Chapter 24
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
DECLAN
I pull up in front of the house Luca is building for me, and Ruby barely waits for me to park before she’s unbuckling and getting out.
It wouldn’t be crazy to think that she's more excited than I am.
The smile on her face should put me at ease.
I want her to move in with us. She and Max.
I want more with her. Them.
Now that the entire town has known for the past two weeks, there is no hiding the fact that I fell hard for this woman.
I wouldn’t have it any other way.
“It’s almost ready?” she asks, rubbing her hands together.
I nod.
“Can you give me a tour, or will Luca freak?”
I chuckle at the mischief in her eyes over the idea of her brother losing his mind.
“It's my house. I can do anything I want with it. Let’s take a tour.”
We both head for the front door. With her hand in mine, I unlock it.
There is a lot left to do, but it’s still on schedule for the deadline.
“Wow, I love how open the floor plan is on this level,” she says and sighs.
“Me too. I wanted as much light as possible in this space, where Susie would want to bring her friends. I want to be that house. The hangout house.”
Ruby grins.
“So do I.”
Our eyes meet.
“That’s good to know.”
“Mm-hmm.”
I grab her hand and pull her down the hall to the right. “This is where Susie’s room will be, then the guest room, and another spare room. There is a bathroom attached to each one for privacy.”
“I love that.”
I pull her back down the hall and across the open room to the hallway on the other side.
“Here is the office and bathroom for this floor.”
“Oh wow, this room is huge. You could get two, maybe even three desks in here. Which is good, considering how much you’ve been working lately.”
I know she doesn’t mean for her comment to hurt, but it does. I’ve been so head down trying to get this purchase done before Davenport Inc., that I haven’t given Ruby as much time as I should.
I’m slipping, and I hate it.
“Come see upstairs,” I say, not commenting on her remark.
“Do you have a lot of rooms up here?” she asks as we ascend the stairs.
“Just one.”
We reach the top, where there is a small platform that I plan to have a reading chair and some built-in shelves. Then we step through a double doorframe into the master bedroom.
She gasps.
“Declan, this is going to be … wow. I cannot think of another word right now.”
Standing in the middle of the room, you can see where the bathroom is being placed to the left and the large walk-in closet next to it. On the right, it has floor-to-ceiling windows with a balcony that looks out over the lake.
“This is the perfect place for a slow morning with some coffee and a book or my computer to work on some designs,” she says, walking up to the window. “This view would calm anyone.”
I step up behind her, my hand brushing against her lower back and slinking around her hip to pull her toward me. She twists in my arms and rests her palms flat on my chest.
“What would you say if I told you that you could have that?”
“Here?” Her eyes go wide.
“Yes.”
“In the mornings, I sleep over?”
“Or,” I say with a nervous grin, “because you live here.”
She steps back, her chest rising and falling on quick breaths.
“You … you want me to move in with you?”
“Yes, and Max, obviously. We already live together now, and if you haven’t figured it out yet, Ruby Asher, I'm obsessed with you.”
She laughs.
“It’s a little obvious.”
I chuckle and then press my lips to hers.
“Well?”
“Well … even though I can guess his answer, I need to talk to Max first.”
“I would expect nothing less.”
Our next kiss lasts only a second before she pulls back.
“You’re sure about this?”
“Completely.”
“This is a big decision. Are you ready for it?”
“More than anything. Are you?”
She nods instantly, and her fingers thread through my hair as she slips her tongue into my mouth.
She tastes like wintergreen and sugar, and I can’t get enough.
I spin us and press her to the wall, my hand sliding over her curves and down her leg to tug her thigh up to my side.
When she hooks her heel to my lower back, I bunch her skirt up the lifted leg and touch my way to her inner thigh.
“Dec, what if my brother shows up?”
“He won’t.” I capture her mouth with mine and slide my fingers closer to her core.
“But what if he does?”
“Then I hope we hear him open the door. This place is empty and it echoes. We’ll hear him.”
“Okay,” she says, then she’s kissing me again and tilting her hips to give my hand better access.
At the start of the summer, she would have argued to no end, but that one simple word makes my heart swell. She trusts me, and she doesn’t give trust easily.
I break the kiss and press my lips down her neck. Then I tug her panties to the side and slip my finger in.
“Oh,” she breathes.
“That’s all I get?” I tease and slip another finger in. “How about now?”
“Yeah, that’s good.”
“Good?”
She nods.
“You deserve better than good.” I slide my other hand into my sweats, pulling them down far enough to release myself.
Stroking myself, I remove my fingers from her pussy and then rip her underwear off, instantly placing the head of my cock at her entrance to tease her.
“Shit,” she hums when I press in just an inch.
“Is that still just good for you?”
“No … it’s …”
I push in another inch.
“It’s …
Another inch.
“If you can’t form a sentence, then I’m doing it right.”
I slam into her, and she screams out.
“Yes!”
“Play with yourself,” I command, and she reaches between us without a second thought.
“I can’t, this position won’t let—”
I pull out, flip her around and hike her skirt up to show me her ass. Palm flat to her back, I force her to bend over slightly.
When I’m lined up, I push in.
“Fuck.” Her hand slaps the wall. “Yes.”
“You’re so tight, baby. I love the way you feel around me. Now, do as I say and play with yourself. I want to feel you come around me, and I don’t want to wait.”
She runs a finger over my cock when she reaches down, and I nearly come undone.
I speed up, fucking her against the wall, the sounds of our breathing echoing through the house.
Our house.
This will be our house.
“Shit, Declan, I’m coming,” she says, groaning.
I replace her hand with mine, circling her clit and drawing out her orgasm, mine following right behind her and making me black out.
I pump my hips slowly to ride it out, but after the bliss fades and I’ve fixed myself back into my joggers and readjusted her skirt, I hold her still.
I kiss the back of her head, then her shoulders, and wrap my arms around her.
“I want to stay like this forever. I never knew I could feel at such peace.”
“Yeah, standing here together?" she asks softly.
“No. When I’m holding you in my arms.”
She turns and kisses my cheek.
“This is my favorite place to be, too.”
The afternoon gets away from us, so by the time night falls, I’m sitting in Ruby’s bed with my laptop while she sleeps next to me.
Once the kids knew about us, they begged us to move rooms around and now both kids are in the basement and Ruby and I share her room.
She’s on her side facing away from me, one leg peeking out from the sheets, her hair splayed across the pillows.
She didn’t bother getting dressed after we fooled around again tonight.
It’s hard not to stare at her right now.
I’m not a sappy man, but fuck, this woman. I never thought I'd find this with anyone.
Luck was on my side, and I’ve never been so happy.
God damn, I’m feeling extra cheesy right now.
I open my email and my happiness fades when I see multiple emails from Steven with a red exclamation point in the subject line.
They all say that we need to talk. That it’s urgent.
I grab my phone, noting there was a missed call from him this afternoon.
I shoot him a quick text to see if he’s still awake.
No sooner than the message says delivered, my phone rings.
“One sec,” I answer in a whisper.
“I’m sorry to call so late,” Steven says.
I climb out of bed and sneak down the hall.
I wait for him to go on, but he doesn't.
The silence almost speaks louder than whatever it is that he needs to tell me.
My heart races and my stomach turns as if I'm going to be sick.
“What happened?”
I hear him let out a long breath. “TurnBlue Inc. gave notice to cancel their contract with us.”
“Why?”
“We … missed a couple of deadlines that were required for them.”
Silence fills the line.
“Declan, if we lose our biggest client, there’s no way we can acquire Collins Corp.”
The chills that cover my skin sting.
My back hits the wall as I slide down to sit.
The rest of this call requires it.
“I thought you said you could handle this.”
“I thought I did.”
“If they are giving notice, Steven, something has been going on that you haven’t been telling me.”
“I-I’ve done my best, but you working remotely has changed too much here. So unless we want to lose them and possibly more clients, we need you back here in the office.”
He lets a moment pass before he adds.
“And not just for the weekend. We need you here. Permanently. Things aren’t as smooth without you here.”
My heart thuds louder and louder as I stare at the wall in front of me.
“Declan, did you hear me?”
“I heard you,” I whisper. “We’ll talk tomorrow.”
I hang up, but I don't move.
My head drops forward and I close my eyes.
I hear sheets ruffling. Ruby. The woman who has changed my entire world in a matter of months.
The woman I can’t imagine living life without.
What am I supposed to do now? Ask her to change her entire life for me? Ask her to move to a completely different town where I’ll neglect her while I put time in at the office. Because let’s face it, things are fucked, and I’ll have to put in more time than I do now.
And she deserves better. She always has.
I clear my throat, but remain on the floor.
My heart breaks at the choice I have to make.
For me.
For her.
For all the people who trusted me to employ them and who depend on me to pay their bills and take care of their families.
For my company. The company that has given me and Susie everything we have but has taken so much from her, too.
But Ruby …
Ruby …
My Ruby.
I’m so fucking in love with her that it hurts.
My chest physically aches. I want to spend every moment of every day with her.
I want to marry her and have more kids with her and just be with her.
But what I want to do and what I need to do just might kill me.