Page 83 of Trying Sophie

Chapter Twenty-One

Sophie

Anytime a guy stoppedhimself during a pretty fantastic make-out session and said you needed to talk, bad things inevitably followed. Statements like, “it’s not you, it’s me,” “I don’t think we’re compatible,” or “I’m just not attracted to you in that way.”

(The last time I heard that one, it turned out the guy was gay but was trying to convince himself he wasn’t. Apparently, I’d been his third and final attempt at going straight and when he’d kissed me and only felt revulsion, had decided it was just no use. His epiphany really put a damper on New Year’s Eve 2012.)

But unlike that guy, there’d been no mistaking just how much Declan liked kissing me; I’d felt the hard steel of his erection straining against his jeans. And then there was the whole caveman thing when he’d bit me. It had stung for a quick second but once he’d soothed me with his talented tongue and sweet, tender kisses, I’d been surprised by how much I’d liked it.

Maybe I was vanilla, or had only known vanilla people, but biting—especially with such … gusto, I guess you could say—wasn’t something I’d ever encountered. Something I didn’t really know people did outside of those who liked things a little darker and kinkier. Was Declan once of those people?

Keeping my voice light, I asked, “Is this the part where you tell me you’re into some freaky shit?”

I’d thought he would chuckle and tell me I had an overactive imagination, but he growled and pushed himself off the bed. Wearing a tread in the carpet from pacing, I realized I’d said something wrong.

Stopping abruptly, he turned to face me, his hands linked on top of his head. “Yes,” he bit out. “I am into some freaky shit.” He winced and it was clear he was pained by the admission.

While part of me was filled with dread, another was titillated and just a tiny bit curious.

What sort of kinky stuff?I wondered.

“The truth is …”

Except he didn’t tell me what the truth was. Instead, he looked away and resumed his pacing.

I stayed silent, but inwardly I was beginning to panic. I’d been flippant with my comment, but now I wondered if things weren’t about to get a whole lot darker than I was prepared for.

“Shit,” he muttered under his breath, coming to a stand-still in front of the suite’s bank of windows, the sunlight streaming through the mullioned panes and silhouetting his body in shadow.

He dropped his hands and angled his head to watch me watching him. Dropping into a nearby chair, he rested his forearms on his thick, muscular thighs.

“I’ve never really talked about this before,” he began. “It’s something everyone just knows about me.” He looked down and fidgeted with his thumb nail.

I didn’t know what to make of this version of Declan—anxious and unsure of himself. The Declan I knew was confidence personified. His nerves ratcheted up my own.

“You can tell me anything,” I coaxed, not able to stand the anticipation another moment.

“Yeah?”

“Yes.” And then, because I thought it was important for him to know, I added, “I won’t judge you. Whatever it is.”

“You say that now,” he muttered as he looked away.

For a few moments I watched him marshal his resolve. Finally, he stood and walked back over to me. His face etched with concern, he confessed, “I like rough sex.”

I let his words sink in and wondered what he meant by “rough.” A number of scenarios flashed through my mind, everything from his obvious enjoyment of biting to what I knew of bondage, and then to some of the kinkier stuff I’d read about and heard some of my friends talk about.

Meanwhile, he watched me like a hawk as I mulled his words over in my mind.

“Are you going to say anything?”

“Rough has kind of a broad definition, doesn’t it? It’s clear you like biting.” I indicated the spot on my collarbone.

“Among other things.” He eyes roamed my body.

“Such as?”

In for a penny, in for a pound, I thought. Because even though my heart was beating a mile a minute in my chest, I wasn’t sure if it was from fear or anticipation. And that shocked me. I don’t know if I’d have reacted this way to anyone else admitting their deepest, darkest fantasies to me, but with Declan it seemed right.

---