"You're no fun to me this way," he replied, unable to help the small smile. She both frustrated him and made him sane, all in the same breath. He was too easily affected by her, but at least she was likewise affected by him.
"But, I ... want ... you...now..." Her breathing deepened, and she slid into sleep.
"I'm going to ask Vikki what the hell she gave you. I might need it in the future," he said quietly. He reached out to her and touched her face.
While he adored her sweet spunk, her inability to conform was definitely going to be an issue. His father and mother had been partners. What if Zoey wasn't able to adapt to the Incubus society any more than she'd been able to the Sucubatti's rules? What if he couldn't figure out the trigger that turned her into some sort of Incubus-killing machine?
Declan rubbed his mouth. It wasn't like he could walk away. Likewise, he wasn't at all certain how he was going to handle the duties of leading and a soul-mate who killed Incubuses. If that news got out, he'd have to make a very brutal decision.
First things first, he needed to survive this mess.
His gaze lingered on her. She was deep asleep. Rather than stay, he changed and returned to the gym, only to be intercepted by his father in the elevator.
"Still?" Ethan asked.
"Yeah," Declan replied.
"You can do something more useful. We're planning to pick up the Bennies and girls this weekend, as you requested."
Declan nodded in satisfaction.
"You feel strongly enough about this to move our plans forward?"
"I do," Declan said. "Not only do we owe it to the Benefactors, but to the girls."
"Olivia is on board. I don't trust her, but I'll have to this weekend."
Declan hesitated. "I know. I'm not one hundred percent certain this is the right thing to do, but the sooner we get them away from the Sucubatti, the better. Maybe if we seclude the Professor and his kind, they'll provide more information about what Olivia's done to Zoey."
"Tough choices. I'm glad you're decisive enough to make them," his father said. "I learned the hard way, but you're a natural."
"It certainly doesn't feel that way."
"If it gets easy to make a decision that involves the lives of others, you need to be replaced," his father said.
Declan smiled at his father's wisdom, sensing the man beside him had been like Zoey when young.
"I don't know what to do about Zoey," he started.
"She won't fall into place like a puzzle piece, based on her file. She'll have you to ground her, though."
"I thought it would be the other way around."
"It will be when needed. The disadvantage of being an Incubus: we know sex. We don't know women."
Declan laughed.
"Seriously. Do you know how long it took for your mother and me to figure each other out?" his father asked fondly. "I should say, just to be able to live together peacefully?"
"Please don't say years."
"Years. Relationships are about things we don't innately care about. Like trust and communication. What Incubus needs that shit? We weren't created for relationships, but we have to learn."
"That's the second time I've heard the word trust used today," Declan said.
"You are more like your mother than me, which will serve you well," his father added. "You have patience, and you already know what you need to do to win your girl. We'll figure out what Olivia did and make sure your Zoey is okay. The rest is up to you."
Declan listened. He didn't think it was going to be as easy as his father made it out to be and wondered if his father was keeping secrets again.
Chapter Fifteen: Strike Two.
Any hope she had of Declan having some small grain of mercy was crushed when she awoke with a migraine. Zoey groaned and gripped her head. She broke their connection by rolling onto her stomach, which only made it worse. She vaguely recalled her evening, but not how she ended up in Declan's bed instead of her own.
"You ready to negotiate?" he asked casually.
"It's just a tiny headache," she snapped.
He chuckled. "You're a horrible liar."
"I'm good. Getting ready to catch a ride home."
"You know you're not going anywhere."
She wasn't going to admit he was right. He rolled her over. She didn't resist. A small pulse of magic, and her headache was gone, her mind clear. He stirred her sex energy with his touch. Her body hummed already.
"Damn you," she muttered.
"You're angry."
"Very."
He gave her a slow smile. "Tell me why."
"You mean, aside from you betraying me and making me betray my friends?" she demanded, pushing herself up. "Marking and dumping me on the Professor's porch three years ago without telling me about this bonding thing? Then reading my mind yesterday at the inquisition?"
"And ..."
"Isn't that enough?"
"Making you realize you'd given me access to your soul when you never gave Eric your heart."
Zoey stared at him. "Can you read my mind?"
"Only sometimes, when we're touching, like we are now."
"I don't like this game," she said. She strained to move away.
"I love it." He pulled her back and slung his thigh across hers to keep her from moving. "There's more, isn't there." The fire of challenge was in his eyes. He let more of his magic free, and it fed her anger and sex energy. It overtook her senses. She struggled to resist him, knowing he was doing it again on purpose.
"Stop," he warned again. "Remember?"
Zoey sighed. She pushed down her resistance, if only to feel the warmth of their bond.
"Yesterday, after you fucked me over, I wanted to kill you," she told him, the fury rising within her again. "Not in a quick, clean way." She propped herself up on her elbows to bring her face closer to his. "You can't have access to all of me, Declan. It's so not fair."
"That sounds like a dare." The light in his eyes burned brighter, and she sensed the patience he showed their first night was gone.
Zoey broke the tension between them first, kissing him. His magic roared through her, lighting her anger into a frenzy. His touch was demanding rather than gentle, and she yielded quickly, surprised when he pushed her to climax fast, using his mouth and hands. Her orgasm came fast and hard, slamming into her. Declan entered her then, pushing the waves of pleasure higher and higher, nipping, kneading and maneuvering her body roughly. Lost in the sensations, Zoey cried out as he held her in the state of pleasure, her body bucking beneath his. She entered his mind, the strange place between them, as he fucked her hard and fast. His restraint was sliding as he commanded her body to new heights using magic and physical prowess.
A new sensation deep and primal built within her, mirrored through their bond and the physical joining. The strength of it alarmed her at first, until she recalled that he shared his soul with her the first night and did so again tonight. This time, though, he was nudging the door of hers open.
The tension of his body grew, the connection between them taut and straining as they both fed off the sex energy. Near madness with an orgasm extended for half an hour, she started to slide into darkness when the primal build-up broke simultaneously with Declan's orgasm. Zoey's strangled cry sounded distant to her ears as ecstasy paralyzed her with undulating ripples that tore through her, physically and spiritually. The sense of being united with him were more intense as their pooled pleasure swept through them on all levels, shattering the barriers between their minds and souls. They were fused by the sex energy.
When the physical sensations relented, Zoey lay still, uncertain if she could move at all. Declan was panting from effort and the effects of the bonding.
He rested on top of her. He nibbled her earlobe then spread kisses across her face.
"What the fuck was that?" she managed.
Declan laughed softly.
Zoey's eyes fluttered open. He touched her face, peering deeply into her gaze. She saw his soul and realized he'd done it; he'd united theirs into one. The flow between them was natural, no longer stopped or controlled by one or the other. She couldn't throw up her barriers if she wanted to.
That he had unfettered access to her was a terrifying thought.
"You're mine, Zoey," he said. "You've lost two bets to me in two days."
"Doesn't it scare you?" she whispered. Her body was slow to respond, but it worked. She touched his face, tracing the chiseled features.
"No. It does you?"
She nodded. Tears leaked from the corners of her eyes.
"Was I too rough?" he asked, wiping them away.
"No, never. Unless you're interrogating me in front of the damn Enforcers."
"That side of me scares you," he guessed.
"This whole thing does."
"You can go back to defying me. You've got one more strike."
She smiled. "Oh, I will."
"Good. I love your fire and I love quieting it even more."
His words thrilled her. Sensing she hadn't recovered yet, he settled beside her and pulled her into his body. Zoey breathed in the scent of his neck and wound her fingers through the dark curls on his chest. Their legs intertwined, she shifted her hips until they were pressed against his.
"This is how you should've been yesterday at the hearing," he said. "Quiet. Calm."
"Compared to how I normally am, I was," she retorted with no heat. "I fucked it up, didn't I?"
"I would've read you anyway," he replied.
"Really? You knew that before I walked in?" She pushed her head back to see his eyes.
"Yeah. I knew about Liam and Vikki. I wanted to see how much you knew."
"Can I read you?" she asked.
"Not sure I want you trying."
"Just for that, you damn well better tell me how!" she said. She placed a hand loosely at his neck, the way he had her, without knowing what to do.
"Alright. We'll see how tough you are," he said. He trailed kisses down her forehead and nose then pressed his warm lips against hers.
"No," she said firmly. "You're not distracting me."
Declan nuzzled her cheek and then leaned back.
"I don't think you'll be able to read me," he said seriously. "I don't know if you'll be strong enough to talk to me mentally."
"I want to try."
Can you hear me? His voice was in her head.
She nodded.
"Normally, Halflings of either society can't propel their thoughts into the mind of a full-blood, even though we can do it to you."
"How do I try it?"
"Focus on me and the bond, all you have to do is "
I'm glad I'm here with you. She didn't wait for him to finish his instructions, but concentrated on him and the magic between them.
He stopped mid-sentence, a smile spreading across his face. This was different than his other smiles. This one was tender.
"It was just a test," she said, her face warm at his look. "You know."
"Right," he whispered. "You surprise me more and more every time we meet."