Chapter 21
Ana stared up at Declan. He’d rolled from the bed and now stood. The lines of his face were half hidden, shadows caressing the planes of his left cheek and mouth. Yet his eyes remained clear, intense, and in that moment, she felt an answering cry. An acknowledgment of need.
Everything drifted away—the doubt, the pain, the longing she’d been fighting for years.
She could have stopped him. Her power lay coiled, at the ready, and yet she remained still.
He pulled her jeans down her legs and she watched, her gaze hooded as he tossed her boots to the floor. He grabbed the remnants of her shirt and it, too, joined the pile. Within seconds she was naked, every inch of her flesh on display.
For a long moment Declan stared at her, his gaze roving her curves, his eyes tinged with crimson. Her mouth watered and the little voice that nagged from the corner of her mind, the one that shouted, No, was silenced. Maybe forever.
Carefully he reached for her, his hand caressing the heaviness of her breasts. They swelled beneath his touch and she couldn’t help the groan that escaped when he bent forward and scraped his teeth along the edge of her nipple.
Tiny shards of pleasure radiated outward and when his mouth opened fully, and his warm, wet tongue closed over her nipple, she surrendered. Every tense, hard piece of reasoning inside her melted into nothing but raw need.
Her hands found their way into the thick hair atop his head, and her nails dug in as she thrust herself at him. The feel of his stubble on the sensitive peaks electrified and each time he tugged, sucked at her breast, an answering pull erupted, deep within her belly.
It grew, spread fire through her veins. She was hot, her insides burning, and with a growl she yanked his head up until she could finally claim his mouth with her own.
Their eyes caught and held. She opened for him, her eyes never leaving his as her mouth fed, tugged, and sucked from him. She watched his eyes widen, darken as her tongue tasted and stroked. She saw her passion, her need reflected in the depths of his eyes and when he groaned into her, when she ate his desire, she nearly came undone.
His hand slipped down her body, past the curve of her hip and lower belly until his fingers found the wetness between her legs. She groaned, spread her thighs wider, and hissed sharply when he skirted the edge of her swollen clitoris.
“Jesus, Declan,” she moaned into his mouth.
He made another pass, this time his fingers lingering, caressing her slick folds, as his tongue stroked the inside of her mouth.
Pressure built inside and it was too fast. Her fangs ached. She broke from him, her chest heaving.
“It’s my turn,” she whispered, loving the way his eyes flattened to an opaque black as she ran her tongue along her swollen lips. He looked like a predator. Dangerous.
Ana pushed him back and he slipped off the bed. His long, lean form moved with the grace of an animal, and he turned to face her, his hands raking through his hair as his eyes rolled over her nakedness.
Carefully she pushed her hair out of the way as she rose to her knees and reached for him. “Take your shirt off.”
Declan looked down at her, the corners of his mouth lifted into a smile as he shed his T-shirt. Ana gazed upon the taut, defined muscles of his chest. She ached at the sight of his scars and bent forward, ignoring the hiss that escaped from him as she kissed the marred flesh.
She would kill the animal that had marked her man.
His arms would have gathered her close, but she whispered, her voice barely audible, “Be still.”
The command was firm and the hint of compulsion she added was enough. Declan’s arms stayed at his side, though the fists were clenched, the veins along his forearms thick with tension.
She smiled and tugged on the snap of his jeans. He was hard and ready. Her mouth went dry at the sight of him as she freed him from his clothes. Slowly her fingers traced the defined muscle of his abs. She shivered beneath
his flesh and bit her lips as he sucked in a harsh breath.
Her hands slipped lower and when she grasped his straining cock within her grip, the guttural sound that fell from his lips made her mouth go dry.
“Holy Christ, Ana.” He was hoarse. She gazed up at him, a thrill rushing through her as they connected. There was a glitter to his eyes, a feverish tinge that she knew well.
Slowly she stroked him, her gaze not leaving his. She saw tiny lines begin to spread under his flesh and she felt his hunger. Her fangs ached. He groaned beneath her ministrations and she relished the velvety hardness that she held.
Her tongue darted out and she licked her lips as his hands crept into her hair. She arched a brow.
“I didn’t give the command for you to move.”
“No.” His fingers clutched at her. “You didn’t.”