Page 31 of The Warrior's Salvation

"You mean control me?" Her voice cracks, emotion flooding it. She has some sort of agenda here that I'm not following, but I need answers.

"Why meet with him? His name is Darren, right? Why sneak around, Evie? I told you I don't share." Lowering my tone, I continue holding her against my body and she stops resisting.

"You wouldn't understand." Her words make me want to shake some sense into her. "And I don’t belong to you."

This time when she says the words, it isn't an argument in protest. I hear the sadness in her tone, but it's resigned, as if she's given in to her fate. Like she knows even if she fights it, she'll still end up marrying Murphy.

"All I have to do is tell your father that I'm staking my claim," I say softly as I curl some hair around her ear, and she turns her face away.

Capturing her chin, I force her to look at me and notice how upset she is. My God, I would do anything for this woman and she doesn't believe I can. My desire to protect her and keep her safe overrules my clear thinking. I kiss her again, grasping for any semblance of connection we have, and this time, she doesn't fight me.

We both know this isn't the answer, but we cling to each other as if our lives depended on it. Our tongues do a delicate dance while my cock presses into her stomach and her legs wrap around my waist. I walk us to my couch, not breaking our kiss once, as if severing physical contact would break this tenuous bond we have, and I lay her down.

Kissing her fervently, her hands trail up under my shirt to grip my back while mine make short work of unbuttoning her blouse and cupping her breasts through her bra. My lips trail a heated path down her neck, kissing and biting gently along the way. God, she tastes like an angel, something I don't deserve to be near, let alone touch.

"Loch." Her voice catches in her throat when I unsnap her jeans and yank them down her thighs. Her panties follow quickly after, and I throw myself between her legs like a man starved of water. When my tongue makes contact with her core, her hips buck and she moans my name like a prayer.

"Tell me you need this. Tell me I'm the one," I growl against her damp folds before lapping at her core with a desperate edge. I've missed this, missed her.

"Feck you," she pants, both hands fisted in my hair as I nip at her clit roughly. Her legs push me away, but her hands pull me close and I know she wants to please me. Her core writhes against my face, and I unzip my pants with one hand while I lap at her folds.

"Tell me," I growl, inserting a finger roughly, causing her to moan a muffled yes.

"What?" I tease her mercilessly, my blood pounding in my cock as I itch to be inside her. I work it free of my pants and suck her clit harder, making her jerk and jolt on the sofa.

"I need you," she pants, struggling against me as I work my dick inside her tight core. Her previous protests melt away with each deep thrust into her wet warmth, and I can't help but moan with satisfaction.

"And?" I ask again as she claws at the couch, her nails leaving marks in the upholstery.

"You're the one I want." The words leave her lips in a shaky breath as I pick up my pace, slamming into her with renewed vigor. Her legs wrap around my hips and her nails dig into my back, drawing blood.

"Say it again!" I growl, angling my hips to press deeper.

"Loch, God, I want you!" she cries out, meeting my thrusts with hungry abandon. When her muscles clench around me, her eyes roll back in her head. She whimpers and gasps, writhing, and I flood her with my release.

I pump slow, long thrusts into her and she melts into the couch, pants still dangling from one ankle. She looks at peace for a moment, and then her brow furrows, worry creeping back in. I know she wants answers about her father, but I can't give them to her, and while I want to demand that she cut off all ties to Darren Connelly, I think I have a better way to show her what he's made of and help her see the truth for herself.

I back away, pulling out, and she sits up. I help her to her feet, and she dresses quickly. Her hair is frazzled, eyes puffy from crying, and she presses a kiss to my cheek.

"I have to go, Loch. Da will worry. He doesn’t know I left." I catch her hand as she starts to walk off, and she stops and looks up at me.

"Be careful, Evie girl… This world's not safe." My warning can only go as far as she takes it.

Her pained expression tells me she feels torn, though I'm not sure if it's over whether she should heed my warnings or if it's heartbreak.

When she leaves, and I'm left tucking my dick back into my pants, I make a new plan. I'm not going to tell Draco a thing. I'm going to find Connelly and follow him and when I get a chance, I'm going to kill him.

Then I'm going to stake my claim. Elvin Murphy can find a different woman. Evie is mine.

23

EVIE

I've made up my mind, though I don't know how to actually make my play. I'm meeting Darren at the docks. I sent him a message saying I'd be there, and this time, I fully intend to make him back off.

As I drive there, my mind is racing. Lochlan is everything that I want, while simultaneously being so many toxic things I am terrified of. But even though he has a horrible way of showing it, he does care. He wants to protect me, even if that protection comes in the form of an iron grip that seems controlling. And no matter how much I fight it, I know I'm in love with him.

My eyes well up and I blink back the tears so I can see straight while I'm driving. What started as infatuation and deep-seated lust that drove me to be wildly flirtatious has turned around now. I see that look in his eyes, the one that says I really do belong to him. Somehow, he's gotten it into his head that I'm his and he isn't shy about it. Having a man make such an outrageous claim about me, almost treating me like his property, I'm not sure how to respond, but it feels strangely comforting.

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