30. Deliver

30

Deliver

Teal

The silence that surrounds Rochester Lake is eerie. A haunting whisper hangs in the air as I stare out at the water, waiting for a hand to break the glassy surface.

Music plays in my ear, and I let it fill the night.

After skipping the barbeque to eat with Kole and Violet at our cabin, Declan and I went for a walk by the water, and it was nice to escape the crowd for part of the day.

I glance to where he’s leaning against a tree, listening to the music through my other earbud. While it annoyed me the first time he stole my music from me, it’s comforting now. Like letting him into my one safe space.

“What’s that look?” Declan lifts off the tree, meeting me at the edge of the water.

“I hate this place,” I admit, and a shiver runs down my spine. “I swear this lake is haunted. ”

“Interesting.” Declan hums.

“I know, it’s ridiculous.”

“It’s not.” He wraps his arms around me.

I appreciate that he validates my thoughts when everyone else in my life has always dismissed them. He doesn’t call me crazy or brush me off. He listens to what I have to say, and he hears me.

A bird dips low over the water, skimming the surface with its beak as it searches for fish. But there’s no life beneath that surface.

I shiver, and Declan wraps me tighter in his arms.

“Cold?”

“No.” I look up at him. “Should we go meet up with everyone?”

Every night after dark, people gather at my parents’ cabin to drink, roast marshmallows, or plot how they plan to corrupt another facet of the financial market. So even if we’ve escaped part of the evening, we can’t avoid them forever.

“We have time.” Declan kisses my forehead. “Or we can ditch it if you prefer.”

“Like Violet and Kole are?” I frown. “My dad won’t let me get away with that, and neither will yours. I really thought Violet would be a better barrier this weekend, but she’s been glued to Kole’s side the entire time.”

“And you’re surprised by this?” Declan raises an eyebrow.

“Not really. But you do see that your friend is creepily obsessed, right? ”

“She’s his girlfriend. And Kole’s always been a little territorial.”

“What about you?”

Declan smirks. “Are you asking if I’m obsessed with you? Or if I’m territorial?”

“Neither… both… I don’t know.” I probably should have kept it to myself.

“You’re my girlfriend, Teal.” A dark smirk climbs his cheeks. “There’s nothing I won’t do for you.”

I swallow hard, staring into his eyes, and I believe him.

“What about in the long run? When they’ve all gotten over the fact that we’re together, and no one cares anymore.”

“Do you want to be my girlfriend for the long run?”

I bite my lip, nodding.

“Good.” He leans in, nipping at my lower lip, and it sends a current of heat straight to my core.

“Good,” I whisper, not sure he’s considering what that means but letting it be what it is for now.

“I like this song.” Declan taps his ear.

“Me too.”

He cups my face and pulls me in for a kiss with the music playing in our ears. It’s an unearthly tone with a hum that consumes the night. A hymn of hope when I’m more accustomed to the haunting whispers of doubt.

“Hey, Dec,” a voice comes from behind us, and he breaks the kiss.

Glancing over my shoulder, I see a man walking down the hill with Maddox and Asher on either side .

“You got a second?” The man waves a piece of paper in the air.

I don’t recognize him, but he appears to be in his mid-thirties. He’s handsome, and from his presence and outfit, I guess that he must be rich and powerful like the rest of Sigma Sin. His gaze meets mine, and my back stiffens because there’s also something terrifyingly intense about him.

“Yeah.” Declan nods, and the three of them stop at a distance.

“Who is that?” I ask Declan.

“A friend from California.” He brushes his thumb over my lower lip. “Professor Jacob Gray.”

My eyebrows pinch. “Why does that name sound familiar?”

“I think your friends got into his summer internship program.”

“Professor Gray,” I repeat the name, looking at the man again. “He’s that Professor Gray?”

Declan chuckles, catching my chin and forcing my face back to his. “Yeah, why?”

“He’s just not what I expected. Why is he here? Do you know him? Or… he’s a legacy of the House, isn’t he?”

“More than that.” Declan brushes his thumb over my lips again. “He’s a former Council member.”

Patience and Violet are both attending his internship this summer. Hopefully, Patience doesn’t figure it out. Because if she discovers the professor she’s revered for his research on criminal motives has ties to the fraternity that sent her brother to a psychiatric ward, I’m not sure how she’ll react.

“Why’s he here?”

“He’s doing me a favor.” Declan steps back. “Give me a second, okay?”

Declan pulls the earbud from his ear and pops it into mine, drowning out all other sounds with the music.

I watch as he leaves me by the water, making his way over to the three men standing at a distance. And when they talk, Declan’s gaze occasionally drifts to me.

I don’t know if the shiver that runs through me is from the breeze, Declan’s gaze, or something ominous I sense on the horizon, but it cools me to the bone.

After a while, the four men move closer, and I try to ignore that it makes my skin itch when they close in. Declan takes my hand, rubbing the back with his thumb, but I keep my attention on the lake and the music.

But when Declan squeezes my hand, tapping the back of it, I pull an earbud out.

“Yes?” I look at Declan.

His jaw clenches, and his grip on my hand tightens.

“We all set?” he asks, reaching to cup my cheek.

I open my mouth to ask what he’s talking about when Jacob answers, “We’re good.”

“What’s going on?” I ask Declan.

“I made some arrangements for us in Paris. One of them being an apartment for us to stay in while we’re there.”

“Us?” Confusion laces my tone. “You want me to live with you when we’re in Paris for the summer? ”

“You’re my girlfriend. Where else would you live?”

His eyebrows pinch like he can’t imagine why I would even question it. I understand, given his assurances, that this is real. Still, a small part of me resists, thinking this is all fleeting and, at some point, I’ll wake up.

But as I stare up into Declan’s eyes, digesting what he said, it sinks in. “You really want this?”

He nods. “Of course I do.”

“Okay.”

Declan steps back the second I agree, not looking as happy as I would expect him to, considering the fact that he’s the one who came up with this plan. He’s torn, and I don’t know why.

“Jacob needs us to sign something then.” Declan glances at the papers in Jacob’s hands.

“Right now?” It seems like a strange time to sign a lease. “That’s why he’s here?”

“It’s an aggressive market. If we don’t move now, we might not get something close to the studio.

Jacob hands me a pen, and the paper is already folded to the signature lines. I sign first, and then Declan. And when he hands the paper back to Jacob, I wonder how my father will react to this.

I’ve heard my father talking. He’s still hoping that Declan will get tired of me and give up on us so he can go back to his plans of me marrying Jase. But so long as we’re living together for the summer, that isn’t happening anytime soon.

At least, I hope not .

“We’ll get it filed.” Jacob tucks the paper in his back pocket. “Remember the deal. I expect you to deliver.”

“It’s already in the works.” Declan nods. “She’ll be there.”

Jacob nods, and he walks away, with Maddox and Asher following him.

“Deliver what?” I ask when Declan steals both my earbuds and tucks them in his pocket. “Or who?”

“It’s not important.”

It didn’t sound that way. But for the same reason I don’t ask when it comes to my father’s business dealings, I don’t push Declan to clarify.

“Let’s take a walk.” Declan grabs my hand, leading me farther away from my parents’ cabin.

The deeper we get into the woods, the harder it is for the moonlight to filter through the cover of the trees, and the darker it gets.

“Did you miss the part when I said this place is creepy?” I look around the shadowy forest, which is no more comforting than the foggy lake water.

“Afraid I can’t protect you?” Declan tugs me to a tree, pinning me against it.

“I don’t know.” I narrow my eyes in a challenge. “Can you?”

Declan drags his teeth over my jaw, nipping at my ear. “You shouldn’t have to ask that question, Tealene. You already know who your monster is and what he’ll do to protect you. There’s nothing that would stop me from keeping you safe. Not even if you fight me on it.”

“How comforting. ”

He sinks his teeth into my neck, and my words mumble into a cry. They turn from pleasure to pain as he deepens his bite.

It’s a fine line with Declan, and I walk it over and over again.

“You don’t want my comfort, pet.” He licks the spot he bit, skating his hands to my shorts and undoing them. “And even if I offered it, you know it would hurt just as much as anything else does.”

“Maybe I like it when it hurts.” I moan as he nips at my neck again. “Maybe I like that you aren’t sweet with me. Maybe I like the monster.”

“Is that so?” Declan pulls back with a wicked grin. “You think you can handle me, Teal?”

He shoves his thumb in my mouth, notching it open.

“Yes,” I mumble around him, knowing that being in Declan’s circle of hell is the only place I feel safe.

Because at least here, I know what to expect. At least with Declan, I know in what ways I’ll hurt.

If he’s evil, it means he’ll protect me at all costs—truly. Without question. Without mercy.

“On your knees,” Declan commands, not releasing my jaw as I drop to the ground in front of him. “Just because I’ll protect you from everyone else doesn’t save you from me. Isn’t that right, pet?”

I nod, and his thumb digs into my tongue.

“Good.” He grins. “Now show me who you answer to.”

I reach up and unbutton his jeans, staring into his eyes the entire time. His cock juts free, and I take it in my hand; his cum is already leaking from the tip at the sight of me. Declan releases my jaw, and my tongue darts out to lick it. To taste him.

That’s all the control I’m allowed. The moment my lips part, he thrusts his cock deep and hard. The back of my head strikes the tree behind me, and he uses the leverage to fuck my face without mercy. I’m pinned, unable to pull back when he shoves himself so far down my throat it burns.

I try my best to suction my cheeks and please him, but he fucks my face so brutally I lose control. The back of my throat aches with every thrust, and my vision is foggy with tears. And as degrading as this is, I want to be his doll. His toy. His pet.

“You’re so pretty when you cry for me.” Declan wipes the underside of my eyes, pulling his cock out of my mouth far enough to rub his tear-soaked palm over the base before shoving it back in and forcing me to taste the saltiness. “So pretty when you beg for me to hurt you. When you beg for me to make you mine.”

His cock pulses, and I can taste him in the back of my throat, but instead of coming, he pulls out, grabbing me by the throat and forcing me to stand.

He spins me around, shoving my chest against the tree so hard it scrapes my cheek.

“Who do you belong to?” he asks as he shoves my jeans to my knees, pulling my hips back.

“You.”

“That’s right.” He slides a hand between my thighs. “You’re mine, Teal. And you will never be anyone else’s again. ”

He angles my hips and thrusts in, bottoming out so deep my scream is silent. Grabbing my hair, he arches my back and pounds into me in brutal thrusts. Somehow, in all of this, we started fighting each other like we always do. He takes out all his aggression on my body, and I let him use me to release my own.

“Come for me, pet.” He reaches around my body and pinches my clit as he tugs my hair harder. “Show me where my cum belongs.”

My body bends and aches. His hard cock fills me, and the forest is quiet except for the sound of skin slapping skin with every hard thrust. Declan circles my clit, pinching a final time that sends me over the edge.

I detonate at his touch, and the world goes black around me.

My nails dig into the tree bark, and I fill the forest with my screams.

His pace quickens, and once again, I think he’s about to come when he pulls out.

“Not yet, pet.” He grabs the bottom of my shirt and rips it overhead.

I’m completely naked, standing in the forest, while he’s still dressed, except for his cock being free from his unbuttoned pants.

He grabs my hips and throws us to the ground, where dirt and sticks dig into my bare back as he kneels between my legs. The darkness in his gaze has turned from playful to intense, and I shake as he skates his hands over my legs. Slowly trailing until he’s reaching for his belt .

Declan strips it out of the loops, and my heart races when it snaps free.

“You should have fought harder, pet.” He leans forward, wrapping the belt around my neck and then sending the end through the metal clasp to pull it like a leash. “You should have thought about what it means to make yourself mine.”

He kneels over me, tightening the belt until I’m taking slow, short gasps of air. My head swims from the limited oxygen, and when he rubs his cock over my pussy, I nearly come from the contact alone.

“Please, Declan.” I moan.

“Such an obedient girl, begging for my cock.” He drives his cock deep, pausing there. “Satisfying your lord however he wants.”

Declan grabs my wrist and pins it overhead, leaning over me. One hand holds my wrist to the ground while the other secures the belt as he starts to fuck me hard against the ground.

Rocks and sticks dig into my back, but all I feel is Declan pounding between my legs with every emotion he hides from the rest of the world. My vision fogs the closer I get to another release, and when he tilts his hips, I’m violently shaking.

His dark gray eyes are the moons staring down at me as he uses my body and marks my soul. He tugs the belt a final time, and my pussy clamps as he sends me straight to the edge. And as I reach it, he rips the belt from my neck and oxygen floods my lungs, and everything inside me bursts with my climax .

I come so hard I’m floating above my body. But Declan forces my eyes to his and holds me here. He pins both hands overhead and fucks me until his strokes become uneven, and he’s spilling his own release into me. Melting us into this haunted land like he’s binding our souls. Like he’s making us one.