Savage Betrayal: Savage, Book 2 (29 page)

He slipped a finger inside her again, then moved it up to circle her clit.

“
Yes.
” Her body shuddered and she pressed back against his hand.

He kept stroking her, teasing her flesh until her cries grew higher and her body finally convulsed into a small orgasm.

“I want to wait, but I can’t.”

“Then don’t.” She reached behind her and touched his erection again. “I want you inside me now.”

He moved away and pulled open her bedside drawer where he’d stashed a box of condoms and quickly put one on.

Grace hadn’t moved, and the way she was positioned sent another surge of need through him. She’d lowered her upper body and turned her face against the pillow, and her bottom was raised and ready for him.

Along with the need, there was another emotion. One that had his throat tight and his heart pounding a little harder. He hadn’t thrown that trust comment out lightly.

Somehow he’d earned Grace’s complete trust, not only with her body, but with her life and family.

“I swear if you wait any longer, I may just push you down and do all the work.” Her words were still drowsy from her orgasm.

“You really are okay with this,” Darrius said quietly. “Just being sex between us.”

She didn’t lift her head, but gave a slight shrug. “You need to stop worrying about me. I’ve said I am okay with it.”

Then he would have to be too, because really, what choice did he have?

Darrius moved behind her, slid his hands to the small curve of her hips, and then eased into her body.

Her gasp of pleasure ripped through his soul, and he feasted on it. He used her pleasure, the only thing she could have from him, and found his own.

Each stroke Darrius made into her was like a caress to not only the physical need in her body, but the need in her heart.

You don’t need to worry about me, she’d told him. And it had all been a lie. To herself, mostly. Because it wasn’t Darrius’s problem. She’d agreed to strings-free sex with him, had sworn she’d be okay with it.

Darrius moved harder inside her, and her head jerked against the pillow with each thrust. The position brought him deeper than ever before, and he was already a lot to take.

But the discomfort was tiny compared to the pleasure. The position also offered her privacy for her thoughts. So that maybe he wouldn’t see the array of emotions on her face.

She didn’t blame Darrius. It was her fault that her heart was breaking a little bit now. Her fault for being so damn weak and falling for a man she could never belong to—who could never love her or claim her.

She almost cried out at the nearly physical pain of the realization, but she bit her lip and smothered it.

“Time to make good on that promise, sugar.”

Before she realized what was happening, Darrius had moved out of her and onto his back on the mattress.

Then he was lifting her astride him, with the soft command of, “I want to look at you while you ride me.”

He hadn’t even finished his sentence before she was moving on him and seeking her pleasure.

On top also felt amazing, but it left her vulnerable. She could feel his stare as she rode him. Could almost hear his brain struggling to work through the pleasure.

Did she look like a lovesick idiot? Or hopefully just someone in the throes of pleasure.

She risked a glance down at him, watching him through hooded eyes. Beneath the haze of lust in his eyes was something darker—almost tormented. Sad.

He felt something. She knew it in her heart. They could throw the words “casual sex” about all they wanted, but he felt something too.

Maybe she couldn’t have Darrius as a lifemate. Maybe she had no fucking say who her mate was and who would ultimately claim her—which was pretty common in their community. The men chose.

But she knew—dammit in her heart she knew—that Darrius should’ve been hers. And no matter what happened down the road, no matter who she ultimately ended up mated with, she’d know that her heart had been given to another man. To Darrius Hilliard.

Unable to stop the tiny cry of torment this time, she instead buried it by pressing her mouth against his neck. She kissed the pulse there and moved up to the rough stubble of Darrius’s jawline.

He made a low, almost feverish growl as he thrust harder up into her. Deeper. Wrapping his hand around her hair, he pushed her head lower again—guiding her mouth back to his throat.

She opened her mouth, flicking her tongue over the pulse. She tried to keep up with him, to keep riding him, but her mind and her body were no longer her own.

She could only take him and follow the blind need driving her. Sucking the pulse harder, she closed her mouth lightly and let her teeth graze over it.

“
Yes.
” Darrius slammed harder into her. Fast now. Taking over what little control she’d tried to maintain.

Whimpering at the mix of pleasure and pain, Grace didn’t think, just instinctively caught the skin in a light nip.

Light seemed to rocket through her and the world tilted. She was no longer on top of Darrius, but flat on her back on the mattress. He was on top now, his hips forcing her legs wide as he slammed into her.

His mouth crashed into hers, dominating and taking everything she had to offer. She gave it all back and more. When he lifted his lips she cried out with disappointment.

But her cry sharpened when pain rocketed through her. She tried to focus, to glance down, and lost her breath at what she was looking at. Darrius’s mouth at her neck—his teeth on her skin. Almost piercing it.

Not possible.

The thought raced through her head before it was gone and replaced with a pleasure so intense her mind went white.

When she came to, Darrius was shaking her gently, his face hovering over hers.

“What happened?” she whispered and reached up to touch her neck. “I think I had some weird, superimposed dream or something.”

Darrius’s eyes, round with shock and concern, lowered to her neck. He shook his head.

“It wasn’t a dream.”

“What?” She traced her fingers over her neck and felt the slight indention of bite marks near her pulse. “I don’t… How.
How?
”

“I don’t know.”

“You marked me?” she whispered.

“I… Fuck. I think I somehow did. The last thing I remember is you kissing my neck. Almost biting me…and then…I lost it.”

If Darrius’s dark skin could’ve gone white, she knew it would’ve. He looked so damn shocked. Almost sickened by what had happened.

Oh God. What seemed like just minutes ago, she’d been wishing this were possible. Had wanted it more than anything. But it hadn’t been a possibility.
It hadn’t.

Yet Darrius had just claimed her. And he looked as if he wanted to go throw up.

“How is this happening?” she whispered. “You were already mated.”

Panic seared through her at the complete loss of control. How her future had just been decided for her and she couldn’t have possibly seen it coming.

She had the childlike inclination to scream at him to undo it. To take it back, but somewhere in her frenzied mind she knew it wasn’t possible.

Despite neither of them thinking it was possible, Darrius had mated with her. And despite all the protests she’d made, the words she flung to try and deny it, her soul knew.

She felt different. Somewhat warm inside, and almost mentally and spiritually connected to the man next to her. She belonged to him now. Was his completely. For better or for worse, like it or not.

Did she like it? Wasn’t this what she’d wanted?

“I need…” She shook her head and slid out of bed. “I need you to give me a moment.”

She went to the bathroom and stared at the mirror—at the marks that were fading, but their meaning did not.

Eyes wide, she touched the two red circles and let out a strangled groan.

“I’ve been claimed,” she whispered.

She should’ve been elated. Not even an hour ago she would’ve given anything for Darrius to claim her as his mate, but had it only been because she’d thought he couldn’t?

You always want what you can’t have.
The cliché phrase raced through her mind, but she had to wonder if there was an element of truth to it.

Never in her wonkiest daydreams could she have predicted she’d be mated so young. It hadn’t even been on her five-year plan…maybe ten year.

Grace climbed into the shower and made quick time washing her hair and body. When she finished, she walked back into the bedroom to get some clothes.

To her relief, Darrius wasn’t in the bed any longer, and she could hear the shower in the hall bathroom running.

After dressing quickly, Grace grabbed her keys and headed out the front door. She had to move fast, because Darrius would be pissed to realize she’d left without someone to watch her.

She climbed into her Eclipse and put on her Bluetooth. By the time she turned onto the highway she’d called her sister.

“Grace? Hey, it’s getting late. What’s up?”

“Just checking on you, sweetie. How are you?” She knew her voice sounded bright, maybe a little brittle, but hoped Bree wouldn’t notice.

“Fine.” Her sister laughed. “Getting my butt kicked by Terrance at some snowboarding on the Wii though.”

“She’s actually pretty good,” a voice called in the background.

Grace couldn’t help a small smile. “Hey, I’m thinking of coming by and taking you for an ice cream run.”

“But it’s almost nine and like forty degrees out.”

“I know, but I miss you. And we didn’t have enough time to catch up this morning.”

That and she desperately needed to talk to someone. Despite the age difference, her sister had always had been her closest friend and confidant. Ice creams runs had ben somewhat of a tradition between them. It was almost code for
girl talk time
.

“Ice cream sounds great. You’ll pick me up?”

“Give me half an hour to drive over, then yeah.”

“Hang on, Grace.”

There was some muted discussion back and forth between Aubree and Terrance, before Aubree came back on the line.

“I don’t suppose Darrius is with you?”

“No.” Grace’s heart skipped and she swallowed hard. “He was in the shower when I left.”

“Okay, well then Terrance is insisting on coming with us.”

“Fine.” Crap. She’d just have to figure out how to ditch him for a bit. “See you in a bit, Bree.”

“Sounds good.”

Grace disconnected the call and slowed down for a yellow light.

The hairs on the back of her head lifted, and she started to turn her head but stilled as she felt the prick of a needle at her neck.

“You don’t mind if I drive, do you?” an indistinguishable male voice rasped. “It’s tight as hell in the backseat.”

She tried to shove the needle away, but it pierced her skin and she felt the burn of the medication enter her flesh.

Shit. How had she not sensed him back there? Checked to make sure she was alone? Even people who didn’t work for the P.I.A. were usually paranoid enough to check the backseat of their car before climbing in.

Almost immediately her vision began to blur and she lost the ability to control her muscles. She was vaguely aware of a dark form climbing into the front seat.

He put the car in park and then hauled her out of the driver’s seat and moved her into the passenger side, before climbing behind the wheel.

“There we go.” He reached out and touched her cheek. “You made this so easy for me. I thought I was going to have to break into your house and knock out your boyfriend, but then I realized you were going to make it easy on me.”

Had he been watching her through the window?
Shit.

“Don’t you just look beautiful with drool on your face, but then, I’ve seen you like this before.”

Realization slowly sank in. It was him. The same man who’d attacked her at the Doornail and who she’d suspected had been involved with the experiments.

Even with her body paralyzed and her slumped over position, she could watch him.

He pulled the black knit hat off his head and she squinted, trying to distinguish his features in the darkness.

All it took was passing under one streetlight to figure it out.

The pretty boy who worked for her aunt. Andy? He’d made that comment about her being familiar, and she’d messed with him by suggesting they’d met at a club. Because he’d been so damn skeevy.

But the familiarity had come from him working in the lab during her imprisonment. He’d been a full part of her torment—she knew that now without a doubt.

Anger built hot inside her—volatile and unfortunately useless.

He glanced over at her and his smile flashed white in the darkness.

“Ah, look at that. I think you’re starting to remember me. Remember how I said I’d always find you? Well, you made it a lot easier when you showed up at your aunt’s.”