Page 33 of Claiming Sarah

“To Dr. Shaw’s. He’s letting me stay with—” Her head jerks up, wide eyes clashing with mine.

“Wait. Benji Shaw?” she asks, excitement leaping into her eyes at my nod.

“TheDr. Shaw? A damn pioneer in the psychology department? I’m pretty sure the hospital has a plaque with his name on it.” A chuckle rumbles from my chest, shaking Sarah.

“He’s just a man, my Sarah,” I remind her, smiling down into her slack-jawed expression. I didn’t know Dr. Shaw had such a high reputation. It makes sense.

Only he dared to look beyond what everyone saw, poking and prodding into my psyche, unearthing my motivations as a key toward recovery. His techniques regardingthought redirection helped lessen the murmur of voices in my head. He’s taught me to question my delusions instead of merely accepting them as fact.

“He’s a great man,” I amend. Sarah wouldn’t be lying in my arms, gazing at me with a tender expression, if I never crossed paths with Benji.

“You’re so adorable,” she says, laughing. I trail a finger across her lips.

“I think I’m in love with you,” I admit, giving voice to the feeling singeing my insides.

26

CLAIMING SARAH

SARAH

My eyes widen at Dayton’s confession. I didn’t think it was possible to top the admission that he knew Dr. Shaw! Perhaps I take too long to reply because Dayton’s expression shuts down.

I lean forward to brush my lips across his.

“You don’t feel the same,” he murmurs. It’s not a question. And he’s not wrong. Pulling back, I stare into his eyes, letting the color mesmerize me as they did the first time I looked into them in the darkened hallway of a bar.

“I need a little more time than you to get there.” My fingers caress his cheek, hoping to lighten the rejection embedded in my words. Acting as shutters, his lids close, blocking his eyes from view.

“Do you think you could? Love me?” My heart squeezes painfully. If I were being honest with myself, I’m halfway there. But anger races through me at all the people who put the doubt in his mind, making him question even the possibility of someone loving him.

“Absolutely, Dayton.” My lips touch his again, a ghostof a kiss. “But promise me something?” Slowly, like the sun rising in the morning, his lids lift. My fingers brush damp strands off his forehead. Vulnerability lurks in his eyes.

“No more killings. No more kidnappings—” My back hits the mattress, Dayton rolling us before I can finish uttering my ground rules. His lips claim mine, making a promise without words. Wrapping my legs around his waist, I pull him closer, eliminating any gaps between our bodies.

His cock jerks against my slit before sliding up with the movement of his hips. Without breaking our kiss, Dayton’s hand spreads my thighs wider, hips aiming his cock for my opening. I moan into his mouth, whimpering as he slowly eases himself inside of me.

“Dayton!” I gasp, pulling my mouth free.

“Mine, Sarah. Say it, and I’ll promise you the fucking world. I just need to hear you say it. If you say it’s possible, I will earn your love.” His hips retreat before driving forward, sheathing himself fully inside of me. My pussy clenches around him, still tender from riding him earlier. Sliding my hands into his hair, I rake my nails along his scalp, enjoying the shudder that runs through him, traveling through our connected bodies.

“I’m yours, Zaiden.” A whimper slips from his lips, and I give him an evil grin, deliberately using his first name. He likes it. My other hand grabs one of his ass cheeks, using it to grind his pelvis into me, stimulating my clit.

“Fuck me, Zaiden. Claim me. Prove to me that you’re mine as well.” Pulling his head down, I skate my lips over his ear.

“Be my good boy.” He snarls, pulling his cock free and thrusting forward, slamming into me.

“Mine,” he growls, yanking my hands above my head and pinning me in place. Wild eyes pierce me. He staresinto my soul, cock driving in and out of me, our flesh slapping together.

“All mine. My Sarah,” he mumbles, never slowing down. Pleasure coils tight within me, walls fluttering around the cock plunging deeper on each thrust. Dayton fucks me like a man possessed, never breaking my stare. When he angles his cock to target a spot deep within me, my eyes roll, moans spilling from my lips.

“Dayton,” I whimper, edging closer toward euphoria, tightening my legs around his waist.

“Come for me, my raven,” he croons, trailing his nose along my cheek, slowing down his rhythm. In a matter of seconds, the atmosphere shifts, transforming from wild, feral energy to tender, gentle strokes. I come apart at the seams, head thrown back, Dayton’s name wheezing out of my mouth.

Lips rain kisses down my neck. Fingernails dig into my thigh. Dayton’s body quivers above me like a bowstring stretched taut, his release imminent. I want it. I want it all, every broken, jagged piece of him. He calls me his raven. To me, he’s a phoenix, perishing in the flames of his past, rising from the ashes brand new, altered.Mine.

My teeth nip his lips, tugging gently, capturing the groan he makes as he explodes inside of me. Grunts leave his mouth, hips rocking back and forth, emptying everything inside of me. My tongue swipes along his neck, collecting his taste, body going lax beneath him.

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