Restoration (Wolves 0f Gypsum Creek Book 4)

by Serena Meadows

  She heard Dillion sigh, then his footsteps as he crossed the room. He sat down next to her, gently took her chin in his hand and made her look at him. His eyes were full of compassion, and desire, but there was something else there too, and her heart swelled.

  His eyes locked on hers, he said, “We’re going to eat something, while I tell you everything I should have told you a long time ago. And when we’re finished, I hope you’ll let me take you back to my room and make love to you. I’ve missed you, Natalie, more than I thought possible.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  ***Dillion***

  Dillion leaned in to kiss Natalie, but just then his sister came bursting out of the kitchen door with a tray full of food in her hands. “Sorry to interrupt,” she said, giggling, “but this is heavy.”

  He jumped to his feet and took the tray from her hands. “This looks great,” he said, setting the tray down on a low table in the center of the seating arrangement.

  “I made the bread myself,” Bethany said, pointing to the thick sandwiches.

  After they’d filled plates with sandwiches and piles of fresh fruit, Dillion cleared his throat, but he had no idea where to start. There was so much he needed to tell Natalie, so many layers of truth.

  “I’m not sure where to start,” he finally admitted.

  Natalie studied him for a second. “Let’s start at the beginning. Why did your dad kidnap us?”

  Dillion was silent for a moment. “He and I had a falling out when I was eighteen, and I left home. I hated to leave Bethany, she was only ten, but I couldn’t live under his roof any longer. I put up with it as long as I could, but that day, he demanded things of me I wasn’t willing to give him,” he said, then let out a big breath.

  “So, you left and never came back,” Natalie said.

  Dillion nodded. “But I knew that someday I’d have to come back; Bethany was here, and I knew that he wouldn’t hesitate to use that against me when the time came. I’ve lived my life constantly looking over my shoulder, never getting too close to anyone, knowing that the day might come when my life no longer belonged to me,” he said, then fell silent.

  Natalie opened her mouth to speak, but he held his hand up to stop her. “Then I met you, and it was impossible not to get close to you even though I knew that I was putting you in danger. Then I handled things the wrong way again; I let you become my father’s victim, left you alone to deal with him. But I was afraid that if he knew what you meant to me, he’d use you against me too,” he said, feeling like an idiot all over again.

  When he didn’t say anything more, Natalie said, “I forgive you, Dillion, I understand what you were trying to protect me from now. Some of it was my fault; I was dazzled by the wealth around me. I’ve never had that kind of experience before, and I didn’t know how to handle it. I thought I wanted all this, but I don’t; I want to go home to where things are simple.”

  Dillion got up and crossed the room and sat down next to her. “I didn’t mean all those terrible things I said to you. I’m sorry, Natalie.”

  Natalie framed his face with her hands. “I’m sorry too, Dillion. Let’s start over.”

  “That’s the best idea I’ve ever heard,” he said, lowering his mouth to hers.

  “That’s the most romantic thing I’ve ever seen,” Bethany squealed, reminding them that she was there.

  He reluctantly pulled away from Natalie, but not before he looked deeply into her green eyes, which were full of desire and the promise of wonderful things to come. Bethany laughed again when he turned to her with a silly grin on his face.

  But then her face turned stormy, and she burst into tears. They were both on their feet and at her side in a second. “I don’t want to marry that old man; I want to fall in love like you two,” she wailed.

  Dillion pulled her to her feet and made her sit down on the couch between them. “We’re not going to let that happen; we’re getting out of here,” he said when Bethany had calmed down a little.

  “All of us?” she asked, tears running down her cheeks.

  “All of us, but first we have to figure out how to do that. I’ve been studying the blueprints for the house, but I don’t know what we’ll find beyond that,” he said.

  Bethany gave one more hiccup, and a little sob, then said, “I can get us out.”

  “What? How?” Dillion asked.

  Bethany shrugged, “I figured it out a long time ago; if you time it just right, it’s easy to slip past the guards when they’re changing shift,” she said, “And once you get past the dogs, there’s a little gate in the wall.”

  “Have you done it before?” Dillion asked, getting excited. Bethany’s plan sounded better than his.

  “A few,” she said, “but I was never brave enough to go through the gate.”

  Dillion hugged her. “Well, you’re going to now,” he said, then got up and rifled through the desk for some paper and a pen.

  He sketched out their escape route with Bethany’s help, including the times they’d have to be at certain locations to avoid being caught. When they were finished, Dillion looked at Bethany with respect.

  “This took a lot of time to figure out,” he said.

  “I’ve had a lot of time on my hands,” she said but was grinning from ear to ear at his approval. “I wanted to be ready in case the day came that I could get away.”

  “Well, it’s a good thing you’re prepared,” Dillion said, giving her a hug.

  When the clock struck twelve, Dillion and Natalie were creeping through the secret passageway headed for Natalie’s room. As much as they all wanted to escape that night, it was clear that the party wasn’t going to wind down anytime soon, so their plan would have to wait for the next night.

  ***Natalie***

  As they crept along the dusty passageway, Natalie couldn’t help but think of Dillion’s earlier words, and a thrill of pleasure washed over her. He’d promised to make love to her and even the threat that Gordon might come looking for her couldn’t stop the warmth that spread through her when she remembered.

  When they stepped through the hidden panel into her room, she looked around warily, half expecting him to be there. But the room was empty and looked just as it had when she’d left earlier that night, so she waved Dillion in.

  “I’m afraid he’s going to come looking for me,” she said, shivering at the memory of his hand on her leg. “He said… they said… that after tonight…”

  She felt the tears coming, the panic she’d felt earlier beginning to come back, but Dillion swept her into his arms and hugged her tightly. “I’m not going to let anything happen to you; he’s not going to get his hands on you, and neither is any other man,” he said fiercely.

  Natalie clung to him for a minute, feeling his strength seeping into her. “I’ll just tell him to go away, threaten to make a big scene if he doesn’t go away.”

  “That’s my girl; he won’t push it with the house full of guests,” Dillion said.

  When the knock on the door finally came, Natalie let out a little scream but composed herself quickly. She walked up to the door, and called, “Go away, I don’t want to see anyone.”

  There was silence on the other side of the door, and she wished there was a peep-hole she could look through. But then she heard a chuckle on the other side of the door. “I guess that’s fair,” she heard Gordon say. “Tonight must have been a shock. I’ll leave you for now, but you have a debt to pay; don’t forget that.”

  When she didn’t respond, she heard his footsteps retreating down the hallway. Her knees weak, she slumped against the door, taking giant breaths to keep from fainting. She had no idea how scared she’d been that he was going to break down the door and follow through with his plans.

  Dillion scooped her up and carried her over to the bed and sat down with her in his lap. “It’s okay, he’s gone. Slow down your breathing,” he said, but she’d begun to hyperventilate.

  She couldn’t seem to stop taking shallow breaths that did noth
ing to satisfy her need for oxygen, but then Dillion grabbed her head, turned it so their eyes met, and said, “He’s gone, and you’re fine. I’m here with you, so even if he’d gotten through that door, I wouldn’t have let him get near you.”

  Natalie felt the fear beginning to ease, and the need to gasp to breathe fade. “I’m sorry, I don’t know what happened,” she said, embarrassed.

  Dillion stroked her back, “You’ve just had a long night,” he said. “I think you need some sleep.”

  Natalie thought about that for a second, then shook her head, “I don’t need sleep, Dillion,” she said, cupping his face with her hands. “Make love to me like you promised.”

  ***Dillion***

  Dillion’s heart was racing, his body on fire for the woman looking into his eyes with desire but also something far deeper. It hit him like a bolt of lightning that it was love, and that he loved her too, that all desire in the world was nothing compared to how deep his feelings for her went.

  He wanted to take a minute to think about those feelings, to explore what they meant, but Natalie got up off his lap, and for a second, he thought she was going to walk away. But she pulled him to his feet and began unbuttoning his shirt.

  When she had his shirt unbuttoned, she ran her hands over his chest and said, “I’m not going to sleep until you make love to me, Dillion Mathews.”

  She pushed his shirt off his shoulders, then reached for the buttons of his pants. When he stepped out of them, she wrapped her hands around him and began to stroke his engorged member.

  He reached for her and stripped her clothes off between kisses that left them both breathless and panting. When they were both finally naked, he pulled her into his arms and crushed her against his chest, moaning with the pleasure that spread from the touch of their skin.

  Natalie’s nipples hardened against his chest, and he couldn’t resist bending her backward to suck one pink peak into his mouth. She moaned, and dug her fingernails into his back, then slipped one hand between them to stroke him.

  When he switched to the other nipple and began to tease it with his tongue and teeth, she gripped him tightly and gasped with pleasure making him throb. Trailing his hand down her hip, between her legs, he slid one finger between her folds and rubbed her swollen nub.

  She was slick and wet, moisture pouring out of her, and his body demanded the relief of her velvety heat. He fought for control, but Natalie’s mewing little moans of pleasure as he drove her closer to the edge were his undoing.

  Desperate to lose himself in her, he stood her up and spun her around, pushed her legs apart with his knees, grabbed her hips, and drove himself inside her. The force of the pleasure that followed made him cry out her name as his body exploded inside her.

  He thrust into her over and over, then reached around and began to stroke her swollen nib until, with a cry of pleasure, she tumbled over the edge. When their bodies began to still, he pulled her onto the bed and rolled her onto her back.

  “Don’t think I’m done with you yet; I’ve been thinking of this night for a long time,” he said.

  Chapter Seventeen

  ***Natalie***

  Natalie was sure that her body was sated, that Dillion had already given her all the pleasure she needed. But then he slid down her body and spread her legs with his hands, and a new wave of pleasure washed over her.

  “Dillion, what are you doing?” she asked, suddenly nervous.

  “Relax, sweetheart. I promise you’ll like this,” he said.

  When his lips came in contact with the delicate skin of her inner thigh, she giggled, then gasped. With each feather-light kiss on the inside of her thighs, a sense of anticipation began to grow, tangled with the pleasure, she was helpless to do anything but let Dillion have his way.

  It was almost like being tortured as Dillion drove her higher and higher, each kiss coming closer to her throbbing core, each kiss sending stronger and stronger waves of pleasure racing through her. When the moment finally came, and his tongue slid over her throbbing nib, her hips came up off the bed, and she grabbed fistfuls of his hair.

  Dillion spread her legs even further and lapped at her, then slid one finger deep inside her. Still bathing her with his tongue, he thrust his finger until, crying out his name, Natalie burst, her body thrashing beneath him.

  When her body stilled, he slid between her legs and looked down at her. She opened her eyes, still full of pleasure, and smiled up at him. “You were right; I liked that,” she said, then blushed.

  He smiled at her and said, “I thought you might.”

  He thrust his hips a few times, and she felt his erection slide against her tender nib, but pleasure washed over her. Then he grabbed her hips and rolled them over, pulling her on top of him until she was straddling him.

  “There’s something else I want to try,” he said, lifting her slightly off him.

  Natalie could feel him sliding against her, then the cold air between them, but then he raised his hips and slowly lowered her until he’d filled her deeply and tightly. She closed her eyes and sat up, driving him slightly deeper.

  He still had her hips firmly in his hands, and when she tried to lift them, he held her still until she opened her eyes. “I want you to ride me, Natalie,” he said, making her heart pound in her chest and pleasure fill her.

  Then he lifted her hips and thrust his, and she soon had his rhythm, answering each thrust of his hips with one of her own. Together, they soared, the passion between them lighting up the room with its intensity, until as one they crested one last wave and tumbled into ecstasy together.

  Natalie collapsed on top of Dillion, unable to move, barely able to catch her breath. Her body was still pulsing with pleasure, still vibrating with the immense feelings Dillion had awakened inside her.

  She desperately wanted to tell him how she felt but didn’t have to words to explain how deeply he’d touched her soul. Then in an instant, she understood what she was feeling was love and all the wonderful emotions that come along with it.

  The feeling was so huge, so overwhelming, that she knew she wasn’t ready to share it, needed some time to process what she was feeling. When she finally rolled off him and snuggled at his side, her mind was still spinning with emotion, her body still alive with sensation; all she could do was sigh with contentment.

  They fell asleep wrapped together still in a fog of pleasure, but all too soon, morning dawned, and Dillion had to leave. “I’d better go before someone finds me here. We have to make my father believe that he’s still in control,” he said.

  “I wish you didn’t have to go,” Natalie said, holding on to him for a second longer before she let him climb into the secret passageway.

  “Just stay in your room today; I’ll make sure someone brings you some food. I’ll be back for you later this afternoon; you know the timing,” he said, before pulling her into the passageway for one more kiss.

  Natalie climbed back through the wall and secured the panel feeling like she was all alone. Knowing it was going to be a long day of waiting, she headed for the bathroom, deciding that a nice long bath might settle her nerves.

  She was just sinking into the tub when she heard a knock on the door and the maid who’d been taking care of her come into the room. “Ms. Rayburn, where are you?” she asked.

  Natalie was glad she was hidden behind the locked bathroom door. “I’m in the bathroom. I’m not feeling very well; my throat is sore, and I’ve got a cough,” she said, forcing out a somewhat convincing cough.

  “Oh, dear,” the maid said, sounding more upset by Natalie’s illness than she should be, “the thing is, Mr. Mathews wants to see you right away.”

  Natalie coughed again, then fake sneezed, pleased with her acting job. “I don’t think I should leave my room today,” she said, trying to sound miserable.

  “I’ll tell him, but I don’t think he’s going to be happy,” the maid said. “I’ll just leave your breakfast here for you.”

  Natalie sighed
with relief, her bath ruined but a meeting with Gordon averted for the moment. She wished Dillion was there, as the panic began to rise again, but she took a deep breath and forced it away. It was up to her to keep herself safe for the day, and she wasn’t totally helpless; she was as smart and cunning as Gordon was.

  Getting out of the bath, she went to the closet and started to get dressed, but then realized that if she were sick, she’d still be in bed. Throwing on the least revealing of the nightgowns in the drawer, she went back to the bathroom and dumped her makeup out of the bag.

  When she came out of the bathroom, even her mother would have been convinced that she was sick, but she needed just one more thing. Taking the lid off her breakfast tray, she saw exactly what she was looking for: the pepper shaker.

  Taking it off the tray and hiding it in the drawer next to her bed, she felt ready to face a likely visit from Gordon. She ate her breakfast quickly, then got into bed, and administered the first of many doses of pepper to herself, then coughing and sneezing, she settled back in the bed for a long day.

  ***Dillion***

  Dillion knew that the summons from his father would come that morning, so he had breakfast in his room. He knew that there was more to his forced visit than the engagement announcement the night before, his father wanted something more from him.

  He had to admit that he was curious to know what he’d planned for his future, a future he had no plans on participating in. But he was ready, knew that in only a few hours they’d be free of his father and his scheming; he just had to make it through the day.

  His thoughts had been on Natalie all morning, and he hoped that she was okay. He’d hated to leave her that morning but knew that someone would have told his father if he was in her room. He’d had to leave her, but it wasn’t sitting well with him, and the longer there was silence from his father, the more he began to worry.