*Isla*
I fall back into a dreamless, restless sleep after Poppy assures me that she has spoken to Maddox and relayed the information I had given her.
I don’t know why I am suddenly dreaming about what’s happening with other people, people I am not related to and have no connection to, but I am certain that what I saw was real, not just a regular dream spurred on by everything that has happened to me today.
A few hours after my conversation with Poppy, I feel a shift in the bed and slit my eyes to see what is happening. Part of me wants to react with panicked fear that I am being attacked again, but I am too tired for that.
Thankfully, that is not the case.
It is Maddox.
He is slipping into bed next to me, and while I am too tired, and it is too dark, for me to see exactly what he has on, when I rest my hand on his chest, it is bare.
“I’m sorry I woke you, beautiful,” he whispers, his warm lips pressing against my forehead.
“It’s okay,” I manage to get out before I roll onto his chest. He holds me tight, and I inhale him, so glad to be back with him. I don’t ever want him to leave me again.
But I also want to know what happened.
I am slightly more awake as I ask him, “Did you get Wylie?”
“Wylie is dead,” he tells me, his hand running the length of my hair. It feels soothing, to have his fingers running through my curls over and over again.
I contemplate what he has told me. Wylie is dead.
The man who tried to kill me, who was supposed to keep me safe, but tricked me instead, led me from my room, kidnapped me, tortured me, and injected me with poison, was dead.
Why did that make my heart feel heavy?
“How?” I force out.
“He went through that pipe at the water bottling factory, and when we turned the machine on, it smashed him against the grate,” he says, his tone matter-of-fact, as if it is all a matter of business to him.
Perhaps it is. Perhaps, to Maddox, this is all just what happens in war or whatever the hell this is.
“How did you know, baby?” he asks me, his tone still gentle, though his voice is slightly louder than before. “How did you know that Wylie was in that pipe at the water bottling factory?”
I shake my head slightly. “I don’t know. I dreamed about it,” I tell him. “It was like I was in there with him, though I didn’t know who he was.” I look up at him, and my eyes have adjusted slightly to the dark. “What about Zabrina?”
He sighs, and before he even answers, I know what he’s going to say. “We are still looking for her. We think they all must have had wet suits with oxygen tanks, like Wylie did. I have no idea where they might’ve gotten them.”
I think for a moment. “There’s a shop in the village that sells diving equipment. Wylie was in the village with me earlier today. Maybe he saw it and went back later to buy it. Or sent one of Zabrina’s guards.”
“That’s possible,” he says. “We have some of her ladies and Alpha Jordan’s guards here. Her mother is missing, too, and we don’t know if she went with them or if she left ahead of all of this.”
I can’t imagine the Luna being involved in such a dastardly scheme. It seems beneath a lady, but then, I don’t know the woman.
All I want at the moment is to go to sleep, and now that Maddox is here, I know I will sleep well.
But something else is bothering me. “Promise me you won’t leave without waking me?” I ask him.
His face pulls up into a smile as he asks, “Why is that, gorgeous?”
I don’t know why this question amuses him, but I answer him honestly. “Because I don’t want to be without you unless I know that you’re gone.” I’m not sure that makes sense; I’m so tired. But he seems to get the meaning. He lowers his head to my lips and grazes them over my mouth, softly.
“All right,” he tells me. “I will stay until you wake, or I’ll wake you myself if I have to.”
That’s all I need to hear. I trust him, and with that promise, I doze off with my head resting over his heart.
When I open my eyes again, I’m lying in the same position, but the sun is streaming between the curtains, and from the brightness and angle, I have to think it’s late morning.
I don’t want to lift my head off Maddox’s chest to look at the clock, but I think he might be uncomfortable since he hasn’t moved for hours.
Lifting myself, I roll off him, keeping my eyes on his face. His eyes are open, and he is smiling at me.
“I’m sorry,” I say to him. “Did I delay you from going on about your work?”
His smile widens as he drags his thumb across my cheek, shaking his head. “Work isn’t important right now, Isla. You are. Did you get some rest?”
I nod. He has been awake for a while and probably knows that I’ve been sleeping on him for hours.
“That’s good to hear,” he tells me. “Do you feel any better?”
“I feel a lot better,” I tell him, and I mean it. Last night, I felt like my body was underwater as much when I was awake as I did when I was dreaming. I felt like I could hardly move. But the medicine that Mystica gave me, the shot that was meant to reverse the wolf’s bane, must’ve taken full effect now, because even though I am still a little groggy from having just woken up, I am feeling significantly less tired and achy than I had the night before.
He continues to rub my cheek, and I see that look in his eyes that lets me know that he wants me. I think he is probably hesitant because he is afraid he might hurt me. Or perhaps I am not cognizant enough of the situation to make the best decision.
But I want him, too, and as I lean toward him, my mouth reaching for his, he responds to me, his lips meeting mine halfway.
All he is wearing are his boxers. I have on a nightgown and panties, but he will make short work of those. He is gentle, taking his time, touching me carefully, as if he believes I am made of glass and might break.
His hand glides down my neck as he continues to kiss me, settling on my breast where he works my nipple through the material of nightgown. I lift a leg and throw it over his hip, wanting to get closer to him.
Maddox takes hold of my hips and pulls me to him, and I can feel his erection against my belly as he trails kisses down my neck. When he reaches for the hem of my nightgown, I help him get it off me, and then his hands are both on my breasts. I toss my head back and enjoy the feel of his thumbs and fingers pulling and tweaking me to life. When his lips close around my hardened peak, I nearly come undone. My hand flies to his crotch, and I realize these boxers have a slit.
I work his massive cock out of the open fly and run my hand up and down his shaft while he groans against my breast. I feel myself growing wetter by the second as I need him inside of me desperately. It hasn’t been that long since we’ve been together, but it seems like a lifetime, especially considering how close I came to dying.
I thought I would never feel him again.
He slides his hand around the back of me, along my bottom to my sopping pussy, from behind, which makes me moan even louder, the thought of him taking me that way awakening my body even more than it already was. I arch my back, and he understands exactly what I want.
He turns me around, but he doesn’t position me so that I’m on my knees like we’ve done it before. No, instead, he works my panties off and then shoves his fingers deep inside of me while holding me against his chest. His other hand continues to caress my breasts. I have no idea how this will work exactly, but I trust him completely.
His fingers slide through my outer folds and then deep inside of me, his thumb working against my clit as he grinds into my ass with his massive penis. He directs me gently to lie down, bent only slightly at the waist, and then, he is on top of me, his boxers removed, and I feel him slide inside of me from behind but at an angle I was not expecting.
It doesn’t seem like this should work, but Maddox has found a way to command my body in a way I never would’ve imagined.
And it feels so good. His hands work my hair as he continues to push into me, deep, slow strokes that light me on fire but don’t risk what he considers to be my fragile circumstances. I take him in, my mouth open, buried in the pillow as I cry out, moans of pleasure rippling between my open lips like the waves that consume me from my core all the way through my body.
He feels so good inside of me, like that’s where he belongs, and with each grinding thrust, I feel he is penetrating more than my wet pussy; he is working his way into my very soul.
I can’t help but gasp for air as he keeps me at my peak for so long, my throat begins to feel raw.
When he finally joins me, I find myself grateful to get a bit of a rest but also saddened that he will remove himself from me physically, and then, I will feel empty inside without him.
His warmth spreads through me, and then he is done, and he lies next to me, pulling me around to face him as I am tangled in his arms again.
“I didn’t hurt you, did I?” he asks, and I shake my head, incapable of words.
His mouth is slightly salty when he kisses me, from the perspiration he’s built up in taking me, but I don’t mind at all.
“Maddox,” I whisper, not sure if it’s appropriate or not, “I love you.” I want him to know. After I’ve almost died, I see no reason to keep that from him.
He says nothing for a long moment, and I think I have messed up in telling him the truth at this moment. When he finally speaks, I hear notes of haunted sadness in his voice. “You’re precious to me, Isla. I hope that love doesn’t destroy you.”