24. Liz
LIZ
It was past midnight when we got home, and we were both tired. I closed the bakery at ten o’clock after I’d given everything away, but Tate surprised us with a few bottles of champagne, so we stayed a while longer.
"I could probably sleep for ten days," I said. Opening the front door, I blinked several times, stepping in and looking around the living room. It was full of flowers—water lilies, my favorites. "Declan, oh my God. These are for me?"
"Of course," he said softly, kissing my cheek and my temple.
"I can't believe it."
"Told you I'd planned a surprise."
"This is beautiful. Thank you. How did you know these are my favorite flowers? I don't think I mentioned it."
"No, but I know how to get what I want."
I narrowed my eyes. "Meaning?”
"I might have spoken to your mom."
"What? How are you even real?”
My heart fluttered in my chest. “I can't believe it.” I wanted to throw my arms around him and kiss the living life out of him. But I was a little bit stinky. At the bakery, toward the end of the shift, I had accidentally put my nose too close to my armpit, and yeah, that wouldn’t do. I needed to clean up, stat.
"Why don't we go upstairs to the bathroom?" I suggested. "I desperately need water and soap."
He smiled, looking at me with bedroom eyes. "You lead the way, babe."
Once in the bathroom, I took a quick shower, but after I got out, I had another idea. I turned on the water in the tub and put some bath salts Declan kept under the sink in a basket. I added a condom too. Then I put the basket next to the leg of the tub. I loved that it was freestanding.
I sank into the tub, even though it wasn't even half full, just as he entered the bathroom.
"Sexy girl, what are you doing?"
"I'm taking a bath. You’re welcome to join me."
He grinned. "I'll take a quick shower and then join you."
"Perfect. This is great."
I lay back against the tub, glancing at him while he was in the shower. Oh my goodness. The man was something else, and he loved me.
He stepped out a few short minutes later, wrapping a towel around himself.
"This tub is the sexiest thing in the house. I mean, this whole bathroom is, but the tub takes the cake." The bathroom had dark green tiles, and the tub was one of those freestanding ones in the middle of the room. “It's glorious.”
He cocked a brow. "I thought I was the sexiest thing in the house.”
“Drop your towel and come here."
He smiled cockily, hooking a thumb in his towel and taking it off. I'd never tire of watching him get naked. He was too delicious, too perfect, and I couldn't believe he was mine.
I couldn't take my eyes off him while he lowered himself into the water. I was drinking him in. The second our legs touched, I realized this evening wouldn't be about cuddling in a hot tub. My body went instantly from relaxed to high alert like he'd pressed a button.
He cocked a brow again. "What?"
"Nothing," I said. Oh, sweet Lord, he can read me like an open book. "I'm happy. It was a great day, and this is a nice evening."
"I'm happy you're enjoying it, Liz. You were phenomenal today.”
“Hey, so what were those plans for the evening besides the flowers?”
“The ones my family screwed up?” he asked with a chuckle.
“Yes. And for the record, I liked that they showed up. Even if they hijacked our time together.”
He narrowed his eyes. “You forfeited your right to know what I’d planned.”
“Awww, come on. That’s not fair.”
“Yeah it is.”
I sighed, sinking a bit deeper in the water. "You’re cruel. But I still love you.”
His eyes softened. “And I love you, Liz.” He took my legs, putting my feet up to his abs, and gently massaged them.
"Oh, this is pure magic," I said, closing my eyes.
He moved his thumbs down the soles of my feet and back up, back and forth, hitting all the pressure points.
He moved on to my calves next without saying anything.
"I'm feeling my muscles liquefy. I’m thoroughly relaxed. I could get used to this every day."
"Noted."
I opened my eyes. "What do you mean?"
"I'll help you relax every day."
I was waiting for him to say something funny, and then I realized he meant every word. Declan Maxwell was nothing like I thought he would be.
I moved around very clumsily, trying to push myself up on my knees. Of course, I splashed water everywhere until I was over him, straddling him.
He put my hands on his shoulders, then rubbed my scar before cupping my face.
"You're so damn beautiful."
"You say that a lot."
"Because I mean it. And I want you to know that."
He gripped his erection at the base with his other hand. It was dangerously close to my pussy. He pressed the head of his cock against my clit. I gasped, blinking rapidly. I felt like I might come on the spot if he did that again. "Do you like it?" he asked.
"I love it," I murmured. I was out of breath.
"Don't stop."
He moved his cock in small circles, never straying too far from my center.
Shock waves of pleasure spread through my body.
This felt different than anything I’d experienced before.
It wasn’t like when I was touching myself, or even when he'd had his mouth on me.
It was an entirely different sensation. I pressed my hands on his shoulders, sucking in a breath when I felt my orgasm form deep in my belly, somehow tugging up my thighs like it was gathering its strength.
"Oh my God," I cried. "Declan!" I buried my forehead in the nook of his neck. I'd never felt pleasure like this, so intense and striking.
Then I simply melted against him, regaining my breath. I reached out over the edge of the tub into the basket with bath salts, coming up with a condom.
"When did you put that there?" he asked, a devilish smile appearing on that handsome face.
"Before getting in the tub. I thought it might come in handy later. It was a lucky guess."
"A damn right one," he replied, sitting up on the edge of the tub. I tore the wrapper, putting the condom on him.
Biting my lip, I positioned myself over him before lowering gently. I pressed my hands on his shoulders again, moving up and down, loving the feel of him. I was still pulsing from before, and yet again, I was feeling terribly close to him, like I already belonged to him.
I touched his chest, kissing the base of his neck and then his Adam's apple. But then I needed to move faster. I needed more friction. I moved up and down, but still it wasn't fast enough.
Declan seemed to read my thoughts, or maybe he read my body. As he kissed me hard, I felt his arms envelop me, and then he lifted us both from the tub. I knew he was strong, but somehow it was still a surprise that he could do it with such grace.
He stepped out onto the tile with me hanging on to him as he slid out of me. I thought he might take us to the bedroom, but we only made it to the vanity table next to the sink.
"You're so strong," I said. He put a batch of towels under my bottom and all around me. It was surprisingly comfortable. Not that I cared; I just wanted him.
He looked like a Greek god with water dripping off him. I trailed my fingers down his abs, looking up at him while I decided to tempt him some more, moving a bit back on the counter. I spread my thighs wide, perching my heels at the edge, and touched myself.
"Fuck, Liz." His voice was deeper than before. It changed when we were intimate. It became even sexier, which I didn't think was possible. Grabbing my left leg, he kept it bent at the knee, setting it on his arm. Then he slid all the way inside me.
"Oh, Declan," I cried. Everything intensified. I felt him even deeper than before. I pinched my eyes closed, breathing through my nose, taking him all in. This wasn't uncomfortable, not at all, just unexpectedly delicious.
I could see him in the mirror on the door, his back and ass, the way his muscles contracted as he pushed inside me again and again.
I tore my gaze away from the mirror, looking at him.
We made eye contact, and somehow my entire body felt like a live wire, like it activated our connection on an entirely different level.
Pleasure gripped me more profoundly than before.
My insides were on fire. Then I went over the edge, fast and hard, and he squeezed every drop of my orgasm out of me.
I was in a bit of a haze as we both cleaned up. Afterward, he took my hand, leading me to the bed.
I yawned. “I don’t understand what’s happening. I had a lot of energy a few minutes ago, and now it’s all gone.”
“You had a lot of adrenaline, and now you’re crashing. It’s normal.”
He tucked me in bed, lying on one side right next to me. And even though I was bone-tired, I turned around too, looking at him from the pillow.
“I am so blissfully happy,” I exclaimed.
“Music to my ears. Do I have anything to do with it?”
“Oh yeah. A lot.”
“Great. I want to make you happy. Always.” He kissed my right cheek. “Always.” Then he moved over to my left one. “Always.” He dragged his lips down my neck and between my breasts, making me giggle.
“And you do. You so do.”