Chapter 21
DECLAN
“Well, well, well, isn’t this surprising.” There is pure cynicism in Carter’s voice as he leans against my car with his arm against the side of my window frame. “Of course, it would be you two that I pull over.”
“Hi.” Violet awkwardly wiggles her fingers for a curt wave.
I want to tell him to back the fuck off my priceless car, but I’m in no position to do so. Instead, I throw on a fake smile. “What can we do for you, Officer?”
“You two been drinking?” The headlights from his car allow us to see that this guy is enjoying his power trip.
“I’m the designated driver,” I say. “I had one glass of wine while we had dinner with my mother.”
Carter’s eyes grow wide. “Already meeting the folks, Violet?” He whistles his surprise.
“Something like that.” My girl politely smiles and folds her hands on her lap.
“You two move fast, considering yesterday was denial central.”
“Do we? We could just be two friends who go for dinner with one another’s parents,” Violet says, playing it cool.
Carter knocks on the hood of my car and glances away, seeming to be a bit disappointed that we’re the people he pulled over.
“Were we speeding?” I ask to try and figure out what is going on.
“No, just at the limit.”
Violet gently touches my arm as she leans in to get a better view of Carter. “We’re being mindful of the deer that cross at night.” She smiles.
“I bet you are.” He studies us, and his eyes catch the sight of something in my car, but I’m not sure what. He stalls for a second before he bites his cheek then purses his lips out. “Let me guess, Ford has no clue you two are in this expensive car together on a Saturday night post dinner time?”
“It’s a Maserati, not even on the market yet,” I correct him. “And Ford doesn’t need to know every detail of our days, now does he?” I give Carter a soft warning glare, realizing he kind of has the upper hand right now.
“It would make one hell of a story, the Spinners owner gets pulled over with the sister of his former teammate,” he highlights.
Fuck my patience, I’m getting annoyed, but Violet senses it and squeezes my arm to keep me at bay. Instead, my nostrils only flare slightly as my knuckles tighten around the wheel.
“Your point?” I calmly grit out.
He sighs and rolls his eyes. “No point. Just you two are really shit at keeping under the radar.” His fist knocks on the hood of my car. “Well, your not-yet-on-the-market car has one of the taillights out, you should have that looked at.”
Carter begins to step away, clearly done drawing this all out.
“That’s it, Officer?” Violet asks, clearly puzzled.
“Yeah, that’s it.”
“Oh,” she pouts. “I was kind of looking forward to the locked-in-handcuffs part.” Violet smirks to herself, while my mouth parts open at the brazen fearlessness this woman has; it makes me proud.
This is the kind of person that makes every day an adventure, and that gives you something to be excited for what tomorrow may bring.
Carter steps back on his heels to study us. “I strongly urge you both to get on home, otherwise I will write you both up for indecency.”
“Why the hell would you do that?” I spit out.
He shakes his head, clearly exasperated with us. “Clean up the floor of your car,” he informs us before he walks away, mumbling something inaudible in the process.
My head turns to Violet who is repeating his words, as if she is trying to solve a riddle, then her eyes dart to the floor of my car and she gasps. “Oh my.” She leans over and picks something up, then holds it in the air with a wide smirk.
A satisfied grin takes over me, because I have no problem with the sheriff witnessing the proof that Violet is all mine.
“He saw your panties.”
Violet bursts out laughing, and it grows hysteric.
I turn the engine back on, soaking in the last few minutes, with an uncontrollable smile on my face. “Let’s get out of here. I can’t believe you made a handcuff joke, you’re trying to get us arrested.”
Her laugh vibrates through the car, and damn, it flows through my body, awakening the obvious.
I don’t enjoy my days without her.
It should be me leading Violet, yet I’m following her as a man completely captivated by her beauty and spirit.
The moonlight outlines her gentle smirk that feels defenseless to me as she tugs me along.
We walk into my bare bedroom that only has a mattress on the wood floor, plus some linens because I thought ahead.
Hell, we couldn’t even turn on a light if we wanted because I’m waiting for the electrician to install the new lighting.
But there is something special about a mattress on the floor in an oversized master bedroom, with high ceilings and the night sky the backdrop of the woman guiding us as if she’s the queen of the house.
Violet is the image of someone who belongs here.
I stop to watch Violet walk to the French doors to observe the moon reflecting off the lake and outlining the trees surrounding the water. I rub my fingers over my jaw as I admire the view, and I don’t mean of the lake.
The past month or so, I’ve been letting go of physically playing hockey on a professional level, and my time has been replaced with Violet floating into my life. She occupies my thoughts and makes me feel free in the moment.
I’m lucky.
I take a few steps and wrap my arms around her from behind, feeling her melt against me as I rest my chin on her shoulder. “I believe you said we have surfaces to test,” she rasps and sways in my arms.
We both look out into the sky, soaking in this moment of our embrace. “That can wait. I’d much rather take you right here.”
She slowly turns to face me before snaking her arms around my middle. “Also a good idea.”
I comb my fingers through her hair and settle to hold her head before leaning down to kiss her on the lips. Slow, tender, and giving her a side of me that I can’t seem to shake, nor do I want to try.
If a kiss were a breath, then this is the only thing I would need to live, and that isn’t half bad.
Violet croons as she reangles her lips before kissing me back with a firmness that feels like it carries far more than a physical need.
We part only to gather air, but my lips stay near, tracing the corner of her mouth while I inhale her floral scent.
“Everything lately…” she whispers.
My breath halts somewhere in my chest before a smile ghosts my lips. “I know.”
“Declan—”
“Shh,” I soothe her before backing her up against the glass to kiss her with more insistence.
My lips are cemented to hers while I unbutton my shirt, starting with one button and moving slow, but halfway I give up and speed up my movement.
It allows me the chance to yank and pull at her dress and bra until it’s mostly off her body, and she voluntarily makes a move which enables her to step out of the pool of fabric at her feet.
She’s so incredibly stunning, and she’s naked and showered in moonlight.
I lift her up to ensure her back lands against the window, with her arms linking around my neck for stability or just to pull me close to her.
“You’re too beautiful,” I remark between hurried kisses.
“You’ve mentioned a few times.” Her legs tighten around my waist which adds friction to my already-eager cock that presses against her belly.
All day I’ve been imagining plunging inside of her, and I’m not quite sure why it hasn’t happened yet, except I want to enjoy every second with her and drag this out.
I bury my head into her neck before trailing my lips down to her breast.
Violet throws her head back in a moan and offers it all to me.
“Please,” she begs. “I just need all of you tonight.”
“You wouldn’t get anything less,” I promise before spinning us around and heading straight to the mattress where we fall.
I slide down the mattress and take hold of her ankles to part her legs. “This isn’t bad at all, Vi. The image of you in the middle of my new bed, naked, with my head between your legs.”
Violet gets comfortable, wiggling her body to settle into the mattress, with her hair splayed out against the pillow. She brings her arms above her head as she peers down at me. “Is that what’s happening,” she taunts me.
I growl before I drop onto my stomach, and I slam my mouth against her center, instantly causing her body to buck from contact and her mouth to call out my name. My tongue and fingers work her into a state that has her completely surrendering to me, and it only ups my own keenness for more.
Her toes curl into the sheets and her nails dig into the pillows when I finally send her trembling underneath my touch, but I don’t let her come down from her release.
As she quakes, I move to hover over her, offering her a soft kiss against her lips while my hand aligns my cock with her opening.
“I need to bury myself in you and never leave,” I whisper against her cheek while I push into her.
She whimpers as her pussy wraps around me, the best possible fit. “Don’t say never.” Violet isn’t teasing, she’s honestly beseeching, before she leans up to capture my lips for a kiss.
We move together as one, careful to soak in every moment of our turning point. Words are on the tip of my tongue, but I’m not sure what and they don’t come out.
Which is fine, as we drown in one another anyways.
This is something special, lying on the mattress with a naked Violet against my chest and her head tucked under my chin, tangled in a sheet, while the sun begins to rise outside the curtainless windows.
This house is mine, but my first night in it will always be ours.
Ours.
The tickle of her fingertips painting lines against my skin reminds me that we’ve been shadowing one another. One of us wakes, then so does the other. One of us falls asleep, and the other follows.
But something about daylight is more confronting.
“Dec,” she says my name softly, and her gaze rises to study my face.
“Sleep.”
“I can’t, and you can’t either.”
The faintness of a smile forms on my mouth. “True.” I kiss the top of her head, and I stroke her long hair with my fingers.
“This weekend has been… a lot. I mean, there was the sheriff on two incidents, our disagreement, murdered carnations, dinner with your mother… last night. For most people, it would be whiplash, but for us, it feels… like us. It makes sense somehow; I just haven’t figured it out.”
I snort a laugh. “Trust me, in no universe does this weekend make sense.”
“Oh.” She was expecting me to say something else.
I roll us so she’s underneath me, and I lie on my side to look down at her. “Tell me what’s really on your mind.”
“Our lines… they’re blurry.”
“I agree… but this feels right.”
Finally, a line forms on her mouth that pleases me. “What are we doing?” Her question is like a song, as her tone is floaty. She’s trying to hide how scared she is to ask.
This time, I think I’m the one who may blush as my head falls forward and the tip of my nose nuzzles her shoulder. “Everything we never meant to.” I’m being honest.
God, I love when she wraps her arms around my neck.
“I meant what I said. I do want a future. I can’t see someone casually forever, I’ll want more. You’re giving me pieces, mixed messages, acting like we’re more than we are. But stop it if there is no thought behind it.”
I collapse to my back in defeat. “I don’t think when I’m around you, that’s new.”
Violet straddles me while she holds a knotted sheet by her breasts. Her on top of me like this doesn’t help us. My dick is going haywire, and my mind is hypnotized by her.
“Declan, we’re over the blue line because we are no longer casual, and you know that too.”
I plant my hands on her waist while I lick my lips and contemplate what to say exactly, especially after she just threw in a hockey reference. “You’re telling me that we’re heading for the big game now?” Why the hell don’t I feel petrified?
She nods, with a cute wry smile, then to add more damage, she swirls her finger against my chest, reminding me how I can’t get enough of her touch, her pure radiance that she gives us which feels like it’s all for me.
“You know, hockey is a really fast sport. Always go go go, but we don’t need to move as fast as hockey.
All I’m saying is that things have changed. ”
When she lifts her finger, I capture it between my teeth for a little bite and growl before kissing it softly. “What if I say I agree?”
“Then we should probably talk about what that means.” She rotates her pussy on top of my cock.
This isn’t fair, she’s using her bewitching powers. I love it.
“You’re no one else’s.”
She chuckles. “I haven’t been since our names were written on two pieces of paper.”
“You can tell the sheriff to take a hike.”
“I think he got the clue that I’m sleeping with a possessive billionaire.”
“Possessive billionaire boyfriend,” I correct her.
“Ooh, boyfriend,” she counters and fails to hide her laugh; therefore, I tickle her side.
Why is this conversation flowing so easily? We’re playful yet serious, and my body is relaxed.
“I don’t want to hide you,” I say.
Her long finger taps my mouth. “You told your mother about me.”
I blow her finger away. “Don’t make a big deal about it.” I roll my eyes and grin because it’s completely the opposite.
“Yes, sir.”
I come up to sitting so we’re eye to eye, our bodies tight together with the sheet still wrapped around her. “I don’t want to hide you,” I repeat.
Her smile fades, but she seems content as her head gently tips to the side. “You know what that means.”
“Yeah, I do,” I confirm.
“When do we tell him?”
“Next time I’m in town. I have to head back to the city later, and I think Ford requires a bit more of a thought-out process.”
“Okay.”
We hold one another, with our eyes set and our smiles mirroring one another.
“Good, now let me take you the way a boyfriend should.” I slap her ass and tilt my body up.
“You act like it’s your first time doing that.” She flashes her eyes at me.
I groan from how she has the ability to tease me.
Yet again, I flip us so she is caged underneath me.
“You’re right. But you’re the first one that matters,” I tell her sincerely.
Because I care for her, I see more than just now with her, but it’s too cloudy to define what our future holds.
Her eyes pierce mine with recognition and affection.
“I want you, and I will give you more. I can’t make promises, but I can’t let you go just yet. You get that, right?”
Her hand comes up to touch my cheek in that way that always instantly gives me warmth and lights something in my chest. “I know.”
It’s a few long seconds of staring, with the glimmer of fondness apparent in our eyes.
“Now let’s figure out a way to untangle you from this sheet, it’s in the way.”
She squeals in delight as my hands begin to roam, while we both ignore the fact that maybe we should think this through more.