36. Declan #4
Finally, I can’t help but collapse over the top of her, our bodies still joined and our breathing heavy.
After a moment, she presses against my shoulder and I reluctantly roll to the side, slipping out of her, even as her body tries to keep a grip on me, my groan mingling with her whimper.
She curls into me, cuddling into my side, uncaring of the mess we’ve made of the bed, her fingers tracing a pattern over the skin of my chest.
After several minutes, when our hearts have settled into a slower beat, our bodies sticky with cooling sweat, she murmurs, “Guess we should get cleaned up.” She tips her head back, smiling drowsily at me. “Shower with me?”
I kiss the tip of her nose, never feeling closer to her than at this moment. “Love to.”
LILY
After a long steamy shower that does nothing for conserving water, Declan surprises me by swanning outside, wearing nothing but a towel knotted around his hips. His car is parked in the driveway, making me frown because it hadn’t been there earlier.
“Where did that come from?” I ask curiously.
“Messaged Carter to drop it off before we showered,” Declan calls back. “He’s got my spare set of keys. I watch as he pops the trunk, yanking out a massive duffel bag, my mouth dropping open.
“What’s that?” I follow as he marches back into the house, shutting the door behind us, wondering how many neighbors just got an eyeful of him.
He shrugs lightly, walking past me to the bedroom. “Clothes, shoes, stuff.”
“Stuff,” I repeat, leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed over my chest. “Why was it in your car?”
The bed is a mess of tangled sheets and bodily fluids, but he ignores it all, pulling piles of clothes out and refolding them into neat piles on the mattress. He pauses at the question, throwing me a bemused look. “You know the condo sold.”
He’d put it on the market not long after the annulment was granted, with my permission. He’d told me that the place was a constant reminder of what he’d lost, and he didn’t want a bar of it. It was prime real estate, in the heart of the city, so it sold almost immediately.
“I know, but that doesn’t explain—” I wave a hand at him, and then at all the clothes. “Were you living in your car?”
His mouth twitches into a smile, but he turns away, hiding it as he drops his towel, yanking a pair of dark briefs up over his thighs. I watch as his back ripples with his movements, ass clenching before he covers it up.
“No, Lily,” he says, amused, sliding a pair of gray sweats on next. “I wasn’t living in my car.”
“So?” My demand is rough with impatience, and he flicks a wide-eyed look at me. As he catches sight of my expression, his face softens. He approaches, his chest bare and the rings jostling softly against each other on the chain. I watch them, transfixed, a strange tightening in my chest.
He makes a small noise, and I look up, catching a thoughtful expression on his face. “I didn’t want to find another place, not when I still had hope.” He lifts his shoulder in another shrug, offering me a sweet smile.
My lashes flutter, shuttering my expression, hating that I need to ask, “Where have you been sleeping, then?”
His expression falls with realization, even as he shakes his head.
“Come on, Lil. You know me better than that.” As soon as the words leave his mouth, he looks away, pressing his lips into a tight line.
“Ignore that.” He takes another step forward and pulls me into his arms, my face pressed against his chest. “I’m an idiot sometimes. ”
“Sometimes?” I echo incredulously, and he pinches my side in retaliation.
“I’ve been sleeping on Carter’s couch,” he confesses, grabbing my shoulders and pushing me to look him in the eye.
His expression is full of sincerity, and a hint of desperation.
“Don’t kick me out, baby. He’s a pig. I don’t want to stay there anymore.
” He sounds so pitiful. I snort, and the look he sends me is full of mock betrayal and condemnation.
“Laughing at my pain.” He drops his chin, pushing his bottom lip out in a pout. “You’re killing me, Lily.”
“I won’t kick you out,” I promise, voice filled with laughter. “But you need to change the sheets. And put all that away.” I point at his clothes.
His mouth tugs up into a crooked smile, his hand cupping my cheek. “Don’t ask for much, do you, baby?”
The smile that comes feels like it’s being pulled right from my soul, pure happiness and delight that this man is once again mine.
His eyes flicker with something dark, but it’s gone too quick for me to catch. One hand stays on my cheek, but his other lifts to fist the rings on his chest. He exhales roughly, and then locks his eyes with mine.
“You could ask me for the moon, and I’d find a way to drag it down for you,” he says lowly, voice tight with promise. “Nothing will ever be too much, Lily. Remember that.”
“Dangerous words,” I whisper back.
“You’re a dangerous woman.”
I make a noise of amusement, cuddling into him. “This was a nice date. ”
He pushes me back, his expression outraged. “ Nice ? That’s as bad as calling it fine!”
“Okay, it was better than nice.” I can’t help the grin that tugs at my lips.
“Our second first date.” I go up on my tiptoes to kiss him, savoring the touch of his mouth against mine.
I feel it the moment he smiles, and I pull back, lifting my eyes to his and finding them bright, filled with adoration and love.
“Our last first date.”