Chapter 15 #2
“Tell me what you need, and I’ll make it happen,” he whispers as he moves inside of my pussy with the finger that managed to get past my good senses.
“I don’t need anything from you,” I counter as I release my thighs from their hold on him.
He pumps his finger in and out of me now, and the sensation is all-consuming. His finger is so thick inside me that I can’t help but wonder how thick his cock is.
I discreetly look around to see if anyone is paying attention to us, but there aren’t many people in the restaurant, and those that are, aren’t near us.
“Brat. You know you need something from me. And if you ask nicely, I’ll give it to you.”
My breathing is uneven, and I’m shifting in the seat, trying to get away or gain friction. I’m not sure. But what I do know is, I’m about to have an orgasm because he keeps hitting that spot inside of me that’s right against my upper wall.
“Declan,” I breathe out and lean my forearms against the bar. I’m so wet I’m sure Lucas and Wade can hear me, but they aren’t paying attention in the slightest.
Thank God.
I’m about to go over the edge when suddenly, he pulls his hand away. My eyes widen at the loss because I was completely prepared to have an orgasm, not two inches from a date that I don’t want to be on.
“I’ll give you what you want, but ditch Mr. Bicycle,” he demands as he sucks his middle finger into his mouth.
My nostrils flare. If I were standing, I would stomp my foot in frustration. How dare he pull away when I was about to orgasm. And how dare he look like a fucking sex god sucking on his finger like that.
I don’t do what he wants quickly enough because he gives me one second to answer before saying out loud, “Lucas. Wade. Penny doesn’t feel good, and I’m going to take her home.”
He throws a hundred-dollar bill on the bar top, and before I can process what’s happening, he grabs my hand and pulls me out of my seat. I only have half a second to grab my purse before we walk towards the door.
I look behind me, and Wade is in his own world, animatedly talking. I don’t think he heard a word Declan said. And Lucas, he gives me a wink and a wave with a shit-eating grin on his face.
Fucker.
I try to pull my hand from Declan’s with no such luck. We’re out the door in a matter of seconds, and my feet are trying to keep up with him, but he seems to be on a mission.
“Declan!” I bark out, trying to get him to stop.
He keeps walking. “It can wait until we get home, Penny.”
“No, it can–”
He turns on me so quickly that I run right into his hard chest. “Let’s get one thing straight. This,” he waves his finger between us, “this is happening. And I know you want it too.”
I gawk at him in the middle of the sidewalk. Luckily, we’re alone, but we might not be for long. “We are friends. This,” I wave a finger between us, “this is so not happening. That, back there, was a mistake. Sunday was a mistake.”
He eats up the last few inches between us, so I have to crane my neck to look up at him. His scent overwhelms me as his yellow-green eyes bore into mine, and I momentarily lose my breath. “Nothing about this is a mistake,” he says with a surety I never expected from him.
“But what is this, Declan? You and I can only be friends. This won’t ever go beyond something physical, and if we cross that boundary, there’s no going back.”
Our eyes search one another, and he tells me, “You’re right.”
Well, I’ll be.
I think this means we can go our separate ways, but no. He grabs my hand once again and continues to drag me towards our apartments. We make it up the stairs to the landing between our doors, and he lets go of my hand and turns on me.
He backs me against his apartment door and cages me between his arms. “You’re right.
This can’t work between us,” he says, and for some reason, my heart drops.
I don’t want to look too hard at why, but I’m momentarily disappointed until he continues, “But, what if… what if we had a friends-with-benefits type of situation?”
My brain short-circuits, and I blink at him. “Friends with benefits?”
“Yes.”
I search his eyes. He’s serious. My heart starts racing as I think about his proposal.
This is crazy. Even crazier is that I’m contemplating it.
I just have one issue: sex always comes with complications.
Take Autumn, for instance. Don’t get me wrong, I love my daughter with my whole being, but she was a curveball I didn’t see coming.
Plus, I’m not sure if I can do casual sex without falling for the person. I’ve never tried.
“I don’t know…” I say honestly.
“Talk to me, Penny.
When did he get so vocal? This guy couldn’t stream two words together around me until just this past week, and now I’m the one at a loss for words.
“If we do this, there have to be rules. Rules we can’t break. Otherwise, I’m not sure this will work between us.”
He nods his head. “Okay, I’ll bite. What kind of rules?”
“Like… no kissing,” I tell him because kissing is intimate, and based on Sunday’s escapades, his mouth would be my downfall.
“No. I won’t accept that.” He shakes his head and wraps a hand around my jaw. His thumb lightly grazes my lipstick-stained mouth as he stares into my eyes. “I need to kiss you,” he says softly.
And that is why I won’t allow it.
“No. Kissing is too intimate, and we can’t afford intimacy.”
He growls and places his hand around my throat. “You aren’t Vivian Ward, Penny. Kissing won’t cause you to fall in love with me.”
I divert my eyes and blow out a breath.
Here goes nothing.
I bring my gaze back to his and tell him, “Declan. I’m practically a virgin.
I may as well be a born-again virgin because the first and last time I had sex was when I got pregnant with Autumn.
” His eyes go wide, but I continue. “I don’t know how to do this.
I thought I loved my high school boyfriend, but when I wouldn’t give up my virginity, he bailed on me.
My heart was broken at the time, and all we did was kiss.
So, I don’t want to go down that road again.
I associate kissing with feelings. I just… don’t think we should kiss, okay?”
It also doesn’t help that the one kiss we did share made me feel things I shouldn’t even be entertaining. It was pure bliss, and I don’t want to get used to it. I don’t want to crave it like I already do. That’s why I have to make it a rule.
He runs his tongue over his teeth and sighs. “That’s a lot of information to unpack, but I’ll respect the no-kissing rule.”
I let out a relieved breath. “And condoms. We have to use condoms because I’m not on birth control.”
“That’s a non-negotiable for me, too. I am clean, though. I got checked after the last person I was with, and I haven’t been with anyone in a long time.”
I breathe a sigh of relief as my heart simultaneously skips. I won’t look too hard at the fact that I like that he hasn’t had sex in a while. “Okay. Good. One other thing… I think we should put a time limit on this. Like four months tops.”
His eyes narrow slightly, and I can’t tell if he’s angry about that rule or not. “Six months,” he says. “I want you for six months. And we’re exclusive to each other. No going on any other dates, and no fucking some random person you meet at the bar. Just you and me.”
I narrow my eyes back. “Five months and you have a deal.”
“Fine,” he grunts out.
“Also, no one knows. We keep this a secret. I don’t want people to get the wrong idea about us.
Especially Autumn. Everyone needs to keep thinking we’re friends from start to finish.
And things can’t be weird afterward either.
You need to remember, you’re just a stepping stone for me to use on my way to finding Mr. Forever. This ends with us remaining friends.”
The tick in his jaw has me questioning if I said something wrong.
But those are the rules to keep my heart safe.
Otherwise, I don’t think this will work.
Declan is more than gorgeous, and just looking at him gives me feelings I shouldn’t have, let alone how thoughtful he’s been when he doesn’t open his mouth and ruin things.
I meant what I said. He’s my stepping stone. And since I had two dates go bust, maybe this is the perfect opportunity to get dicked down and have some fun with someone I know.
Sow my wild oats, so to speak.
And after, I can look for Mr. Right.