Chapter 37
CHARLIE
That one word unleashes something in Declan. In me as well.
His lips move from my arms to my mouth at lightning speed.
I reach for him and we are horizontal on the bed seamlessly, as if this is the most natural way for our bodies to be together.
His kiss is soft and tender, his hands hungry as they grip me.
First my neck and shoulders, then he moves lower to my breasts.
I arch into him. His arousal greets me and drives my hunger.
I’ve never known need like this before. It’s consuming me, taking over all reason and logic.
The scratch of his stubble prickles my face. I long to feel it all over my skin.
He grinds into me again and I cannot control myself.
I let out a moan as Declan squeezes me and teases with each touch.
He gives my lips a playful bite, sucking on my lower lip before releasing it with a pop.
In a swift motion, he pulls his shirt over his head with one hand.
The power and precision of his movements stuns me.
I need him. Now.
With a gentle push on his shoulder, Declan rolls onto his back. I straddle him and move my hips. The bundle of nerves between my legs demands another round. Another. I tense at the sensation, the promise of release. Declan’s low groan tells me his body agrees with mine.
I lean down and kiss him. His hands grab my forearms, but release as I start to kiss his chin, his neck.
I move my body down his so I can kiss his shoulders.
His chest. His abs. His chest hair tickles my cheeks as I work my way lower and lower until I reach his navel. “You don’t have to,” Declan whispers.
I look up at him. “I want to,” I say. My voice deep and my breath raspy. Because I want to give this man everything. So he knows how much I need him. To thank his body for protecting mine. For his heart to trust that this is right, that I’m safer with him than without him.
But more than what I want, I need to give him this. So that he knows he can lose control with me. He deserves to be able to lose control.
I keep kissing lower and lower until I arrive at the elastic band of his boxers. I give a quick teasing kiss and then reach my hand into the opening. Hot, hard velvet hits my palm.
Oh my. He is thick. And long. I doubt all of him will fit in my mouth. My muscles clench deliciously at the thought of how he’ll feel down there.
On all fours, I lick my lips as I squeeze his shaft in my hand, making eye contact with him. He gives a nod and I pull him free from his boxers.
I lean my head lower and give him one long lick. Declan’s breath catches. I feel powerful. That this man of discipline and rules is unraveling because of me.
I give him a wicked smile and then put him into my mouth, taking as much of him as I can. I start to lick and suck. His hips move in rhythm and I know he likes what I’m doing when he reaches down to twist his fingers in my hair.
“Of all the ways I’ve ever tried to silence you, this is by far my favorite.”
I let out a moan and give his shaft a pull and the tip a flick of my tongue. Declan groans in appreciation.
I get back to work and his hips move to follow the motion of my mouth. We find a rhythm until Declan cries out. “Stop! I won’t last if you keep doing that,” he tells me.
I slowly release him from my mouth and sit back on my heels. I’m grateful that the bed in this safehouse is soft and sizeable to fit us both.
I take the hem of my shirt and begin to lift it higher and higher.
I slide the shirt off and Declan sits up on his elbows, drinking in the sight of me.
His eyes travel from my navel up my body.
He evaluates me slowly, as if he is memorizing me like a map, studying me for his next mission.
Heat courses through my veins, burning for his touch, his mouth.
Once our eyes lock, I can’t help but be overwhelmed by his desire. I’ve never felt this way before. Never been so wanted or seen. Or so eager to be touched and taken.
Dexterously, he scoops me into his arms and his tongue finds my nipple. The way I’m kneeling, my breasts are at the perfect height for his mouth while he sits on the bed. With each touch, my skin awakens. His fingertips are like electricity, bringing life and heat to what was dormant, forgotten.
Every sensation is a gift. After the terrifying time years ago when my body was numb, I vowed to cherish every feeling in my body. Every pinch. Every pain. But this. This touch is everything. It is everything my body needed and more.
With one hand round my waist, his other travels up my legs, past my knee, my thigh, until he reaches my ass.
He gives it a firm squeeze before he moves higher.
In a tantalizingly slow motion, he dips his fingers beneath the waistband.
I didn’t want to put my dirty undies back on for sleep, so he has nothing barring his way.
His fingers unhurriedly caress my rear before they find their way to my center.
I let out a sharp exhale when his fingers meet the slick skin between my legs and he releases my nipple from his mouth.
“All this, for me?” he asks.
“All of me for you,” I breathe.
“Trust your body, Charlie,” he says as he removes his hand from my pants. He licks the wetness from his fingers. Declan is efficient at work, and it seems that in bed he is just as methodical and deliberate. My body reacts in sync with my mind, wanting him even more.
His words cause a reaction too, fire pooling in my center. I didn’t know I needed to hear them, but I did. Because I’ve spent years second-guessing everything I feel inside, how my body moves. But this, tonight with Declan, this is exactly what my body was made for.
“It knows what to do; it knows you want me.”
“I trust you,” I tell him. “I want you.”
At this, I lower myself so Declan and I are face to face.
He wraps his arms round me and breathes, “Let me taste all of you,” before kissing me.
I melt into him, relishing the sensation of our skin connecting.
Gently, he lowers me onto the bed, his deep kisses claiming me.
The tension builds in my body, at the bud of nerves so desperate for his touch.
I grind my hips into him and his erection greets me.
Declan is detail-oriented, cataloging each piece of me as evidence. The taste of my nipples, the curves of my skin, the wetness between my legs. All critical data for this thorough man. I wouldn’t want it any other way.
Declan raises off of me and gently tugs at the borrowed sweatpants.
He drops them to the floor and begins to kiss his way up my body.
Starting at my ankles, he places delicate kisses along my legs, my knees.
His stubble scratches and tickles the whole way up.
He takes his time once he reaches my upper thighs.
It’s a tantalizing delay, the pressure building within me.
He stops and looks up at me. I bite my lip and give him a nod. With the go-ahead, he pushes my knees apart. The change in his demeanor excites me. His strength and force are a promise of what is to come.
He dips his head down and gives one long deliberate lick, the tip of his tongue hitting my clit sending a shock of sensation through my body. I can’t help but writhe and call out.
“Patience, sweetheart,” Declan says before he returns his mouth to my center and gets to work. I lift my hips in pleasure and find a rhythm against him. When he moves his body so he can use one of his hands on my thighs, I know I’m about to lose control.
He kneads my inner thigh gently, not losing his focus with his mouth. Centimeter by centimeter, he moves his hand up and up and up. When he finally, gently, places his finger inside me, I clench around him, the cascade of sensation too much.
“Yes, baby,” Declan encourages me. One swirl of his fingers, another. And I’m a goner.
My body explodes in pleasure as I cry out for him. Declan doesn’t relent, he continues to lick and swirl, as I ride the waves of my orgasm. When my body calms and I lay there panting, I look down at him. He appears both satisfied and hungry.
“I need you,” he tells me. “Now.”
“Then take me,” I breathe.
He lays back on top of me and kisses me with desire. I grind into him, eager to start again.
Abruptly, he hops off of me and over to the nightstand. In the dark, he rummages around and finds what he is searching for. A box of condoms. “Safehouse has to put safety first, right?”
I laugh and bite my lip. “Did you know those were here?”
He shakes his head as he walks back to the bed and sits on the edge. “No, I’m just incredibly –” he pauses and plants a kiss on my lips – “incredibly lucky.”
He opens the condom and begins to put it over his tip. I notice his hands are shaking slightly. Perhaps from the adrenaline of the evening or the hormones raging inside us both. I reach over and touch his hand. Then I finish what he started, slowly rolling the condom down his rigid length.
Declan looks over at me with a wicked smile and says, “Good girl” before kissing me and laying me back down.
I wrap my arms round his neck and pull him closer. His tongue slides against mine. His body moves with me. He traces his hand down the side of my body, his fingertips painting a line of electricity that gives me delicious shivers. When he reaches down between my legs again, I gasp.
“Are you sure?” he asks.
“Yes,” I tell him. “Take me now.”
He waits a moment longer, drawing out my anticipation.
“Please,” I breathe.
With those words, he guides himself inside me. He’s slow and considerate at first. My muscles expand deliciously to fit him and then contract around him. I flex around him again and again, a wave of pleasure escaping my lips.
We begin to move slowly together. Hips in unison. Lips finding each other before pausing to release a grunt or a moan. Our bodies speak a secret language; we move together without need for further instruction.
Declan starts to move faster, each motion harder.
“Mine,” Declan growls before shifting our position.
He lifts one of my legs and sinks in deeper.
I gasp at his size and girth. He begins to pump faster, going as deep as he can.
“Charlie, you are all mine.” He emphasizes each word with a heavy thrust, bringing me back to the edge of pleasure.
“Yes,” I breathe as my body reacts to each movement. Each word.
“Say it,” he commands.
“I’m yours,” I call out, my body a rush of sensation.
“I’m yours,” he echoes as he pumps his hips. With each motion, I think I might explode again.
He moves his hand to touch the spot where our bodies meet, where the bundle of nerves between my legs is in overdrive. He translates what my body needs seamlessly. A sailor, a spy, a cyclist, and a fervent lover. There is no one else I would want.
“That’s it, Charlie,” he murmurs in my ear as my breathing quickens. “Come for me,” he commands. “Come with me.”
I’m over the edge.
“Declan!” I call out his name and hear him groan. His face tightens and he releases inside of me.
My body is numb with pleasure, my limbs heavy from the hormones released. My orgasm is powerful and renders me powerless.
I’ve felt this way before. Out of control, unable to move. Then, I was terrified, unsure of how my body was betraying me. This time, in Declan’s arms, I am safe, in control. The waves of pleasure are calm and I am able to focus all my energy on him and his pleasure.
“Charlie,” he pants before he collapses next to me on the bed.
We lay still for a moment before he stands to dispose of the condom.
When he lays back down next to me, I place my hand over his chest. His heart beats fast under my touch.
Mine is too. He settles in next to me and holds me in the silent darkness.
His lips caress the crown of my head again, a delicate cherishing kiss. I move slowly and look up at him. Our lips connect once more. We are two puzzle pieces who have finally found their match.
A tired, spent, exhausted, grateful kiss goodnight deepens. Becomes passionate once more. Becomes heated and excited.
Declan envelops me again, pinning me to the bed.
This man, who can go all day long on the bike, who has endurance and speed and strength, shows me that he can go all night too.