Page 72 of Downfall

This feels like a turning point, a fork in the road, a decision that changes the course of our relationship.

“Baby. Look at me. Please look at me,” he pleads.

I turn around, my eyes moving slowly until they finally meet his.

He grips himself, pushing his way back in and moving his hand up to rest against my throat. His eyes scan my reaction, questioning, asking for permission, and I eagerly grant it. Reaching forward, I cover his hand with mine, pressing until it’s the right amount of pressure. I can feel my pulse beating into the pads of his fingers as he drops his forehead to mine. Using his free hand, he traps my clit between his thumb and index finger. Between that and his hand around my throat, it doesn’t take long for my orgasm to come barreling back, ripping a scream from my throat as I convulse around him. He follows right after, slamming his lips to mine to stifle his moans as he empties himself inside me.

We stay like that, unmoving, for minutes or hours, I couldn’t tell you. Then he pulls out, gathers some of the cum sliding down my thigh, and pushes it back inside me. I’ve never experienced anything so possessive in my life. I wish I could say it freaks me out, but it only makes me want to do it all over again.

Declan finds a throw blanket on the side of the couch and drapes it over both of us, pulling me in and wrapping his arms around me. We sit in silence for a while as he plays with the chain of my locket.

“My dad gave it to me,” I admit. “For my twenty-first birthday. There’s a picture of me on one side and my mom on the other. I think it was his way of apologizing for not being there for either of us.”

His head moves as if he’s nodding, but all I can feel is the slight scratch of his stubble against my neck. He doesn’t have to say anything. I know he gets it.

“I’m sorry I gave you a hard time about it.”

“You should be,” I say playfully.

“And this?” he asks, lifting my hand and brushing his thumb against my ring finger. “I thought you said it was a cage.”

My eyes grow heavy, the exhaustion from what we did setting in. My next words are whispered, my voice thick with emotion. “It’s not a cage if I choose to wear it.”

29

DECLAN

My eyes flutter open, a shiver wracking through my entire body. The chill in the air clings to me like a second skin, seeping into my bones. I was so warm when I fell asleep, sunshine wrapping around me in thick ribbons. She was wrapped around me. Skylar. My wife. I know before I even look that she’s gone. I wish I could be surprised, but I’m not. Being with her again after all this time was like a dream come true, but that’s all it was. A dream that will have to sustain me because once again, I fucked up.

It felt like goodbye when I was inside her. Even though I could feel her surrender the second she let me wrap my hand around her throat, I knew the moment wouldn't last. It was her way of tying up loose ends. But then why did she choose to wear the ring?

It’s not a cage if I choose to wear it.

That’s what she said, isn’t it?

I rub the sleep from my eyes. She says she doesn’t need me to protect her, that she’s strong enough, but she doesn’t know what my dad is capable of. I’m not even sure I know the full extent of it. Claire was a dead end. She claimed to have no knowledge of my dad’s unsavory business practices or any arrests. Then she promptly told me to get fucked. Chester has been useless, and honestly I’m beginning to wonder if he really is any good at his job. Despite my better judgment, I even turned to Nate, thinking his job at a cybersecurity company could prove useful, that maybe he could get some dirt on my dad that would help put him away. Then there’s the arrest record I stumbled upon a few months ago. Clearly, he paid someone off to get out of it, but there’s no information other than his name and the fact that he was arrested at some point. That’s where Nate comes in. I was shocked when he agreed to help me, but not naïve enough to think it wouldn’t come at a cost. Now I owe him a favor, although he’s proving to be almost as useless as Chester. He told me the record was completely sealed, and that the only way to get any other information involved highly unethical and mostly illegal practices, which was fine by me, but apparently too risky for Nate Caldwell. He said if Claire was willing to be a whistleblower, it could cause a chain reaction and more people who know about whatever is going on would be willing to come forward. I know she knows more than she’s letting on, but she made her stance on helping me pretty clear.

A bright light flashes outside the window, pulling me from my thoughts, followed by a clap of thunder.

My chest tightens. Skylar is out there somewhere and now there’s a storm. What if she’s driving in this? She’s only just started feeling confident driving again after her accident.

Fuck.

Grabbing my clothes from the floor, I throw them on in record time, stepping into my boots and shrugging on my jacket. I swipe my phone from the coffee table as I run out the door, calling her. The call goes straight to voicemail.

Fuck fuck fuck.

Where would she go at this time of night? Allie’s restaurant will be closed by now, and Emory has a baby, so they’re probably all sleeping. She doesn’t have any family in town anymore.

Come on, baby. Where would you run to?

Reality slams into me like a truck. Where would she run? The same place she ran after I broke her heart the last time.

I’m sure I break every single speed limit as I race to Ashton’s house. I don’t bother shutting off the engine as I bolt out of my car and start banging on their door. I don’t give a shit that it’s almost midnight or that they have neighbors. Rain clings to my hair, falling in rivulets with the force of my fist against the wood.

Finally Allie answers the door in one of Ash’s T-shirts. Her dark hair is messy, her eyes slightly bloodshot behind her black-rimmed glasses.

“What—” she starts, but I don’t let her finish.