Page 24 of Donovan
I stilled.
His chest rose and fell sharply, his face a mask of barely contained emotion.
“You think I didn’t consider it? That I didn’t sit there, holding you, watching you slip away, and wonder if I should just, just let you go?” His voice shook, raw and broken. “I couldn’t do it, Declan. I couldn’t.”
Something ugly twisted inside me.
“That’s not a good enough reason,” I hissed.
His eyes flashed. “Then how about this?”
He took a step toward me, closing the distance, his expression tight with something that looked too much like grief.
“My brothers are gone.” His voice was quieter now, hoarse, like the words physically hurt to say. “They’re gone, and I couldn’t do anything to stop it.”
I stared at him, my pulse hammering. His brothers. Of course. First it had been Finn, then Asher.
“They’re dead, Declan,” Donovan whispered. “And I can’t lose you too.”
The words landed like a punch to the gut.
For a long moment, neither of us spoke. The silence stretched, thick with things neither of us knew how to say. I should have felt something. Guilt, regret, anything.
But all I felt was hunger.
It lurked beneath my skin, slithering in the quiet, waiting. I swallowed hard, stepping back, as if putting distance between us would help. It didn’t.
Donovan’s heartbeat pounded in my ears. Slow. Steady. Tempting. I closed my eyes. I wasn’t ready for this. I wasn’t ready for any of this.
Donovan moved before I could stop him. His fingers brushed against my cheek, rough but steady, tilting my face up toward him.
The warmth of his palm burned against my skin, grounding and infuriating all at once.
I stiffened. “Donovan.”
“Shut up.”
Then he kissed me.
I should’ve shoved him away. I should’ve torn myself free, put distance between us before it was too late. Before I lost control, but I didn’t.
Because the second his lips touched mine, something inside me snapped.
The hunger, the unbearable, all-consuming hunger, wavered. The razor-sharp edge of it dulled, fading into the background like static.
I groaned, my hands flying up to grip his shirt, yanking him closer. He gasped at the sudden force, but he didn’t pull away.
Donovan didn’t hesitate and he didn’t fear me.
I pressed forward, slanting my mouth over his, swallowing the soft sound he made. He parted his lips instinctively, letting me deepen the kiss.
Heat roared between us, tangled with something even more dangerous. Something I couldn't name. His fingers slid into my hair, gripping tight, anchoring me.
I groaned into his mouth, my body thrumming with something I recognized. Desire, raw and real, but also something unfamiliar.
Something different from the hunger clawing at my insides. And for the first time since waking up in this nightmare, I wasn’t drowning in it.
His tongue brushed against mine, tentative at first, then bolder. I met him halfway, drinking him in, tasting him.
