Page 42 of Hysteria Rises (Dark Falls Hollow #1)

TWENTY-NINE

HAYZE

My brows tug together. A trap? “No,” I grit out, taking a few beats to observe every nuance of her body language.

What it tells me is this woman is primed for either fight or flight—whichever she feels is necessary.

With her gaze flicking over her shoulder toward the door, she takes a breath.

Holds it. Then returns her attention to me, as if I might try something when her back is turned.

I’m fighting to understand what to do and say to get the information I want from her.

“I need to know what’s happening in this compound, the same way my father would want to be aware.

Only … he wouldn’t ask you to tell him. He’d demand it.

” I draw in a breath, searching her eyes and hoping I’m going about this in a way that makes her crack.

Not all of us have to lead with an iron fist. Sometimes that doesn’t get the right results.

Purposefully lowering my voice, I murmur, “I’d really like it if you’d talk to me. ”

Wetting her lips, she tilts her head to the side, considering what I’ve said. Then, to my surprise, a moment later, she nods. “Arrow, he—” She pauses. “He’s asked me to forgive him. But what happened was partly my fault.”

My gaze snaps to hers. “It was as Kiefer said?”

She flinches, making a face. “No. Two of you came down to the cell. He got rid of them.”

I knew this much. Those fucking psychos. Gannon, I can’t do much about. But Dragan and I … we still need to have a word about all this mess.

My eyes roam her face, finally connecting with hers as she continues. “After, I was upset, frustrated. And Arrow came into the cell to stop me from hurting myself.”

A crease forms down the middle of my forehead. Arrow hadn’t mentioned this part.

She lets out a strangled breath. “I— I asked him to stay. What he did after I fell asleep, though …” She shrugs, her shoulders lifting the slightest bit. “I wasn’t lying. I didn’t wake up until Kiefer pulled me from the cell. Took me outside and told me I could go.”

I rub my hands over my face, digesting that information. “Was Malakai there? To hear what Kiefer told you?”

She blinks, her brow creasing as she shakes her head. “I didn’t see him until after the other two had already caught me.”

Fuck. Mal was telling the truth. I set that information aside to consider later.

I’ll talk to Arrow and Cross about their thoughts on whether or not we can actually trust Mal.

He’s always been on the outside of our group because his attitude is nothing any of us wanted to deal with.

But now, I’m beginning to wonder what’s really at the heart of his rude remarks and foul temper.

With a sigh, I gesture to her. “Anything else?”

She winces as a shudder rolls through her. “And then … we were in that room.”

The way her lip trembles sends me careening into that moment with her.

I don’t know how long I’m lost to the memory.

The weight of the whip in my hand. The watchful eyes of the Collective on us.

Arrow’s suffering. Hers. I swallow past the hard lump wedged inside my throat, and a groan rumbles there at the base, but I hold it in.

“Hayze?” she whispers.

I hardly hear her, but when her fingertips brush over my hand, I jerk, looking down to find her staring up at me, all glossy-eyed. She dampens her lip, then hesitantly tries to squeeze my forearm.

I grab her hand to stop her, heat blistering under the surface of my skin at her touch.

“I understand why they thought I deserved to be punished.” Her face colors, and her breath catches. “And I get Arrow’s correction, too.” With her teeth scraping over her plush bottom lip she slowly shakes her head while maintaining our connection. “But I don’t understand why they punished you.”

I’ve never released her hand, and without realizing I’m doing it, mine tightens on hers until she gasps. Our eyes lock, and the growl in my voice surprises even me. “You’re wrong.” The moment the words pass my lips, I know it’s a lie. And so does she.

Silently watching me, she doesn’t even attempt to pull free of my hold. Instead, boldly, she murmurs, “Tell me how it wasn’t a punishment for you to have to beat your friend, and I’ll be quiet.”

Her calm observance crashes into me with a force so strong it knocks me off balance. My jaw tightens, and my voice comes out full of grit. “You wouldn’t understand.”

“I want to.” Her bright cobalt eyes search mine.

I know it’s unwise to speak freely, but I can’t fucking resist. I finally feel like I’m getting somewhere, that if I keep her talking maybe I’ll understand.

The only explanation I can give is what I’ve been taught from birth.

My truth rasps from me. “It wasn’t a punishment. It was a privilege. An honor.”

Disbelief rushes over her features. It doesn’t sit well with me.

“I was forced to watch what you went through.” She holds up a hand when she eyes the way my jaw is twitching hard, then haltingly whispers, “You were in as much pain as Arrow was.”

I huff out a hard breath, looking away. Maybe that was a mistake. It’s not true.

She shakes her head. “Maybe not physical pain. But I could see it in your eyes. He’s your friend.

You didn’t want to do that to him.” Before I can pull myself together, she finishes, “I don’t claim to know how everything works or who he is to you.

But it seems as if he’s more like a brother.

And you were required to hurt him. They made you do it. ”

“My father”—my voice catches—“he isn’t coming back.

” At my certainty, she flinches, but I continue, needing to get it out.

“I’ll take over one day for him. The Collective asked me to act in my father’s place.

It was my duty to deal with Arrow.” My guts are all twisted up, and I don’t know why it’s important to me to make her understand.

“But why?”

Frustrated, I grasp the back of my neck and tug hard on it. “Because I’m his son. The firstborn in all of Dark Falls Hollow. This place is my legacy.”

A flicker of understanding, but also something else I can’t quite place crosses her face. “The first son.”

“Yes.”

“But why would he just leave? Where is he?” she whispers.

My eyes crash shut. “I don’t know.”

And so that I have something else to focus on, I turn her arm over and scan the mark I put on her skin.

I remember the thrill that’d flooded through me when I’d been informed that I’d be claiming her for us.

With one finger, I trace around the number I’d inked there.

Her skin is so fucking soft. It won’t be long before she’s all healed up, but it looks good so far.

I scrape my teeth over my lip as I stare down at it.

When she makes a small whimpering sound, the steady drum of my heart picks up its pace.

She’s close, hardly a few inches between us.

As she glances up at me from under a thick fringe of lashes, the memories of what it’d been like to claim her curl through my brain, and a sharp stab of want buries itself inside my gut.

I bend at the waist and lean in to let her shuddery breath feather past my lips.

And fuck me, I can’t help but inhale deeply as she sways toward me.

That mingling of air shouldn’t be so significant, but to me, it is.

She’s not looking at me with anger in her eyes or hatred in her heart but with something very, very different.

My chest is tight, and suddenly, her free hand is there, fingers toying with one of the buttons.

The fist I’d been making to stop myself from touching her unclenches.

Longing fills me. Ever so slowly, I raise my arm, my gaze shifting from blue-as-the-sky irises to lips the same reddish pink as one of the apples in our orchard.

And just like the fruit that grows there, her lips are tempting.

They look so fucking juicy, I want nothing more than to have a taste.

As she rocks forward on her feet, her hand fists my shirt in a desperate bid for balance.

My cock hardens uncomfortably, and my throat goes dry as my focus shifts back to her eyes. They’re pinned on me, curious, and her chest heaves on an unsteady exhale.

“Hayze.”

The sound of my name from her lips catches me off guard, and I grunt.

It’s an agonized, low, ache-filled sound.

At her swift intake of breath, I look down to find her chest rising and falling rapidly, pert nipples poking against the cotton shift she wears.

The insistent throb of my dick reminds me what is beneath the fabric.

I’ve had my hands on this body and sank my cock inside her warm, wet cunt. I’ve spilled my seed inside her body.

My eyes slam shut as need cascades through me. All logical thought flies free of the prison of my skull, and I can’t keep my gaze from straying back to her eyes. I could get lost in the pools of blue.

I can’t slow my breath, the frantic beat of my heart.

And I sure as fuck can’t stop myself. I tug her sharply toward me until her body collides with mine.

A gasp slips from her as I collar the back of her neck, and my attention refocuses on her lips.

Feeling her against me, I want things I shouldn’t.

I want my mouth on hers, want to explore her, learn the way she tastes.

On a groan, I press my lips to hers. Her body trembles in my arms, and on instinct, I haul her closer, molding her curves to me.

The way she feels. Fuuuck. A stuttered breath is wrenched from me.

I need more, so I slant my mouth over hers. Taking. Devouring.

She’s not pulling away. She doesn’t fight me as I slide my hand down her back, exploring the contours of her frame. When I encounter the round curve of her ass, I moan against her lips as I squeeze her softness, familiarizing myself.

On a sigh, she presses closer, hands at my hips, and in response, my cock strains behind my zipper, rock hard. Our lips part, I’m in a fog, in a daze, lost. Desire spills through my veins, every touch, every sound she makes spurring me on. I’ve never felt an urge so powerful. I want—

Our lips crash together again, needy. Demanding.

And her tongue flicks at the seam of my lips, then strokes inside my mouth.

I shudder as a wave of need threatens to overtake me.

My pulse races as I groan, grinding my cock against her soft belly.

I want it to go on and on. And as I delve deeper into her mouth, licking and sucking at her tongue in this wicked dance I’m only just learning, I bring a hand to her chest. Her nipple is a hard pebble against my palm as I cup her breast. A torrent of sensation has me in its grip, and I wrench away from her kiss to push her onto the bed and lower my mouth to her breast. Feeding off what can only be a raw animal urge, I draw her nipple into my mouth, sucking on her through the semi-sheer gown.

The act sends a jolt of lust straight to my cock.

Twenty-three lets out a gasping breath, her back arching off the mattress, hands diving into my hair and holding me to her. Oh, fuck. This is so different from before. My hips rock, and I thrust against her body as I work my tongue over the bud, dampening the material.

I draw back, staring at the rosy-pink color visible through the wet fabric.

Fuuuck. Crawling over her, I yank the top of her gown down, exposing her breast to my gaze.

With every ragged breath I take, I know I need more.

So much fucking more. I close my mouth over her, running my tongue over the pebbled skin.

She squirms, releasing a desperate moan.

Fuck me, she tastes … “So fucking sweet.”

Rearing up, I stare at her. She’s all flushed cheeks and heaving chest. Dazed, far-off eyes. In one swift move, I shift her farther onto the bed and then look down. Her gown is rucked up, bunched at the waist.

The sight of those bare legs already has my dick weeping, but then I focus on the apex of her thighs, her cunt on display for me. Inhaling, I drag in the scent of her arousal with every labored breath. The need to taste her here, too, slams into me.

Her legs quiver under my gaze, and her eyes are locked on my every move. “Spread your thighs for me, minx.”

She blinks at my rasped demand, drawing in an unsteady breath, then nods … and they drop open.

I can’t stop the wild need building within me.

Her glistening cunt beckons, and I drag the flat of my tongue along her inner thigh, only stopping just shy of her sex, then slowly stroke a finger over her opening.

Heat rushes down my spine, like lightning, and my hips thrust involuntarily into the mattress.

It’s not enough. All I want is to let the carnal urge racing through me win. I want to fuck her.

But I can’t. My jaw tightens as I struggle for control. I won’t. The Hunting. It’s in two days.