Page 30 of Declan's Hope

So he would take just as much care with her as he worked his way down her body, rubbing the fluffy towel over her skin dotted with gooseflesh. He worked in a silence broken only by Hope’s deep exhales. He got to her flexing feet and admired the deep red of her toenails digging into his carpet.

"Better?" he asked looking up her body, while doing his best not to stare at her breasts hovering over him. She nodded as he stood. Then he lifted her up again and gently laid her down in the middle of his tangled sheets and blankets.

Heat flared in his cheeks that had nothing to do with finally having Hope in his bed. Again, she deserved better than a bed that hadn’t been made in more than a week and a room that needed to be cleaned. Shame hadn’t been anything he’d ever felt when it came to any part of his life. There had never been a reason for it. Now he overflowed with it.

How could I let myself get like this?

"Hope—"

"I’m cold." Her arms went out to him, while her soft, understanding gaze held his. "Keep me warm?"

"This wasn’t what I wanted for you when…" He shook his head. "You should have—"

"I have what I need." She reached out and took his hand, then tugged on it. He let the towel around his waist drop and joined her on the bed, his breath stuttered with her, "And I’m exactly where I want to be," as he settled his body alongside hers.

"But why?" He stroked over her cheek down to her chin, then gently tilted her bent head toward his. "After what I said," he whispered while his hand went down her arm, then her waist, "you shouldn’t want anything to do with me."

"Well…" She snuggled into his side, laid her head on his chest, and wrapped one arm around his waist. "I’ll admit you were an asshole." He pursed his lips to keep from laughing at her serious tone. "But I can’t hold it against you." She lifted her face, her eyes full of concern, but still touched with need. "You’d been through a lot." She settled her head once more on his chest, while her breasts brushed against his abdomen. The temptation to roll her beneath him and plunge home was a hard one to tamp down. "And those of us who care about you understand that."

"You care about me?" Could she hear how fast his heart beat at that confession?

She tensed for a few seconds, then relaxed once more. "You’re… You’re a friend. So, of course I care."

"Only a friend?" He filled a hand with one panty-clad ass cheek and relished the little gasp she let out when he rubbed over it. "I can’t see any of my other friends… Mmm… How should I put it? Oh, let’s say taking matters in hand the way you did."

"Hmmph," she groused, lightly smacking his back. "You’re being an ass again."

And he couldn’t help it, he laughed—hard.

It felt good. All of it. Having Hope here with him while feeling a small bit of hope. This unassuming woman filling his arms and his heart probably wouldn’t see how anything she might do—even something so small as making him laugh—would make such a difference to him.

But it did.

And he had neglected her needs long enough.

"Maybe." He kissed the top of her damp head, then loosened his hold to press her onto her back. This memory would last him a lifetime—the look of nervousness mixed with desire on her face, along with how her whole body flushed pink, with her cheeks going a deeper shade. "But right now, this ass is going to do some making up with you."

"Umm…" The way she bit her lip, then licked over the spot filled him with unimaginable heat. And he could do nothing else but taste it himself. He also gave into the need to fill his hand with the bounty of one breast. The kiss and press of her hard nipple into his palm, along with her little moans, sent his mouth traveling down over her chin, then lower where he lingered at her neck—kissing, licking, and nibbling. He wanted to mark her, but with her fair skin, he’d have to be careful not to get too enthusiastic when he did it. The question of where he would do it would have to wait.

"You, uh, um." Her hard swallow played against his tongue laving up the front of her throat. "You give good neck."

He smiled. He’d been told he was a good lover many times. And he wouldn’t be bragging by saying it was true. But he’d never had a woman tell him that before. "If you think this is good," he murmured against her skin. "Just wait."

She trembled in his arms. "O... Okay."

Declan’s kissed his way down to her collarbone—his fingers plucking and pinching her one breast—then trailed his lips over the rounded slope of the other to let his tongue circle around her pink areola. He couldn’t help his grin when her fingers latched onto his hair as she basically forced her nipple into his mouth.

Not that he would complain.

And neither would Hope. Not if her soft sigh and breathy, "Oh, yeah," was anything to go by when he licked over and around it.

And if she wanted this, he was happy to oblige. So he took his time learning the ridges of her hard nipple with his tongue and teeth—getting a feel of what she liked by how her body reacted. It seemed she liked it best when he sucked hard and circled the tip with his tongue. So he continued to love on the one breast until she shook and pulled at his hair. Then he switched breasts and gave it the same treatment while his now free hand roamed down and over the soft swells of her belly. The edge of her panties hitting just below her naval had him pausing.

She tensed. "Declan, I—"

"Let me touch you," he said, raising his gaze to hers. He gave her nipple another little lick and stared intently at first her teeth worrying her lip again, then her eyes glazing with want. "Let me show you how pleasure feels."

Hope didn’t say a word, but she spoke with her body—her hips slowly relaxing. He glanced down, his heart racing when her legs parted ever so slightly. She’d given him all the answer he needed.

---