Chapter 40
A steady drumbeat played against my cheeks. The vibrations of it coursed through me in waves. It was a delicious sort of pleasure. I could’ve drowned in the sea of it.
A moan slipped from my mouth, and whatever was beneath me tensed.
“We need to move her,” a low voice said. “I can’t risk overloading her system.”
Strong hands shifted me, and my eyes blinked open. Familiar faces greeted me. But it was a shirtless Trace slipping from my bed that had me frowning.
Then memories assaulted me one after the other. Running through the woods, standing on the shoreline, Damien’s attack.
I jerked upright, my heart hammering in my chest.
Colt’s hands landed on my shoulders. “You’re okay. Just breathe.”
“D-Damien. He…bit me.”
Colt sent a quick look at the guys, then his focus came back to me. “Someone slipped something in your drink. Pretty sure you were having some gnarly hallucinations. But Damien did try to attack you.”
My fingers came to my neck, feeling for any sort of bite mark. There was nothing there. But I did feel the metal of a chain.
My brows pulled together. “He ripped this off me.”
Dash shuffled his feet. “I went back to the clearing and found it. I replaced the chain with something stronger so it won’t happen again.”
I searched my mind, trying to make sense of what was truth and what was my brain’s wild imaginings brought on by drugs.
My gaze settled on Trace again. He stood there shirtless, his ripped black jeans hanging low on his hips. I swallowed hard. “You stayed with me? You made it better…”
My second sentence wasn’t a question. It was a statement. But in it held an infinite number of questions. Why? Don’t you hate me? How was it you who stopped my pain?
Trace shrugged, pulling over the mask of indifference. “You were freaking the fuck out. Someone had to deal with you.”
Pain lanced through me, and I wasn’t even sure why.
Trace had made it clear he wanted nothing to do with me.
My eyes narrowed on him as doubt crept in.
I knew the expression he wore now was nothing but a facade.
And as the memories of him beating Damien flashed in my mind, I wondered if everything else about his lack of care for me was, too.
I didn’t look away from those violet eyes. “Thank you. For coming. For helping me. For staying.”
Trace’s jaw worked back and forth. “Whatever.”
He started to retreat toward the door, and I gasped. It was as if there were some invisible string connecting us, and when Trace walked away, it wanted to rip my rib cage from my body.
Trace’s back teeth ground together as he glared at Colt. “I told you.”
I rubbed at a spot along my sternum.
Declan crouched in front of me, then glanced over his shoulder. “Go now and go quick.”
Trace turned on his heel and darted from the room. Pain blasted through me, but Declan’s mouth crashed into mine. He swallowed every ounce of that pain and teased pleasure from me instead. His tongue stroked mine, distracting my body from the pull to run after Trace.
I lost myself in the dance of Declan’s mouth with mine until he finally pulled back. I blinked up at him, confused.
His hands framed my face, thumbs sweeping across my cheeks. “How do you feel?”
I did a mental survey of my body, expecting to feel a million different aches and pains. But instead, I felt…good. Not even my feet hurt, and running barefoot across a forest should’ve left them more than a little tender.
“I feel good. But that doesn’t make sense.”
Ronan cleared his throat. “We gave you some meds last night, and you slept really hard. That’s probably why.”
What kind of meds did they have their hands on? Because this was more like miracle healing.
I glanced at the clock. It was after ten. I’d probably slept for almost twelve hours. I guessed that could be part of it.
My stomach twisted as the memory of Damien’s face filled my mind.
Declan squeezed my leg. “What is it?”
I swallowed, trying to clear the dryness in my throat. “What happened to Damien?”
The guys all shared a look.
“Oh God, he’s not dead, is he?”
“He should be,” Ronan muttered.
Colt rubbed a hand up and down my back. “He’s fine. We filed a report with that group we’re a part of. We didn’t want to get the police involved since your custody situation could be a little bit dicey.”
My stomach twisted. The last thing I wanted was someone trying to send me back to Louisiana and Maryanne. “No police.” But I hated the idea that Damien might just get away with this, that he might do it to another girl.
Colt seemed to read my thoughts. “We don’t have a lot of recourse because it was just the two of you on the beach. Damien is arguing that you went with him willingly.”
My jaw dropped. “I didn’t. I didn’t even know he was out there.”
Declan’s thumbs swept across the bare skin of my thighs. “We know. And Trace told them that Damien was violent toward you, but…”
“But what?” I pressed.
“We’re known for not getting along,” Ronan said. “The Assembly takes that into account.”
Dash moved in closer. “But they’ll be keeping a closer eye on Damien, and that’s a good thing.”
I looked up at him, my fingers closing around the locket. “He hated this. Why?”
A muscle along Dash’s jaw fluttered. “The herbs I used help with protection. If someone wished you harm, they wouldn’t like it.”
“That doesn’t make sense,” I argued. “Herbs can’t keep someone away.”
Dash’s gaze bored into mine. “They can if you believe.”