Page 49 of Playing with Desire

And it would be his own fucking fault.

Summer had justput a frozen meal into the microwave when a knock sounded on the door to her new apartment. Figuring it might be one of the girls stopping by, she glanced out the peephole and was surprised to see Declan standing on the other side. Surprised and suddenly very scared and nervous, because this was possibly the defining moment of their relationship.

They’d spent the past week apart, with her working and unpacking in her new apartment and Declan doing... well, she had no idea how he’d spent the time, since everything between them had gone radio silent since the day she’d moved out of the house.

She knew he’d had a choice to make with his military career and could only assume he was here to let her know his decision. She’d been bracing herself to hear the worst-case scenario—that he was returning to the army, the only thing he’d known for the past ten years, and accepting the administrative position he’d been offered despite it being a tedious, monotonous job. The fact that she hadn’t heard a word from him or any reassurances of how she might fit into his life in any regard had her believing that he was preparing her for another devastating blow.

But despite that ball of anxiety in her belly, she opened the door and greeted him with a forced smile, even while her entire body reacted tohim, because there was no denying that she’d always belong to this gorgeous, complex, alpha man, regardless of how this conversation ended today. No man would ever compare to him and everything he’d come to mean to her.

“Hey,” she said, trying to read his expression, but he was currently wearing his poker face, and that didn’t reassure her at all of where she stood with him. Wheretheystood. “It’s good to see you.”

The corner of his mouth quirked a tiny bit. “You, too,” he said as his warm, appreciative gaze slid over the army T-shirt she’d put on after work, along with a pair of shorts. “Can I come in?”

Ugh. She hated all the pleasantries when she was dying to throw herself against his chest and feel his arms around her, reassuring her that they weren’t over. But if it meant going through the motions of small talk to get there, she’d endure it all.

“Sure.” She stepped back, and after he’d entered, she closed and locked the door behind him, then followed Declan as he strolled into the mostly empty living room.

I’m sorry there’s no couch to sit on yet.” Since her last studio apartment had had a Murphy bed, there had been no room for any other furniture and nothing to move into her new place, which was an upgrade to a one-bedroom.

“I’m good,” he said, turning to face her again. “I wanted to tell you in person that I’ve made a decision about what I’m going to do.”

“And?” The suspense was killing her, and she gnawed apprehensively on her bottom lip.

“I’m going to retire from the army.”

Her stomach jumped at the exhilarating news, and she quickly calmed her reaction, because this was about him, not her. Or even them. “Is that what you really want?”

He nodded. “Yes. I spoke with Dean and Mac today. They offered me a job, and I accepted, so I’m sticking around. I hope that’s okay with you?” He grinned, though she saw the tinge of worry swirling in the depths of his eyes.

“That’s fantastic,” she said, genuinely happy for him and his new career choice, if he’d made it for the right reasons. “But I need to know that you didn’t take the job for me.”

“No, I took it for us.” He stepped toward her, closing the distance between them and framing her face in his hands, tipping her gaze up to his. “Because out of all the options I had, it’s a career that’s going to fulfill me—professionally and personally—and that includesyouin the big picture of what I envision going forward from here.” His thumbs gently caressed her cheeks. “I always believed that the military was my entire life, but that changed the night I saw you at The Players Club. Now, I’m not heading off to some foreign country and leaving you behind ever again... if you still want me.”

She sighed, his words giving her so much hope. “I’ll always want you. I’ll love you forever if you let me.”

“I will. I love you, too. And I need you. So fucking much.” He pressed his forehead to hers, letting her see all the emotion in his gaze. “I’ve held in my feelings for you the past five months, thinking and believing I was doing the right thing by letting you go. That you deserved someone more solid and stable who could give you everything you dreamed of. But there wasn’t a day that went by that I didn’t regret not telling you what you mean to me.”

Summer’s heart soared, and she brushed a smiling kiss across his lips. “You’re everything I’ve ever dreamed of and more. You make me happy. You make me feel desired. And now, I feel more loved than I ever believed possible. You own me, Declan Burke. My heart. My body. My soul. It’s all yours.”

A deep groan rolled out of his throat, and seemingly done talking, he crushed his mouth to hers, kissing her feverishly and branding her with the deep, delightful sweep of his tongue along hers. She tasted his hunger, his relief, and when he walked her back a few steps and pressed her up against the nearest wall, her body began to hum with heated desire and the need to feel him deep inside her.

He must have felt the same way, because both their hands went between their bodies at the same time, Declan nearly tearing the button off her shorts as he unfastened the waistband and pushed the article of clothing down her legs, while she lowered the zipper over the bulge in his jeans and shoved the denim to his thighs, just enough to free his erection.

She took all that erect heat in her hand, and with their mouths still fused, she stroked the length of him and skimmed her thumb over the head, already seeping with pre-cum. He pushed his fingers through her slick folds, then plunged them into her pussy with a deep, seductive thrust that had her arching and crying out, already wet and completely ready for whatever he demanded of her.

“Bed?” he growled, biting the side of her neck before sucking on the patch of skin, to the point that Summer knew he’d leave a mark.

She shivered and managed to shake her head. “I don’t have one yet.” Her new mattress wasn’t scheduled to be delivered until that weekend.

He swore beneath his breath. “Okay, fucking you against the wall it is, because I need inside younow.” He bent and gripped the backs of her thighs, starting to pull her up while bracing her against the flat surface behind her. “Tighten your legs around my waist and wrap your arms around my neck to hold on.”

That command, coming from him, made her melt, and she lifted her knees up high and folded her legs around his hips, aligning their bodies intimately. She clung to him as she felt his cock probe her entrance, as he gradually stretched her open around the engorged tip. Then, with a hard, driving upward thrust, he plunged the rest of the way in with toe-curling friction, sliding home in a delicious, endless thrust that made her gasp and burn for him.

“You feel so damn perfect around me,” he huffed, panting for breath, for control. “You’remine, kitten.”

She looked into his eyes and held his dark, possessive gaze. “Yes. Yours. Always.” Every word was the truth.

He moved, penetrating deep with every long, hard stroke, setting a lightning-fast pace that had her gasping. He did it again and again, until the exquisite pleasure building inside her peaked and she began to shatter around him. She cried out as her internal muscles gripped and milked his cock, then watched as lust and need transformed his features right before his own orgasm engulfed him. Shouting her name, Declan followed her over, emptying himself inside her.

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