Page 73 of Rising Out of the Darkness (Divine Guardians Duology #1)

Strong arms pulled me back, one wrapped around my waist, the other caressing my back. There was barely any space separating the two of us now.

My lips trembled, and I shook my head. This couldn’t happen again, no matter how much I wanted to let him back in. I didn’t think I was strong enough to survive another tear in my heart.

With a heavy sigh, my forehead fell against his shoulder, and his arms cinched around me. I placed my shaky hands against his hard chest, trying to block out the feeling of his heartbeat. When I pushed away this time, his arms dropped beside him, letting me free.

“Thank you,” I whispered, “for all of this.” I gestured at the dazzling night sky I’d created surrounding us.

“That was all you, love.” His voice low, pain dripping off each word.

I turned around and made my way towards the doors. The silence was unbearably heavy as I hurried my steps. I had to get away from here before I collapsed under the weight of it all. Grabbing the door, I swung it wide open. No more looking back, it was time to go.

Declan’s palm slammed against the door, sealing it shut. Faster than I could think, he spun me around and crashed his lips onto mine. At first, I tried to pull away, but his body caged me in. His thick chest pressed against mine as his fingers dug into the sides of my waist, holding me in place.

This kiss was rough. Intense. Desperate. My knees went weak when his tongue brushed across the seam of my lips, silently begging me to open myself up to him again. To let him in.

So I did. I let myself plummet into the abyss, the unknowns of our future be damned. For once, I was going to savor just this moment.

Our kiss deepened into something passionate, obliterating. My body barely managed to stay upright. Sensing me melting against the door, he lifted my legs up and secured them around his waist.

One of my hands fisted in Declan’s chestnut waves, the other twisted around the bottom of his tunic, pulling him closer into me.

As I tugged, my body slipped down, causing me to rub against the hard bulge beneath his pants.

A guttural growl rumbled against my lips as his palm dug into my thigh, tugging me back up his waist. My thighs clenched around him as his length brushed against my heated core.

Swallowing my surprised moan, he continued to rub against my center, driving me out of my mind. The only thoughts I had at this moment were about Declan and the ways in which I could have more of him.

Sweeping his giant palm through my hair, he tilted my head to the side, peppering kisses down my neck.

Down my collarbone, over the top of my chest, he created a delicious trail that my dynamis followed.

His hot breath hovered over the sensitive tip of my breast. Even through my tunic, I could feel a devious smile grow, before he covered it with his mouth and sucked.

“Oh, gods…” I gasped.

A delighted rumble hummed from deep within his throat. His lips slammed onto mine again, and we lost ourselves, tangled deep in each other’s arms. Every movement was desperate, frantic, passionate. It was as though we both thought that this might be the last time we would be able to do this.

Sealing one more kiss onto my bruised lips, he inched back. The sounds of our breaths filled the silence.

Our eyes locked. Declan’s had become almost as black as the room itself.

“Do you trust me, love?” he whispered.

I scoffed, and the space between his eyebrows crinkled.

“Do. You. Trust. Me?”

His words were more forceful this time, squeezing out through clenched teeth. The question rattled inside my mind. Do I?

My pulse raced at the same pace as the thoughts that started to flood back into my mind. Once, I had trusted him, but now I wasn’t entirely sure.

He kept unraveling the tight threads of myself that I’d been desperately trying to keep hold of all my life. However, right now, with him I felt invincible and safe. Even with all the anger, all the frustration, all the unknowns, I was still grasping onto the hope that he wouldn’t ever let me fall.

With a shallow exhale, I met his eyes and nodded. “Yes, sir.”

Anticipation began to build as his grip around me tightened. He lowered me to the ground.

Terrified I’d done something wrong, I pulled my teeth between my bottom lip and bit down. He had yet to move away. Both of his hands still created a bruising ache around my hips.

He peered up at the ceiling, as if trying to collect his thoughts. Watching his throat bob up and down, I licked my lips. Never had I thought that something like that could be alluring, but I was about to slowly melt into a puddled mess.

Declan lowered his heated gaze back towards me, his eyes roving up and down my body, looking for any reservations that I might still be holding. When I returned my own fiery gaze, his shoulders eased. An excruciatingly slow smirk spread across his lips.

“Good girl.”

His silky voice purred into my ear, shoving all my thoughts out of my head once more. Lips brushed against mine, each kiss more tender than those before.

One hand swirled against the flesh of my stomach before making its way up towards my breast. A thumb caressed the underside of one breast as his other hand fell underneath the top of my leggings.

The unexpected intrusion caused me to jump, breaking our kiss for a moment.

With his forehead resting against mine, he sighed deeply.

“Trust me, love. Let me make you feel as amazing as you make me feel every day.” His words came out in short rasps.

Wrapping my hand around the back of his head, I pulled him into a kiss.

With a relieved growl, his hand plunged below my leggings, thumb now rubbing over the sensitive apex between my thighs that had been throbbing with need since I first saw him in this damn room.

He stoked the fire within me again, and my entire body flushed with heat as he teased his fingers against the side of my underwear.

“Declan…”

“Tell me to stop,” he murmured against my skin.

“ Don’t stop ,” I whispered.

A groan ripped through him, and I was blindsided by his large finger dipping inside me, pulsing in and out of the molten core between my thighs.

My hips began to writhe uncontrollably against his hand.

He added another finger. A cry ripped from my lips, smothered by Declan’s mouth as he curled his fingers inside me.

With every pulse, the burning fire within me begged to be unleashed.

Even my dynamis rippled against the surface of my heated core. Breathing was near impossible.

“Dec…I?—”

“Breathe, Lena.”

“I—I?—”

“Hells,” he panted, his slick forehead lying against mine. “You look so beautiful like this, my love.”

All thoughts went blank inside my mind, and for once in my life, it felt as though I couldn’t think at all.

The pressure within me continued to build, with almost the same intensity as when I unbound my light dynamis earlier.

Deft hands worked within me. His thumb continued to add tension where it was needed most. The feeling was so fierce that I feared I might combust if a release from it didn’t come soon.

Clutching around Declan’s neck, I held on for dear life, sending a prayer to the gods I would survive my undoing. Warm lips brushed against my ear as he whispered one last time.

“ Let go for me, love .”

Sealing my surrender with a kiss, I careened, seeing stars. Literally and figuratively.

Air around us began to clear its haze as I focused on calming my frantic breaths. Finding my senses once more, I was able to take in the sight around us.

“So. Damn. Stunning,” he hummed against my cheek.

Bright, golden spheres appeared around us. One fluttered underneath my nose as a breathless laugh escaped from me. Declan released his grip on me, taking a step back to allow me some space. His fingertips grazed my chin.

“Elena…I—” There was a strain in his voice as he whispered my name.

The blissful smile that had blossomed against my cheeks vanished as he stepped further away. Indecision struck through him, like the chill of the first frost. Tentatively, I raised my hand to comfort him, but he pushed it back down.

“I…” His lips were tight, breathing erratic.

“I shouldn’t have done that… I’m so sorry.

This just can’t be, Elena.” He paused for one more second, his fingers curling around the edge of the door so hard his knuckles were void of color.

“Wildfire, you deserve a beautiful life. With me you’ll only find destruction.

Live, Elena,” With glossy eyes he stormed out the opposite door.

No.

I tore the door wide open.

“DECLAN STALLARD!” My yell echoed through the vacant hallway.

He turned around, eyes reddened with tears streaming down the harsh lines of his chin. That was when I realized his eyes were no longer focused on mine. They had shifted to someone behind me.

Holding my breath, I turned around to come face to face with Will. Blooms of wildflowers dangled in his hand. One glance at my flushed face, swollen lips, and they fell to the floor.

“Will,” I breathed, as he stormed off in the opposite direction.

When I whipped around towards Declan, my heart sank to see he had left as well.

Fury burned through me, and a whirlwind of light dynamis scorched through my fingertips. White flames flickered across the hallway as I screamed towards the gods.

Blackened ash replaced the once vibrant petals, and I couldn’t help but feel like we were kindred spirits.