Chapter 12
Twelve
N eed charged Declan’s blood as he set Eileen on her feet beside her bed. Like the rest of her house, it felt like her, as if every corner breathed her essence.
With careful hands, he undressed Eileen. He knew he was a bastard for wanting to touch…to taste. She was exhausted, and he had kept her up the night before…but he needed this. His hands weren’t steady, and he figured that was about right. She’d been knocking him off-kilter since they’d met.
It didn’t take him long to get her naked. He stepped forward, cupping her face with one hand as he teased her nipple with the other. She pulled away from the kiss to lean her head back and moan. Damn, even in the dark room, he could see her, and it was one of the sexiest things he had ever seen.
Declan attacked her throat, kissing and nipping at her soft skin. For such a badass, she had skin like silk. She always smelled of roses, something else that wasn’t what he’d expected. It wasn’t something that overpowered his senses. It was just below the surface as if it were a part of her true self. The best part was knowing she was like this with him and not the world. She let everyone else see that steel spine of hers, but this…this was like a secret she only wanted a few people to see.
She gently pushed him away. Her hands went to the bottom of his shirt. Slowly, she eased it up his torso, her fingers sliding over his flesh. When it was lying on the floor with her clothes, she leaned forward to lick him down the center of his chest. Dropping to her knees, she undid his jeans and shoved them down. She made a sound of irritation.
“I keep thinking you’ll be going commando, and you keep surprising me.”
He chuckled. “Noted.”
If she wanted him parading through the streets that surrounded the Inner Harbor on July 4 th naked, he would do it. He was starting to realize there wasn’t much he wouldn’t do for this woman.
Soon, he was standing in front of her naked, his cock bobbing up against his abdomen. He was so fucking hard. He didn’t think he would last even this long. Last night should have taken the edge off, but it didn’t. It only made him want her more.
With sure, steady hands, she stroked his cock, then she took him into her mouth. At first, she teased the crown, wetting the head, then sliding her tongue around the edge before she sucked him into her mouth.
“Oh, damn, baby. That’s good,” he said as he speared his fingers through her hair.
Over and over, she sucked him into her mouth. His balls were heavy, and it was taking all he had not to come down her throat. With that thought, he tried to pull away, but she refused, sucking on him so hard his eyes rolled back in his head.
“Enough,” he said, his voice dark even to his ears.
She kept him in her mouth and looked up at him. With one last lick, she let him go. He picked her up and practically threw her on the bed. She laughed, the sound filling the room. Later, he would revel in that sound, of the joy he gave her, but he was too close to the edge. He had to get inside of her as fast as possible.
He grabbed up his jeans to get a condom, then climbed on the bed with her. She had one hand on her breast and the other on her clit, watching him. This woman…she was so sensual, she made his teeth ache. He would never have lasted more than a week if he’d known what she was like.
Declan took her hips in his hands and flipped her over before he slipped a finger up her thigh to her sex. She was wet, dripping with need.
“Why, Detective O’Reilly, I think you liked sucking my cock.”
Her inner muscles grabbed onto him. She liked the dirty talk, which was good because he planned on talking dirty to her a lot.
With somewhat unsteady hands, Declan ripped open the package, pulled out the condom, then rolled it on. He pulled her up and onto her knees. Taking her hips into his hands, he centered his dick at her entrance and thrust into her sex hard and fast.
Usually, he would take his time to enjoy the moment, but he didn’t have his usual finesse. He wanted to mark her, to let her know that she was his and he was hers. He slammed into her, time and time again.
“Touch your clit, baby. I want to feel that pussy squeeze my dick.”
She did as he ordered, moaning as she did. She was so damned warm and snug. So when her muscles started to convulse around his shaft, he couldn’t control himself any longer. His balls drew up, and that tell-tale tingle shot up his spine.
“Fuck, yes, Eileen.” He shouted it so loudly there was a good chance the neighbors heard. He didn’t care. He kept moving through his orgasm, and just as he was almost done, Eileen came again.
“Declan,” she moaned.
A few moments later, Declan pulled out of her and then slipped into her bathroom so that he could throw out the condom. When he returned, she hadn’t moved. In fact, he had to ease a half-awake Eileen up off her bed to get her under the sheets. He joined her. And just like the night before, she rolled into his arms.
As he drifted into a light sleep, he realized he wanted every night to be like this. Panic didn’t rise up to choke him. Instead, a peace he hadn’t ever felt before settled over him, and he drifted into a deeper sleep.
It wasn’t until after midnight that they made it downstairs. They’d dozed after making love, but she’d wanted a shower, which turned into another crazy bout of sex. By the time they reached her kitchen, her stomach was growling. She’d thrown on a pair of sleep shorts and her BPD shirt that had seen better days. Before they headed downstairs, Declan pulled on his jeans and nothing else. He left his golden hair down, a mess from her hands. It made Eileen happy to know that. Like she had left a mark on him.
“I did notice you had eggs.”
“I can boil an egg,” she said indignantly.
“How about an omelet? You have some cheese in here.”
“I do?”
He snorted. “We are gonna do something about your cooking skills.”
“Please, don’t go all 1950’s Boomer on me. I’m never gonna be the little woman at home.”
“Never said I wanted that. Grater?”
She pointed to the drawer behind him.
“I believe everyone should have basic cooking skills. Plus, I know that you’re freaking amazing, and if you wanted to learn how to cook, you would. So, I will have to give you an incentive.”
“And that would be?” Eileen asked as she caught sight of the box of goodies her neighbor had left her. She hoped it was her snickerdoodles because those were Eileen’s favorite.
“Strip cooking.”
“What?” She was momentarily distracted by the comment. “What is strip cooking?”
“I teach you, and every time you get a step right, I’ll remove a piece of clothing.”
She was laughing when she opened the package. She expected cookies or brownies. What she didn’t expect was the polaroids of her victims. Icy fingers slipped down her spine as the ramifications crashed through her. He was at her house. Yes, she expected him to focus on her, but how had he gotten here before she got home?
“We could go the other way, and if you get things wrong…” His voice trailed off because he had turned to look at her. “Eileen?”
She shook her head, unable to speak. There weren’t just two victims. There was a third. The polaroids were old, even stained, but she knew the woman.
With shaking hands, she grabbed her phone to call her partner.
“What? Don’t you have a personal life?”
“Yeah, I was trying that, but our killer left a little package for me on my porch.”
“What the hell?” Declan shouted as he walked around the island. She closed the box. He didn’t need to see those. She wanted to protect him from this. From all the bad things in the world.
“I’ll call it in and be there in a sec. Are you alone?”
“I know you just heard Declan. I’ll check my security camera on the porch. I didn’t get a notice that anyone showed up.”
“Be there in fifteen.”
He hung up before she could thank him.
She drew in a deep breath, trying to calm herself. The guy knew she was the detective on the case, so had he been thinking about contacting her?
“You need to get dressed.”
That from Declan.
“Excuse me?”
“The cops will be here soon.”
“I’m a cop.”
His gaze slipped down her body. Oh, damn, he was right. “Let’s get dressed. You won’t be able to leave until you talk to Eddie. He’ll want to question you.”
Declan cocked his head and studied her. He was always looking at her like he was trying to figure her out. “Why would I leave?”
Eileen opened her mouth, but he stepped closer and pulled her into his arms. “Is that what people do?”
“Messy situations are…you shouldn’t be here.”
He shouldn’t. If she had a target on her back, he did too. What if the perp had zeroed in on her and wanted to hurt her by hurting Declan?
“I shouldn’t? Why? Are you embarrassed to be seen with me?”
She snorted, then realized that he was serious. She lifted her arms and cupped his face.
“Declan, I am not embarrassed. It’s just that this guy is targeting me. Anyone around me could get hurt.”
There was a beat of silence. “You’re worried about me?” She nodded. “Back at ya, O’Reilly.”
“I can take care of myself.”
“Never said you couldn’t. Let’s both get dressed so I don’t have to punch anyone for staring at your legs.”
She glanced at the box, then nodded.
“Why didn’t you want me to look at them? I can handle things like that. You don’t have to hide the ugly side of your work from me.”
She looked at him, trying to come up with the right words. He didn’t want to see them for the gore of it all. Declan wasn’t someone who got into that.
“Irene is one of them. I didn’t want you to see her that way. You cared about her. She was part of your family at Fitzpatrick’s.”
His gaze softened, and he nodded. A lump rose in her throat, and in that one instant, she knew she would do everything in her power to shield Declan from the horrors she saw every day.
She was also starting to realize she was definitely falling in love with the man. She wasn’t quite sure what to do about that, but she knew he was right. Her coworkers would be there soon, and it would be best if they both got dressed.
“Let’s go put on some clothes. I don’t need techs drooling over that massive chest of yours.”
“You’re the only person I want to see my chest, Eileen.”
She smiled as he followed her up the stairs. That was a good thing because she was starting to realize that she was feeling territorial about him, too. She’d have to figure out how to deal with it some other time. Right now, she had a nut job sending her weird photos.