Apprehension raced through her. She knew what they were to each other, but it was all moving so fast. She’d only planned to enjoy what might be the last hours of her life with him. She hadn’t expected it to result in being claimed by her mate.
If she told him no, he’d stop, but the word lodged in her throat when his tongue flickered over her skin again and his fangs rested against her vein. She feared the unknown that would follow this claiming, but her desperation to join with her mate far outweighed her apprehension.
Then his fangs pierced her skin, and her fear vanished as a scream of ecstasy rose in her throat. She stifled it by dropping her head to the hollow of his neck, and before she could stop herself, she bit into him.
As his blood filled her mouth, she forgot her teasing movements as her fingers dug into the chiseled muscles of his back and her hips thrust against him. When his thoughts mingled with hers, his pleasure was almost too much for her to bear.
Fueled by Willow’s emotions, Declan couldn’t control himself as her thoughts battered him. Seizing her hips, he drove harder into her while her muffled cries propelled him onward. When the muscles of her sheath clenched around him, he didn’t have time to pull out of her before he came.
Willow felt the pulse of his shaft deep inside her, but she couldn’t bring herself to care that they hadn’t taken any precautions against pregnancy. Shejusthad the most intense orgasm of her life, and she couldn’t stop her hips from moving against his as she soughtmore.
Sensing her need, Declan lifted her from his lap and brought her down to the floor. He positioned her so she was on all fours in front of him. His cock didn’t have a chance to soften before he was entering her again.
Today, they’d unleashed the demon he’d caged for centuries, and it possessed an insatiable appetite.
Chapter Thirty-Two
When the family woke,Declan pulled himself away from Willow to program them with new instructions for the day. She stirred when he did and once she realized the family was awake, she dressed before curling up on the floor again.
He retrieved a blanket and pillow from Cheryl and made her more comfortable before returning to the family and instructing them to remain at home for the day. It might seem odd to have them all staying inside, but he couldn’t take the chance of them going out and encountering a Savage.
If someone asked why they were inside, their cover story was a stomach bug and they weren’t feeling well. However, he did take the chance of trying to send Junior out of town with the instructions to find a phone and call Ronan if he made it.
Like Willow, he preferred not to put the family at further risk, but he would do anything to get her out of here. Knowing that Junior’s trip was most likely futile, Declan waited with Gus for the young man to return.
Junior returned fifteen minutes later with the news that a crowd was gathering at the town line, but the police weren’t letting anyone leave. When asked why they were keeping people here, Junior reported the police told him it was a national emergency, and that was all they would reveal.
Declan retreated to the kitchen with Gus and looked out the back window to discover people gathering near the woodline. They stood fifty feet apart from each other, and none of them spoke as they stared at the houses and waited for something to happen. Their eerie silence reminded him of the Stepford Wives, and he loathed every second of it.
He was sure there were people like them all over town. Declan didn’t know how the Savages chose the people they’d taken control of to be their eyes during the daytime. He was just grateful they hadn’t picked Gus and his family.
Each person also had a gun. If they were loaded with regular bullets, they wouldn’t kill him or Willow, but they would slow them down. However, they could have wooden bullets that would kill them.
Either way, they couldn’t take the chance of being shot and tracked by their blood. And if someone didn’t shoot them, each of the people also had a handheld radio to report their location if they saw something unusual. They were effectively trapped in this town.
Gus returned to the living room and turned on the TV. “I don’t see anything about a national emergency,” he muttered as he flipped through the channels.
And Declan knew he wouldn’t. Pulling a confused Gus away from the TV, Declan had the man show him around the house. He studied the basement and attic before deciding the attic would be a better place to hide if it became necessary.
After he finished going through the house, he emptied the trash in the bathroom, dumped the bag with Willow’s dirty clothes into the trashcan in the kitchen, and took it out to the containers in the garage. With the lid on the trashcan shut, he couldn’t detect the scent of her clothes beneath the aroma of the garbage.
When he returned to the room, he settled on the floor next to Willow and pulled her into his arms. Despite their dire situation, he smiled when she stirred and nestled closer to him before falling asleep again.
Declan hadn’t planned to fall asleep but he woke at the creak of the door and lifted his head when Gus stepped inside.
“You told me to wake you if something was happening,” Gus said.
“What is it?” he asked Gus as he reluctantly pulled away from Willow.
“The police are a few doors down,” Gus said. “It looks like they’re searching the houses.”
Those words were like a bucket of ice dumped over his head. Declan glanced around the small room with its sewing machines and stands with containers. Willow had remained the lookout in this room last night because it provided the best view of the street.
Shoving the blanket aside, he carefully extracted himself from her and stalked toward the window. He remained hidden from view as he gazed out at the police officer walking up the porch steps of a house five doors down. Another man was at his side.
“Fuck,” Declan muttered as he tugged at his hair. “Who is that with the officer?”
“Dwight. He owns the funeral home in town.”
