Chapter Fourteen
Fourteen
Declan
The second Tarryn steps through the door, every ounce of control I’ve been clinging to unravels.
The space between us disappears in two long strides.
I catch her by the waist and pull her hard against me, the impact stealing both our breaths.
My fingers slide into her hair, tilting her face up as my mouth finds hers.
The kiss is hungry, weeks of wanting her condensed into one desperate, aching moment. Her lips part, soft and sure, and the taste of her hits me like oxygen after drowning. She answers me with a fire that leaves no doubt she feels this too, matching my urgency, matching every stroke and sigh.
“Tarryn,” I murmur against her lips, my voice rougher than I mean it to be. The fear of losing her again dissolves with the warmth of her pressed against me. It’s more than need. It’s relief. It’s right.
I hold her tighter, one arm locked around her back while the other drifts lower, memorizing every curve that fits so perfectly against me.
She releases a sound that’s part sigh, part moan, and it snaps what little restraint I have left.
My hands travel down the length of her spine, over the slope of her hips, until I find my grip and lift her easily.
She gasps, but the sound is swallowed by my kiss, deeper now, desperate, like we’ve both been starving for the same thing. Her legs wrap around my waist, as she presses closer, and all I can feel is her warmth, her heartbeat, the certainty that I’ll never have enough of this woman.
“God, Declan,” she breathes, her voice rough and trembling as I carry her across the room.
“Tarryn.” Her name leaves my mouth in pieces, part plea, part prayer, part promise. Every step steals more of my sanity until only need and memory remain. I lower her onto the couch, the glow from the light outside framing her like something out of a dream.
The urgency inside me tightens, a living pulse between us. This isn’t just want. It’s everything I’ve been missing, everything I’ve been fighting to get back.
“I missed you,” she whispers against my lips.
“Same. I thought of you every day.” I manage, breathless as her fingers find the buttons of my shirt. Each one gives beneath her touch, deliberate and slow, her hands both fire and calm. The ache of every night apart burns away under her fingertips.
My palms trace her back, searching until I find the hidden zipper of her dress. The sound of it sliding down is soft but electric. The fabric falls to her waist, revealing smooth skin, pale and warm beneath the flicker of the Christmas lights.
For a second, all I can do is look at her—really look—before need wins again and I lean in, ready to show her exactly how much I’ve missed her.
I move back, eyes still locked on hers as I rid myself of my shirt, letting it fall forgotten.
Her gaze traces over my bare chest, and I feel her eyes like fingertips.
Before me, she is radiant, the flush of desire painting her creamy skin in shades of want.
I drink in the sight of her, the fullness of her breasts barely contained behind sheer material, her nipples pressing against the fabric, as if reaching out for my touch.
My mouth waters with the need to taste her, to reclaim what’s been denied for far too long.
“Tarryn,” I breathe, finding my voice again, “you’re exquisite.” The word feels small, inadequate for the goddess before me, but it’s all I have as I pull her close once more, desperate to dissolve any distance that remains between us.
I fumble with my buckle before I finally wrench the belt free. It clatters to the floor. With more haste than grace, I shove down my pants, liberating myself. They crumple at my feet, and with just a bit more maneuvering, Tarryn’s clothes joins them.
Her eyes linger on mine, darkened by desire as she bites her lower lip, a silent siren call that stirs something primal within me. My body responds, hard and wanting. The air between us crackles with anticipation.
Then she moves, fluid like a melody, hooking her leg around my hips. She traps me against her, the delicate lace of her panties a tantalizing barrier that rubs against my cock. It’s bliss, pure and intoxicating. This is where I’ve longed to be, where I belong.
“Tarryn,” I groan, the sound torn from deep within me. I grip the soft flesh of her waist as if to anchor myself in this moment that feels like a dream. But it’s no dream. It’s Tarryn, real and here in my arms.
We’re locked in this dance of want and need, the world narrowed to the space where our bodies strain toward one another, seeking a connection that promises to consume us both.
“Right here,” I whisper fiercely. “This is where I need to be—with you.”
Panic knots in my stomach. “Fuck,” I say, the word coming out as a choked gasp. Condoms are in my room.
Tarryn’s lips graze my neck, sending shivers down my spine. “That’s my plan,” she murmurs.
I catch her gaze. “I don’t have a condom.”
“When was the last time you were tested?” Her question is direct, her eyes steady on mine.
“It was part of my physical when I moved back,” I swear. “I’m clean.”
She nods, her fingers tracing patterns over my chest. “I got the birth control shot.”
“Tarryn, are you sure?”
“Yes,” she murmurs.
I nod. “Tell me what you want.” My need to please her, to give her control, rises above all else.
Without speaking, Tarryn pushes me gently until I’m sinking into the couch. She stands, slips off her panties, and straddles me. The sight of her, so confident, so sure, ignites a fire within me.
Slowly—agonizingly so—she lowers herself over me. Each inch she takes in is a blissful eternity stretching between us. This sensation, raw and unguarded, is like coming home after being lost at sea.
“God, it feels…” Words fail me. Nothing can describe the sheer rightness of being inside her without any barrier.
“Perfect,” she finishes for me, her hips settling fully against mine. “The way we’re supposed to be.”
I pull her in, my arms locking around her as if I can anchor us both in this moment. Her heartbeat thunders against my chest, steady and real, and I know I could stay like this for the rest of my life.
When she looks up, her blue eyes catch the light—endless, consuming, the same eyes that have chased me through every sleepless night. The air between us tightens, heavy with everything we’ve left unsaid.
I lean in, helpless to stop myself, and find her lips.
The kiss starts soft but builds quickly, a mix of hunger and reverence.
My tongue teases the seam of her mouth before slipping inside, tasting her again, relearning what I’ve been missing.
She’s familiar and electric all at once, and I never want to let her go.
“So much better than the cab of your truck.”
“Show me,” she whispers, her breath hitching as our bodies meld together in perfect synchrony.
It’s been a lifetime since I’ve felt this close to anyone. The distance between who I was and who I’ve become vanishes in her arms. Every breath, every brush of her skin against mine, pulls me back to something I thought I’d lost, the simple ache of being seen, wanted, understood.
With Tarryn, happiness doesn’t creep in quietly. It floods through me, fierce and undeniable. I’m not just content. I’m alive again, and it’s because of her.
I’ll never let her slip away. Not this time. We’ve burned fast before, but tonight isn’t about urgency. It’s about connection. About rediscovery.
I move with care, guiding her beneath me until she’s framed in the soft glow of the room. Her breath catches, a sound that vibrates straight through me.
“Please,” she whispers, her voice tremulous, hungry.
“Shh,” I murmur, brushing my lips across her cheek. “I’ve got you.”
We move together slowly, the pace unhurried, deliberate, the kind of closeness that feels infinite. “Tonight,” I whisper, “we take our time. We’ve got all night to find our way back.”
I pull out before I come too quickly. My hips trace a slow, deliberate circle, grazing her swollen clit with the head of my cock. Tarryn’s legs tighten around me, her thighs pressing into my sides as her body rocks in silent plea for deeper connection.
“Are you ready?” I whisper against the soft skin of her neck, trailing a path of shivering kisses. The faint hint of strawberries from her hair fills my senses, grounding me in this moment—this perfect, fragile moment.
“Yes, please,” she gasps. “Stop teasing and fuck me.”
Her blunt words break the last of my restraint. With a firmness born of both desire and the need to show her how much she means to me, I guide her to lift her knees. So trusting and eager, she tilts her hips up, offering herself completely, and I can’t hold back any longer.
I sink into her, inch by glorious inch until I’m again fully sheathed in her inviting warmth. A deep groan rumbles from her throat, echoing through the quiet room. I freeze for a heartbeat, savoring the sensation of her tightness enveloping me.
Slowly, I begin to move, each stroke long and deep, a testament to the time we’ve lost and the connection we’re rebuilding.
I lose myself in the rhythm, in the exquisite friction, in the undeniable truth that there’s no place I’d rather be than here, joined with Tarryn in the most intimate of dances.
I whisper her name, soft and reverent, hoping she hears everything I can’t put into words.
Every movement, every touch, is more than want.
It’s confession. It’s every unspoken thought, every fear, every promise I’ve been too afraid to voice.
In this moment, nothing exists beyond us. The rest of the world can wait.
Tarryn arches into me, her breath catching in quick, uneven bursts. Her hands slide upward, fingers tangling in the fabric above her as she gives herself over completely, her trust and surrender undoing me more than anything else ever could.
I lean down, my mouth seeking the softness of her breast. My lips close around her nipple, teasing it with a bite, drawing a sharp gasp from her. The taste of her skin, mingled with the faintest hint of her sweat, is intoxicating.
“Harder,” she breathes, barely audible over the pounding of my heart in my ears.
I comply, sucking harder, letting my teeth graze her sensitive flesh, pulling as I increase my pace. Her body writhes beneath me. As I bite down again, just hard enough to send waves of pleasure-pain coursing through her, she teeters on the edge, the brink of that all-consuming climax.
My hand travels down to cup the round flesh of her ass, gripping firmly. I tilt her hips, angling her just so. And then I feel it, the way my cockhead grazes that perfect spot inside her, her magic button. She cries out, a high, keening sound that shatters the silence of the room.
“Fuck, Declan!” Her voice cracks on my name, and it’s like music, like victory.
The dam breaks. Her inner walls convulse around me, clenching in powerful spasms. I’m entranced by the sight of her above me—blue eyes glazed with ecstasy, her entire being focused solely on the pleasure rippling through her.
After that, I can’t hold back. With a guttural groan, I let myself fall into the abyss along with her.
My orgasm rips through me, an explosive force that feels like it’s been building for an eternity.
I fill her, each pulse of my release met by the fervent clutching of her heat, milking every last drop from me.
“Tarryn,” I pant, collapsing against her, our slick bodies melding together. In the aftermath, we’re both spent, breathless, and yet undeniably whole.
I lay back against the couch, the fabric warm from our entwined bodies. My chest heaves with the aftershocks of pleasure, and I pull Tarryn close. “We’ve got a lot of time to make up for,” I murmur.
She snuggles into the crook of my arm. “Three months of daily orgasms seems about fair,” she quips.
“Give me a second,” I say, already feeling the stirrings of renewed desire. “I’ll be ready for round two before you know it.”
Tarryn rests her head on my chest. “Thank you for coming with me to the tree lighting.”
“I didn’t want to go with anyone else.” I kiss the top of her head.
“I don’t have all this figured out, but if it takes me the rest of my life to make it up to you, I’m in.
” With that, she lifts her mouth to mine, and we kiss.
It’s a kiss that seals everything we’ve missed, everything we are, and everything we could be.
And in this moment, life is perfect.