Midnight Whispers (The Midnight Duology #1)

Chapter 26

26

“ Merci.”

I take the bag from the cashier. It wasn’t hard to tell that she was flirting with me as she was helping me find an outfit for Lillia, well a couple of outfits. I know her size, but I was unaware of what kind of a mood she would be in, and I wanted her to feel comfortable. So, I purchased her a pair of jeans, a dress, a pair of loungewear, and a couple of shirts.

The streets are busy when I exit from the boutique as the cafes fill up with people eager to eat. I walk across the pavement and cross the street back toward our place. Dread settles into my gut when I think about being on our way to Ireland tomorrow. While it’s one of my favorite countries, spending any time with the Counsel is not a way I like to spend my time.

Lillia sits on a daybed in the windowsill, a book in hand. Even with the beautiful cloudless day shining in the window behind her, she is still my favorite view. I clear my throat upon entrance to the room and walk toward her.

“Hey.” She closes the book and adjusts herself to face me.

“Here are your clothes,” I move a strand of hair and place it gently behind her ear then place the bag of clothing on the bed beside her.

“Finn, I will not break. I feel better than ever. Truthfully.” She whispers, refusing to meet my gaze.

“I know you won’t.”

“Everyone’s treating me like I’m made of glass. I don’t like it.”

“They’re all just excited you’re awake and healed.” My voice is almost a whisper as I breathe her in, savoring the scent like I’ll never experience it again. I rest my forehead on hers and intertwine my fingers in the hair that rests along her shoulder, tugging gently in a desperate need to bring her closer.

“I’m here, Finn. You got to me in time.” She whispers in the space between us. I breathe out a deep sigh.

“I should have left when I had the chance.”

“What are you saying?” She whimpers.

“That I should send you back to Emolyn Cove and leave for good. I won't come back until your lifetime is over. You can have a life, Lillia.”

“Okay. First, it’s love or my love.” She grabs a hold of my wrist and pulls it out of her hair, leaning back to look at me. “Secondly, you can’t just leave anymore. You are my life now. Without you my life doesn’t make sense.”

“I don’t understand.”

“I love you, Finnian Sinclair.”

“That’s not possible.” My voice is coated in disbelief.

“Why do you find yourself to be so unlovable that you don’t think me loving you is possible?”

There’s so much to unload in that question that I don’t even know where to begin, a deep seeded belief that I am forever someone’s second choice or not even a choice at all. I stumble on answering the question, but I know this is something she isn’t going to let go of .

“I don’t know how to answer that in a short answer.” Lillia adjusts herself, transferring her weight onto her knees.

“So, make it a long one then.” The vulnerability she’s asking of me makes me feel like I am completely in the nude, even when I’m fully dressed.

“It will sound like I’m making excuses, but the only person who has willingly stayed in my life is Asher. The life he gave me was everything he promised and more, but even with all the chances to leave he has stayed. He has shown me that he will always show up, even when I make it hard to want to. And believe me, I have made it hard on him.” I pinch the bridge of my nose and release a sigh. “My parents were very poor and already had five children. When I was born, they dropped me off on the porch of the orphanage. I have no idea if they checked to see if they could even take me or not, but they had no room. One of the nuns who ran the orphanage raised me, but when I was just nine, she died suddenly, and I was put out onto the street. I had to find ways to survive, but that meant being used by everyone around me. There was never anyone I trusted completely. In fact, I was forced to realize over and over that nobody could be trusted. Then Asher found me and changed me, and life had new meaning.”

“Finn.” Her voice breaks.

“Then when we found our coven, I got something I never thought I’d have. Family. Only to be betrayed by Evelyn and Cedar, so even that went up in flames.”

“None of that was your fault.” Heat grows in the pit of my stomach, anger causing my blood to boil.

“Why are you so insistent on loving a monster?” I hissed between clenched jaws.

“You can get as mad all you want, Finn, but I see no monster here. All I see is a man worthy of all the love I can give to him. You just must be willing to accept it.” She holds my stare, unwavering in her determination to prove to me that she wasn’t leaving.

“You should shower.”

“Only if you join me.” She tempts me, running her hand across my chest.

“You’re healing.”

“I feel great.”

“I will shower with you to help you.”

“Yeah, sure.” She gets up and makes her way to the bathroom, looking over her shoulder as she exits through the threshold. Hearing the conversation between Lillia and I, Asher takes Flora to explore some of the city before we must leave.

Lillia starts the shower and sets it to the highest heat setting.

“It will get hot fast; Asher had a tankless water heater installed in every residence a couple of years ago.” She turns to face me and doesn’t respond.

Slowly, she starts to undress herself. Starting with the straps of her dress, she slides them down her arms and slips it down her body. It drops to a pile around her feet. She stands in front of me in nothing, but a pair of black lace panties and I can feel my resolve melting away as I look her up and down. I am beside myself when I see no proof of the ordeal on her soft skin.

“Let me.” I drop to my knees in front of her, holding her gaze, sliding my fingers beneath the top seam of her panties and sliding them down. She steps out of them one leg at a time, my eyes never breaking contact from hers. I glide my fingertips up her legs as I stand back up.

Steam fills the room. She adjusts the water’s temperature and feels it with her hand. Once satisfied she gets into the shower and places her head beneath the water. I can’t help but watch as it glides across her skin. After undressing quickly, I get into the shower with her and grab onto the shampoo bottle .

“Turn around.” I demand. She hesitates but turns. I squeeze shampoo into my hand and lather it before beginning to wash her hair.

“ Hmmm. That feels good.” She moans as I massage her scalp.

“Rinse.” She turns back around and looks at me as she rinses the shampoo out of her hair. I grab the fresh washcloth and put some body wash on it and start to cleanse her skin.

“I can wash my own body.” She giggles, taking the cloth from me and washing herself. After she lets the water run over her skin once more and all the suds are off her skin, I can’t help myself but to kiss her shoulder.

It was gentle, intimate.

She turns and wraps her arms around my neck. Her eyes search mine, darting back and forth before slowly setting their sights on my mouth.

“I missed you.”

“And I you.” I whisper and playfully kiss the tip of her nose.

“Kiss me.” She demands.

I run my hand up her spine and wrap it around her neck, pulling her closer to me. Our mouths hover just inches away from one another for a moment before she collides her mouth against mine, her tongue coaxing my lips to open. As soon as I part them, her tongue searches for mine. She breaks our kiss apart.

“Please,” she begs. “I need you.”

“Lillia…”

“I promise I’m not hurting anymore.”

Anymore.

She moves to her knees, kneeling before my hard cock, and wraps her hand around my shaft. Her tongue glides over and around the tip before she inches me into her mouth .

“Fuuuuck.” I groan. She looks up at me and maintains eye contact as she takes me deeper into her mouth. Her pace quickens, sending a radiating vibration up my spine. “If you keep going, I’ll come.” Tears stream down her face as she gags, but she is relentless. Her hand glides up my thigh, gripping onto it for support as she continues. Warmth washes over my lower stomach as my release builds. The tip of my dick hits the back of her throat, and I finish, my come sliding down her throat. She pulls back and wipes the corner of her mouth with the bad of her thumb, wearing a wicked smile. “I’m not done with you, my love.”

“Should I be scared?”

“Never with me,” placing a gentle kiss on her forehead, I lean across her shoulder and turn off the water to the shower. In a swift movement, I pick her up and toss her over my shoulder, smacking her ass as I carry her through the thresholds and into my room. She releases a quiet moan.

Oh, my girl likes to be spanked.

Her body bounces as it hits the bed, she props herself up onto her elbows. I place a kiss on her calf and make my way up toward her thigh, the small scar of our first experience a reminder that I’ve claimed her.

She’s mine.

The memory makes my dick hard.

I run the tip of my tongue over the inside of her thigh, savoring the sweet taste. My teeth elongate and I tease her slightly, her hips buck in desperation with each nibble I place along her sensitive skin. My venom burns the back of my throat as the scent of her arousal fills the air around us. I slowly run my hand up the inside of the opposite leg, taunting her before I slide two fingers into her pussy.

“ Mmm. You’re so wet for me, aren’t you?”

“Bite me. Please. ”

“I love it when you beg.”

I push my fangs through her skin, stopping just after the first hint of blood hits my tongue. My fingers pump into her, the combination of my venom has her dripping for me. Her blood pools on my tongue and I can feel the frenzy building within my chest.

“ Finn.” She moans and I can feel the walls of her pussy clench around my fingers, her release is close.

My vision begins to blacken.

The room around me is disappearing.

Every sound is becoming distant.

All I can think of is the taste of her blood, the tang as it coats my tongue and the warmth as it slides down my throat.

Find the strength to fight it.

I fight against the monster within me, restraining the overwhelming thirst that builds in my gut.

Finn.

Her voice is distant, but she calls to me.

Finn.

The sound calls to me, begging me to come out of the darkness that pulls me under. Light breaks through the clouds of my mind and the gloom that obscured my vision dissolves. I withdrew my fangs from her skin, watching as the crimson runs down her thigh.

“I almost lost control. I could have killed you, love.”

“But you didn’t.”

“Even out of the darkest crevices of my mind, you were able to guide me out. I am but a moth and you are the flame.” I move across the bed and settle into the bed next to her, stroking her hair as she lay in my arms.

“Is that your way of telling me you love me too?”

“I have loved you since the moment I saw you. My heart called to you in a way I have yet to experience. It was something I thought impossible, a myth before the day I first saw you.”

As I continued to stroke her hair, her breathing became shallow. I lay there alone with my thoughts while her chest rose and fell as she drifted deeper into a restful sleep. Knowing she’s a rather hard sleeper, it’s easy for me to maneuver my way out of beneath her and make my way into the bathroom. I wet my face to wash off the remnants of her blood off my bottom lip and chin, before wetting a washcloth so that I can clean her leg and get her dressed.

Flora and Asher return with shopping bags and a pastry box, laughing and smiling as they cross the living room.

“Where’s Lil?” Flora asks.

“Sleeping.”

“So do you guys actually never sleep?” She looks back and forth between Asher and me.

“No.” I responded.

“Nope.” Asher says at the same time.

“Weird.” She scoffs and starts unloading clothes, shoes, and a big bag of books. “I got these for her. I hope it’ll cheer her up some.”

“Please sit, Flora. We need to talk,” I clear my throat, gesturing to the spot on the couch across from me. “But Lillia can’t know until the time is right.”