19. alessia

19

ALESSIA

If we only have one night to pretend we're not breaking any rules, I'm taking full advantage of every hour the sun stays hidden.

I nod frantically and reach for his waistband, grabbing them, and my heart palpitates with excitement. I pull it down an inch, exposing his hair, wondering and begging to let this man give me more. This is already one hell of a night I won't ever forget.

He just made me come so hard with a damn knife.

What else does he have planned?

The V of his torso is sculptured like a God. His veins protrude above his groin. I pull the waistband lower, each millisecond in slow motion, until finally, the pink of his shaft unveils.

He grabs my hair, pulling it from the base as he manhandles me roughly. I hiss from the pain, but I don't pull away. I continue my mission to see him, fully see him. Then, he whispers, pushing my head down as he growls into my ear, "Suck." He orders.

One word has me dripping and already waiting for him to fill the void between my legs.

I oblige and continue to pull his pants down.

I gulp, hoping that my nervous swallows will lift my body's self-coiling…but his phone ringing on full blast does it for me. It snaps us out of the bubble we secluded ourselves in tonight. We were in our world for what felt like hours, and everything came crashing down like a violent, unforgiving tsunami into my spirit. The serene, secretive orb we immersed ourselves in depleted into the disastrous self-awareness of our cruel reality.

He groans, stiffening, and so do I. We lock eyes with each other, desperately breathing the thick tension of oxygen like we're drowning…drowning in each other.

My hands are still holding his pants, but he forces me to let go, and my hopes drop with my hands.

"That's my alarm system. Something is not right," he looks around his home like he's about to kill someone. It's the same anxious expression he had at El Devine. Darkness sharpens his words and voice.

He grabs my wrist, "I'm sorry, Alessia." He apologizes, but his words have a strange, vivid edge. And it hits me. I know that whatever we just shared is over and probably never going to happen again. I deflate like a balloon being popped, and his vibes rub off on me. Anxiety cripples underneath my skin like a fever.

Why would his alarm system go off in the middle of the night?

Is it…my stalker?

Is this just a coincidence, or does this happen all the time?

"Is something wrong? Is someone trying to break in?" I ask, shivers running up and down my spine.

I slowly get off him and sit on the couch, brushing my hair with my fingers. I cup my breasts with my forearms as he hands me the same towel I walked in with.

The intense, blissful moment slowly seeps away, like the night when it meets the sun. He reaches for his phone, which lies on the couch. He looks at the screen, his face falling into a stone-cold expression.

"It's the cameras. There was motion detected." He scours the screen up and down like he doesn't want to deal with it, and his brows narrow like he's upset…almost guilty.

"Oh, no. Daegan, what if it's the human traffickers? What if it's the people with that list?" I can't even finish my sentence. The fear of my stalker following me to Daegans place is paralyzing. Daegan stills while my eyes round. He frowns at me like I said something impossible.

Maybe I'm overthinking. Or maybe I'm not.

He walks out of the living room, his bloody hand still dripping all over the place, his hair disheveled from my constant tugging.

"I'll take care of this. It could've just been a random animal walking by, and the sensors picked that up."

He looks at his phone again, studying it until he finally exits, leaving me with my spiraling thoughts. His phone rings this time. Someone is calling him.

He heads for the door to his backyard, and I watch him, unable to move. I feel like I'm floating on clouds, struggling to come back down to the ground.

One moment, I was in my own world with him. All the pain and emptiness were filled and voided. I hold onto my towel tighter, wanting to go back in time.

I glance over at him, in a discreet manner, through the window that's built into the back door, and the moonlight is enough to illuminate his frame. Thankfully, he doesn't notice my gawking.

I'm still on a high.

I touch my lips as I watch him, and I reminisce about his tongue. It felt nice to forget about my problems, even if it was for only a few minutes.

Daegan lights his cigarette while he's on the phone with someone. He inhales as the tip of the cigarette sparkles with fire, and something about the way he lights it has me swooning. He blows the smoke into the air, pacing around his patio. He stands still for a moment, then nods as the call continues.

If he's getting a call in the middle of the night, it can only mean one thing.

There's a mission. A task that needs to be done. Or maybe something happened at work, and they need him to know. Maybe it's Ravenmore canceling his assignment to watch over me.

Wishful thinking.

After all, this is the life of a Special Operator. A life I don't want to be around. This is why I only asked for one night. It'll be easier that way. No strings are attached, no one gets hurt, and no one has expectations. But the way he resisted me has me questioning if he truly is interested in me. I almost had no self-control while he had it all. I just want to continue to pretend until the sun comes up.

I tear my eyes away from him and start chewing the inside of my lip. I get up from the couch and head towards the bedroom again.

Stupid, stupid, stupid girl.

He's right, we can't do this.

I'm about to run into his bedroom when my bladder demands my attention. I look to my right and see that there are two more doors deep into the hallway. I remember him saying there was another restroom in the hallway. It must be in one of those.

I play a guessing game and turn one doorknob, but it doesn't budge. It's…locked.

Huh? Weird.

Why would he lock one of his doors inside his house? I'm sure there's a valid reason, but that doesn't stop an uncanny sensation to ripple through the dark parts of my mind, causing the hairs on the back of my neck to stand up.

"What are you doing, Valentine?"

I jump like a scared cat. I'm on my toes, palming the wall to stop myself from stumbling over. My other hand goes to my mouth, and a loud squeak disappears into the air, my towel almost dropping to the floor.

"Daegan! You scared me," I pant, trying to recover from the jump scare. I can hear my heart eradicate through my ears as I try to calm myself down.

His eyes darken like he's trying to figure me out. Like I was caught looking through his diary. It's almost like I did something wrong.

"I'm sorry, I was looking for the restroom."

He points to the other door, still as a statue.

I swallow nervously, brushing curls behind my ear. The hallway light is off, but the light from his kitchen barely makes a dent in the hallway. It's dim enough to see him still.

"What's going on? Is everything okay?" I ask innocently, dreading the answer.

Then, his shadow moves. He doesn't say anything as he stalks forward. The darkness matches the silence, and I wait until he's ready to talk.

Finally, he stops. His chest is one inch from mine.

"Grim is on paternity leave, and I have to go in. I guess they want to go over something with me before my assignment and the deployment that starts tomorrow." He bites out with no emotion.

"Right this second? You have to leave right now?"

"Yes," he sighs.

"Oh," I look down at our feet.

He takes a deep breath like he has the weight of the world on his shoulders.

I'm not a stranger to what SEALS go through. I may not know all the little details about their missions, but I know enough. And I know the outcomes may cost them their lives. I don't know him…I don't know Daegan, but the thought of never seeing him again scares me.

"Don't worry, Valentine. I looked at the video footage. It was just a racoon. You'll be safe here tonight until I get back, and then we'll be on your little PSD assignment." He snaps in a soft voice, combing his hair with his hand. And that's when I notice it's bandaged with white medical fabric.

I know this must bother him. A personal security detail isn't something he asked for, which is why I did my best to plead my case with Ravenmore. And yet, every time he says PSD, there's a hint of disgust in his tone. It's the way he frowns to stop himself from grimacing. I try not to take it personally, but after tonight…it's hard not to.

"I know this assignment isn't what you strive for. You must not want it…or me." I admit, pinning my vision to the floor instead of facing his reaction.

He groans like he's frustrated.

"Is that what you think? You think I don't want you?" He says in a cold tone.

"Yes, I mean, you did say something along those lines tonight. Several times, actually." I whisper.

He spins me around faster than I can register what he's doing. He pushes my face against the wall, his hand cups a handful of my hair, and he places his chest on my back desperately. His waist on mine, his bulge on my ass. Then his lips are on my neck, and the smell of his cigarettes gets stronger.

"Can you feel that? Can you feel how fucking hard you make me? Just being next to you does this to me. I'm filled with so much fire I feel like I'll burn the entire world down if I don't get my fill of you." He presses his cock deeper into my ass like he's about to fuck it. "Do you feel how badly I want to bury myself so deep inside you until your cunt is molded to mine and mine only? Just thinking about being inside you makes me crazy." He pushes his hard length again against my ass, in between my cheeks, like he's ready to push it in again. I moan against the wall. "Can you feel what you do to me? My cock is aching, Alessia," he snarls into my ear, "and it's aching for you." He pulls my hair again.

Daegan brushes his knuckles on my face gently. "And I can't have you."

He lets go of my face, taking a step back and letting me breathe again.

"Don't ever question if I want you again. Now, be a good girl and go to sleep. It's your birthday."

I turn around to face him. "Whatever this was stays here and doesn't follow us after tonight, right Daegan?"

He pauses, his jaw tightening over and over again, his gaze piercing mine.

"Right," he murmurs softly. "I'll report this stalker problem of yours to the police. I have close friends in the department. Now, please, Alessia. Have mercy on me and go back into my bedroom. Lock the fucking door before I?—"

He stops himself from going further. Palming the wall behind me, I take one step back. He's caging me into the door frame, and my shoulder blade hits the front of the door.

"Before what?" I rasp, daring him for more excitedly.

He towers over me, and I'm forced to tilt my head upwards. His finger tilts my chin up, and he grins.

"Before I tie you up to my headboard, gag you with your own thong, and do all the things I've been craving to do to you since I first met you in that elevator. So, no matter how loud you try to scream, no matter how bad you want to run, you're forced to just lie there like a good little nasty whore I want to turn you into and take it."

I gasp, my heart thundering and the sensation pooling in between my thighs. No one has ever talked to me like this before. It's degrading, but it's so hot.

"So, bedroom…now." He orders. "I hope I'll be back soon."

"I have to take another shower. I still have this all over my neck." I motion towards the dried blood all over my neck.

"Leave it on. I like seeing you covered in red."