by B. Cranford
“Come back, Freckles,” Declan muttered against her lips, knowing she’d become lost in her head the way only he ever seemed to. “Or I’ll think you want me to stop.”
She narrowed her eyes at him, trying to bring back the playfulness, to get back into the perfect moment they were sharing. “Don’t you dare.”
“Then don’t get stuck”—he raised his hand and used his index finger to tap gently on her forehead—“in here again.” He lowered his hand back to the bed, back to where he’d been anchoring himself above her with his elbows bracketing her neck.
“Less talking, more . . . more.” It had been on the tip of her tongue to say more kissing, but instead of bringing their lips back together, Declan had moved quickly to her chest and pulled one nipple into his mouth. Even through the worn cotton of her shirt, the sensation was indescribable. He moved to the other nipple, pulling on it even harder with that mouth that was in the middle of destroying her.
That mouth that had teased her and flirted with her and made her come. Now, it was loving her. She knew that as well as she knew her own name.
His hands traveled to the hem of her shirt and oh, so slowly, he dragged them up her sides, taking the material with them, before pulling it up and over her head. She felt her hair rain down around her, bouncing as it fell back into place after being drawn up in her shirt. “Did you have these”—Declan’s question came as he lowered his head back to her chest, pausing just a moment to flick the tip of his tongue over one of the barbells piercing her nipples—“last time?”
She nodded, memories of him taking her flooding her memory, a picture of herself still in her bra being overtaken by need. She wanted to say yes, to tell him when she got them and why, to talk to him, but she couldn’t find words. All she could do was arch her back and press her breasts further into his wet, waiting mouth and hope that it was enough.
He raised his head, bringing himself up her body so their mouths were again aligned, his breath sweeping across her lips as he spoke. “God, I wish I’d had more time with you. Had taken more time with you.”
Jade was shaking her head before he was finished speaking, using her eyes to beg him not to regret anything about that day. It was perfect—or as perfect as a hate-fuck in a closet could be, she supposed. A snort escaped her, and Declan grinned down at her, as though he’d followed her train of thought.
That smile. God, that smile would be her undoing, of that she was sure. He was enjoying the moment, enjoying her, and he wasn’t pushing her or stopping her. He was giving her what she’d been wanting, waiting for, and he was doing it with a look on his face that said it was what he’d been waiting for and wanting, too.
“Jay,” he whispered as his smile faded, an intense look replacing it.
His lips slammed back against hers and she returned his kiss with fervor. Her bare chest pressed against his where his partially unbuttoned shirt gaped, and she was reminded that he’d interrupted her mission to get him naked. Not interrupting me this time, she thought as she pressed her palms to his shoulders with enough force to make him raise up, giving her a clear path to finish the job. He sat up, bringing his legs beneath him so he was kneeling over her and she followed, seated on the bed below him, her legs trapped by his, her mouth at just the right level to brush her lips across his skin.
She stripped him of his shirt as she explored his pecs and nipples with her tongue, and when she was done, she felt a gentle push in the center of her own chest as Declan sent her back to the bed. He knelt above her, chest bare and moving up and down steadily with each heavy breath he took, and she closed her eyes in an attempt to commit this moment to memory.
“Beautiful.” She hadn’t meant to speak the word aloud, but she didn’t regret it. He was beautiful, the way his abs rippled and flexed, the way his V-shaped muscle drew her eyes down to the bulge that was currently testing the wherewithal of his zipper.
“Not me, Freckles. You.” Declan made quick work of his pants, sliding off the end of the bed and letting them drop to the floor, before he removed one sock, then the other from Jade’s feet. “If you get cold, I’ll warm you up,” he promised with a wicked, knowing look. “And you won’t be needing these.” His fingers hooked in her panties before slowing sliding them down and letting them fall off, to join his pants and her socks on the floor at the foot of the bed.
Naked. They were both finally, fully naked and it felt like every minute of Jade’s life, every heartbreak, every success, every barb and retort and bitchy comment had led them here, to this bed in their friends’ home, the promise of something more filling the air around them.
With her eyes, Jade asked him to take care of her, begging him to give her body pleasure, but to protect her heart too. He couldn’t possible know that was what she was asking for, but she couldn’t possibly proceed without trying to show him that he made her the one thing she never wanted to be.
Weak.
He had the ability to make her vulnerable.
“I have you,” was all he said in response to her silent plea, but it was enough. For now, it was enough. She nodded, never breaking eye contact with him as he lowered himself back onto the mattress to kiss her again.
Except this time, he wasn’t kissing her mouth.
“Oh, fu—” Jade’s words were lost to the sensation of Declan’s tongue licking up her seam, his fingers spreading her so he could press down on her clit with a forefinger as he lapped at her arousal. She bit her lip to keep from screaming out, and let the sensations conquer her body, her doubts, her fears.
He’s mouth-fucking the fear right out of you.
She wanted to laugh at that, but the first break of her giggle became a long, desperate moan as he speared his tongue inside her, his finger still rolling over and around her bundle of nerves. “Dec, Dec, Dec,” she chanted, his name the only word that seemed to survive the havoc he wreaked on her body. Not even his full name though—all she had was three letters, but that was all she needed.
“DEC!” she called one last time as he moved his tongue to her clit and slid the finger that had been playing her to her entrance, thrusting it inside her willing body, curling it so that it hit her trigger and sent her flying.
Ungh.
Jade was smart, she knew it and was proud of it. But in that moment, she felt the furthest thing from it, because she’d put not just her body in the hands of this man who’d already hurt her once, but her heart too.
He could crush you, her demons screamed within.
Or he could defeat you, she defended him.
Please let him help me defeat you, she silently begged, because I don’t think I can do it alone.
Declan could tell the moment Jade disappeared into her head again. Her body, still shaking from her orgasm, was with him. But her mind?
Lost.
He didn’t say anything, didn’t try to bring her back—she had to do that on her own—but neither was he just going to sit there, waiting. He rose back to his knees, straddling her thighs once again and took his length in his hand.
Looking down at his perfect woman below him, his eyes took in her pierced nipples rising and falling with her labored breathing, the shimmer to her that came from, well, coming, and her hair scattered around her like a pink halo.
Her eyes snapped to his, filling with life and interest. There she is, he thought, relieved to know she was still with him. Jade’s hazel eyes didn’t hold his for long, however. He watched as she lowered them, taking in the body he worked hard for, and stopping where his hand fisted is dick—his rock-hard, in need of relief dick.
“Wanna take over?” He moved his hand up and down, adding a twist to the end, rolling his shoulders when a wash of straight pleasure came over him. She shook her head, her eyes widening, her top teeth capturing her lower lip in a bite that was so fucking sexy, his hand faltered for a brief moment.
“Wanna watch,” was her response, her eyes locked on him, locked on where he was jacking himself over her body.
“You watch too long
and I’m going to come all over this pretty little body of yours.” He could hear the gruffness in his tone. His voice was rough with need and he wasn’t about to hide that from her. He figured that she needed to see exactly how much he wanted her, needed her, and he was all too happy to give her that evidence.
“Th—that would be okay.” Jade’s stuttered words were so opposite of what he would have expected of her after the first time they came together, but he knew, too, that this Jade was the real one.
Strong but shy.
Sassy but scared.
Vital but vulnerable.
“It would be fucking better than okay, Jay, but not what I want this time.” Nope, not even close to what he wanted from her this night. One day, maybe, he’d have restraint enough to fuck his fist while watching her writhe beneath him—as she was now doing, her legs pressing together and shifting restlessly as her arousal returned—but until then, only one thing would suffice.
His cock in her pussy.
Taking her. Owning her. Claiming her.
Loving her.
Jade blinked, once, twice, three times, and then ripped her eyes off his, turning her body over so she could open a drawer beside the bed.
Condoms landed on the mattress beside Declan’s knees. She had tossed them over her shoulder, a move of desperation that made him laugh.
She made him laugh even when she made him horny as hell, and if that wasn’t a sign that she was the girl for him then . . . Well, then, he didn’t know what.
“How many do you have in there, sweetheart?” His laughter echoed around the room as she flopped back after slamming the drawer shut and smiled up at him. “What were you planning on doing here while Brighton was away?”
He couched the question as a joke, but his laughter stopped as he really thought about his question and the implication that one, two, three, four, five . . . ten condoms in a guest room drawer had for Jade’s plans.
His hand stilled. Her hand reached up and covered his, softly but firmly moving it back and forth along his length. “They’re not mine,” she whispered as they worked him over together. “I found them the first night after you were gone, when I was looking for the remote.” Jade’s head jerked in a motion towards the TV mounted to one of the bedroom walls. “I think”—she lowered her voice even further, though the two of them had been speaking in low tones so as not to draw attention to their nighttime activities—“they leave them all over the house, just in case, you know? I found some in the kitchen and in that little table beside the sofa, too.”
“She’s pregnant, do you think we should trust them?”
That made Jade laugh, her hand shaking along with the rest of her body and causing his cock to jerk at the sensation. “I’m pretty sure they stopped using them before that happened.”
He nodded, slightly uncertain, not sure if he should stop. “Okay.”
“I mean, I could duck down there and ask them?”
He laughed at her suggestion. “You’re naked. Maybe shoot them a text.”
“Great idea. Bright, just checking, are the condoms in the dresser okay to use? I love you, but I don’t want to be pregnant at the same time as you.”
A noise in the hallway outside the door stopped their banter, and Declan turned his head to listen.
It sounded like laughter.
“Hello?” he called out, wondering if the fact he was still painfully hard, all blood being diverted as it was to his erection, made him hallucinate Sebastian’s voice.
“Your phone was ringing in the living room, and I thought you might need it. Seems like you’re busy though, so I’ll just . . .” Some more shuffling was followed by a cough. “I’m leaving it out here. On silent.”
Jade’s body shook with laughter as Declan turned back to her open-mouthed. It wasn’t like he and Seb hadn’t shared stories, and there was that one time Declan had encountered his best friend in the buff, but this moment was awkward as hell.
And it was made even more awkward when Seb’s footsteps moved away from the door and then returned, another cough passing through the door, followed by a shaky-from-laughter, “And, ah, the condoms are fine to use. No need to text Bright.”
Jade slid up the bed and out from under Declan’s legs, releasing him from her hand as she drew her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them.
The condoms are fine to use.
They’d been playing around, fooling around and though she was fairly sure Sebastian had known what was going to happen in this room when he and Bright said their goodnights, she was equally sure he hadn’t been looking to get confirmation.
She rested her head on her knees and laughed into them. She felt her entire body light up with equal parts amusement and embarrassment and, as she chanced a peek at Declan, she saw him frozen with an oh shit look on his handsome face.
“Thanks, man,” he called out to Sebastian belatedly, finally seeming to snap out of his shock. His hand was still wrapped tight around his arousal and he stared down at it now and shrugged. The move made Jade laugh all the harder, but as his hand resumed stroking and he turned his focus back on her, her laugh faded into something else.
Need.
“Open one, Jade.” Declan’s words brooked no argument, and Jade released her hold on her knees to pick up the nearest square-shaped foil package. “Put it on me, now.”
The sudden forcefulness of his words amped Jade’s arousal ever higher, and she rolled herself up onto her knees so she was kneeling in front of him. With a sure hand, pounding heart and, truth be told, soaking wet pussy, she ran the condom down Declan’s length, bumping his hand out of the way as she did so. That hand, now empty, lifted to cup the back of Jade’s neck and pulled her in for a brief, hard kiss, before he maneuvered her body deftly, so she was on her hands and knees in front of him.
“You’re ready?” he asked, the desire in his voice softened by the need to make sure she wanted him still, despite their little interruption.
“So ready.” She turned her head to look at him over her shoulder and gave him a smile that held all the things that she wasn’t saying.
I need you.
I want you.
I have for months.
But as she met his gray eyes—darkened as they were by the low light and the heady arousal between them—Declan shook his head. Before she had a chance to question him, before her heart had a chance to drop and her brain had a chance to say I told you so, Declan braced his hands on either side of her waist and flipped her over, so she was on her back, her legs spread for him, those darkened eyes boring a hole in her. Seeing through her.
Seeing her.
“Need to look at you, Freckles.” He bent down over her and laid kiss after kiss after kiss across her face and, as she sighed at the almost sweet way he worshipped the freckles that had been such a source of consternation over the years, he notched the head of his erection at her center.
“Please,” Jade begged, not willing or able to wait any longer. “Please, Declan.”
“I have you.” His hips punched forward as he reassured her, sliding into her, making Jade’s world stop for a full five seconds before she returned to the moment.
She wanted to say something. She wanted to moan and groan and whimper. She wanted, wanted, wanted, but the rhythm of his body gliding in and out of hers left her unable to do anything except lift her arms to wrap around Declan’s neck, linking them together and pulling him down so their lips could meet.
She kissed him with all the passion she had in her, their tongues dancing, their lips melting into one. She kissed him as his body took hers to places she’d never been with another, the glittering feeling of climax coming harder and faster than ever before.
Nearly there, standing at the peak of Mt. Orgasm, with a blond-haired, gray-eyed example of male perfection thrusting relentlessly above her, Jade closed her eyes and separated her lips from Declan’s. “So close,” she murmured, repeated as she tiptoed closer to the edge.
With da
rkness around her but for the play of light against the back of her eyelids, Jade concentrated on every feeling, every sensation that was currently making its way through her. She felt electric, like she alone could light up the room.
Declan’s hand moved to cup one breast, a finger and his thumb pinching one pierced nipple, flicking the steel bar and shooting sparks down Jade’s spine. The piercings had a direct line to her pussy and she clenched around Declan’s invading body, closer and closer to plunging off the edge.
“Are you?” The rough question against her ear was all she needed to take that final jump. As pleasure roared through every vein, every artery, across every nerve ending in her body, Jade arched her back up and raised her hips, giving Declan deeper access, drawing out the blissful feeling longer still.
“Declan.” His name on her lips was but a whisper, a plea and a prayer. And as his body stiffened, then stilled, she tightened the hands that still were braced on his neck, not yet ready to let go.
Not yet sure she’d ever be able to let go.
Jade lay peacefully in his arms—something Declan hadn’t thought would ever happen. Her back was pressed to his front, her pink hair tickling his nose, her body giving off way too much heat to be comfortable. Not only that, but she wiggled. A lot.
It was exactly what he’d been wanting all this time.
Unable—or perhaps unwilling—to hold back on the chance to tease her, Declan leaned in to whisper in her ear, “So much for not having sex with me tonight.”
He could feel her silent laughter, the way it made her body wiggle all the more, and he thought maybe that was his punishment for teasing her—every movement, every press of her body into his, made his cock get that much harder.
Soon he’d be hard enough to go again.
Not that that’s a bad thing.
“Jackass. Since it’s—” Her pause was emphasized by the glow of her phone screen, “three in the morning, it’s a new day. I didn’t have sex with you last night.” She rolled in his arms so they were facing one another. “I had sex with you this morning, thank you very much.”
