Chapter 189 189
She pressed her lips to his throat, and a rough grunt vibrated out of him in response.
Inside her, she could feel him growing harder, swelling with every passing second. His hands were planted on either side of her head, muscles taut, veins standing out beneath his skin. For a fleeting moment, she wished there was nothing between them no layers of clothing, no barriers. She wanted to tear his shirt away and feel his bare skin against hers.
But she stopped herself.
She didn’t want to risk doing anything that might trigger the unpredictable side of him and ruin this fragile, precious moment. She couldn’t bear the thought of him pulling away now.
The sensations flooding through her body were overwhelming wild and intoxicating. She had heard people speak about feelings like this before, but she had never truly understood them until now.
She leaned forward and brushed a soft kiss over his Adam’s apple just as he swallowed thickly.
Damien glanced down at her flushed face for a brief second, drinking in the sight of her. Then he shut his eyes tightly. When he opened them again, something wilder flickered there his wolf stirring beneath the surface.
With a low growl, he thrust into her harder, faster.
She gasped sharply as he moved, and he answered with another strained grunt, driving into her with growing intensity.
“Jacq…” he rasped, the name leaving him in a rough groan.
Her body jolted with each thrust, his rhythm becoming stronger and more controlled with every movement.
“Damien…” she whispered softly.
She lifted her lips to his jaw, scattering light kisses along the line of it and down the side of his neck, showering him with gentle affection.
The tenderness of the gesture shook him more than he expected.
Suddenly, a strange tingling spread through his gums as his canines threatened to lengthen. His wolf surged violently inside him, desperate to mark her to bite down and seal her as his forever.
It took every ounce of restraint he possessed to force that instinct back down.
Damien pulled himself completely out of her before thrusting back in with a powerful motion.
Once.
Twice.
A third time.
Jacqueline cried out, her voice muffled as the wave of pleasure finally crashed over her.
Her body trembled violently as she reached her peak.
Damien answered with a deep, animalistic growl as he followed right after, releasing himself while buried deep inside her.
She clung to him, arms wrapping around his neck as she pulled him closer. He continued moving in slow, unsteady thrusts, stretching out the last moments of their shared release.
Her head tipped back, eyes squeezed shut as sensations unlike anything she had ever known rippled through her body. She trembled beneath him, overwhelmed by the intensity of it all.
She had never imagined intimacy could feel so consuming so powerful it made her feel as if the stars themselves had exploded behind her eyes.
Her arms remained wrapped tightly around him, but Damien was careful not to crush her beneath his weight. He held himself up on his elbows as both of them struggled to catch their breath.
Their chests rose and fell rapidly.
Their hearts hammered wildly.
After a moment, he shifted back slightly, his olive eyes lowering to study her.
Her eyes were still closed. Tears continued to slip from the corners, dampening the dark fringe of her lashes. Her cheeks and the tip of her nose were tinted pink, her swollen lips trembling faintly.
Her dark hair spread across the floor like ink, and her chest rose and fell with deep, exhausted breaths.
He had been so lost in claiming her that he hadn’t noticed something before.
Now he did.
Scars.
Thin marks marred the skin of her stomach and thighs.
Some looked old. Others were more recent.
They were faint, but they were there etched into her skin like silent reminders of everything she had endured.
Her skin glistened with sweat, but her scent still carried that soft, floral sweetness that clung to her naturally.
Slowly, Damien pulled out of her.
She stirred beneath him as he lowered his head, brushing light kisses over her stomach.
Jacqueline gasped in surprise.
Her eyes flew open as she quickly grabbed his face, trying to stop him.
But he caught her wrists easily, holding them firmly in one hand.
“D… Damien…” she squirmed beneath him, flustered.
Finally, he relented.
He moved away and pulled his boxers back up before fastening his pants.
His dark gaze remained fixed on her as she slowly pushed herself into a sitting position.
Something twisted painfully inside him when he noticed what she did first.
Instead of covering her exposed body, she instinctively tried to hide the scars.
Even sitting there on the dirty floor, flushed and disheveled, she looked almost otherworldly.
Quietly, she adjusted her bra and then began putting her clothes back on piece by piece, shielding herself from the intensity of his stare.
When she finally stood, her legs trembled slightly beneath her.
Her eyes drifted toward Julien’s lifeless body.
A strange realization washed over her.
For the first time, she had chosen someone.
She had given herself willingly given her body to someone she wanted.
And it had happened here, in front of the corpse of the man who had tormented her for years.
But she didn’t feel his presence anymore.
His touch was gone.
The only thing she could feel now was Damien’s warmth still lingering on her skin and the faint reminder of him between her legs.
Damien had finished inside her.
And now he stood there again, a short distance away, rigid and silent like a statue.
Cold.
Watching.
Damien stared at the girl who had unknowingly turned his entire world upside down.
It terrified him how close he had come to marking her how his wolf had nearly claimed her as their mate without hesitation.
But she had already endured too much tonight.
Revealing what he truly was right now would only overwhelm her further.
One step at a time.
Moving toward her slowly, he reached out and gripped her jaw, pressing his fingers into her cheeks until her lips parted slightly.
Her eyes lifted to his, still filled with lingering pain.
Without warning, he crashed his mouth against hers.
His arm wrapped tightly around her waist, pulling her small body flush against his.
The kiss was anything but gentle.
It was fierce, consuming almost brutal, as if he were silently claiming her in the only way he allowed himself to.
Everything he felt poured into that kiss.
Jacqueline pushed weakly against his chest until he finally broke away.
She stood there panting, wide-eyed.
Damien cupped her cheeks again, wiping away the last traces of tears.
Inside his mind, his wolf paced like a king claiming conquered territory.
She smelled like him now.
His scent clung to her skin.
The realization filled him with a fierce, possessive satisfaction.
His gaze dropped to her neck.
Instinct took over.
He leaned down and buried his face against the curve of it, sinking his teeth lightly into her skin. She winced as he nipped there, his lips lingering until a dark purple mark bloomed beneath the surface.
A hickey.
His mark.
Jacqueline instinctively tried to look toward Julien’s body again. Even though the man was dead, a part of her wanted him to see it to see that she was finally free from him.
But Damien gently turned her away.
His hand rested against the small of her back as he guided her toward the exit.
Neither of them spoke a word.
Yet as they walked away from that place, a quiet realization settled deep within Jacqueline’s chest.
Her heart trembled softly.
Somewhere along the way…
She had fallen in love with him.