Page 77 of Vengeful Devotion
“An eye for an eye.”
The two men and Balor repeat the statement like dogma, but my attention is still on the box. Finally, getting the justice I deserve is a feeling like no other. My body warms as I feel my eight-year-old self-rejoicing in the moment we’ve been dreaming of for so many years. The invisible chains my uncle held me hostage with dissolve like smoke in the wind. I breathe a sigh of absolute relief.It’s over.
I look up at Declan as we walk into the main house. The warmth of his hand in mine compliments the strange feelings coursing through my body. I feel like I can do anything.Beanything. Right now, the only thing I want is to give myself to Declan. I want him to be the first man I give my consent to.
I’ve never felt so alive as I do right now. It should be wrong to feel this good after taking another’s life. Murder is still murder, even if my uncle deserved it. It shouldn’t be an aphrodisiac, but here I am, skin tingling and desire building in my core.
Declan is quiet as he leads me up the stairs. I wonder if he’s thinking about the same thing. Does he feel the same desire I do? Is my touch driving him crazy? Since I returned a week ago, we’ve shared nothing but kisses. Even with us spending every night cuddled together. There’s been nothing more to our relationship. But I want more… So much more.
By the time we reach Declan’s bedroom, my stomach is a twisted vine of nerves. Full of lust and desire but bound by timidness. I want this. I want him, but how do I say that?
“What are you thinking about?” Declan asks as he sits on the bed.
“Nothing.”
Declan’s head snaps up. His green eyes glowing with the knowledge that I’m lying. He wraps his arms around me, pulling me between his legs.
“Talk to me. Are you upset about your uncle?”
I shake my head, snaking my arms around his neck. “It’s not that.”
“Then what is it, Gemma? I won’t ask again.”
Declan’s voice is heavy with warning. He’s not a man that likes to be played with. Why does that turn me on even more? I pull back from him, just enough to look into his eyes. The electricity in them begs me to tell him the truth, but I can’t find the words.
So, I do the next best thing. I crash my lips to his. The kiss is forceful. I pour everything I feel into it. The lust. The passion. The fear. All of it. I give him everything I feel and take what he gives in return. A promise of the future. A promise to love and care for me for the rest of our lives. I can feel it so plainly now. What’s between us is more than an attraction built from trauma. It’s more than me being grateful to his family. It’s real. It’s forever. Declan is it for me.
I unbutton his shirt without breaking the kiss. Pushing it off his arms, I let my hands roam over his warm skin. Declan groans into my mouth. His hands flex on my waist, squeezing me through my shirt. I can feel my panties dampen. I’m desperate to feel him against me.
The moment he slips his hands beneath my shirt, fragments of the past flood my mind, but I block them out the best I can. The scars I have don’t go away just because Lonny is dead, but they don’t control me anymore either.
With shaky hands, I reach for his belt buckle.
“We don’t have to do this, wildflower,” he says, breaking our kiss when he senses my hesitation.
“I- I want to. I’m just a little nervous.”
Declan stands, forcing me to take two steps back. His eyes stay trained on me as he plays with the hem of my shirt.
“Do you trust me?”
I nod. My breath hitches when Declan slowly lifts my shirt, slipping it over my head. His gaze falls to my chest. My skin prickles beneath his hungry stare. He leans in, lightly kissing my collarbone as he unhooks my bra, letting it fall to the ground between us.
I close my eyes as he palms my breast. Leaning into his touch, he lightly pinches my nipple between his strong, calloused fingers. It feels so good. So right. It’s everything I never knew I wanted. Everything I never knew I needed.
He moves his hands from my chest to the waistband of my leggings. My eyes flutter open, immediately finding his. He pushes my leggings over my hips, leaving me in nothing but lace panties. Declan steps back, groaning as he looks his fill of me.
“Fuck,” he says. “You’re beautiful.”
My cheeks redden. “Why am I the only one naked?”
He smiles at me, deftly removing his belt and sliding his trousers down his powerful legs and standing before me in all his glory. I find it hard to look anywhere but at his bulging, hard cock. Call me naïve, but I didn’t realize they came in such big, beautiful packages.
Declan climbs onto the bed, sitting himself up against the headboard. He strokes his cock from base to tip. I can see his desire leaking from the tip. Suddenly, all the shyness is gone, replaced by the desperate need to feel him inside me.
I push my panties to my ankles, stepping out of them before joining Declan in bed. The second I’m close enough, he grabs me and pulls me to straddle his thighs, with only his length between us.
He presses a sweet kiss to my lips. “You’re in control, wildflower. If you want to stop at any point, just say so. Do you understand?”
