Hell Bound (Seventh Level Book 2) (12 page)

“Your house is beautiful. I should have said so earlier. I didn’t want to like it,” she said a bit sheepishly dragging his mind away from what was hidden beneath the water. “Which is ridiculous, I know. It’s just—”

“It’s empty and pointless,” Wade said cutting her off before clarifying. “The house, I mean.”

“I would say, spoken like a man who’s never gone hungry, but I know that’s not true.”

Leaning over, Wade set his arm on the lip of the tub and rested his chin on it. Lust might rage inside him, but the desire to spend time in her company outweighed every other emotion. In an unexpected move, Morgan linked her fingers through his. She stared at their joined hands, as he pressed their palms together.

“The thing is,” he said after a moment. “I was empty and pointless when I met you.” He could see she was gearing up to argue, but he shook his head stopping her. He needed to say too many things to her to stop now. “Please don’t say it’s not true. Because it’s how I feel. Then you came along and filled every void. Damn Morgan, I wanted to give you everything. I know you didn’t want it, but I needed to do it. We weren’t even, you and me. Your love was priceless while mine was worthless. I didn’t know how to give you back as much as you’d given me.”

A tear slid from the corner of Morgan’s eye and landed on her shoulder. His gaze followed its progression and she visibly swallowed before she spoke. “I was four months pregnant when you left. I knew, but I didn’t say anything.”

A cold sweat covered Wade’s skin at her admission and his stomach dropped. “Were you afraid of me? Did you think I would harm our child, I mean?” He wanted to cover his ears and hide from her answer but he needed to know. If she thought he was capable of such a thing then they were truly over.

She shook her head and he released a pent up breath. “I was afraid of what having a child might do to you. You see, my life was empty and pointless before I met you.” In spite of the pain he felt inside, he smiled at her giving his words back to him. “Then you filled me until I couldn’t love you hard enough to repay you for it,” she continued even as her voice cracked. “If you’d known about Cole, you would have stayed and it would have destroyed you. I couldn’t do it. You never broke a single promise to me, and you never said you wouldn’t leave. I knew from the first I wouldn’t get to keep you. You never really belonged to me.”

Coming to feet, Wade loomed over her, and moved in until they were nearly nose-to-nose. Every thought of her nudity left him and he no longer cared if she was uncomfortable. He wanted her to look in his eyes and see the truth behind his words. “I have always belonged to you and no one else. If ever a person was completely owned by another, you’ve owned me.”

He could hear the shudder in her breathing and a hint of desperation entered her eyes, as she confessed. “I can’t survive the loss of you again.”

“I promise I will never leave you again,” he said, giving her the vow he’d not given her before. “Just one more time, Morgan. I swear.”

Pressing her lips to his, she cut off his words. Wade gave into temptation, touching his tongue to hers, and savoring the flavor of her for one moment out of time before pulling away. “I’m serious, Morgan,” he all but growled as he tugged his shirt over his head and climbed inside the tub, straddling her hips. She laughed and he knew the wet jeans were going to be hard as hell to get off later, but he didn’t want her to be able to escape. “I’m serious,” he repeated. “I want you to marry me.”

The laughter didn’t leave her eyes. “You were worried about your shirt but not your pants?”

Ignoring her attempt at avoiding his confession, he said, “I’m asking you to marry me.”

Her lids lowered hiding her emotions from him. “Why do I feel like we’ve never been apart?”

“Because we weren’t,” he answered impatiently. “Only in miles, not in heart. Now answer my question.”

The silence stretched out between them and Wade almost snapped under the tension. If she rejected him, he wasn’t sure he could handle it. The words fell from his lips before he could stop them. “Please? You said you couldn’t survive losing me again, but I’m already dying without you.”

Her eyes lifted to his and the love shining inside of them knocked the air from his lungs. “Make love to me.”

“I intend to,” he answered without hesitation, but they weren’t moving until she answered him.

“Don’t make me sorry,” she whispered.

“Never again,” he swore. “Is that a yes?”

“Yes.”

Her answer barely left her lips before Wade swallowed it. The taste of her surrender had him sucking on her tongue in an attempt to savor every drop. It was one more memory he’d never relinquish. Morgan flattened her palm against his chest and his muscles jumped as if even they could not get close enough to her. Despite the warmth of the water surrounding him, chills covered his skin as she ran her fingertips over his hardened nipple and tracked downward. They moved along each of his ribs as if she counted them as she went. He nipped at her bottom lip and the moan she released in response vibrated against his lips.

A horrible thought intruded upon his pleasure. He groaned in frustration and dropped his forehead on Morgan’s shoulder. “I’ve just realized something.”

Morgan dipped her fingertips inside the waistband of his jeans. “Hmm, what’s that?”

He could tell she wasn’t really interested in his answer, but he didn’t have a choice. “There isn’t a single condom in this house,” he admitted.

Morgan kept up her torture as if he hadn’t said anything. “Don’t care,” she said, sinking her teeth into his shoulder lightly. “I’m on the pill and we’re getting married.” Relief washed over him. They were getting married. She’d said the words and he wouldn’t let her take them back. Coming to his feet, water poured from his body and molded his jeans to his legs. Without warning, Wade plucked Morgan from the water.

“Hang onto me, baby,” he ordered as he stepped from the bathtub. She wrapped her legs around his waist. Without pausing, Wade headed straight for the bed with a naked Morgan clinging to him like a monkey the whole way. He ran his hand over her ass one last time, making sure his fingers brushed her most sensitive parts as Wade set her on the bed. On her back, Morgan stared up at him without showing a hint of shyness.

Wade’s mouth watered as he reached for the button of his jeans. Her hair was falling from its clasp, and her dark nipples were hardened into pebbled beads. Chill bumps covered Morgan’s wet skin and he wanted to lick every single one. “I can already feel your walls pulsing around my tongue. I’m going to have you dripping in your pleasure.”

*

The cool air chilled her skin, but did nothing to dampen Morgan’s lust. Wade’s words combined with the sight of him peeling his jeans off had her squirming. By the time he stood nude and hard before her, she wanted to reach between her legs and ease the pressure building there. His body was sleek with muscle. His thick cock jumped under her gaze and she licked her lips in response. The bed dipped under the weight of her knees, and the look of hunger on his face caused her muscles to clench in anticipation.

Morgan tried to scoot across the bed to give him room, but Wade grabbed her ankle and held her in place. In a flash of movement, he pulled her leg over his shoulder and closed his mouth around the flesh of her inner thigh. The heat of his mouth against her chilled skin drew a surprised moan from her throat. Wade nipped at her leg as he moved closer to her throbbing cunny. A whimper of pure need rose inside her until she was biting down hard on her tongue to keep from begging. When his lips brushed over her mound, her hips lifted to meet him, but Wade kept his touch light. He circled her clit with his tongue, refusing to give her what she wanted, and when she growled her frustration, his chuckle rumbled through her core. Morgan’s body took control of her pride, and beat it into submission as her mouth begged for him to give her what she needed.

“Please, Wade?”

As soon as the plea passed her lips, Wade sucked hard at her clit, drawing it between his teeth. With her entire being focused on what he was doing, everything else fell away. She fought to get closer to him as Wade traced a steady pattern. His tongue slipped into her passage before returning to her clit repeatedly until she became mindless of her own cries.

Morgan buried her fingers in his hair, holding him in place as her orgasm hit. Waves of pleasure pulsed through her pussy, and even as Wade kissed a path up her body to her mouth, Morgan’s mind remained fogged. The brush of his chest against her overly sensitive nipples caused another tiny ripple to run through Morgan. She cradled Wade’s hips between her thighs as he entered her in slow increments as if savoring every second. Once fully seated, Wade froze and stared down at her. A slight flush covered his cheeks and his eyes were heavy with lust. His bottom lip was swollen from their kisses and the attention he’d given her body. A fully aroused Wade was and always had been the most beautiful sight she’d ever seen. Cupping his cheek, she brushed her thumb along the line of his bottom lip and he leaned into her touch. She wanted to cry and she felt ridiculous. She’d never been the type to get blubbery after an explosive orgasm, but she was biting back tears all the same.

The well of emotion boiling inside her pushed to the surface and past her lips without her permission. “I love you. Damn, I love you and I missed you so much. I thought I would die from it.”

Wade shushed her as he lowered his mouth to hers. Rolling his hips, Wade moved inside her. The friction of their bodies coupled with the feel of his large cock filling her, stole away her worry and replaced it with mindless purpose. “You’re stuck with me, Morgan,” he said against her lips. “You understand? You’re stuck with me,” he repeated.

Morgan tightened her inner muscles around him. Her greedy cunny milked him as she sought her release. Wade sucked in a sharp breath as she locked her walls around him and her body jerked in surprise at the power of her release. Hooking her knee over his forearm, Wade slammed home, moving faster toward his own goal. Despite the humming of her body and mind, Morgan watched his face closely not wanting to miss a second of the sight of him in the throes of passion. Throwing his head back, the muscles in his neck strained as his orgasm overtook him. In an instant, Morgan knew she would never let him go again.

* * * * *

The dream started out the same as all the others. Anne was there in his bed, with her back molded against his chest. Mark’s apartment in New Orleans was the same as it had always been. The only difference was Anne. Instead of holding her as she peacefully slept and refusing to give into temptation, Mark touched his lips to the side of her neck. Pushing aside her dark-red curls, he nipped at the column of her throat until her ass moved restlessly against his hardened cock.

All the reasons he’d held onto for not asking her to stay in New Orleans, disappeared underneath the knowledge of what life would be like without her. Months of researching underground demon-filled clubs fell away as he cupped her breast. He rolled her hardened nipple between his fingers and absorbed her scent, even as a part of his brain recognized it was only a dream.

Smoothing his hand down her body, he found the hem of the long t-shirt she slept in. Pushing the material up, Mark ran his hand over her bare hip. When she pressed closer, he slipped his arm around her until he reached the apex of her thighs. Cupping her sex, his breathing kicked up when he found her wet. Mark wanted to taste her lips, but she kept her face turned away. She didn’t tell him to stop. When he probed at the wet folds beneath his fingers, Anne spread her legs wider granting him access. Her pale skin seemed even more so beside his dark skin.

His Cajun accent deepened, hinting at how turned on he was. “I should have done this sooner, darling. Maybe I could have kept you at my side.”

She moved against his hand. “I don’t want to die without knowing your touch.” Anne’s admission came out sounding desperate and it knocked the air from his lungs. As if someone threw cold water in his face, Mark shot straight up in the bed. The room was unnaturally dark. He couldn’t see, not even inch in front of his face. His harsh breaths cut through the air. Even as the dream of Anne disappeared, he knew immediately he wasn’t alone in his room.

The smell of decaying flesh filled his nostrils. It was a smell he’d become all too familiar with during his years working homicide. He strained to hear any movement as he attempted to force his eyes to adjust to the inky black room. In spite of his focus, he was still caught unawares when the blow landed in the center of his chest, knocking him backwards.

Mark sprang to his feet despite the pain, swinging wildly, but his fists met with only empty air. A sharp pain sliced across his back and he spun to meet his attacker another wound opened across his abdomen followed closely by another on his thigh. His entire body seized up, completely paralyzed, as if held by an invisible vice. A deep, demonic voice growled against his ear, “Do you think to take what is mine?”

The stench of rot hit him full-force with every word, and his vocal cords remained frozen along with body preventing him from responding.

“Anne’s body belongs to me!” The demon’s words hit him as a physical blow, and he landed on his knees. The air in the room returned to normal as the restraints fell away from his body. The darkness cleared, showing his bedroom as empty as ever. Bracing his weight on the palms of his hands, Mark inspected his body. The sight of blood seeping from several deep claw marks had Mark scrambling to his feet. Throwing open his bedroom door, he barreled down the hall and into Cole’s room like a man possessed. His knees went weak at the sight of Cole and Kathy sleeping peacefully inside. He bent at the waist, clutching his side as he fought to control the racing of his heart. He didn’t know how to do this. He was beyond fucking useless in this fight. Silently he cursed Liam’s name for dragging him into this new world, for showing Mark more than he wanted to see, and for leaving him when he needed him the most.