In a minute, he would set her aside, but when a minute passed, he was still holding her. When he lowered his head and rested his cheek against her temple, he expected her to pull away, but her fingers bit into his back.
Willow couldn’t breathe as anticipation and the aching need of her body built to almost unbearable levels. She lifted her head until their mouths were only inches apart, and each of his soft exhalations was a warm caress against her lips. The touching, yet not quite touching, would drive her insane, but she also enjoyed the exquisite torture.
And then, her gaze lifted to meet his, and the torment she saw in his eyes caused her body to tense in a whole new way. His eyes darkened to the color of mercury. She loved being in his arms, but he looked like it was torture for him.
Sitting up, she placed her hands against his chest and went to pull away, but his arms constricted around her as his gaze fell to her lips. She went completely still when his mouth lowered toward hers.
She should push away and put some distance between them, but she was desperate to know how his lips felt and tasted. Still, she almost turned her head away at the last second, but when his lips brushed hers, she froze.
Little bolts of electricity shot through her, and she felt the contact all the way to the tips of her toes. Something inside her shifted, and she swore her soul released a breath she’d never realized it was holding until now.
Warm and unyielding against hers, his lips were as strong and unrelenting as the man as they took possession of hers. When his tongue entwined with hers, she forgot all about the trees, the cold, and the monsters possibly still hunting them. She forgot hernameas his kiss swept her up in a rush of passion, the likes of which she’d never experienced before. The taste and feel of him consumed her; he smelled of the woods and the outdoors, but he tasted sweet.
Declan stopped thinking the second Willow opened her mouth and gave herself over to the kiss. His blood hammered through his veins and flooded his shaft. He’d never been so hard before.
This wasn’t safe. He should pull away, but he couldn’t bring himself to part with her yet. It had been years since he experienced the pleasure of holding another in his arms, and all those women paled in comparison to the way Willow made him feel.
He had to get away from her… in a little bit.
* * *
Derrick stoodin the shadows of the trees, watching the two of them kiss. They were so caught up in each other that he could make his move now and kill the man before they realized he was there, but he hesitated. Even if he killed the man, he still had to face the woman, and he needed her alive.
He had plans for her. He rubbed the handle of the sword he’d removed from the tunnels. His new leader wanted the sword, and he would get it to him, but Kirkau also sought a purebred woman, and he suspected that’s what this woman was. She was faster and stronger than most of the vamps they encountered.
Yes, he’d get the sword to Kirkau, but he’d also deliverher. His new master meant to destroy anyone who got in his way, and that included the Alliance and Nathan. Because of that, Derrick would do everything in his power to help him succeed.
He smiled grimly as he watched the sickening display. Before becoming a vampire, his hatred of them was ingrained into every fiber of his being. He wasinfuriatedwhen Nathan announced he was forming an Alliance with the vamps; he’d been betrayed by his leader and more than happy to leave the traitor behind.
He’d spent his days at the new hunter location plotting how to take down the Alliance and how to make Nathan pay for his betrayal to their kind and everything they believed. Then, they captured him, and the unfairness of it all furthered his hatred for Nathan and everyone working with him.
Now, he was one of the monsters, and he wouldn’t be like this if it weren’t for Nathan and the Alliance. This wastheirfault. But no matter how badly he wanted to destroy every last one of them, he had to make sure he captured the woman alive.
If she’d survived this long, she was a strong fighter, and though he was silent, they might sense his approach. He wouldn’t be strong enough to take both of them. He would see every member of the Alliance dead, but he wasn’t stupid or reckless in his determination to destroy them.
He knew how to bide his time and wait for the perfect time to destroy his prey. A better opportunity would arise, and he would be there when it did. He excelled at staying hidden and tracking.
When these two went into the waterfall, he’d left the battle at the top of the cliff immediately. He knew a losing situation when he saw one, and he wanted the female. If he could take them both, all the better, but she was his main concern.
It had taken him a while to find their trail again, but now that he had it, he wouldn’t lose them. They were good but not as good as him, and they would soon learn that. Before these two stopped being distracted with each other, he slipped into the woods. He would stay far back from them to make sure they never knew he was there.
Chapter Nineteen
Willow’s fingersslid down Declan’s chest as he bent over her. Anticipation built within her as she ran her fingers down the thick wall of his chest, over his abs, and down to the edge of his shirt. She lifted the ends, and her fingers touched on the soft skin pulled taut over his etched abs.
Just when she thought he was going to settle her on the ground and ease the fire he stoked so easily to life within her, he grasped her hands and pulled them out from under his shirt. She didn’t realize he’d moved away from her until she found herself sitting on the ground, alone.
Cold air rushed in to replace his warmth, and she opened her eyes to discover him ten feet away. The chill that slid through her had nothing to do with the brisk spring air as he prowled over to stand near a tree. His entire body vibrated as if he were a volcano building toward eruption.
Feeling like an idiot, she settled her hands in her lap, but her mortification over being abruptly tossed aside vanished in the wake of his obvious distress. What was so distressing about kissing her?
She didn’t know the answer, but his shoulders were so tensed they almost touched his ears, and he hunched in a way that made him look as if he expected her to yell at him. She had no intention of doing that.
Rising, Willow brushed dirt and leaves from her ass before straightening her clothes. She couldn’t deny her disappointment or feeling of rejection, but she straightened her shoulders before lifting her head to look at him again.
The hunger in his gaze and the red in his eyes caused her to freeze. He wasn’t rejecting her. That much was evident in the way his eyes drank in her body before settling on her face again.
No, whatever caused him to bolt away from her like he was a bomb and she was the spark that would blow him sky-high had nothing to do with a lack of desire on his part. She suspected that whatever drove him away had more to do withhimthan her.
