CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Declan
Her taste was still sweet on my tongue as I carried her to my bed. She tried to pull me down with her, but emotion was clogging my throat, and I was feeling things I couldn’t explain. I needed a few minutes to pull my shit together before I did something stupid like profess my undying love, or some equally ridiculous shit.
I kissed her forehead. “Be back in a few minutes.”
She smiled, looking happy and sated. “I’ll be here.”
I pushed her hair back from her face, and yet another fucking wave of tenderness washed over me, nearly bringing me to my knees. I stood, locking my damn knees, and gave her a little smirk to hide the damn sappiness I was feeling. “You better be.”
Rushing from the room, I cleared my throat of the emotion that threatened to choke me. I needed a minute to clear my head, calm my mind.
Retracing my steps, I headed back into the kitchen, picking up her clothes and turning off lights as I went before drinking down the water Amelia had abandoned.
Damn.
What was it about her? And what was happening to me when I was around her? Normally so in control of everything around me… I was lost.
I remembered feeling something similar seven years ago, and it had taken everything inside me then to let her go. It was like those feelings had come surging back in spades, now that she was no longer a child. It didn’t mean that what I was feeling was right.
Refilling the glass and downing it in a few long gulps, I fought for the normalcy I was used to. What the fuck?
Here I was, with a beautiful woman who wanted me in my bed. She was naked. She was waiting. And what was I doing?
Absolutely nothing.
Disgusted with myself, I headed back down the hallway, intending to stop thinking and just feel. Get this seven-year curse of need behind us.
Stepping into my room, I stopped. Groaned. Chuckled softly, slapping a hand over my face.
Snoring softly, Amelia was on her side, legs curled up, giving me a glorious view of her naked body.
I guessed I’d found the way to relax her enough that she could finally get some sleep. Sure, the blue balls were going to hurt like a bitch, but she looked like a damn dark angel lying there with her black hair fanned over her slender shoulders and her dark lashes falling against the fair skin of her cheeks.
She was a vision — one I didn’t want to disturb at the moment, no matter how badly I wanted to finish what we started.
I sighed and ran my hand over my face a couple times, trying to clear the sex fog from my brain. I still had a few emails to answer and a quick memo to write before the morning, but I needed a cold shower before I’d be able to concentrate on anything but the way Amelia’s body had tasted on my tongue.
Ambrosia.
Sweetness itself. And she was like a drug because all I wanted was another taste, another touch.
In the shower, I tried to think of work-related things: office chairs, real estate lawyers, counter demands, building inspectors, and permit filings. Anything to kill the raging boner I was fighting at the moment, but nothing was working. I finally had to kill all of the hot water in the spray to get a little relief and the ability to focus.
I settled Amelia in the covers and arranged them around her before carefully crawling into my side and pulling my laptop up.
Working as quietly and quickly as possible, I spent the next two hours answering endless emails from worried shop owners, pissed off customers, and sleazy salesmen trying to sell me the next-best and latest-greatest. Mind-numbing, all of it. Especially since what I really wanted to concentrate on was sleeping just a few inches away, beside me.
For the third time in about ten minutes, I looked away from my screen to take in her sleeping form. She was at peace for the first time today, and since the first time since I’d seen her back in Boston, Amelia didn’t have an invisible weight piled onto her shoulders. She looked young sleeping there, like a twentysomething creative dreamer with the world ahead of her.
With a long, drawn-out breath, I decided to call it a night and closed my computer. There was so much to do, always so much to do, but I wanted to enjoy a night that had suddenly gotten more interesting. I never imagined how quickly I’d have Amelia here in bed with me, but I wasn’t going to waste another moment of it with work.
I turned off the lights and quietly got out of bed to brush my teeth. When I returned, she’d moved. Because it was my bed and it was my habit, I slid out of my pajama pants and crawled under the sheets in just my boxer briefs. The space was warmed by Amelia’s proximity, and I tried to focus on falling asleep, not on what I’d done to her in my kitchen a couple hours ago.
“Plenty of time,” I reminded myself. “Plenty of time for that.”
***
Turned out, I didn’t have to wait long.
I fell asleep unbelievably quickly, and at one point during the night, I woke long enough to realize Amelia had ended up curled with her back against my front. Her naked, glorious back against my front. It’d taken a miracle, but I somehow managed to fall back asleep and didn’t stir until a very vivid dream had me rock solid and aching from the tiny details that seemed to make it come to life.
Warmth was making my dick grow harder, and I sucked in a breath at the realness of it. Soft hands cupped my sac as my body responded almost instantly to the fantasy. Was I fucking Amelia again in my dreams? It wouldn’t have surprised me given how ramped up on her I was when I’d gone to bed.
But no, this was more. This was way more.
I opened my eyes and blinked against the early morning light coming through the window to find the duvet cover down around my feet and Amelia Byrne kneeling between my knees, my hard cock in her mouth and her hands on my shaft while she cupped my balls.
I wanted to say something, anything at all, but all I could do was suck in a breath as she took me deeper into her mouth, her tongue sliding up and down my shaft.
“Fuck, baby,” I finally managed as my fingers threaded through her messy hair and gripped, taking a little control from her so I could show her just how hard I liked it.
The moan that came from her shot straight through my groin and into my stomach, and it was all I could do not to explode right there.
Amelia was working me hard, but I wasn’t about to spill in her mouth when I’d been so patient all this time. She grinned as our eyes met down the length of my body, and there was a soft, erotic pop as she lifted her head.
“Come here,” I said, but the grin turned evil as she took me into her mouth again, not stopping until her nose was just inches from my pubic bone. I closed my eyes, holding her head as I pulsed gently into her throat, and when I lowered my hips, her head popped up as she gasped for air.
Moving my hands from her hair and to her arms, I pulled her up my body and rolled her onto her back in a smooth motion. Lifting onto my elbows, I took most of my weight off her smaller frame before kissing the tip of her nose.
“You weren’t supposed to wake up yet,” she said with a devious smile.
“I’m glad I did,” I said, pressing a kiss to her lips. “Would have been a shame to miss you deep-throating me.”
She laughed softly, clearly embarrassed before recovering. “You stopped me before I could really start showing off.”
Raising an eyebrow, I grinned. “Don’t worry, you’ll have plenty of time to show me your skills later,” I assured her. “Just not right now. I’ve been thinking of other things all night.”
Her hands moved to my face, her thumbs sweeping over my eyebrows. “I’m so sorry I fell asleep on you like that. I hate that we didn’t get to finish what we started.”
I growled and adjusted our positions, not stopping until my thigh was between her legs, pressing into her sex. She moaned, and I kissed her hard.
“Don’t apologize,” I said gruffly, my voice still not completely free of the aftereffects of sleep — or Amelia’s incredible fellatio skills. “You needed to rest. I’ve got you right where I want you now. No escape. No sleep.”
She shook her head, her eyes searching mine. “I don’t want to escape. I don’t want to sleep.”
I pushed her hair back from her face. “Tell me what you do want.”
She licked her lips. “You. I want you.”
I hadn’t showered or brushed my teeth or done anything to make what we were about to do just right. But it didn’t matter. Nothing mattered but how soft her lips were under mine.
Her nails raked my back as the kiss deepened, our mouths devouring, claiming the other. Damn, she was so responsive. So sweet.
Moving down her body, I took a nipple in my mouth while my hand trailed lower, sliding into her warmth.
“Jesus,” I breathed as my fingers found her slick and ready. “You’re so wet already.”
She grabbed my shoulders, pulling me up her body, pressing our lips together again. “Yes. Ready. Please, Declan. Don’t make me wait any longer. I’ve dreamed of this for so long.”
Her admission caused another surge of tenderness to wash over me, and I could see how much it cost her. She blushed and looked away, but I caught her chin, urging her to meet my gaze.
“Years ago, the timing wasn’t right.” I kissed her swollen lips. “Hell, it’s probably not right today, but we’re both adults now. We both know the costs and benefits. Our eyes are wide open, and even though I can’t define what this is between us, I know it’s special.”
Her eyes grew wet, but she didn’t cry. Instead, she pulled my head down until I was kissing her again. Reaching for the nightstand, I pulled open the drawer and found a condom. Rising to my knees, I watched her watch me roll it on, and she licked her lips, her hips arching up… waiting… wanting.
Settling between her thighs, I had a moment of panic as my cock nudged her entrance. This was Amelia Byrne. Pigtailed with braces. Knee socks and plaid skirts. There would be no going back once my body sank into hers.
Her legs circled me, her hands coming up to my face. “Please.”
I smiled down at her. “Yes, ma’am.”
Without another thought, another word… another worry… I surged forward, sinking balls deep in one swift movement, and all thought fled my mind. There was only this. Mouth. Tongue. Fingers. Breath.
“You are so fucking perfect,” I breathed against her neck, nipping at the sensitive skin as I simply absorbed the sensation.
I could die here. I could literally die inside this beautiful creature and pass this mortal existence a satisfied man.
I took her mouth again, pulling out slowly, feeling her pussy grip and pull at my cock. I wouldn’t last long. She was too tight, and I’d needed this too much.
Surging forward again, I captured her scream in my mouth. She went wild beneath me, her legs nearly cutting me in half while she pulled at me with her entire body. Her hands clawed at my back, pulled at my neck, urging me to go harder, faster, her hips lifting in rhythm to each thrust.
But I wasn’t ready yet. I might never be ready. I never wanted this to end.
The sounds she made were mindless and frantic and were driving me crazy as I picked up the tempo, hitching her leg up higher against my body as I searched for the perfect angle. I knew when I hit it too, because Amelia practically came off the bed.
“Oh my god,” she hissed, her eyes rolling back in her head.
“So damn sexy,” I murmured, wanting to see that again.
If she responded, I missed it because I felt the tingling building at the base of my spine and knew I wasn’t in the fight for much longer. Reaching between us, my thumb gently found Amelia’s clit and worked it slow as I went fast.
It took only seconds.
When her whole body clenched around mine, I knew we were both at the edge, and all we needed to do was fall. And fall we did.
She went first, my name on her lips as her body clenched around mine, her nails digging into my neck and shoulders. I was pretty sure she sank her teeth in the muscles of my bicep as she came, which only intensified my feelings as I careened over my own ledge.
I hammered into her body as the orgasm tore through me, and I was fairly certain I whispered a few sweet somethings in her ear as my body spasmed and crashed back down to Earth. As I lay catching my breath, I realized Amelia had gone still.
Pushing up on my elbows, I stared down into her face, worried that she was regretting what we just did. That she’d be up on her feet in a nanosecond trying to put some distance between us just when we’d gotten so close.
Instead, I watched her smiling with her eyes closed, relishing in whatever sensations she was experiencing.
“You okay?” I asked, kissing the tip of her nose.
Her gorgeous blue eyes popped open, and her mouth quirked into a smile. “Let’s do that again.”
I kissed her nose, her cheeks, her forehead, my body still sheathed inside hers. “Give me a few minutes,” I said and reluctantly pulled out, tossing the condom and getting a fresh one.
Then I was back, happy to oblige.
***
The next morning, I made Amelia pancakes and was brewing a second round of coffee when my phone chirped. Looking down at the text message, I saw that it was Brennan. It was Sunday, but he never took a day off.
Bad news. Duffys broke a few windows at Jack Byrne’s place. On my way.
I sighed and closed my eyes as I set the phone on the counter. These assholes were relentless.
More than anything, I wanted Amelia to enjoy her last few minutes of peace before Brennan arrived and broke the news, but I also knew that she was a grown woman and deserved to know the truth right away. She was pawing through the Sunday paper as I sat down beside her with a fresh cup of coffee.
“Brennan just messaged me. There was some trouble at your parents’ last night. He’s on his way over.”
She froze, her fingers tightening on the paper. Her eyes searched my face, and I knew she was looking for clues as to how bad the “trouble” was.
I stroked her cheek with my fingers. “They’re okay. I promise. A couple broken windows is all he said. He’ll tell us more when he gets here.”
A few minutes later, as promised, Brennan was sitting across from us at the table with a coffee in his own hands.
“It was after midnight, according to the local cops, and it was the front window to the right side and the one in the kitchen,” he explained. “Nobody was hurt, and your mother was pretty pissed because she said it knocked over her ficus tree.”
Amelia snorted at that, and I was grateful to hear it.
“She loves that damn thing more than she loves her kids sometimes,” she said with a grin. Her face sobered, and I could see the fear return. “My dad pretty upset?” Brennan gave her an easy shrug, but I didn’t miss the tightness of his face. She scowled. “Don’t lie to me, Brennan.”
The big guy relented like I knew he would. “Yeah, he might have tried to grab the bat out of his truck and handle things himself.”
She smiled. It was small, but the curve of her lips was evident. “You didn’t let him, did you?”
Of course he didn’t, but I understood her worry. “Nope,” he said, looking at me because I didn’t know this part of the story yet. “We actually took them over to The Capstone for a couple nights while it gets cleaned up and we make sure the Duffys don’t try anything else.”
“And Pop was okay with leaving the house?” She seemed surprised.
“Yeah,” Brennan said, looking from Amelia to me. “All I had to do was promise your mom a couple spa passes, and she had Jack Sr. all packed up and ready to go in less than ten minutes.”
Smooth bastard. I grinned at my friend with sincere appreciation. It couldn’t have been easy to convince a man as proud as Jack Byrne to leave his home if it was under attack.
“Well, thank you,” she said, getting a noncommittal nod from Brennan. “And you.”
She said that last part to me, and I found myself unsure of what to say. I’d expected her to fight me or to demand to pay for it herself. But it was clear she was worried about her parents and was glad they were out of the neighborhood for now.
And so was I.
I hadn’t expected the Duffys to do something this stupid this quickly. It seemed they were in a bigger rush to cause trouble and chaos than I’d originally thought.
“My pleasure,” I replied and jumped into planning mode for the next few days. “What kind of watch do we have on the house?”
Two steps ahead of me, Brennan was already on it. “Round the clock right now. The business too. Nobody’s seen JJ yet, but Jack Sr. said he’s at a friend’s house right now. He should be fine as long as he doesn’t do anything stupid.”
Amelia rolled her eyes at that, probably composing a list of one hundred stupid things her brother was probably doing at this very moment. I had to laugh at how aware she was of her brother’s personality.
JJ Byrne wasn’t a bad guy, never had been. The trouble with him was that he tried too hard — to be good at sports, to get a girlfriend, to get himself rich in business. Whatever was out there, JJ wanted it, but he wanted the faster path to it. He was a weakling, sadly, and nothing that Jack Sr. ever tried worked. No amount of sports camps or boxing coaches, no tutors or pricey equipment could inspire JJ to get his ass in the trenches and do the work.
And now, it seemed, the idiot was putting himself and his whole family at risk thanks to his misguided need to “be somebody.”
“If I didn’t know for sure that it was Michael, I’d swear my brother’s middle name was ‘stupid’ at this point,” Amelia said softly, dropping her face into her hands.
“It’ll work out,” I said to her, fully meaning it. I could tell she didn’t want to lean too hard on me, but I was a patient man and could wait her out. “Your family will be safe, and this will all be over eventually.”
I hoped she believed me, but I wasn’t sure if I believed myself.