Page 25 of Cruel Salvation

Chapter8

Rain poundedagainst the windows of the dimly lit living room, casting shadows on the pale walls that surrounded them as the afternoon bled into evening. Lotus was determined to fight the feelings this man aroused in her. She knew the promises he made were heartfelt, but without the full picture, which she was too scared to share with him, how could he make that vow? Frantically flipping through the pages on the screen in front of her, she tried to put the moment they’d shared earlier out of her mind but it was almost impossible. Damon was everything she wanted but the weight of her guilt and her fear were too heavy.

Instead, she was searching for a crucial piece of information to save the life of a soldier she’d wronged and tried to fix, and she didn’t even know if he wanted saving or if she was doing this purely for selfish reasons of redemption.

Damon was polished and enigmatic, and she could feel him watching her with his piercing blue eyes as she resisted the urge to look up and face him. After his promise to keep her heart safe, she had run, withdrawing from him into research she knew Watchdog and Will were already doing, but she couldn’t sit there idly while the world fell apart and do nothing. She really knew she was avoiding a conversation that was overdue.

His voice was steady and deep but filled with determination as he broke the silence. “Nazareli, let me help you. If we don’t find them soon, it’ll be too late, and two pairs of eyes are better than one.”

She glanced up from the laptop resting on her legs, meeting his gaze with a mixture of determination and vulnerability. “Damon, I appreciate your willingness to help but this is my burden to bear, my mess to clean up. I hate that you’re risking your life being here as it is.”

Damon stepped closer, his voice softening. “Naz, I’ve watched you fight relentlessly for those you love. I’ve seen your strength and unwavering determination. But sometimes, it’s okay to lean on someone else. We’re in this together. I need you to understand that and believe it.”

She felt a flicker of doubt before she sighed, reluctantly accepting his offer of assistance. “Alright, Damon. But we need to figure out their next move quickly. Time is running out.”

They worked side by side, their focus deepening as they raced against an invisible clock. Their shoulders brushed occasionally, creating a spark of electricity that lingered in the air. With each passing minute, she could feel their connection grow stronger, forged by the shared desperation and a mutual understanding of the stakes. Yet it was more than that. From day one, she’d felt this pull towards Damon. And the more she fought it, the stronger it grew until they’d exploded, leading to the night of passion that had left her in the predicament she now found herself.

Finally, as she was about to lose hope, Lotus’s gaze froze on a page, her eyes widening with a mix of hope and disbelief. “Damon, I think I found it! This could be it.”

Damon moved closer, peering over her shoulder at the text. A smile of relief and triumph tugged at the corners of his lips. “Naz, that’s it! I think you’ve found the reason why Dorsey went off the rails. No way is that a coincidence.”

In that moment of triumph and relief, their gazes locked, their faces mere inches apart. Time seemed to stand still as their racing hearts echoed the intensity of the moment. The world around them faded into oblivion, leaving only the two of them caught in the magnetic pull of shared emotion.

Seemingly unable to resist any longer, Damon slowly closed the distance between them, his lips softly brushing against hers. Lotus was unable to fight the attraction a second longer. The kiss held a mixture of passion, hunger, and an unspoken promise of support and tenderness that blew apart her finely built walls of resistance. He made her feel like it was them against the world, that whatever happened in their fight against the forces that threatened their loved ones, he would be in her corner.

His tongue licked at the seam of her lips and she opened on a sigh of pleasure. Desire tingled up her spine and her heart beat against her ribcage as his hand held her head still.

As they broke apart, their breaths mingling in the charged atmosphere, Lotus’s eyes watered with unspoken emotion. She whispered, her voice filled with newfound vulnerability, “I need to tell you something, Damon.”

“Not now, I need you.”

She knew she should tell him, but she wanted this more than air. She wanted to feel his hands on her skin, his lips against hers. Her heart pounded as he bent and nipped his teeth against her ear lobe, a frisson of pleasure shooting through her body.

She wanted to tell him about her secret, but the way he touched her was too much for her to handle. His hands moved down to her waist, pulling her closer to him. She could feel his hardness pressing against her hip, sending shivers down her spine. She moaned softly, giving in to the sensations that were overwhelming her. Gently he took the laptop and moved it to the coffee table, before pulling her across his thighs, spreading her wide open for his touch. Cupping her neck, his thumb skimmed her cheekbone as he looked at her with such reverence that it was almost too much.

He kissed her deeply, his tongue tangling with hers, their breaths mingling until there was only him. She felt him nip her lower lip as he wove a spell around her that she never wanted to wake from, before he pulled away, looking at her with a hungry expression.

“What is it that you want to tell me?” he asked, his voice husky with desire.

She hesitated for a moment but then decided now wasn’t the time. “Nothing, it can wait.”

He didn’t seem to mind as his lips crashed into hers, and she forgot all about the secret she was keeping. With his hands moving over her body, she felt like she was on fire and she wanted him more than anything else.

His lips trailed down her neck, leaving a trail of hot, wet kisses that made her knees weak. Her body ached for him as he lifted her top, his fingers skimming over her skin and causing a ripple of goosebumps to erupt over her skin. She clung to him tightly, her body arching against his as he brought her to the brink of ecstasy.

He let go long enough to pull her T-shirt over her head as she smoothed her fingertips over his hard abs, making his muscles tense under her fingertips. His eyes wandered over her and she revelled in the way he made her feel like she was soft and feminine without making her feel weak. He made her feel strong and sexy.

Finally, he lifted his head and looked down at her with fierce determination in his eyes. “I need you,” he said again, and she knew that there was no turning back.

Standing, he wound his arm around her back as her legs hooked around his hips, pressing his hard cock against the seam of her jeans and torturing the most sensitive part of her pussy. He took the stairs two at a time, Damon seemed as impatient to be inside her as she was to feel his hard cock filling her.

They moved to the bed, his hands working quickly to remove her clothes, and soon she was naked before him, her body aching for his touch. He stepped back and her gaze moved to the hard ridge of his jeans as he surveyed her nakedness.

“You’re so fucking beautiful, Naz.”

She felt her body tighten around his words, her clit throbbing, and she wondered if she could come from his words alone. Lotus watched as he tugged his shirt over his head, revealing the cut muscles of his chest and abdomen. Her eyes moved over him, tracing every line and ripple as he moved, his big hands making quick work of the zipper on his jeans. As he pushed his boxers off, his hard cock bobbed free against his abs. Her mouth watered with the need to taste him, but he had other ideas.

He prowled towards her, her arms wrapping around his neck as he caught her, their lips meeting in a frenzy of tongues and teeth. It felt desperate as if both sensed that this could be snatched away from them, leaving a gaping hole of nothingness.