Echo(49)

But it’s when I excuse myself for the evening and am lying in bed that it all immediately comes rushing back. Declan tying me up, spitting on my ass, smothering my face into the mattress, the pain of his intrusions, the sounds of his wild grunting. I shift in bed, heart pounding, and I feel the burn from his assault, and then it’s Carl I see in the darkened room. I can smell the stench of his cigarettes.

Lurching off the bed, I dash to the toilet and vomit. My stomach convulses in heaves as the acidic bile stings my throat, and when I gag, it fills my nose and burns like a bitch. My eyes prick hard with tears, and another bout of puke forces its way out of my gut as my body constricts and hurls over the toilet.

When there’s nothing left for my body to expel, I tire and scoot my back against the wall. I wipe the sheen of sweat from my forehead and take in slow breaths. My hands are jittery and my body is broken in a spell of cold sweats. Even if I wanted to shut myself down, I don’t think I’d be able to. I don’t think I’m strong enough to battle the skeletons I’ve spent my whole life hiding from. The skeletons that Declan awoke when he forced himself on me earlier today. Only one other person has made me feel that decrepit and filthy, and I burned him to his death. Never did I think Declan would haunt me the same way Carl used to.



WARMTH STIRS ME awake, and as I begin to move, I feel a weight on top of me. Opening my eyes, my body jumps when I see Declan holding himself above me.

“Shh, baby, it’s only me,” he whispers.

“What are you doing here?”

His eyes pinch shut, and he lets go of a pained breath, saying, “I can’t do it. I can’t stay away from you.”

His words settle my heart, and I don’t question him because I need him. Reaching up, I run my hand along his stubbled jaw, and when he drops his head, my body warms in peace as his lips press softly into mine. I can’t control the moan that comes out of me, and I wrap my arms tightly around his neck, holding him close.

To have his taste back in my mouth soothes. The world lifts from my shoulders, and finally, I can breathe—really breathe. I don’t ever want this to end. I need this—need him.

As our bodies begin to move and writhe together, he reaches back and pulls his shirt off. Lowering himself on top of me, he threads his fingers through my hair, saying, “Forgive me for what I did to you earlier. Please forgive me and let me fix it. Let me attempt to take it away.”

I place my hand over his bare chest, and I can feel his heart crashing inside of him. I want to calm that heart just as much as he wants to erase what happened in his room, so I nod my head. That’s all it takes for him to start slowly undressing me. Slipping my clothes off, along with his, he covers us up under the sheets as our naked bodies rediscover one another.

He allows my hands freedom to roam over his body—an un-Declan-like thing for him to grant me, but I take it. He runs his damp lips down my neck and along my collarbone before taking his tongue and dragging it over my pert nipple. Covering the tight bud with his lips, he sucks with the heat of his mouth, and my body bows in response to the touch.

My hands fist his hair, and he moves to my other breast. His cock is raging hard against me, and his slow movements are making my * ache in wetness for him.

“I need you, Declan,” I pant in wanton heat.

He pulls back and looks down at me with eyes molten in lust. His hand ghosts down my body, my stomach, and when he reaches my *, he sighs as my muscles tremble in anticipation of what I thought I’d never have again.

“Oh, God,” I mewl when he delves his fingers into my wet folds. My hands press into his flesh, and I hang on as he begins to pump in and out of me.

I’m on fire, needing more of him, so with a strong hand, I wrap it around his wrist and hold his arm still. When I being to rock my hips and f*ck his fingers to my own liking, he growls, and the erotic sound spurs my hips to buck up and f*ck him even more fiercely.

“That’s my baby,” he encourages, and when my moans intensify as my body climbs, he pulls his fingers out of me and quickly pins my arms above my head.

I’m relaxed under his restraining hold. Looking up at him, this is the Declan I remember. He’s in total control—dominating me with loving affection. With his hand locking my wrists above me, he takes his other hand, fingers glistening in my arousal, and slips them into my mouth. I roll my tongue and suck the taste of my * off of him.

He then finds my clit with his wet fingers and gently strokes on the bundle at the same time he pushes his large, strong cock inside of me slowly, so slow it borders on torture. I feel every ridge of his dick until he’s buried himself deep in me.