Chapter 26 #4
“Of course not.” He huffed a breath that almost sounded like a laugh. “I had a wild night with Aurelius and Cercies in Coralis Falls when we were young. We ended up in an ink parlor and picked random tattoos. I was drawn to this one for a reason I didn’t understand—until now.”
“Why?” I asked, breathless.
He brushed a thumb along my lips.
“Because subconsciously I must have had memories of you. Of us,” he said softly. “Nothing is ever a coincidence, Pickles. All my life I have never taken a mate—because on some level, I knew I didn’t have one.”
“Until I saw you in my dining room. I knew you were significant. I just didn’t understand until now.”
Panic flashed across his face.
“There’s another part I just remembered,” he said quickly. “We can’t tell anyone about the trigger, or we’ll lose the memories again. It has to stay between us.”
His voice cracked. “I can’t lose you again, Pickles. Promise me. Promise you won’t tell a soul.”
I grabbed him tighter. “I promise. I’ve missed you so much, Danny.”
He held me and whispered, “Thank the Guardians we got a second chance.”
The pull we couldn’t fight this whole time was because we’d been madly in love before.
The tears turned to kisses. The kisses turned to cuddles. The cuddles turned to lying down together, still naked, under the covers.
He held me in his arms, our limbs entwined, hearts beating in harmony. I breathed him in—woodsmoke and pine—and for once I didn’t want answers.
I just wanted the moment.
Having Danny back felt like falling in love all over again. Under the covers we talked—every interaction, every hint, every missed clue, trying to make sense of reality.
Time blurred. And I dozed off in his arms as he ran his fingertips up and down my arm.
I woke to his voice. “Hey, Pickles?” “Yes?” I whispered.
His expression was heavy with thought. Had he been awake this whole time?
My hand disappeared in his as he held it, thumb stroking the back.
Then he asked, “Will you be my mate?”
I blinked a few times, trying to make sense of what he was asking. “Wasn’t that the plan all along?” I asked, confused.
“Yes,” he said. “But for real—not a business deal. Let me mark you right now. Stay with me, Delilah. Don’t go back.”
My breath hitched. Loose ends crowded my mind—but none of it mattered the way this did.
I felt like I was exactly where I was meant to be. I’d been on the fence about leaving for a while, and now—finding Danny—how could I return to a world that had moved on without me?
“Yes,” I breathed.
His face lit with excitement. He moved over me, supporting himself on his forearms. I wrapped my legs around him as he positioned himself between my thighs.
“Are you ready?” he asked. “For what?” I whispered. “For me to mark you.” Nervous, I nodded.
He kissed beneath my chin, down my throat, until he stopped over my chest—slightly left, over my heart. His lips hovered, barely touching my skin, then he blew out a steaming breath.
It burned.
I flinched. Calpurnia had been wrong—it hurt far more than a sunburn. Maybe it was because I was human. Maybe it wasn’t painful for Fae.
He sealed the burn with a soft kiss.
“There,” he murmured. “Now you’re mine forever.” It was sweet… and possessive.
Our mouths crashed together. The passion from earlier returned in a rush.
“I’m going to do something with you I’ve never done before,” he murmured, hovering my lips.
“What?” I asked, suddenly nervous.
“I’m going to make love to you, Delilah.” My nerves evaporated into desire.
I shoved my tongue into his mouth, licked the inside of his top lip, then bit his bottom lip softly, nails digging into his back.
His hard length glided through my slick heat, scooping over my clit—back and forth—coating him entirely in my arousal.
He groaned, and the vibration sank straight into my core.
His hand reached between us, positioning him at my entrance.
“I’ll go slow, okay?” he warned. I nodded.
He pressed his tip against me, but my body refused—pushing back.
Even slick, he couldn’t slide right in.
“Fuck—you’re so tight,” he hissed, a flicker of strain.
He pushed again until my body finally yielded to the swollen girth of his tip.
I whimpered, it was overwhelming, but still satisfying.
He pulsed in small strokes until my muscles relaxed. His thumb found my swollen clit, drowning out pain with pleasure.
Another inch. I gasped.
Somehow he felt even bigger than Big Red. My moans turned into long cries.
He stayed shallow at first—head and a couple inches—each slow stroke building tension. He dropped to his forearms; a sea of muscle swallowed me. He sucked my nipples, toying them with his teeth.
When I relaxed, he sank deeper again.
His breath hitched; his voice turned rougher, almost unhinged.
I could tell the deeper he went, the harder it was for him to control himself.
His restraint weakened.
His pace quickened, and even with only a few inches inside, I felt like he was in my stomach.
His thumb skimmed my lips, then pressed into my mouth. “Suck it,” he ordered. “Get it nice and wet for me.”
I obeyed.
He withdrew his thumb coated in my saliva; drops fell on my chest as he kept moving, controlled and relentless.
“Good fucking girl,” he growled. “Are you ready for more?”
“Yesss—please,” I moaned.
His thumb, slick with my spit, teased my other hole, and I flinched at the shock—but it distracted me from the sting as he pushed deeper to the thickest part of his cock.
He thrusted and retreated, methodical, building speed and force.
And he was hot. Not just warm—unnaturally so. A fiery pressure ignited in my core.
In and out, he drove me toward surrender until my body finally loosened again.
“Are you ready for more?” he snarled. “Because I can’t hold myself back much longer.”
“Just fucking give it to me,” I cried.
Something predatory sharpened in his expression. His hands gripped my hips—hard.
He drew back and then pushed more of himself into me. My moans turned feral.
He used me like he owned me, hips snapping, hands controlling my body.
Pressure climbed to a new, brutal peak.
He hit an angle that felt like he stroked me from the inside, then sank deep enough to make my vision blur.
His thumb circled my clit while his cock worked it from within, and the combination made my body lock and shake.
A numb tingling started in my toes and climbed. My vision darkened. My ears rang.
My body convulsed—and I released, hard.
Pleasure burst through me, and it splashed across his abs. He grinned a sexy smile, collected the drips from his muscled stomach on his finger and then put his finger in his mouth, savoring the taste.
I went limp, satisfied.
His grin turned smug. “You’re done already, princess? I was just getting started.”
“This can’t be safe,” my brain tried to argue. He must have seen the concern on my face.
“Fine,” he said, menacingly. “I’ll go easy on you this time.” He pushed deeper—still not all of him.
“For fuck’s sake,” I gasped. “It’s still not all the way in?”
He chuckled darkly. “They don’t call me the king of cock for no reason.”
He trusted harder. Again. And again. And again.
And just when I thought he’d wrung every ounce out of me, I climaxed again.
He moaned from deep in his throat.
“Fuck. You’re squeezing me so tightly. I love how it feels when you come on my cock.”
He drove faster until he made a strained sound and spilled inside me, hot and thick.
He took several seconds to finish, pulsing deep.
We breathed each other’s air, kissing as he rode out the last of his climax.
Then he pulled out and rolled onto his back.
We stared at the tent ceiling, catching our breath.
I felt his release spill out of me and down my leg, and it took a moment for my brain to return to reality.
He started to drift off, but I kept him awake. “Are we mates now?”
He smiled and pulled me close; my face pressed into his chest.
“Almost. The mate bond has been initiated, but it’s only final after the blood binding ceremony.”
“Are we fated mates?” I asked, stroking his bicep. He kissed my cheek.
“No,” he whispered. “But we are chosen mates. We chose each other in our past life and found each other again. And I will keep choosing you—over and over—no matter how many lives we live.”
He pecked my cheek again with warm lips.
I rested my head on his chest and let sleep take me, shoving aside the messy questions for later—because for now I just wanted this. Him. Us.
I fell asleep smiling. I got my Danny back.