Page 71 of Promise of Destruction
It was a generous offer, but Tony always took care of us. Vin was his nephew and family was everything to them. It’s why I didn’t bat an eyelash when we decided to buy the bar the year after our house, and we put that in Tony’s name too. He looked out for us our entire relationship and had assured me that death didn’t change anything. He’s continued to care for me the last year and I’ve continued to Venmo him the exact amount for my mortgage and bar rent every month. Whatever happened has to be a mistake on behalf of the mortgage company.
I’m just zipping up my suitcase when Declan saunters in with his hands in his pockets and a smirk in the corner of his mouth.
“I think you may have overpacked, Soren.” He laughs. “I bet I could fit all you truly need in my pockets.”
“Well, I like to be prepared.” I huff. “And clearly you don’t. You just make spur of the moment decisions and leave everyone else to deal with the consequences. Like buying a whole ass newspaper.”
“I don’t believe inhalf-assing anything.” He shrugs.
I want to throw something at him and regretfully think of the bricks I neglected to pack.
“Cute.” I mutter. “What time is our flight?”
Declan glances at his watch. “They’re expecting us in… two hours. Plenty of time to kill if you feel so inclined.” The inuendo lingers in the form of a smirk on his lips.
My face burns with last night’s rejection. “You told me—”
He cuts me off by pushing me toward the bed, his broad chest to mine. I’m still in the clothes I wore to bed and need a shower. I haven’t even brushed my teeth. But the voice in my head is screaming for me to lay down on the bed and let him have his way with me.
His mouth nearly touches mine when he speaks, and the scent of coffee and cinnamon on his breath makes me squirm at the thought of my own. “I said I wouldn’t make you come until I’m sure my name is the only one you’ll scream.” He recites it easily, like it’s not the most panty-soaking thing I’ve ever heard.
God, I am so fucked.
“I never said I wouldn’t enjoy your body in the interim. I never said I would deprive myself of knowing what you taste like.” His fingers tangle in my hair a moment, the tips brushing against my scalp and sending a shudder through me all the way to my treacherous core.
His hand lets go just as abruptly and I’m already grieving the loss of his touch when he brushes the pad of his thumb over my lips.
“I never said I wouldn’t part your pretty lips with my cock and watch you take every inch.”
A little whimper escapes me, completely unbidden. I try to cover it by clearing my throat, but the smirk in the corner of his mouth tells me he heard it and he knows exactly what he’s doing to me.
“Too bad you don’t come ‘til I do.”
I could slap myself for saying it, but once it’s in the air, I can’t take the words back.
Declan smirks. “That sounds like a challenge.”
forty-seven
Declan
Thetensionbetweenusis so thick I could smother her with it. Soren wants me just as badly as I want her. The difference is, she hates herself as much for it as she hates me.
I watch her try to think of something to say, not wanting to let me have the last word. But nothing comes, so I do us both a favor and let my hand fall from her face, dusting over her sharp collarbone without ever taking my eyes from hers. There’s so much that she wants to say; I admire her for managing to keep it all in.
She stiffens when my hand drops, head tilting back just the slightest in anticipation. My fingers close around the handle of her suitcase and I straighten.
“I’ll be downstairs when you’re ready.”
I’m gone before she ever opens her eyes, placing her bag at the door and ensuring our plates from breakfast (brand new, and shatterproof) make it in the dishwasher. The idea of taking Soren away from everything she knows, away from the home she shared with another man and the ideas she concocted before knowing me sounds great, but the trip we’re about to take isn’tfor pleasure. That doesn’t mean I don’t intend to enjoy myself; I just wish the circumstances were different.
The connections I’ve made since getting sucked into this business seven years ago have been nothing short of interesting. When I was in college developing software that I hoped would enable my country to find threats before they found us, I never dreamed that I’d end up on the wrong side of the war between good and evil. But money talks, and here I am. I’ve made a bed in a glass house full of criminals and monsters, and sometimes I have to lie in it.
Having Soren join me is taking a risk, but it’s a calculated one. Leaving her without me for as long as it takes to do the job would potentially be far more dangerous than having her at my side, and that’s not even considering that someone murdered her husband and has never been caught.
No, Soren is mine now. I won’t leave her unprotected.
She joins me thirty minutes later, showered and dressed and smelling of the most delectable fruits. I don’t doubt that she’s ripe and juicy, as her scent suggests.
