Page 53 of Eternal

“Mm-hmm. Exactly.” He releases my hair, and I collapse onto the mattress. “How much do you hate yourself for not stopping this?”

Not at all.

But I don’t admit that to him. I bury my face in the blanket and bite my tongue, refusing him the satisfaction.

“That’s what I thought.” He chuckles.

Declan grabs my ass and pulls out, slowly, almost all the way. And he waits until I glance back at him to see what he’s doing before he slams into me again. It hurts to watch him, but he refuses to move unless my eyes are on him. So I focus on his hips, thrusting forward and breaking me free of whatever chains have tethered me in the deepest recesses of my soul.

He tears through the numbness, and it’s so quick and so intense that I’m already tiptoeing to theledge. Pleasure creeps through me in a way I’ve never experienced from my own hand. My core flutters, and I’m barely hanging on.

The more it hurts, the more I want him.

The harder his thrusts, the deeper I need him.

“Not yet.” Declan buries himself to the hilt inside me and pauses, smacking me hard on the ass. “If you come before I say you can, I’ll chain you to a cross downstairs and let every single one of Sigma Sin’s initiates fuck you in any and every hole until you learn how to control it. Do you understand me, Teal?”

“You wouldn’t.” I choke on the words as he fucks me harder.

“Do you really want to test me?” He strikes me deep. “Your body only comes when I say it does. It only comes for me. Isn’t that right? Are you ready to admit who you belong to, or do I need to remind you?”

After his test with Cora, I don’t doubt his threats.

His cool-gray eyes watch me, and even as I’m flushed with pleasure, all that radiates from Declan is pain. Anger.

Rage keeping the coals hot as he drags me over them.

I don’t know why he needs me to belong to him in every way, but there’s no denying anymore that I do.

“Do we understand each other?”

“I won’t come until you say so,” I whisper.

I just hope I can keep that promise when I’m a live wire right now. One touch—any touch—and it might be what sets me off.

Declan grabs my arms, pinning them behind my back, forcing my face into the mattress and making it harderto breathe. This time, he doesn’t stop fucking me when our eye contact is broken. He adjusts his stance to thrust deeper.

I’m not sure how that’s even possible. But with every harsh thrust of his hips, my breath catches in my throat.

I try to wiggle, but I can’t. I’m pinned chest down. My legs are spread and aching where the straps wrap around them. Still, he refuses me mercy as he assaults my senses.

Declan’s nails bite into my wrists where he’s grabbing them. His hips strike my ass with his relentless pounding. His cock is so deep I can’t breathe.

Sweat drips down my neck, and tears soak the mattress.

But I’m here.

I’m alive.

I’m awake.

I’m absolved of the fear that’s held me back as I accept the pain. I give in to this need that pushes us past our hate and soak in what Declan wakes.

It could be desire, pleasure, or happiness. It’s been so long since I’ve called any of them a friend that I can’t remember what they feel like. Or maybe he’s unearthing everything that’s wrong with me. The twisted desires he knows I chase in my mind. The things that make me just like him.

“Remember what I said.” Declan leans over me to graze his lips along my neck, and I swear I’m being lit on fire. “You only come when I say you do.”

Digging my fingers into my palms, I fight against the restraints, but the leather is wrapped tight on my thighs, and there’s no escape.