Chapter 23 #2
“Home.” Declan wrapped his arm around my shoulder. “Harper wants to see you. Then we’ll head over to our appointment.”
“Okay.”
Home and Harper?
I chose not to dwell on what it meant that Harper was at a place Declan considered home. On the way to Declan’s building, I thought about what my reaction would be if Declan insisted on keeping Harper around. I wasn’t the jealous type. Was I?
“We’re here.” Declan helped me out of the car and escorted me upstairs.
Sure enough, when we entered his condo, I could tell Harper had moved in. Okay, maybe I was the jealous type because I certainly didn’t want to live with the woman who had a one-night stand with my fiancé.
“She lives here now. I’ve been staying upstairs,” he whispered in my ear.
“Am I that easy to read?”
“Oh yes.” He winked.
“Isla.” Harper sat up on the sofa when she spotted us by the door. “I was hoping to see you before the meds kicked in.”
“The meds.” I glanced up at Declan.
“Radiation treatment. Last part of the treatment. She’s going to be okay.”
“Oh.” I joined Harper in the living area. “I’m so happy for you.”
“Thank you. It’s been rough, but I had Declan and Joey to see me through it.” Her eyes watered. “I’m sorry I took him away from you.”
“No, don’t be. I could’ve been more understanding.” I turned to face Declan. “I’m sorry I left you alone in all this.”
“You needed time too. I get it.” He stuffed his hands in the pockets of his trousers. “And now we have to go before the agent gets here.”
“What?”
“Go ahead. I feel a nap coming on anyway.” She waved her hand in dismissal with droopy eyes.
I followed Declan down the corridor, into the elevator, and finally into the penthouse ten floors up. “Are you buying a new place?”
“Not yet.” He chuckled and ushered me toward the floor-to-ceiling windows with a spectacular view of the city. “A friend of mine owns the place. He let me stay here when Harper moved in. She needed a place, and I wanted to stay close to Joey. So this worked out.”
“So you’re not buying, just leasing?”
“My friend wants to sell. But I wanted you to see it first. It’s ours if you want.”
“What?”
“I want to marry you as soon as possible. Married people need their own home. I’m pretty sure that’s how it works.
” Flashing me a sexy grin, he walked me back, pressed my back on the cool window, and bent down to capture my mouth with his.
“I’m pretty sure you’re not wearing a bra under there, and that’s killing me. ” He pulled down my top.
His breath hitched when my boob popped out with my nipple already pebbled in anticipation. He traveled down to my chest and sucked on it hard. In the back of my mind, I had the vague idea that sex right now wasn’t a good idea. Wasn’t an agent on her way to meet with us?
Declan pressed his palm to my sex and all doubt went out the window.
I would never be able to say no to him. In a frenzy of jagged breaths and hard kisses, I freed his erection while he pulled down my panties.
He entered me without preamble. My walls stretched for him, sending a shockwave of raw pleasure through me.
“I know you’re big.” I panted a breath. “But every time you fill me like this, I still can’t believe how good you feel.” I still couldn’t believe a man like Declan existed.
“Hmmm.” He moaned an answer then thrust deeper inside me. “You’re good for my ego.”
We had literally only managed about an hour before we were tearing each other’s clothes off again.
And I was so okay with that. I didn’t care that we were so close to the window where anyone could see us or that his agent might catch us at any moment.
All I cared about was his steely cock and the undulating rhythm of his hips.
I wrapped both my legs around his waist and arched my back to give him full access. He clasped his mouth on my aching nipple, and that was my undoing. The usual spark at my core exploded, and I was gone, spiraling down into heavenly bliss. A few more pumps, and Declan caught up to me.
“You drive me crazy.” He kissed my neck and then my lips.
“I know the feeling.” I let my wobbly legs touch the hardwood floor. “I think this home would do just fine for newlyweds.”
“Agreed.” He chuckled, pulling up my top before he moved on to fix his trousers.
“Wait. You’re not going back to the UK?” I had been so happy to see him and everything else, I hadn’t really thought about what all of the arrangements he had made meant for him. He had said he’d never move to the States. His home, his business, his family were in London. “You’d do that?”
“My whole life is here now. You and Joey.” He pulled me toward him until our bodies were pressed together. “Synchronicity. Do you remember when we had that conversation? I’m done fighting it, thinking that I know better.”
Of course, I recalled our talk. The day after we had sex the first time, Declan had opened up to me and admitted that being a father terrified him.
That he didn’t wants kids because he was afraid he wouldn’t be able to provide for them.
Not financially, obviously. Declan was scared to die and leave a family behind—just like his dad had done.
Leave it to Declan to try and make plans with death.
That morning, I reminded him that the universe was always listening. “When you ask the universe for something, be ready to receive what it sends you. It won’t always come in the way you’d expect.”
“That’s what you said. In the moment, I told myself that a broken condom and an ovulating woman didn’t mean anything.” He rubbed the side of his face.
“So grim.”
“I know.”
“So what did you wish for, Declan?” I cupped his face and brushed his lips softly. “Why would the universe send you a baby you didn’t want?”
“I asked for a home. Not a swanky flat in the city. But a real home.”
“And you got us—a baby and a drunk girl.”
“I did.” He swiped the pad of his thumb over my lips. “I’m sorry it took so long to figure it out. To see that my feelings for you were real.”
“Don’t be.” I threw my arms around his neck. “I didn’t see it coming, either.”
“What did you wish for?” He furrowed his brows as if suddenly realizing I had something to do with how his future turned out, too. “Why would the universe send you a grumpy old man like me?”
“Thirty-two is not that old.” I laughed.
“Tell me.”
In the same week, I had found out I couldn’t have children, broke up with my boyfriend, and lost my dream job.
I wanted it all, a career, a husband, children, a home, a family.
I couldn’t believe it when in one fell swoop, every single one of those things had been taken away.
Now I understood why. Declan and Joey were always meant for me.
“I asked for everything.”