For You (The Shore Book 2)

by S. E. Brown

  “Glad you could make it,” she grinned.

  “Yeh, about that. You have a plane?” Madison asked.

  “And you know how to fly it?” Ryan added, tag-teaming the inquisition.

  Declan laughed and looked to Cody. “Just what did she think you were doing when you were helping me in the hangar?”

  “I dunno. I never got into specifics,” he shrugged and turned back to the grill.

  “Yes,” Declan answered Madison, “I have a plane. And yes,” he said, turning to Ryan, “I know how to fly it.”

  “You are just an onion, Declan Healy. So many layers!” Ryan exclaimed.

  Declan laughed and made his way to an empty chair next to Abby and pulled Madison onto his lap. He wanted to be as close to her as possible.

  “So you two are an item now, huh?” Abby asked, her eyebrows raised.

  Declan looked at Madison and gave her a knowing smile. “Yup.”

  “Good for you,” Abby finally smiled, giving his arm a squeeze. “It’s about time you found yourself a good woman, Declan.”

  He didn’t respond, but thought Abby had nailed it right on the head. There was no doubt he was falling for Madison, or maybe he already had. As far as he knew, there were no more secrets, no more walls that needed to be busted down for them to be together. Sure, there was more he had to learn about her, and the thought of doing that excited him. He looked forward to learning the many different sides of Madison Quinn.

  “Alright, who wants a burger?” Cody announced from the grill.

  “See?” Declan turned to Madison with a big grin.

  “What?”

  “Told you I’d get here before the first batch was off the grill.”

  Chapter 22

  The sun had set, Jake was asleep in the hammock and the night was winding down.

  Declan leaned down so his arms where on either side of Madison and resting on the picnic table as he whispered in her ear. “You ready to get outta here?” They had been making eyes at each other for the last hour and he was ready to get the hell out of Dodge.

  “Yeh, just let me help Ryan clean up.”

  Madison gave him a quick kiss then stood and started collecting dishes and containers to bring back to the kitchen.

  She was putting things in the refrigerator when Ryan walked in. “You going to stay at Declan’s tonight?”

  “Yeh, you don’t mind, do you?”

  “Naw, the looks you two have been giving each other all night, I’m surprised you’re still here.”

  “Well, I didn’t want to be rude,” Madison grinned. “It was my idea to have this thing, you know.”

  “Oh, I know.” Ryan gave her a “and you’re going to pay me back someday” look.

  Madison closed the refrigerator door and walked up to Ryan to give her a hug. “You okay? About the whole Jaxon thing, I mean.”

  “Yeh, I’m fine.”

  “You sure?”

  She gave Madison a soft smile. “I’m sorry he got hurt, but I know he’s going to be alright.”

  “Okay. You know how to find me.”

  “I do,” Ryan nodded. “You want to get together for breakfast tomorrow?”

  “I would love to but probably shouldn’t. I kind of went AWOL from the office and should head back early.”

  “Yeh, they hate it when we do that,” she grinned. Madison was still working for the same firm Ryan had worked for. “Tell everyone I said hi, okay?”

  “I will. You mind if I leave my car here tonight and pick it up in the morning?”

  Ryan chuckled. “That’s not a problem. Just be careful on the bike.”

  “Yes, mom,” she teased.

  Ryan gave her another hug. “I’m going to want to meet this daughter of yours.”

  Madison pulled away and looked at Ryan. She couldn’t help her smile. “I would love for you to meet her.”

  “The next time I’m in town, maybe we could do lunch or something, the three of us.”

  “Sounds like a plan.”

  After saying their goodbyes, Madison and Declan stopped in the living room to grab his jacket.

  “You wanna borrow Ryan’s helmet?” Declan knew Ryan wouldn’t mind. Besides, he wanted her to feel as safe as she could on the bike.

  “No, I think I’ll be okay.”

  “Alright, put this on.” He held his jacket out for her. “It can get chilly.”

  She smiled at him and slid the leather on.

  “Hmm,” he growled, liking what he saw. “Let’s get you home.”

  She swung her leg over the bike and scooted back to give him room. Once Declan was in place, she wrapped her arms around him and laid her head on his back. He covered her hands for just a moment before he started the bike and took off.

  Madison watched the lights go by as they drove up the Causeway. She had never been to his house and was curious as to what she’d find. She imagined it would be the epitome of a bachelor pad.

  Declan turned down a side street and eventually into a driveway. He stopped, hit a button on his key ring and the garage door on the left started to open. He slowly brought the bike into the garage and turned it off.

  Madison was in shock, although given what she had learned about him just that night – the fact that he owned a plane and knew how to fly it and had a Harley – the size of the house they just pulled into shouldn’t have surprised her.

  “Come on,” he said with a grin as he extended a hand to her.

  They walked to a door and as he opened it to let Madison go in front of him, hit a button on the wall and the large door they had just come through started to close.

  Madison walked up the non-descript stairway to another door and opened it. A small light shined just enough to tell her she had entered the kitchen. She walked into the room and stood aside, letting Declan take the lead.

  Still holding her hand, he led her further into the house, hitting light switches as he went. They stopped in a great room with a huge sectional couch facing a fireplace and the TV that hung above it. Large windows she suspected provided spectacular views of the ocean during the day offered their reflection.

  “Holy shit, Declan,” her mouth hanging open.

  “What?” he asked with a grin.

  “This is your house?” She turned her head to take it all in.

  “Home sweet home,” he answered with a shrug.

  Madison eyed another staircase leading both up and down stairs. “How many bedrooms does this thing have?”

  “Seven.”

  Madison turned to him and just stared, not at all sure what to say.

  He stepped closer to her and wrapped his arms around her waist. “I’ve always wanted a place where my family could be together,” he shrugged. “I had the money to do it, so I invested here. There’s enough room for all of us to get together and enough for everyone to have space so we’re not always in each other’s hair.”

  “No shit,” Madison replied in disbelief. “And you live here all alone?”

  “I do,” he nodded with a smirk. “Although I spend a lot of time in Charlotte and Columbia, too.”

  “You have places there, too, don’t you?”

  “Yeh. I hated staying in hotels so I got condos. They’re places to call home when I’m there.”

  “Your gyms must be kicking ass,” she mumbled.

  “They’re doing okay,” he grinned and leaned down to kiss her.

  “You are so full of shit, you know that?”

  He shrugged and winked at her. “I haven’t been here for a while since I was managing for Erin, but I think I have a few beers in the fridge. Want one?”

  “A beer would be great.”

  Declan released her with a kiss and walked to the kitchen for the beers. Opening them both, he walked back to the great room and handed one to Madison.

  “You want a tour?”

  “Sure,” she smiled.

  “It’s better during the day, but I can show you a few things tonight.”

  He took h
er down the staircase and showed her the game room that held a pool table, a long couch and extra-stuffed chairs, and a large screen TV with every conceivable gaming station attached to it. He flipped another switch and light shined over the outdoor pool that took up most of the backyard. Another room held gym equipment and a couple of punching bags hanging from the ceiling.

  He led her back upstairs, past the great room where he turned off the lights he’d turned on when they arrived and up another flight.

  “All the bedrooms are up here,” he mentioned. As they walked past each door, he pointed out who they belonged to. “Mom and Dad … Aidan and Rebecca … Juliana and Jack … Erin and Chris … Ike … this is an empty guest room … and this one is mine.”

  Each of the rooms had their own distinct design Madison imagined reflected some part of their personalities. There were bunk beds in the room for Juliana and Jack, but it was the crib in Ike’s room that impressed her the most. He had made it so everything was ready when they came to visit.

  The walls in Declan’s room were painted a dark charcoal gray, almost black, and had dark red curtains covering the windows. A king-sized bed dressed in light gray with matching red accents took up the space along one wall. Directly across from the bed was a sitting area with a couch and coffee table that held a TV. Along the long wall were two large windows on both sides of a sliding glass door.

  “This way,” he said with a smile.

  He pulled on her hand as they entered his room and walked between the bed and sitting area to the door. He unlocked it and pulled it open, and their ears were immediately filled with the sounds of the ocean they couldn’t see.

  The deck ran the majority of the length of the room and was easily ten feet deep. A hammock was on one end and a set of Adirondack chairs with a table between them on the other. Between the two groupings was a wooden bed with an elevated head and a small table on either side.

  “Hang on one second.” He set his beer on a table then disappeared into his room again. A moment later he reappeared carrying a large mattress Madison guessed fit the wooden bed perfectly.

  He laid the mattress down, fabric-side up, and laid down. “Care to join me?”

  Madison sat her beer on the table and kicked off her shoes. She climbed onto the bed, snuggled into his arms and looked up to the sky. Without any clouds or lights to distract them, she could see millions of stars above her.

  “Wow. Look at all those stars. I think I would sleep out here every night,” she whispered, her eyes on the sky above.

  “It is beautiful, but it can get pretty damp in the morning with the humidity.”

  “I think I could muster through,” she grinned, turning her face toward his.

  “I’m glad you’re here.”

  “Thanks for bringing me here. And for showing up tonight.”

  He leaned forward to kiss her and just as his lips touched hers, he felt her shove his shoulder back. In the next moment, she was sitting on top of him, straddling his legs.

  “And seriously, a plane?”

  “What?” he laughed, caught by surprise. “The plane isn’t a secret. Cody knew about it.”

  “That so does not count!” She leaned down to tickle his ribs. “Are there any other secrets you’re hiding?”

  He grabbed her hands and interlaced their fingers so she couldn’t tickle him again. “No. I promise, no more surprises.”

  “No huge houses or sports cars or motorcycles or planes or yachts … ?”

  “I do have a set of kayaks I keep at a buddy’s house that lives on the Sound and a car in Columbia, but that’s it.”

  The kayaks made perfect sense. Hitting the water sounded like a great way to begin a morning. So instead, she focused on the car. “It’s not a Ferrari, is it?”

  Declan laughed. “No, it’s not a Ferrari.”

  “Lamborghini?”

  He laughed again. “No. It’s the Camaro I drove while I was in college. Is that okay?”

  She looked at him as she thought about it. “A Challenger and a Camaro? Where’s the Mustang?”

  “No Mustang, but um …” he said with a sly grin.

  “Declan?” There was a growl in her tone.

  “You haven’t seen what’s in the other garage downstairs.”

  “And what would that be?”

  “A Wrangler.”

  “OHMYGOD. You boys and your toys!”

  “What? It’s Luke’s fault. He got me hooked. Besides, I can’t drive the Harley around here every day. It gets cold and it does rain, you know. And there’s a lot of sand. Just ask Ryan.”

  “You are impossible!”

  He pulled her down so her face was just above his and cradled her cheeks in his hands. “No I’m not,” he teased.

  She wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him a long, slow kiss as his hands went to her waist. The kiss grew into more and Madison could feel his fingers slide beneath her shirt to caress her skin. She loved the feel of him touching her, but she had another idea.

  Moving her lips from his, she started to kiss down his chin to his neck, taking a moment to lightly suck on his ear before trailing her tongue down his neck to his shirt.

  She scooted back on his legs, giving her the room she needed to lift his shirt and place soft kisses along his abs and chest.

  As her kisses started back in a southerly direction, he entwined his fingers in her hair and pulled gently for her to move back to his lips.

  “Whatcha doing?” he asked, seeking out her lips with his. He lightly ran his tongue along her bottom lip and she covered his mouth with hers in return.

  “Nothin’,” she answered with a sly grin when she released his lip.

  She slowly kissed back down his chest, finding the fine line of hair leading directly into the V of his hips. She followed it, quickly unbuttoning and unzipping his jeans.

  She placed her lips over his covered, hardening cock and sucked lightly.

  “Lift up,” she directed, taking his jeans and underwear in her hands and pulling them down to his ankles. She got off the bed and went to his feet to take off the boots he had on. She removed them, then his socks, and slid his jeans off so they landed on the deck.

  Crawling back up his body, she placed light kisses along his legs and ran her hands up his stomach. She paused, her breath covering his bare cock.

  Looking up, she locked eyes with him as her lips opened and sucked the tip of him into her mouth.

  “Shit, Madison,” he groaned, running his fingers through her hair. He held her head gently as she sucked on him, swirling her tongue around the ridge of the head.

  Dropping her eyes, she released the head from her mouth and cradled his cock in one hand, licking from the base to the tip.

  Declan wasn’t sure how much of this he could take - her mouth felt like silk against him. Although they had sex that morning, he had spent the hours at Ryan and Cody’s distracted by thoughts of what it would be like to have her in his home, in his bed, to be inside her.

  Madison ran her tongue up his length and then slid him past her lips, taking in all of him. She loved how he filled her mouth.

  “Fuck, baby,” he groaned. “I want to taste you. Take off your pants and come up here.”

  She released him from her mouth and held him in one hand, meeting his eyes, as she again sucked on his tip but shook her head. She could taste the salty fluids on her tongue.

  “No?” he asked, but her only response was to slide him past her lips and take all of him again. He could feel her nose against his stomach.

  She raised her head, wrapped her hand around his length and slid it up and down. “No.” She lazily ran her tongue across the head, licking the pre-cum that had appeared as his head dropped back.

  As she continued to lick and suck him, she felt his hips begin to move, his hands holding her in place as he pumped into her mouth.

  “That’s it, suck me.”

  Using just her mouth, she ran her hands up his stomach and dragged her nails back t
o his hips.

  “Fuuuck.” He loved that the only thing he could feel was her lips around him. Sucking him. Licking him.

  “Shit, babe, I’m going to come,” he announced, reaching for her hands and lacing their fingers.

  Madison held her mouth over him, her eyes locked on his, sucking as he pumped into her. His hips moved faster as his orgasm approached.

  He squeezed her hands as he grunted and Madison felt his cock twitch just before she felt him shoot into her mouth.

  Letting go of one of his hands, she wrapped her fingers around him and lightly licked his head as he came down from his orgasm. When he had calmed, she placed a soft kiss on him then crawled up his body.

  He looked into her eyes with a mix of “holy shit, do that again” and wanting to lay her back and do the same to her.

  She placed a quick kiss on his lips but he pulled her back for more.

  “Holy shit, Mad.” He looked into her eyes, wondering how he could have lived this long without her in his life, and feeling certain he never wanted to let her go.

  “I like that,” she smiled.

  “Like what?”

  “You calling me ‘Mad.’”

  She kissed him again and laid her head on his chest, listening to his heart beat. She wasn’t really sure what the hell was going on, but she was done. Declan Healy had worked his way into her heart.

  “Come on,” he said quietly, rubbing her back. “Let’s go to bed.”

  Chapter 23

  Declan woke with a smile as he remembered the activities from the night before and wrapped his arms around Madison’s sleeping body. He was getting used to waking up like this, with her beside him. She was pressed up next to his side with a leg over his and her hand on his chest.

  He was thinking about repaying her for the previous night when he heard a buzz. Looking over to the table he saw the light on his phone was illuminated. The clock next to it read just after five-thirty. There was only one person who would call this early, and if she was calling, it was almost certainly not good news.

  He reached for the phone and quietly answered. “Hey Erin.”