Chapter 140: One Way Or Another
“Lily, it’s me,” Derek whispers in my ear. I break free of his grasp and spin around to face him. Irate doesn’t even touch the amount of anger I feel towards him for making me think I was in real danger.
“What the hell were you thinking?” I say and point my finger at his chest. He grabs my hand instantly and yanks me up against his body.
“I was thinking I would show you a glimpse of the risk you are taking by traveling alone,” he bites back.
“What is wrong with you? You scared me half to death to prove a point?” I say incredulously.
“And prove it I did. You drove so long you made yourself exhausted and let your guard down. We have a multitude of enemies after us and you made it so easy to get to you! When you checked in you took your sweet time getting into your room and then you didn’t lock the deadbolt! You are already taking risks and now I know I can’t trust you to be careful,” he replies angrily. While the things he is pointing out may have some validity to them, I’m not backing down from my perspective on this.
“I told you I was doing this alone and you need to respect that, Derek! Maybe I’m not doing things exactly like you want me to, but I’m making the decisions for myself and you need to back off. You can’t come swooping in to save me every time you smell trouble. I am more than capable of handling this on my own,” I tell him stubbornly.
“You obviously need me to make sure you don’t get yourself into a dangerous situation,” he retorts and huffs arrogantly.
“I don’t need you!” I shout and the sting of my words echoes in the room around us. His face transforms into more animalistic rage than I have ever seen before. He stalks towards me and I back up until I hit the large window at the end of the room. He grabs my shoulders in a punishing grip and shakes me a little.
“You do need me,” he growls and the double meaning behind his words is not lost on me. So that’s what this is all about, I think. He doesn’t like to feel helpless or inadequate. I have wounded his pride by leaving and it’s eating at him. But I’m past the point of no return. I can’t let my urge to comfort him outweigh my goal of finding and saving our baby girl.
“No, Derek. Not in this, at least,” I reply firmly and it’s not what he wanted to hear.
“Well I know of one thing you need me for,” he says in a low voice and attacks my mouth with his. I almost give in but I shove him away at the last minute.
“I have to get back on the road,” I say and he grabs both of my wrists and pins them to the window on either side of me.
“You can get back on the road when I’ve made sure that you’ve seen the error of your ways,” he replies and presses into me. I struggle against his grip but it’s no use; he’s much too strong.
“Derek, I mean it. Let me go,” I tell him.
“Never,” he says. Then he assaults my lips again, rubbing his erection against me and growling low in his throat. I’m utterly consumed by him. I know I can spare a few moments. I can allow him access to this part of myself to give him assurance that our bond is still strong. But there’s a defiant part of me that wants to let him know I’m still in control of the outcome.
I try to push him away again and he retaliates by tearing my blouse open and shoving my bra aside, exposing my breasts. His mouth latches on to my nipple as he grabs my wrists again. I’m helpless to refuse him and I realize I don’t really want to. As he nibbles and sucks on my breasts, giving them equal attention, I moan in response. Even as I continue to try and get him to release me.
The power struggle continues as I buck my hips against him, spurring him on further. He rips my pants down along with my underwear and spins me around to face the window. My hands make marks on the glass as I view the parking lot below. It’s unlikely anyone can see us since the room is so dark but I feel a rush of exhilaration at the possibility.
Suddenly I hear a zipper and I barely take in a breath before Derek is inside me. His thrusts are brutal and unrelenting and my body becomes slick with perspiration and need. He means to make his presence and his dominance known. He needs this to feel like a man again, to feel like the Alpha. I start pushing back against him, driving him into me deeper. He growls low in his throat as he feels my acquiescence, picking up his pace even further.
We are both hurtling towards the sun and I relish the idea of burning so bright, the light of our love blinding me to all else. At the final moment when I’m about to lose myself completely, he reaches down and rubs me between my legs, catapulting me over the edge. We both cry out at the same time as we reach our peak and a single tear falls from my eye.
He backs away from me and I turn around to face him. He puts himself back together quickly and looks up at me. He is breathing heavily and gives me an arrogant smirk. I raise my eyebrow at him, trying not to let him see how much he just affected me.
“Keep telling yourself you’re better off doing this alone, Lily. But I think we both know how much you need me, in one way or another,” he says and starts to walk out of my room.
I hurriedly pick up a hotel glass from the side table and fill it with some water from a bottle in the fridge. I down it in one gulp and then hurl it at the door as it gives a final click on Derek’s exit.