Chapter 17
Madeline
I woke up to the feeling of a mouth between my legs, licking through my folds as I blinked. I looked around the sunlit room and then down to see Declan under the blankets as he busied himself with his lips. I smiled and propped myself up against the pillows to watch him, feeling desire spreading through my body as he sucked my clit into his mouth. Declan made me come within a few moments and crawled back up my body before rolling into his back. I smiled and reached over to muss his hair as he smiled at me. “Good morning, beautiful.”
“That was quite a way to wake up,” I told him as I tried to see his whole body under the sheet. “I don’t know whether to crawl on top of you or return the favor.”
“I’d be happy with either one…or perhaps both?” Declan replied, raising his brow wickedly. I laughed and moved to dip my head under the covers, taking him into my mouth and sucking slowly until he was close to coming. At that point, Declan pushed me forward onto my knees and took me from behind, holding me still as he fucked me. I feel to my side once we were done, wanting to just go to sleep again. Declan told me that he was going to make us some coffee and I nodded and made some noise to acknowledge him as I watched him leave the room.
I was in over my head, but I never wanted to come up for air at this point. While Declan was my first, he was also a major part of my life and I sighed. How could this end any way but badly? I rolled over and made my way back to the pillows, feeling like jello as I propped myself up on the pillows and crawled under the covers. I smelled the scent of the coffee as I looked through the large windows and took in the clouds. I had to work the night shift and that gave me a few hours here before days could pass again before I had Declan like this. I heard him on the stairs and he entered the bedroom carrying large mugs of coffee with his shorts that he’d slipped on hanging low at his hips. “How are you in your forties?” I asked him grumpily as Declan set one of the cups beside me and sipped his.
“I guess I took care of myself. I’m not seventy, Madeline.” Declan laughed as he got back into bed while I mentally counted the years that were between us. “Does it bother you that I’m older?”
“I…well, we have different lives. Mine is just beginning and you’ve suffered so much loss. You’ve lived. Does that bother you?” I asked as I reached for my cup.
“You’re an old soul, Madeline. I don’t see you as being all that younger than me. You’ve suffered loss in your life as well.” He searched my face as I frowned, sipping the delicious coffee.
“This is good. Thank you,” I told him as I thought back to my life. “I guess I did deal with loss. My dad left, and my mom had to play both roles. She is the reason I am here today.”
“Exactly,” he said as I smiled. “Are you hungry? We can make some breakfast before you have to be at work.”
“You work early shifts this week?” I asked as he nodded. Totally separate.
“You’re on nights?” He asked, and I nodded. “We’ll have dinner next weekend. I have Saturday off. How about you?”
“It’s the saving grace to my schedule,” I replied as he grinned.
“We’re on then.” We sipped our coffee until we rose to cook some food, both knowing that we did this to stay private. If we showed up to a local cafe with bed hair, the talk would be sure to start. I glanced at him cracking eggs for an omelet as he looked up at me. I smiled and offered to help with something, not wanting to say my thoughts aloud. We sat down to eat, and I changed into my uniform to leave to go home, reminding myself to throw some clothes into the wash before work as I remembered that I only had one clean set of pants and a shirt left for today. I packed my things into my large purse and walked downstairs to see Declan working at his table on a laptop.
“I’m going to head home and get ready. Have a good week.” I smiled at him as he glanced over at me, pushing the chair back to walk over to me.
“Maybe I’ll see you in the hospital.” He said before leaning down to kiss me. I smiled against his lips and secretly hoped so since not seeing this gorgeous man for a week was tough to imagine.
I walked out to the car and started the engine, letting it warm up in the cooler weather. I glanced up to see that it was more than likely going to storm tonight and backed out of the long driveway to go home. Once there, I showered and got ready for work before throwing a load of laundry into the washer to dry when I got home much later. I pulled my hair into a messy bun and just added some mascara and gloss before heading out the door to work. It was starting to rain now so I chose a spot close to the entrance before making the mad dash inside.
Someone had decorated for Thanksgiving in the last twenty-four hours and I glanced around at the pumpkins and turkeys that decorated the counters. I didn’t even have a tree yet for my house. I wasn’t even thinking about it because I knew that Mom would go all out. She always had.
I put my stuff into my locker as I imagined decorating a tree with Declan at his house. He had the space for such a beautiful tree, but he might not even want to celebrate the holidays having just lost his wife. I shook my head and closed the locker to go see what was happening in the ER.
There were the usual car accidents from the weather but most of the injuries were minor. There were also a few kids in due to sickness or injury and I enjoyed helping them. There was something sweet about it and I got on well with those kids when I assisted the doctors. It was dark and cold when my shift ended, and I pulled my jacket around me as I hurried to my car. I drove home in the strong wind and made it home before closing and locking my door. I took a shower immediately and dressed in a long-sleeved shirt before crawling into bed to get some sleep.
I woke up in the afternoon and listened as the rain hit the roof of my house. Staying home tonight sounded so much better than going out on the rain. I rose and made coffee and braided my hair into a fancy over the shoulder plait as I sipped it, deciding to grab a burger on the way to work. I didn’t feel like cooking. I pulled out my maroon scrubs and went with a dark lipstick and mascara today. I thought about Declan for a moment as I walked out to my car a bit early to grab dinner, feeling like the weekend was going to take forever to get here. I love my job. I worked hard in school to do this. Don’t let a man get in the way of that, especially one that might not even be available.” I chanted as I drove to the closest drive thru for something quick to eat before my shift. I sat in the car and ate the burger and fries in the rain, watching the sirens of the ambulance at the door as I yawned.
I got out and went in, happy to hear that some of the shooting victims were released today. The news had been checking up but not as aggressively as that first day. I checked the rooms to see what was free, entering them into the computer so we’d be ready for anything. I made sure they were sterile and clean and made my way to the main desk to greet Kelly. “Hi.” I smiled at her as she looked me over.
“How is your gym buddy?” Kelly asked as I shook my head while Holly walked up to us.
“What gym buddy?” She asked as I looked at her in surprise.
“I met some guy at the gym and Kelly seems to think I should be picking out china patterns or something. It’s silly,” I waved my hand in the air and laughed. “We all know that we spend eighty percent of our time here.”
“That is true, but you have to make every moment away from this prison count.” Kelly winked at me as I laughed and glanced around for a moment. I didn’t know when Declan got off work, but I’d love just a peek of him for a moment. He was nowhere in sight. The phone rang, and we were told that a car accident victim was on the way in with a little girl and I went outside to wait with the doctor on staff. She was kind to the patients and I was learning a lot from her. The mother and daughter came in separate ambulances and I followed the six-year-old with my doctor and we checked her vitals in the room. She had a few bruises and a bump on her head, so the doctor told her that we were going to keep her overnight to keep an eye on her. We moved her to the pediatric section and I went with her to get her settled in since we’d bonded.
I was on my way back to the ER when I saw Declan standing at a station talking to another doctor and paused to stare for a moment. He looked good and I licked my lips as I leaned against the wall, pretending to read something as I stole looks at him. He left and walked away from me and I sighed as I continued to the ER.
The night was slow until my shift ended, and I helped with paperwork and cleaning the rooms again. I left after telling the girls good night and made my way back home for another shower and bed.
Rinse, lather, and repeat. It might be nice to have someone to come home to cuddle with and I turned on my small TV to watch something until I fell asleep.
The week moved on and I left work early Friday morning to see a text from Declan asking about dinner the following night. I replied with the answer of yes and headed home to sleep.
Finally, it was Saturday and I was going home for a full day and a half before another shift. I planned to sleep and wake up to get ready for dinner in time enough to have a few hours to get ready. I had a hard time falling asleep at the idea of seeing Declan again and feeling him inside of me, smiling as I rolled to my back to slip my hand down my pants to take care of it, so I could sleep. I was getting far too good at this now and I cursed Declan for a moment as I closed my eyes, biting my lip as I felt the release rush through me.
I woke up to my alarm and stretched, tempted to sleep some more until I remembered what I was doing tonight. I rose and made some coffee before taking a long shower and drying my hair straight. It was cold outside, so I dressed in black tights and a green dress with boots. I grabbed a jacket and some stuff for the morning, wishing that we could go out for a quick lunch tomorrow as I sighed.
I headed to my car and drove over to Declan’s, parking in the driveway before I got out and hurried to his door. He opened it wearing a pair of black slacks and a burgundy Henley and I threw myself into his arms as he held me. “I missed you.” I hated saying the words, but I couldn’t help it.
“I missed you, too.” He closed the door and tugged me closer to him as I lifted my mouth to kiss him. “How was your week?”
“Good. Long. I hate working nights so many days in a row. I remember when Mom did that and I’d barely see her during the day.” He smelled good, like soap and the outdoors and I inhaled him as he kissed me again.
“I do as well.” He pulled back and looked me over. “Do you want to go to the diner, steakhouse, or somewhere new?”
I looked at the door, knowing that it was cold and wet outside. “You want to drive all the way to the diner tonight?
“It’s not that bad out.” I shook my head and gazed up into his gorgeous eyes.
“Whatever you want to do it fine.” I pecked his lips again and he smiled at me.
“There’s a good place where they cook in front of you. It’s a whole show.” Declan suggested, and I remembered someone at work talking about it.
“Yeah, so I’ve heard. We can try that.” He grabbed his wallet and keys and we made our way to his car in the garage. We headed to the main road and I watched as he drove to the town next to ours again, parking in a lot that wasn’t crowded. I glanced at him as he got out to open my door and we were met with a full table just to ourselves. Declan engaged the cook in conversation as he flipped food and stirred veggies, making me laugh as they went back and forth. I sipped my wine as I watched him plate everything, sliding it across the wide table towards us with a smile.
We ate and watched the rain fall out of the wall of windows, talking about the upcoming holiday. Declan’s parents were flying in from Colorado to stay at his place for the weekend and I told him that I was going to visit my mom. I swallowed another sip of wine before I asked the next question. “Are the holidays going to be hard for you this year? I mean…to the point where you’d rather ignore them?”
He sipped his own glass and looked outside for a moment. “We weren’t big holiday people. I worked most of them and she’d put in extra time at her office. So, this year I am going to be home on Christmas and Thanksgiving for the first time in years. I got some sympathy points this year.” He shook his head. “I’m doing it for my parents. They want to be there for me and I miss them.” Declan shrugged. “It might be the best Christmas since I was a kid. Too bad you won’t be here.”
I looked at him as something crossed his face. Did he say that accidentally? “Thanks. Me, too.” I’d never give up seeing Mom for the holiday, but I knew that I’d miss Declan. He paid the bill and we ran to the car in the rain, sliding in at the same time. He apologized for not opening my door for me, but it was pouring at this point. “I’m glad we didn’t go to the diner. This is a mess.”
“It is. Did you like that place?” Declan asked as he pulled onto the road.
“It was fun. I’m glad that we both had the night off together,” I looked over at him as he stopped at the light and reached for my hand. Declan smiled and pulled forward as our light turned green, turning right to head to his house. I settled in the seat and watched the rain sliding down the windows until we were parked in the dry garage.
“Want to make a fire?” Declan asked as he opened my door and helped me out.
“That sounds great,” I replied as my pussy tingled, hoping that it led to more. We walked inside, and he set about making the fire as I poured myself another glass of wine, sitting on the couch to watch. Declan stood up once he was finished and I watched as he came over to the couch to sit beside me. He turned on a movie on the TV but we both turned to each other at the same time, moving in for a kiss.