had any reason to doubt me.” Fuck, my voice was broken.
Close as we were, each word had my lips moving against hers. It was the biggest fucking tease.
Merri let out a soft hum as she threaded her fingers through my hair and tugged me that final centimeter down.
Our mouths met in a gentle press that was rapidly replaced by a passionate and demanding kiss.
All our pent-up longing, the hurt, the love, the need, culminated in this perfect reunion between us.
I wanted to stay here forever. And wasn’t that part of the danger of dreamwalking?
We could trap ourselves in this haven we created and never leave.
Even as the world was destroyed around us.
“I need you,” she whispered after breaking our kiss, her fingers trailing down the back of my neck and over my shoulders possessively.
“Not as much as I need you.”
Her lips twitched in a small smile. “Prove it.”
I moved until I was above her, my aching cock pressed against her core. “How’s that for proof?”
She leaned up and nipped my bottom lip. “You can do better.”
Reaching between us, I untied her bikini bottoms and let the fabric fall away. My fingers drifted over her hip and to the apex of her thighs, but all I could look at was her face as I touched her.
“You’re wet for me,” I whispered.
“Always.”
“Good girl.”
A ripple of lust poured out of her at my praise, and I had to fight back a smug grin. I was so fucking good at this.
“Stop teasing me. You know I’m ready.” She slipped her hand under my bathing suit and grabbed hold of my throbbing length. “And I know you’re ready.”
I groaned, head falling back as she stroked me. “I’ve been ready since the moment I first saw you.” The ghost of a breeze over my ass was the only hint she’d used her magic to take care of our clothing. I huffed out a laugh. “You really are in a hurry.”
“Like you aren’t?”
I made sure our gazes were locked when I admitted, “If I could make this last forever, I would. For a few days there, I thought I’d never get to have this with you again. It makes a guy selfish.”
She didn’t reply, simply wrapped her arms around the back of my neck and arched up so she could kiss me.
I used that opportunity to fit myself between her thighs and sink into her warm, welcoming body.
Her whimper sent a rush through me as the sensation of us being joined again took hold.
This wasn’t a frenzied fuck so we could power up.
I was making love with the woman I wanted to keep for eternity.
A bit of soul-fucking, if you will.
Our bodies moved together in a sinuous dance, my thrusts slow but deep, our eyes focused on each other. Merri might not be using her succubus power, but it was a magic all on its own. Something I’d never experienced with anyone but her.
My Merri.
My mate.
I wasn’t going to last much longer, and part of me wanted to fight the urge to fill her with my cum so soon, but a bigger part knew this was the plan all along. She needed this from me so she could be strong while we searched for a way to bring her back.
Her nails scored my ass and thighs as she cried out, an orgasm taking her by surprise if the look on her face was anything to go by.
That was all it took for me to go over the edge right along with her.
Pleasure turned my vision white as I gave her everything I had and delighted in knowing I’d help strengthen her.
I stayed planted inside her as we both came down from the high of our joint climax.
She was running her fingers through my hair, her expression love-drunk and happy.
I wished I could capture this moment, that there was a way to take a mental picture so I could come back to it over and over again.
If heaven was something a horseman could experience, this was mine.
“I love you, Meredith Deveraux.”
She blinked up at me, her smile stretching. “I love you too, Emmett Sinclair, Horseman of the Apocalypse and whatever other names you go by.” Her brow furrowed, posture stiffening before she said, “I have to go. He’s coming.”
Merri being aware of what was happening outside the dream realm was a new development. I wondered if it was because her control of the dream realm was getting stronger, or if it was something she’d been capable of all along.
“We’re doing everything we can to find you, Merri. I swear it.”
“I know you are. I’m sorry I left you.”
“I’m sorry you felt it was your only choice.”
She brushed her lips over mine and I closed my eyes, enjoying one last kiss. When I opened them again, I was back in my bedroom at the chateau, staring up at a crack in the ceiling and hoping like hell she was okay.