Page 54

The question sent a spike of fear through her belly, but the fear wasn’t unpleasant. If anything, it thrilled her.

Broderick chuckled, his hands encouraging her body to roll onto her belly. He guided her knees apart, pulling her hips up so she was kneeling on the bed. Davina froze and reached for the blindfold, but he stopped her.

“What’s wrong, lass?”

The grip on her wrist was gentle but firm. When she straightened, her back against his chest, his arm encircled her waist, holding her close.

“Yer heartbeat is thumpin’ like a rabbit,” he whispered in her ear, his breath warm, soothing the cold bite of old fears. “Tell me.”

“I…” Davina flexed her jaw, fighting the nightmarish images trying to invade her mind. Shadows of her past clawed at her, but Broderick’s closeness dulled their reach. “Ian…”

“Did he take ye like this? In this position?” Broderick’s voice softened, a velvet caress that curled around her frayed nerves.

She nodded, her throat tight.

His hand loosened, gliding up to cradle her shoulder.

Slowly, he traced the tender stretch of skin where her neck met her shoulder, his touch reverent.

“Listen tae me, Blossom.” As he spoke, she felt something beneath his words—a subtle hum, as if his voice stroked not only her ears but her very soul.

“We can stop now if ye wish, but I’m goin’ tae promise ye…

I aim to give ye so much pleasure, ye’ll forget that man ever existed. ”

A warmth, gentle and insistent, began to spread through her mind, wrapping around the dark memories like silk threads pulling them away.

She felt the tension in her chest ease, her heartbeat slowing, her breath coming deeper, steadier.

This was Broderick. He was doing this to her.

Somehow, his mind-reading abilities went beyond gleaning thoughts.

And she invited it. He wasn’t influencing her in a harsh, forceful way, but like a balm, guiding her mind away from pain and into the heat of the present.

The sensuous promise of his lips worshipping her skin soothed her pounding heart, and Davina bent forward, pressing her palms into the mattress. The coolness of the linens grounded her, a contrast to the rising heat within.

As she did so, his cock brushed the crease of her ass for a teasing moment before his fingers returned to stroke her slick heat. She gasped, her back arching, lowering her shoulders to the mattress to give him better access, her breath catching as waves of desire washed away the remnants of fear.

“Grab the lattice,” he said again, his voice firm but laced with a wicked tenderness.

She ignored him, lost in the sweet torment of his touch.

Abruptly, he withdrew his hand, and she gasped in protest, a needy sound that escaped her lips unbidden.

“Do ye want me tae continue?” he asked, his voice teasing yet thick with desire .

She nodded quickly, her pulse racing anew, this time from anticipation rather than fear.

“Then grab the lattice,” he repeated, more coaxing than commanding.

Her jaw clenched in frustration, but she obeyed, curling her fingers around the iron. The chill of the metal against her palms heightened the contrast of his heat against her body.

The soft, sweet sensation of his fingertips returned, stroking her until she was trembling, her breath coming in ragged gasps. His touch sent ripples of pleasure radiating through her, as though he wove a spell.

“This is yer choice, Blossom,” he whispered, his erection pressing firmly against her thigh, hot and heavy. His words stroked her mind as surely as his fingers caressed her quim. “Ye can walk away from this bed and take off that blindfold anytime ye want tae.”

Yet even as he spoke, a deeper part of her knew—she had no desire to leave.

He bent forward and his lips brushed the shell of her ear.

“’Tis what our weddin’ vows meant when ye said ye’d submit and obey.

Though other men may have taken advantage of ye, Blossom, and used those words tae hurt ye, I’ll only use them tae make ye mine—and make ye cry out my name so everyone knows yer mine. ”

Davina whimpered as he drove two fingers deep inside her. She gripped the lattice with all her might, her body arching as he thrust into her, stroking a spot that made her hips buck uncontrollably.

A wave of pleasure exploded from his touch, coursing through her in a rush that left her gasping. “Oh, God, Broderick!” she cried out, her voice breaking .

Davina’s body arched against his hand, her cries echoing in his ears as her climax ripped through her.

Her slick, pulsing channel clenched tightly around his fingers, drawing him in deeper as he stroked that sensitive spot just inside her entrance.

She shuddered violently, her hips bucking back against him, and still, he didn’t stop.

Broderick watched her in awe, his free hand gripping her hip to steady her as she unraveled completely.

Her pleasure was a sight to behold, her breathless whimpers and trembling thighs making his chest swell with pride—and something far deeper he didn’t dare name.

She was his. He’d made her cry out his name, as he’d promised, her body surrendering to his touch, and yet he still wanted to give her more.

When her trembling began to subside, he gripped the pale globes of her ass, spreading her wider. Before she could catch her breath, he bent forward, his mouth descending to the slick, intoxicating heat of her.

A startled gasp escaped her lips as his tongue parted her folds, spearing into her sopping cunny. He groaned against her, the taste of her driving him wild as he thrust his tongue in and out, curling it to stroke her sensitive walls. Her thighs quivered, her cries rising in pitch.

But even as he lost himself in the raw need of her, part of his mind reached for hers. She’d let him compel her earlier, easing away her fear—perhaps she would allow him deeper now. Carefully, he pushed at the edges of her thoughts, seeking the secrets she guarded so fiercely.

Only to find that same damnable wall. Smooth as marble, impenetrable as stone .

Broderick growled low in his throat, his frustration briefly flaring. Whatever lay beyond her defenses remained locked tight, untouchable. Yet he didn’t push harder. He wouldn’t—not now. He wanted her pleasure unclouded by anything but desire.

For now, he would take her body, savor her surrender. Her mind could wait.

“Broderick,” she pleaded, her voice hoarse and shaking. “Stop—please, I can’t—”

He reluctantly pulled back, licking his lips as he straightened.

Her slickness soaked his chin, and the sight of her trembling, bent over for him, her knees pressed into the mattress, made his cock throb painfully.

He seized his shaft in his fist, guiding the swollen head over her quim, sliding it up and down her wet slit.

“God’s blood, Blossom,” he rasped, his voice rough with need. “Ye’re so fucking wet.”

He coated himself in her juices, the smooth glide of her heat against him making his pulse pound. Slowly, with a firm thrust, he pushed inside her, his cockhead breaching her tight entrance. His head dropped back, a guttural moan escaping him as her channel clenched around him, hot and spasming.

She gasped, her fingers gripping the iron lattice of the headboard as he filled her, inch by inch.

“Christ,” he groaned, his hands squeezing her ass as he began to move. Her body welcomed him, gripping him so tightly it was almost too much. Every thrust sent shivers through his cock and down his legs.

He set a slow, languorous rhythm, savoring the way her cries mingled with his grunts and moans.

His hips rolled forward with each thrust, his cock sliding deep, her cunny stroking him from tip to root.

Davina matched his movements, using the iron lattice for leverage as she pushed back into him, taking him even deeper.

Her soft cries spurred him on, her pleasure feeding his own.

Broderick shifted, swinging one knee outside of hers, then the other, bringing her knees together between his.

The change in pressure made her gasp, her channel squeezing him even tighter.

He groaned, his hands gripping her hips as he drove into her, the slap of their bodies meeting filling the room.

Her cries grew louder, her moans rising in pitch as he quickened his pace. His breathing grew labored, his heart hammering in his chest as he chased the edge of his release.

Her scent. God above, it surrounded him, sweet and wild, driving him mad. Her walls flutter around him, the quivering anticipation of her impending climax teasing him mercilessly.

“ Fuck , Davina,” he rasped, his voice strained. He said her name again, the only word he could manage as her body milked him, drawing him closer to the brink.

Her cries reached a crescendo, and with one final thrust, they both tumbled over the edge together.

Her channel spasmed around him, squeezing him so tightly he thought he might lose his mind.

His own release followed, a wave of pure ecstasy crashing through him as he pumped inside her.

He kept moving, his hips rocking in slow, languid thrusts, drawing out every pulse of pleasure.

Even as the last tremors faded, he lingered inside her, unwilling to let go of the connection that bound them.

Her breath came in ragged, sated gasps, her body pliant and warm.

A deep possessive growl rumbled in his chest as he lowered his head to press a kiss between her shoulder blades, silently claiming her all over again.

For now, she was his—and no force on this earth would take her from him .

They knelt together on the mattress, both panting, their bodies trembling from the force of their shared climax.

“Can I let go of the headboard now?” Davina asked breathlessly, breaking the silence.

Broderick chuckled, deep and rumbling in his chest. “Aye, Blossom.”

He pulled her into his arms, laying them both down on the mattress, but keeping his cock nestled inside her.

Her back pressed against his chest, and he wrapped his arms tightly around her, holding her as though afraid she might slip away.

He reached up to remove the blindfold, tossing it aside, and pressed a tender kiss to her shoulder, cupping her breast in his palm.

God’s blood, he couldn’t get enough of this woman. His hands roamed her body, memorizing every curve, his lips tasting the salt of her skin. Even now, with his release leaving him sated, his shaft stirred again, thickening with renewed need inside her.

Her scent clung to the air—a heady mix of roses and musk and the sweet, lingering tang of their coupling. He inhaled deeply, letting it settle in his lungs like the finest of wines.

Davina turned her face into the pillow, her breaths slow and uneven. They lay in silence for several moments, the only sound the crackle of the fire in the hearth and the soft, fading echoes of their passion.

“I hate how weak you make me,” she whispered, her voice so soft he almost missed it.

Her words struck him like a blow, and when she shifted as if to move away, he held her tighter.

“Och, now,” he murmured gently, propping himself up on his elbow to peer down at her. She refused to meet his gaze, turning her face further into the pillow, but he cupped her cheek and coaxed her to look at him .

Her sapphire eyes brimmed with tears, and the sight twisted his heart in a way that left him shaken.

“Ye’re not weak, lass,” he said firmly. “Ye’re stronger than ye know. Stronger than any woman I’ve ever met. I know ye’ve had many try tae beat that strength out o’ ye, but I willnae be one o’ them. Ever.”

She turned away from him again, but this time, she snuggled closer, holding his arms tightly against her.

Broderick pressed a kiss to the back of her head, his lips lingering as he closed his eyes.

Even now, he felt the lingering hum of their connection, the invisible thread of shared desire and unspoken truths.

Her mind, still locked tight against his probing, remained a mystery—but her body, her heart, they were opening to him bit by bit.

He lay there, holding her, until her breathing slowed and settled into the rhythmic pace of sleep. A rare, fragile peace settled over him, and for the first time in years, he let himself believe in the possibility of something more than vengeance.

For a long moment, he simply stared at her. The emotions coursing through him churned, a storm of longing and dread, desire and something deeper, more treacherous. Her words echoed in his mind, unbidden. I hate how weak you make me.

Aye, she made him weak, too. Vulnerable. Laid bare.

He understood her fear, her walls, her desperate need to shield herself from further hurt. It was terrifying, letting someone in after betrayal—after the wounds of that betrayal still festered, raw and unhealed.

His gaze lingered on her face, softened in sleep. Dark lashes fanned across flushed cheeks, her lips slightly parted as she exhaled a quiet breath. Her beauty in repose stirred something fierce in him—a need to protect, to possess, to ease the shadows from her soul.

With a heavy sigh, Broderick rose to his feet.

She’d stirred the Hunger in him. Her vulnerability, her fear, had stoked the monster inside.

He needed space, just as he suspected she did.

Space to think, to cool the fire still burning in his veins.

Pulling on his clothes, he stole one last glance at her sleeping form, his chest tightening with emotions he scarcely dared name.

Leaning down, he brushed a soft kiss to her brow, inhaling the faint, lingering scent of roses and desire that clung to her skin. The moment lingered like a bittersweet ache in his chest.

Then, without another word, he left her bedchamber to go feed, slipping into the shadows of the corridor beyond.