Dark Before Dawn (The Protector Guild Book 7), page 32
She was safe.
And even from here, I could tell that she looked happier than she had when she’d left. There was an ease in her smile that had been completely eclipsed by grief before. I wasn’t sure how long the trip to hell was for her—judging by the pattern, probably far shorter than it was for us—but something about her energy felt renewed, more solid.
She pressed her lips to Ro’s cheek, making a loud suction sound with her kiss that had him shirking away with a groan and wipe of his face. Seeing the sibling ease and bond between them tightened something in my chest.
Using the brief reprieve from his affection, she ran, closing the distance between us, and flew into my arms with the force of a tornado.
Before I could prepare myself for it, her lips were pressed into mine, her smile salty with tears that I didn’t even realize I was shedding, as she squeezed me to her—like she’d missed me almost as much as I missed her.
My heart beat heavy and erratic in its cage as I clung to this girl, letting the familiar scent of her surround and envelop me. It wasn’t even a scent I could name with any concrete clarity—she smelled like the sun, like a campfire, like an open field of flowers, like home.
“I missed you,” she whispered against my mouth, her forehead pressed to mine as her fingers carved trails through my hair.
Every touch was electric, my entire body buzzing with the closeness of her.
It took me a second to realize that she was being openly affectionate with me—like in front of my team, not just in the stolen, secret moments that we’d only ever shared before. The kiss wasn’t overtly sloppy or demanding, but the intimacy of it, of our friends witnessing it, made me dizzy with delight. I hadn’t realized how much I craved it.
I knew she’d been with all of us, but never openly—never like this.
Something had changed while she was gone, something finally snapping into place, where it had been misaligned before. The resistance I was so used to between us, the constant tug between friendship and something more, finally seemed to have crossed the invisible finish line.
Hopefully for good.
“A fucking hellhound?” Wade mouthed soundlessly, indigo eyes wide with shock as he snorted. “This whole fucking time? What a dickhole.”
Max and Eli shared a laughing glance as they recounted different parts of their—for them—brief adventure in hell, while we did the same, filling in the gaps that Darius and the others had left out when they’d initially arrived.
Dinner was filled with the best food I’d ever had. Not because it was particularly great, though Charlie’s food was always fantastic, but because she was back, eating next to me, her arm grazing mine every now and then as we all filled each other in on the things we’d missed, like her body missed mine in the way mine missed hers.
Things weren’t perfect—not safe or whole. There were moments throughout the meal when we all felt Atlas’s absence acutely, a sharp stab through the chest when we paused in our mirth for a moment, glances meeting and darting away in a shared grief.
I needed to fill them in on what Levi said earlier, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it yet. Didn’t want to breach the easy humor of the evening—hearing about Sam’s secret party trick, and Max’s excitement about getting her powers back—with Levi and his mom.
It was so rare to see legitimate happiness on Eli’s face, that I wasn’t ready to watch it disappear behind the usual shadows that crept behind his eyes whenever he thought about his family. Not when he’d had less than a day to process what happened to Seamus.
Ro seemed to read my mind, offering brief overtures about our mission—recounting the ones that came before it—while I tucked in to my food, savoring the flavors and tastes in a way I hadn’t been able to in months.
It was quite late for dinner, but Charlie’s restaurant never seemed to be empty, and there were a few Defiance members I’d seen around the grounds a few tables away. So we kept our voices down when we needed to and avoided topics that we couldn’t discuss with outside ears close by.
Every molecule in my being seemed acutely aware of Max, every sense heightened by her nearness.
I nearly choked on a bite of lamb when her hand crawled slowly up my thigh, under the table, her fingers dipping close enough to graze my clit through the fabric of my pants.
That simple touch sent a bolt of fire rippling through my spine, the sensation somehow heightened by the knowledge that it was a secret moment between the two of us—the message clear that even though we were all together, sharing in our nearness, she wanted me individually.
I hid the pulsing need behind a well-practiced mask, I met her eyes—the dark desire mirrored there enough to instantly melt it away.
I slid down in my chair, unconsciously sliding her hand towards me again, my body craving something I’d normally be too shy to acknowledge or ask for in public. But now, something about the taboo nature of it sent an erotic thrill through me.
Her knuckle ran along the seam of my pants, from my clit down to the wet heat already radiating from my core, a firm promise in the gesture that had me half ready to abandon this team dinner altogether.
As happy as I was to see Eli, I was burning to get Max alone—and I was afraid if I didn’t soon, I was going to jump on top of her in front of everyone.
My head pounded with want, the pull I always felt to her loud and insistent, unwilling to be caged after so long apart.
I sipped my water, desperate to relieve the heat, when she stroked me again and I choked, sputtering the liquid back into my cup.
“You okay, Dec?” Eli cocked an eyebrow at me, and something about the teasing gleam in his eyes as they darted between me and Max had me half convinced he knew exactly where my head was.
I cleared my throat. “Fine. Wrong pipe.”
Another stroke, this time her thumb circling my clit with a slow, languid stroke.
The corner of her mouth tilted into a knowing smirk as she took a bite of bread.
My pussy throbbed, like it was aching to close around her fingers, to rub against her thigh, skin to skin and delicious heat.
My thong was soaked, and I squirmed in the discomfort of it, in the aching need.
I pushed my chair closer to the table, sat up straighter, and tried listening again to the conversation. Ro and Darius were talking about… something. Though the way Darius flared his nose, his eyes latching onto Max with a want I felt in my bones, told me he was just as aware of the need building between us as Eli was.
Max didn’t seem to care. Her hand dipped into the front of my pants, her fingers slipping through my slickness with the practice of a master.
I bit down on my fork, spilling the piece of fried potato on the table before it could reach my mouth.
“Oh,” Max said, arching her brow, “finders keepers.”
Using the same fingers that had been stroking me two seconds ago, she picked up the bite of food and ate it, her tongue and lips sucking my juices off her fingers as her eyes met mine.
Wade groaned, the indigo in his eyes bleeding with the dark black of his pupils. Incubus. Of course he could feel the tension, he was fucking feeding off of it.
Thank the gods Ro still seemed oblivious to how bad I wanted to fucking maul his sister at least.
Slowly, I slid my hand over her thigh, pressing my palm to the mound of her, pleased to feel that she was as hot and needy as I was, that I wasn’t the only one affected by the desire building between us.
She rolled her hips forward slightly, like she was trying and failing to prevent herself from grinding against me in the middle of the restaurant.
Max’s breathing was fast and heavy, and I was hypnotized by the chaotic rise and fall of her chest. She was about as feral and ready to combust as I was—despite the teasing confidence of her fingers. We were both on the edge of losing control entirely.
After a tense pause in which my team all held their breath in a haze of lust, while Ro went on about Charlie’s cooking, none the wiser, Max pushed back from the table.
“Er,” she cleared her throat, her eyes darting around the table, unable to meet anyone else’s, “I’m going to call it for the night. Very tired. Goodnight. See you in the morning.”
Her words were stiff and robotic as she stood, her gaze dropping to meet mine briefly, her pupils blown wide as the succubus energy engulfed me.
With a wave to Mer, who was sitting on the opposite side of the restaurant, she left.
For a moment, we were silent, while Ro stared after his sister looking slightly confused and concerned.
“If you’re not going after her,” Darius’s eyes met mine as he took a long pull from the blood bag clutched in his hand, his fingers nearly puncturing it with the force of his grip, “then I will.”
“Yup.” I yawned, long and exaggerated as I shoved away from the table, cringing at the metallic groan of the legs on the floor. “Also tired. Long day. I’ll help her back and get her settled in for the night.”
I all but ran for the door, not giving anyone the opportunity to stop me, hearing only the collective exhale from the others and Wade’s low, drawn out “fucking hell” as the door closed behind me.
It was late, so it was dark outside, no light except for the reflection of the moon on the lake and the sprinkling of lights from the various cabin windows.
I didn’t see Max, but I took five steps before a hand wrapped around my mouth and pulled me to the back side of the building.
I started to scream and clenched my fists, ready to fight, instinct taking over, before I swallowed the noise as Max pressed her hips into me.
Her eyes were dark, hungry, and the moment she peeled her hand from my mouth, she replaced it with her own.
Our lips met in a clash, as she slid her knee between my thighs, twining our legs together.
Her tongue stroked the roof of my mouth, sending a bolt of raging need low in my belly. I groaned into her, grinding against her thigh as she did the same. Her hands wrapped through my hair, around the back of my neck, pulling me down, closer and harder against her.
“Fuck, I’ve missed you.” The words were little more than a whimper turned into a moan when her hand slid down the front of my pants, soaking my lips with my desire as she spread me.
She ducked down to her knees, her eyes sparkling with mischief as she pulled my pants down to my feet. The cool air hit my soaking pussy like a fucking slap, my hips bucking forward at the urgency of my want.
Fuck. This was reckless. There were dozens of people on these grounds at any given moment—anyone could come out of their cabin for a nighttime stroll at any second and find us like this.
“Max!” I scanned the immediate vicinity, making sure no one was watching us. I could still hear scattered voices in the restaurant, but no one was in sight, and we were in shadow, burrowed between the restaurant and the forest. “Someone is going to see.”
“Let them see.” Her eyes met mine again, both begging and demanding. “I need to taste you. Now. I don’t want to wait another second.”
A needy, mewling sound reverberated in the back of my throat as her mouth closed around me, any pretense of calling this off made impossible now by the waves of pleasure swallowing me whole.
“Fuck, that feels good.” My head fell to the back of the wall as she licked and sucked. When she shoved two fingers inside, petting along my G-spot, my knees went wobbly.
She pressed her forearm across my hips, stabilizing me against the wall with a surprising strength as she continued feasting like she hadn’t eaten in weeks.
Her fingers pumped faster inside of me, her lips sucking on my clit with almost too much force.
My head went dizzy, my heartbeat erratic, as I squirmed, the sensation riding the edge of being almost painful with how good it felt. But her arm remained firm, keeping me there no matter how much I squirmed, her pace unrelenting and punishing until my orgasm ripped out of me. I shoved my fist into my mouth to swallow the scream tearing through my chest as Max kept going, her pace slowing as the sensitivity mounted, but building back up again into another wave.
My legs turned to jelly as my knees buckled, and I slid down the wall until my face was next to hers. She pressed her mouth to mine, as a strange, not-entirely unpleasant tingling sensation engulfed me, the world going topsy-turvy and then black.
I closed my eyes tight, growing dizzy from the surplus of sensations, but when I opened them again, we were standing in the cabin—in the room I’d been sleeping in.
So her powers really were back—and stronger, more controlled than they’d ever been.
Generally, teleporting made me nauseous and exhausted, but the lust shrouding us was so strong, so demanding, that any discomfort slipped nearly unnoticed.
I kicked off my shoes, letting my pants slip to the ground as I made quick work of Max’s clothes.
“Fuck, you’re beautiful.” I shoved her gently back onto my bed, groaning at the smooth, warm skin, the hard peaks of her nipples, the way her hair waved and sprawled out over my pillow.
There was a new, dark iridescent mark carving around her arm, her side. “Is that a tattoo?”
I combed my memory of our last time together. I’d spent hours memorizing it, knew every inch and dip of her skin. This was new.
“You got inked in hell?”
She cleared her throat, a small, shy grin tugging at her lips. “It’s a bond-mark.”
I nodded, my stomach tightening at the word, like a need, an ache inside of me knew the gravity of it, the reverence—my brain just needed to catch up. Later.
I had questions, but now wasn’t the time to ask them. Instead my eyes traced the complex lines and curves of the mark as I pulled my shirt and bra off, wanting as much of my skin against hers as possible.
After peeling her leggings and panties off, I found her hot and soaked, her pussy glistening with need. I crawled onto the bed, sliding my tongue over her, my own clit pulsing when she moaned, like her pleasure was my own. I kissed and nipped along her firm stomach, pressing my knee to her core as she thrust against me, soaking my leg with her desire.
When I took her nipple into my mouth, teasing the hard bud with my teeth, she arched off the bed, her breaths little more than gasps and desperate pants.
“Please, Declan,” she whimpered, her voice cracked and raw as my fingers slid down her stomach, her thigh, teasing. “Gods I want you. I feel like I’m going to fucking combust.”
This was what I wanted every day for the rest of my life—Max splayed out on my bed, hot and ready for me, shivering at my every touch, begging for my mercy.
I took her bottom lip between my teeth, my stomach tightening at the taste of her as she gasped, hips thrusting forward along my thigh.
She raked her nails down my back, pressing my hips down until I was pressed against her, my entire core throbbing at the friction.
My chest slid against hers as I rode her, my fingers slipping through her folds, thumb circling her clit, until she was a writhing mess beneath me.
“Yes,” she moaned, head tilted back, so that my lips and teeth could find the sensitive skin along her neck. “Yes, just like that. Oh my god,” she tried riding my hand, but I wouldn’t let her control the pace. This was my turn. I stopped moving my fingers inside of her, stopped grinding against her until my own pussy clenched in frustration at the halt.
A needy, cracked cry left her lips as her dark eyes met mine, flaring with heat and power.
I took that power and made it my own. Slowly, I slid down her, not breaking eye contact, as I lifted her thighs over my shoulders and blew air against her clit.
“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” she whispered, fists clenching into my sheets as she tried to hold herself still under my teasing.
Holding this power over her was fucking divine. Everything about her was intoxicating.
When she stopped moving, I grinned, licking her, my mouth closing around her as I pumped two fingers in, then three. She tasted amazing—salty and hot and mine.
Her walls clamped around my fingers as the orgasm ripped through her, her body jerking with the force of it as I ate her out.
“Oh,” she panted, chest heaving in ragged breaths, “my fucking,” she pulled me up to her, taking my lips with hers as our bodies wound together, “gods.”
Both of us were still slippery, unsated as our legs slid together, grinding on each other as we licked, teased, bit, and held each other.
Every inch of my skin was aware of her touch, a single finger on my back as erotic and enticing as the touch of her tight thigh against my core.
She dipped her hand between us and my entire body spasmed when she lightly pinched my clit.
We slid against each other—tangled limbs, sweat, desire, and heat. Our pace picked up as our eyes met, mouths open and gasping into each other as we drew closer to another release.
She pressed her forehead to me, panting and whimpering from the intensity.
“Your mine, Max Bentley,” I whispered into the air between us.
She pulled back, meeting my eyes again, their depths dark and filled with power as she nodded. “Yours.”
She kissed me as we both exploded, swallowing each other’s screams of pleasure until I couldn’t be sure where mine ended and hers began.
22
MAX
The room was dark, impossibly cold. I watched my breath form into small, transparent gray clouds in front of me.
Squinting, I saw a figure, huddled into a ball next to me. They were naked and trembling. And almost glowing—the only thing I could see, like they were the light source for this room. If this could be called a room. It felt more like a void.
I inched forward, hyper aware of how silent it was here, how alone we were in the darkness.
It was the heavy sort of darkness that I could feel all the way to my bones, like I could lose my grip on reality if I wasn’t careful.
When I reached the ball of trembling limbs and lean muscle, it skittered away before unfolding with a long, anguished cry.
