Declan

by Kate Hoffmann

  She rolled over and faced him, pressing a kiss to his chest. “Now you,” she murmured.

  “Don’t worry about me,” Dec replied, gently biting her shoulder. “I’m just fine.”

  “It’s not good to hold it in,” she whispered as she tongued his ear.

  “Is that the doctor talking or you?”

  “Nature requires that men ejaculate at least once every seven to ten days. It’s dangerous not to. It’s a physiological imperative.”

  “Gee, I wonder why the nuns never told us about that,” Dec joked. “Besides, you forget what you did to me last night. I think I took care of my imperative.”

  “Let me do this for you,” she begged.

  Dec stood up and grabbed her hands, pulling her to her feet. He bent and pressed a kiss to her belly, then pulled her along to the bedroom. They tumbled down onto the bed together. At first, all he’d wanted was for Rachel to sleep again, to do away with the temptation of giving in to her demands.

  But she was determined to please him and he was left with no choice but to bring her to her peak once again, simply to distract her. Her second orgasm, this one more powerful than the first, did the trick and before long, she was curled up beneath the covers sound asleep, her body relaxed and sated.

  Though Dec laid down beside her, he found himself unable to sleep, his mind filled with images of what he could have enjoyed. He slipped out of bed and walked to the bathroom, certain that a shower would relax him. But the very thought of Rachel, her body twisting and tensing against his mouth, was too much to deny.

  He stood beneath the shower, the warm water rushing over him and stroked himself until he found relief, fantasies of Rachel swirling in his head, vivid and arousing. This would be what he was left with until he decided the time was right to surrender to her.

  Two could play her game and he intended to win-especially since the prize was something he’d been searching a very long time for.

  6

  WHEN RACHEL OPENED HER eyes the next morning, she wasn’t sure where she was. She’d slept so deeply and dreamlessly her mind seemed especially slow to grasp reality. She rolled onto her back and looked at the ceiling until the events of the previous night gradually came to her.

  Closing her eyes, she listened to the soft sound of Dec’s breathing, just then aware he was beside her in bed. Rachel rolled onto her side and stared at him, her gaze taking in the boyish features of his face. He looked much younger when he slept, his normally serious and watchful expression replaced by a calm beauty that she found stunningly fascinating.

  He had the most incredible face, his features in perfect balance-sculpted mouth, straight nose, strong jaw and lashes that would make any girl envious. But his blue eyes were the most devastating feature he possessed, a color so deep and intense that it made Rachel shiver just to think about them.

  Her gaze drifted along his body, then stopped at his belly. He was erect, his shaft pushing the fabric of his boxer briefs out into a little tent. Her thoughts wandered back to earlier that morning, to the two incredible orgasms she’d experienced at his hands-and his tongue. She’d expected him to be good-a man as handsome and charming as Declan would have plenty of practice pleasing women. But Dec was beyond good. Rachel knew the limits of her responses and she’d gone soaring past them the moment his tongue began to work.

  Everything she’d known about her body, about her own sexual desire, was now useless. Dec had taken her to a level that she’d never experienced before, a place where she lost the ability to rationalize and analyze and was left with nothing but pure instinct. Though she remembered the wild sensation of coming against his tongue, she couldn’t quite put together the details of how he’d gotten her there. Only that it had felt absolutely incredible.

  It didn’t matter, Rachel mused. Next time, she’d pay closer attention. Next time, he’d come with her. She reached out and drew a finger down the length of his penis and Dec didn’t move. Emboldened, Rachel carefully tugged the waistband of his boxers down until she revealed the swollen shaft, the velvety skin hot and taut. Without hesitating, Rachel bent over him and took him into her mouth.

  At first, he didn’t move, but then Declan slowly came awake. He shifted slightly, but Rachel didn’t pause, determined to see how immune he was to her seduction. Earlier, he’d been adamant about who would enjoy what. But if she teased him into submission before he was even aware of what was going on, then she’d return some of what he’d given her.

  “Oh, God,” he murmured. “What the-” He sighed and shifted again. “Oh, yeah. Oh, that feels good.”

  Rachel glanced up to find him looking down at her, his gaze still hazy with sleep, his hair rumpled. She turned back to what she was doing, anxious to please. He seemed to grow with each stroke of her tongue and Rachel shoved his boxers down to expose the full length of his shaft.

  He was big, bigger than any man she’d known, but that didn’t frighten her. In truth, it made the anticipation even more intense. It was difficult not to imagine him inside her, filling her, making her moan with pleasure. She ran her tongue along the length of him and heard him suck in a sharp breath, then hold it. Would he stop her? Or was Declan already past the point of no return?

  Again, she took him into her mouth, this time deeper, setting up a long, slow rhythm. Though she hadn’t had a lot of experience with oral sex, Rachel simply listened to Declan for her cues. He gradually succumbed to the sensations she was causing and could no longer control his reactions, gasping and moaning with each stroke she took, arching on the bed, his hands clutched in the sheets.

  “Oh, that feels so good,” he murmured.

  She increased her tempo slightly and another moan slipped from deep in his chest. His hips rocked in time with her rhythm and she sensed that he was coming close. But Rachel wanted to make him last, to draw his orgasm out as he had done for her.

  He reached down and buried his fingers in her hair, urging her to continue, frantically moving with her. And though she tried to slow down, Dec was already there. Uncontrollable spasms rocked his body and she continued to stroke him with her hand as he came.

  He jerked a few times, gulping for breath as he gave in to the pleasure that wracked his body. And when it was over, and he was spent, he threw his arm over his head and groaned. “What the hell did you do to me?” he muttered, reaching down to touch the small pool of cum on his belly.

  “No more than you did to me,” Rachel countered, sliding up to lie beside him.

  He raked his hand through her hair, then kissed her. “Is this payback?”

  “Just returning a favor.” She snuggled against him, throwing her leg over his waist, the dampness of his orgasm sticky on her skin. “So was it as good for you as it was for me?”

  He chuckled softly. “Hell, yeah.” Dec dropped a kiss on her forehead. “A nice way to start the day. A guy could get to like that a little too much, I think.”

  “A nice way to end the day, too.”

  He sighed, distractedly toying with her hair. “We need to go back today,” he reminded her. “I need to stop by the Providence P.D. and check out this Jerry guy.”

  “I thought we could spend the day together.”

  “We can be together in Providence. If we want to be.”

  “And do we?” Rachel asked. “Do we want to be together?”

  “I don’t know,” Dec murmured, frowning. “Do we?”

  Rachel wasn’t sure what to say. If she said yes and he didn’t intend to continue seeing her, then she left herself open to a lot of hurt. He was an adult, he could make up his mind on his own. The fact that he wanted her to make up his mind for him was a cop-out. And if he’d been one of her listeners, she would have told him just that.

  She always did this, expected more than any man was willing to give. But not this time. She pushed up on her elbow and smiled at him. “I guess we’ll have to play it by ear,” she said.

  Funny how they were so comfortable with the physical attraction between the t
wo of them, but when it went beyond that, they both hesitated. Rachel drew the sheet up around her naked body. “It shouldn’t take me too long to pack,” she said.

  He ran a hand down her arm, then toyed with her fingers. “We don’t have to leave immediately. We could lie here for a little while longer. I could return the favor that you returned to me.”

  “No, I want to get back. I have work and I need to move my things out of that apartment and back into my house. My life can get back to normal now. It’s about time.” Rachel tossed the sheet aside and crawled out of bed, then wrapped her robe around her body.

  She hated this. They’d started out so honestly and simply, both of them wanting the same thing-each other. But now, everything had turned complicated. Suddenly, there were feelings involved-and after just a few days together!

  “You should probably take a shower,” she murmured, pulling her suitcase from the closet. “And I have to pack.”

  Dec tugged his boxers back up, then got out of bed and followed her across the room, stepping up behind her. He wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed the curve of her neck. “What’s going on in that head of yours?”

  “I don’t know.” She paused. “This was all such a fantasy, coming up here, being together. But now we’re going back to our real lives.”

  “Do you think real life is going to change this thing we have for each other?”

  “I don’t know,” Rachel murmured, her voice wavering. “I guess we’ll have to see.”

  He kissed her again, then walked out of the room. She watched him go, staring at his finely muscled back as he left. Then she shook her head as if to rid herself of the haze of passion that had been obscuring her thoughts the past few days.

  Rachel found her purse, then dug through the contents until she found her cell phone. She turned it on, hoping that it was charged, then waited to see if she had a signal. When she did, she punched in the number of her office.

  Simon picked up the phone after the second ring. “Professor Merrill’s office,” he said.

  “Simon? It’s Rachel.”

  “Professor Merrill, I’ve been trying to get a hold of you. I’ve been calling your cell, but you haven’t picked up.”

  “I-I accidentally turned it off,” she lied.

  “Professor Ellsworth has been trying to get you as well. The editor for your journal article called and they need the final edits back by the end of this week, not next. Professor Ellsworth said that he won’t approve the article without your final input.”

  “Tell Daniel I’ll be in later this afternoon and we’ll finish then.” Daniel was the only one outside of Trevor Ross’s people who knew about her stalker. He’d understand why she hadn’t been available. “I’ll see you later, Simon.”

  She hung up the phone, then began to gather her things, trying to turn her thoughts toward the work she had to complete before the next semester began. It was usually so easy to focus on her professional projects, but her mind was easily distracted lately.

  Rachel pulled a dress from the closet, then tossed the rest of her things into her bag, not bothering to fold or smooth anything. She let her robe drop to the floor, then tugged the dress over her head. She found a pair of panties in the top drawer and pulled them on, then threw the remainder of her underwear on top of her other clothes.

  When she was finished, she zipped up the bag and dragged it out to the hall. She was just passing the bathroom when Declan emerged. His hair was wet and standing in spikes and though he carried a towel, he hadn’t bothered to wrap it around his naked body.

  She stopped short, then moved to the left at the same time he moved to the right. They went back and forth a few more times, each mirroring the other’s attempts to get by. Finally, Dec cursed and grabbed the suitcase, then set it behind him. In the next instant, he grabbed her around the waist and brought his mouth down on hers, kissing her deeply and thoroughly.

  He pressed her back against the wall, her arms pinned up over her head, his mouth hot on her skin. At first, Rachel was stunned by the ferocity of his desire, but then she decided she liked it. It was a wonderful feeling to have a man want her so fiercely that he couldn’t keep his hands off of her.

  The towel dropped to the floor and Dec’s hands tangled in her hair. The kiss grew more intense with every second that passed as Dec ravaged her mouth with his tongue. When he finally drew away, he looked down into her eyes. His lips curled into a satisfied smile as he glanced down at his hard penis. “Any questions?”

  All Rachel could manage was a breathless “nope” before he turned and walked into his bedroom. The door clicked shut behind him and Rachel fell back against the wall, her knees suddenly weak.

  THE RIDE BACK TO PROVIDENCE was so different from the ride up to Maine, Dec mused. The earlier trip had been full of laughter and conversation, good music and, most importantly, anticipation. But all of that had given way to something else on the return trip. Conversation seemed stilted and Rachel seemed horribly ill at ease. In truth, the first two hours on the road were the worst kind of hell Declan had ever experienced with a woman. He’d thought he’d made his feelings clear to Rachel in the hallway, proving to her that no matter where they were, he’d still want her.

  But in retrospect, Dec wondered if his little “attack” had done more to scare her than to reassure her of his desire. By the time they’d reached the other side of Boston, Dec had decided to use Rachel’s tactics to get her talking. “So,” he said. “When I went down on you last night, how did it feel?”

  She gasped. “What?”

  “Just curious,” he said. “I mean, you’re not the only one who’s allowed to ask questions like that. Just because you’re the Princess of Sex doesn’t mean I’m not interested in what makes you tick.”

  “I am not the Princess of Sex,” Rachel said indignantly.

  “Oh, all right,” Dec replied. “The Queen of Sex. Or is it the Empress of Sex?”

  “I know what you’re doing,” she said. “You’re baiting me. Well, it won’t work.”

  “You’re the one who is always talking about how we should be honest with each other. I want to know how you feel when you come. What do you think about?”

  Rachel stared out the car window. “I’m not going to answer that question. I don’t think you really want to know anyway.”

  Dec glanced over his shoulder then quickly switched lanes, before pulling up on the shoulder of the freeway. He stopped the car, then turned to her. “I want to know. I want to know everything about you.”

  Rachel glanced out the rear window, then looked at him. “What are you doing? Someone is going to come crashing into us. This is a freeway. You can’t just pull over for no reason.”

  “I have a pretty good reason,” Dec said. “And I want an answer to my question. Or we’ll sit here forever.”

  “You are such a…oh, you’re just so…” She cursed in frustration. “All right, you want to know what I was thinking? I was thinking you were the only man who’d ever taken the time to tend to my needs first. And everything you did, every sensation you made me feel, was something I wasn’t going to forget. It was like you just opened a door and I stepped through and now, nothing will ever be the same again.”

  Dec let out a tightly held breath. “Holy shit,” he murmured. Her answer took him by complete surprise. He expected that she’d tell him she felt good, all warm and gooey inside, that when she came she felt the heavens part and the angels sing. But then, he should have known Rachel would be completely and utterly honest with him.

  “Holy shit?” she shouted. “That’s all you have to say? I just bared my soul to you.”

  “I-I’m sorry,” Dec said. “I didn’t really mean that. I’m just…stunned.”

  “What? You’re stunned that you were so good that I’m going to compare every other man to you? Or you’re stunned that I told you how I felt?”

  “No,” he said, desperate to have her understand. “I’m stunned no other man has ever made you
feel that way, Rachel. You’re a beautiful, smart, sexy woman and if no other man has appreciated you, then you’ve been hanging around with the wrong kind of men.”

  She blinked, as if his reply took her by complete surprise. “Oh,” she murmured.

  “Oh?” he said in a soft, teasing tone. “Is that all you have to say?”

  She smiled reluctantly, a pretty blush turning her cheeks pink. “No. That was a very nice thing you said. And I know you’re not like other men I’ve known. I knew that from the start.”

  “From the minute you got me with the pepper spray?”

  “No. After that. When you came out of the bathroom with that towel hanging around your neck. When I saw your eyes.”

  Dec sat back in his seat. “See there? That wasn’t so bad.” He put the car back into gear and glanced over his shoulder, then pulled back out onto the highway.

  They drove for a while in silence, both of them still contemplating what had just been said. “So, here’s how I see things,” Dec finally ventured. “We’d be lying to ourselves if we didn’t acknowledge the attraction between us. And though things may have begun in an…unconventional manner, there’s no reason why we can’t just take a few steps back. So, I propose we go out on a date.”

  “Don’t you think we’re a little bit past that?” Rachel asked.

  “No, I don’t. I think it’s important we spend some time together, in public, where we can’t possibly try to seduce each other, which is what goes on when we’re alone.”

  “And when do you propose we have this date?” Rachel asked.

  “How about tonight?”

  She shook her head and for a moment, Dec thought she was going to discard the idea outright. “No, that’s too soon. If a man asks a woman out, she should get at least four days notice. Any less than that and she’ll look too eager, any more than that and he’ll look too eager.”