CHAPTER TEN
Warm lips sealed over mine as I pressed my body into the hard planes of his sculpted chest.
Declan moaned and pulled me impossibly closer, as though he wanted to sink beneath my skin.
We made quite the spectacle, as we practically dry-humped each other in the public park. And if it wasn’t for the innocent ducks lingering close by, I would have absolutely gotten naked for Declan right then and there.
Gasping, he broke our kiss, palming my ass in his large hands. “Come home with me?”
Lust-drunk and kissed-stupid, I could only manage a lazy nod.
Declan chuckled. “Words, love. I need your words, remember?”
“Yes,” I moaned. “Please take me home.”
He dove in for another kiss that ended far too quickly, smacking me on the ass and muttering a hurried, “Let’s go home.”
Since Declan had ridden his motorcycle to the restaurant, he instructed me to follow behind him in my car as he led the way to his apartment.
When we got to the restaurant’s parking lot, Declan confessed to not driving a car because he didn’t want to presume I’d be going home with him.
He also explained wanting me to feel comfortable and in control, knowing that I had the option to leave anytime I wanted by simply getting in my car and driving away.
I found it strange that he worded the phrase as ‘a car’ and not ‘my car’, but my brain was still a little fuzzy from being kissed senseless, so I didn’t ponder on it for long.
He was right, though. And while I wouldn’t have minded riding in a car with him, I was glad he’d considered my feelings on the matter and left the ball in my court.
That was a huge point in his favor.
Fifteen minutes later, I pulled into a small parking lot behind Declan, in one of the luxury high-rise apartment buildings downtown.
I watched as Declan effortlessly dismounted his motorcycle, then instructed me on where to park my car.
The parking lot was surprisingly small for a high-rise of this magnitude, and I casually mentioned it to Declan.
Surely, there had to be at least a hundred or more people living in a building like this. Where did they park?
“Oh,” Declan said sheepishly. “This is a… private parking lot.”
I looked around at the dozen or so luxury sports cars and SUVs, and smiled at my little blue Honda sitting in the corner.
“Won’t the owner be upset that I’m taking up one of his parking spots?” I asked.
Declan smiled. “No, I’m sure he won’t mind.”
I frowned. “Well, how do you know? Did you ask for permission?” I was starting to feel anxious about infringing on someone else’s space. “Maybe we should call them and ask for permission before we go upstairs. I really don’t want to have my car towed.”
“It won’t be,” Declan said confidently. “I promise.”
“Okay, but maybe if we just—”
“It’s mine,” he blurted out.
I stared up at him, confused. “What’s yours?”
He let out a small sigh. “The parking lot, darling... I own this lot and everything in it.”
I looked around at the expensive cars, taking them in one by one, then glanced up to meet his uncertain gaze.
“You mean to tell me you own a Lamborghini Veneno, and you let me park my shitty Honda next to it? What if I were a terrible driver and accidentally scratched it or something? There is no amount of sex that could ever make up for a scratch that expensive.”
A grin broke out across his handsome face, and Declan threw his head back and laughed.
Moments later, his lips were on mine again, one hand squeezing my ass cheek and the other fondling my breast through the soft fabric of my dress, as we stumbled out of the private elevator and into…
I broke our kiss and quickly took in my surroundings.
“Is this the penthouse?” I asked, and in case he missed the shocked look on my face, the awe in my tone was surely evident.
Declan grimaced, scratching the back of his neck. “Um… yes?”
I turned to glare at him. “The custom-built motorcycle, the cars, the private elevator, and now this apartment—no, I’m sorry, this penthouse suite…
Are you rich? Well, I mean, of course you are.
” I waved my hand frantically about. “You said you owned a few businesses, that the marketing firm was your newest venture, and that it was your baby. But you made it sound like you were struggling to make your mark on the industry. This is clearly not the reflection of a struggling business, Declan.” I waved about even more.
He grimaced some more. “Does this change anything?”
I looked up at him and frowned, confused by the question. “Change what?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know. I don’t often tell people about my wealth.
They tend to treat me differently after they find out.
It’s one of the reasons I don’t get very close to people.
I think they feel like my wealth allows me some type of special access in the world.
And while I will admit that it has allowed me and my loved ones to live a somewhat privileged life, I’m still a regular guy who likes going to the grocery store for himself and picking up beautiful women in bars.
” He said that last part with a wave of his hand in my direction.
I smiled at the shared memory, stepping into his space so that my chest was flush with his abdomen, as I wrapped my arms around his waist. “I can assure you that your wealth doesn’t change anything.
I still think you’re a bit of an ass for eating half of my dessert.
Maybe a little bit more now, now that I know you could have afforded all the desserts in the restaurant but insisted on eating mine. ”
He laughed, the sound warming something inside me.
“I say all this to say, your wealth doesn’t define your character,” I continued.
In truth, his paying for our dinner with a black AMEX card should have tipped me off about his wealth, but I was too wrapped up in the comforting texture of his voice and the captivating story he was telling me about his childhood, to pay too close attention to his credit card.
“I admit, I still don’t know everything about you, but what I know so far tells me that you are a kind and caring man who would do anything to protect his family.
Even if that means sporting a pink unicorn lunch bag a few days a week because your niece will one hundred percent insist you carry it from now on. ”
“She said that?” he asked, sounding incredulous.
“She sure did.” I laughed. “When I handed her the lunch bag this morning, she was like, ‘Oh, I think I’ll make Uncle Declan carry my bags from now on. He’s really good at carrying stuff’.”
“That little—”
I pressed my lips to his, cutting off his words.
“No more talk about your niece or your wealth,” I demanded. “I mean, yeah, hurray for you with the whole… being super-rich thing. But right now, I think there are far more pressing matters you need to attend to. Namely, my lack of underwear situation.”
Declan’s eyes grew wide, and he swallowed loudly, his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down with this motion. “You mean to tell me you’ve been without underwear this entire evening?”
I smirked. “Why don’t you verify for yourself?”
As soon as the words were out of my mouth, Declan’s hand ran the length of the slit in my dress, his fingers brushing sensually over my heated skin as he trailed a path up my leg, before slipping underneath my dress to cup my aching center.
“Fuck, you’re wet,” he growled, then crushed his lips to mine.
The next few moments were a blur.
One second, Declan was hoisting me in the air, my legs instantly wrapping around him for purchase, and the next, we were falling onto a wide king-size bed with soft satin sheets and enough pillows to arm a tiny militia.
And yes, pillow fight armies were a thing. Kindergarten teacher, remember?
Suddenly, Declan broke our kiss to drag his sweater over his head, tossing it somewhere off to the side. Then he did the same with his pants, standing to his full height in nothing but a pair of tight black boxer briefs that hide an impressive bulge.
I took my time, eyeing him from head to toe.
His tattoos traveled all the way up to his sculpted shoulders—an interconnected art piece of vines, flowers, and Celtic symbols. His chest and abdomen were free of any markings, and he had an honest-to-God six-pack.
What the actual fuck?
Every inch of him was gorgeous. Even the tiny dusting of freckles across his skin added to his beauty.
And I suddenly felt super aware of the weight I’d put on.
I’d allowed the fantasies of Declan picking me up and carrying me around to momentarily cloud my judgment.
He was able to pick me up with ease because he was strong.
Simply put. He obviously worked out a lot and had the physique to prove it.
And what did I have to offer? Certainly not a six-pack.
Heck, I couldn’t even walk around for too long without being in pain.
“What?” Declan asked, his tone… confused? “Why are you fixing your dress all of a sudden?”
Definitely confused.
“Uh…” Damn it, what was I supposed to say? “No reason. It’s… it’s nothing.”
Carefully, and with his movements advertised so I could see his intention, Declan crawled onto the bed and over my body. That way, I had no choice but to lie there and watch as he hovered above me.
“What’s wrong?” he asked softly. “Do you want us to stop?”
“No!” I blurted out, a little louder than I’d intended, then grimaced.
He smiled. “Then what?”
I fidgeted with my dress some more, my fist clenching and unclenching around the handful of fabric clutched in my palm.
“Talk to me, darling,” Declan urged. “Whatever it is, I promise you can tell me.”
I sighed. “I’m feeling… a little insecure.”
“How so?”
“How so? Have you seen you?” I retorted. “You look like you were carved from stone, and I’m over here just… fat.”
Declan frowned. “First of all, thank you. I have a trainer that I pay handsomely to look the way I do. Stupid rich, remember? I have money to waste on nonsense like that. Second, and I believe I’ve already told you this, you are gorgeous to me.
If I’m being honest, I really don’t see this weight you’re so adamant that you’ve gained.
I think you’re sexy. You fit in my arms perfectly.
I can pick you up and carry you around as easily and as often as I want.
So I really don’t see what you do. And I get it.
Maybe you were a size or two smaller once, and you’ve put on a little weight that concerns you.
But I’m not attracted to this once-upon-a-time version of you.
I’m attracted to the Melodie I met that night in the bar… Every drunken inch of you.”
I couldn’t help it. I laughed, and Declan smiled back.
“And that smile,” he added, his tone reverent. “I fell for your smile before I did anything else. So yeah, I’m attracted to you now, not the you before. And who you are now is the sexiest woman I’ve ever had in my arms.”
I was blushing so hard I was sure my face was beet-red, but Declan didn’t seem to mind because he dipped his head and captured my lips in a deep, sensual kiss.
“Okay,” I whispered between kisses.
“Are you sure? Because we don’t have to do anything you don’t want.”
I smiled up at him trustingly. “I’m sure. Now hurry up and undress me.”
Declan grinned and quickly worked my dress loose, undoing the tiny zipper at the side and sliding it over my head, then tossing it in the same direction his shirt went.