Chapter Thirty-One Wren
Chapter Thirty-One
Wren
Damien took it all away.
His kiss was fire, igniting a spark that turned into a blaze. His hands, which had been so cautious before, roamed freely, my body melting in his hold. I arched my back, desperate and seeking, swimming in the myriad of sensations causing my head to spin.
I traced the seam of his lips with my own, reveling in how a shiver wracked his frame, and how I was the cause of his undoing.
Taking his bottom lip between my teeth, I gently bit down, eliciting a low rumble of approval from his chest, the addicting sound one I wanted to hear again and again.
His hair slid like silk between my fingers, and I grasped the strands, yanking him closer and melding our bodies until not an inch separated us.
This felt more potent than before, than when we were in Hockley’s study. This wasn’t a kiss hidden behind the mask of a lie—it was honest. Raw and untamed. A collision of two people giving in to what their souls demanded.
Damien took his time sliding the thin chemise off my shoulders.
He placed a kiss where each strap had been, torturously moving across my collarbone as he worked the slip down, his callused palms rough on my skin, the sensation heightening every sense I possessed.
When he drew back, taking me in fully, heat erupted across my cheeks, his stare storm clouds of need.
Like if he didn’t touch me, he’d perish.
“You’re so beautiful it kills me.”
The admission wrecked me.
“Wren.” He spoke my name sweetly against my neck, his fingers brushing up and down the sides of my bare arms. “You’re better than any gift.
Any kind of magic.” Those wicked fingers slid up, and he grasped my chin between his thumb and forefinger.
Against my lips, he murmured, “It’s the kind of magic I don’t want to steal.
” A press of his lips to my jaw. “I only want to revel in it for a while.” Another kiss to the corner of my mouth. “To feel all of you.”
My hands fell to his torso, running over the bandages on his chest. I expelled a shaking breath at the hard ridges of muscle, the defined abdomen that begged for worship.
“You’re beautiful too, Damien,” I said, pressing my lips right over his wounded shoulder. I made my way to the other broad shoulder, exploring him, admiring the handsome thief who had made me burn for weeks. But it was more than attraction. Damien had done the impossible—
He’d made me feel. He liked the woman I’d locked away, and he desired her now, more than anything.
“Are you certain you’re all right?” I asked, forcing myself to look up at him. He was still injured, and tonight had strained him.
Damien didn’t deliver a cocky smirk or clever retort.
He placed both hands on the sides of my face and brought my lips to his, stealing all the air in my lungs.
Minutes passed when I couldn’t tell where I ended and he began, his exhales becoming my inhales, giving me life. Eventually I leaned back, gasping.
“I hope that answers your question,” he said, features serious. “With you, only you, am I never better.”
“Promise?” The idea of him in pain sent an ache throbbing in my chest.
He let out a soft chuckle. “It would hurt more if I walked away. Even though I should.” His jaw clenched. “But I can’t. I can’t turn away, Wren.”
“Then don’t, thief,” I said against his skin.
It was frowned upon in our society to engage in what we prepared to do. I didn’t give a shit. I was my own person. My own woman, and while it might not last forever, I wanted Damien more than my next breath.
Damien unbuttoned his trousers at the same time as he peppered my throat with kisses, never once leaving my skin. He was a man bewitched, and I had never felt more powerful being the one who’d entranced him.
I broke our connection, needing to see him. When he stood before me, vulnerable and raw, my knees nearly buckled.
Fates, he was stunning.
He intertwined our fingers before walking backward, carefully leading me into the darkened bedroom. This side of him was tender and soft, yet wild and utterly him, and I wished to bask in it forever.
When my back hit the mattress, Damien paused for a moment above me, his forearms braced on the bed on either side of my face. He stared down with hesitation, his eyes narrowing as his mind seemed to race a thousand miles an hour.
“I want you,” I said, hoping to assuage any doubts. “Even when you infuriated me, I wanted you.” I smiled up at him, watching as his face lost some of its tension. His relieved exhale ghosted against my parted lips.
“You made it very hard not to fall for you, sunshine,” he whispered.
Damien shifted on his elbows and a small wince slid over his face.
“Don’t worry about me,” he said into my ear.
“I can’t help it.” Somewhere along the way, the thief made it impossible for me not to worry about his welfare. Regardless of how much his smart mouth stoked my temper at times.
“Is it wrong that I like it? That I like you worrying about me?” His head dropped, his jaw taut with tension.
I shook my head, forcing his strong chin up. “Is it wrong that I want you to want that?” I asked, chuckling slightly. “You kept pulling away, and when I told myself it was what I needed, no, wanted, it stung, because I’ve never been fully myself around someone the way I am with you.”
Damien stroked my cheek as he situated himself. “You, Wren Hayes, are the only magic I will bow down to. The only gift I covet,” he said. “I’m lucky you see me, too.”
I did see him. Every crooked and mismatched part. It made a masterpiece of shades of gray.
“Wren,” he murmured reverently just before he slowly pushed forward. My eyes rolled to the back of my head at the onslaught of new sensations. “I’ve got you,” he promised, his tone a soothing melody. “Just hold on to me, sunshine.”
I gripped his shoulders, trusting him with every fiber of my being. Something I’d thought impossible when first meeting him. Now…now I knew he’d risk his own life for mine. He had when he covered my body during the explosions. He’d done it without thought or hesitation.
Damien moved, setting my world alight. His lips never left mine, his callused hands roaming my body freely, touching places that sent stars shooting across my vision.
“You’re perfect,” he said. “So perfect.”
My fingers wove into his hair, holding him close as he shifted, each movement bringing a wave of pure ecstasy.
I couldn’t formulate words, could hardly get out anything other than a moan.
At the sound of it, Damien’s movements quickened, one hand gripping my hip, the other cradling the back of my neck.
I never wanted this moment to end, the closeness of him undoing me.
When the world shattered and remade itself, as I fell to pieces, Damien held me tight. He shuddered atop me, falling himself seconds later.
For a while we lay there, frozen in time, him surrounding me like a shield. I inhaled his familiar scent as he nuzzled my hair. Eventually, he carefully rolled to the side before curling around me. His hand extended to my cheek, brushing aside the dampened hair on my forehead.
“Wren?” His voice held hints of hoarse worry, but I smiled, turning to him.
“I’m all right, Damien,” I promised, concerned that he felt guilty. “I chose this.”
It felt that way right then. Like I’d shed my old skin and chose a path of my own making.
Several minutes passed, and his eyes lowered. “Promise you won’t shut me out, Wren.”
I frowned. “Shouldn’t I be the one asking that of you?”
But he shook his head. “Just, whatever happens, don’t shut me out.”
The rawness in his tone broke me. My throat was tight as I made my vow. “I won’t shut you out. No matter what.”
When he lifted his eyes, they weren’t as bright as before. I had a feeling he didn’t believe me, and that wouldn’t do.
Grabbing his cheeks, I kissed him, cementing my vow. My lips explored his cheeks, his nose, his brow. “Sleep, Damien. And you better not escape in the middle of the night or I’ll hunt you down.”
“Promise?” He smirked. And my chest fluttered in relief at the sight.
I rolled my eyes and fell into his embrace, my leg falling across his body. “See,” I said with a grin, “I got you trapped.”
He laughed, and the sound went straight to my core. “You certainly do,” he said, sleep coating his words. “I think I rather enjoy being trapped by you. Funny. It feels a lot like freedom.”