Page 60 of Declan's Hope

"School is cancelled today," he murmured where she swallowed hard. "And, yes, they’re going to have counsellor’s available."

She struggled in his hold. Declan obviously didn’t understand the severity of the situation. "See—"

"Shhh…" His hands firmed on her wrists and his hips pressed into hers—keeping her trapped. Her caveman was back. "Ms. Black wants you to take today off." His scruffy cheek rubbed over hers. "Tomorrow too if you need the extra time."

"I don’t."

"We’ll talk about that later."

Of all the nerve. He couldn’t just take over. "We’ll talk about it now. I… " There he went doing that neck thing to her again. "Ah…" She couldn’t help how she moved her head so he could get better access. "You’re… You’re being awfully bossy. I…" She moaned when he licked up the side of her neck. "I don’t like it."

A slight chuckle vibrated against where he’d migrated to her ear, before he lightly breathed out. "Oh, but you do." His tongue flicked her lobe. "You like it a lot." And danged if that didn’t give her a full body shiver and have her lady bits—yeah, not the best of terms, but it fit—tingling.

Hope found one of her wrists freed and she grabbed his shoulder. But instead of pushing Declan away, she dug her fingers in while his hand ran down her arm to her shoulder, then lower until he cupped her breast and squeezed. Her pulses raced as she closed her eyes and let out a shuddering breath.

"And Hope…"

She hesitantly opened her eyes to find Declan’s face hovering inches above hers. And somehow, her heart settled. This was what she wanted every morning for the rest of her life. This man surrounding her, giving her that look with his perfectly imperfect features—the look she’d yearned for since he’d pushed her away. The one that said he owned her.

Her gaze traveled over the repaired left side of his face as she ran her hand through the shock of black hair hanging down around it, before cupping his scraggly cheek. His broad chest expanded on a deep inhale when her eyes lingered on the black orb behind his scarred brow and near-jagged lid, then gradually let it out when her stare went to the blue eye blazing down at her.

"Yes, Declan?" she finally answered on a breathless note.

His jaw clenched as he let go of her other wrist and speared his hand into her hair. The slight sting to her scalp traveled all the way to her now throbbing clit.

"Do you know why you like me bossy."

God, that low, gruff voice was going to be her undoing.

"No," she murmured, even though she already knew the answer. "Tell me."

His nostrils flared while slashes of red took over his cheekbones. Then he growled, "Because you know you’re mine."

It was true.

Before she could say the words, his mouth was on hers—intense, hot, eating over her lips until she opened for him. And if she’d thought eating was a good term for how he’d feasted on her lips, devoured would be the right word for the way his tongue took command of the inside of her mouth

With her hands loose, Hope finally had the freedom to run them over his broad shoulders—relishing the shiver from him as she scored her nails down his naked back until she finally grasped his…

Dear god. He’s naked everywhere.

Her fingers dug into his firm, bare ass, the groan filling her mouth matching the one she couldn’t hold in. His lips softened, brushing over hers.

"Hope," he groaned against them. "I need you."

"I need you too." She pulled at his ass and rubbed against where he went harder—if that was even possible. "Please."

Another lingering kiss met her answer as his hand left her breast and pulled at her jumper strap.

"But understand me," he murmured, rolling to his side where he concentrated on unbuttoning first one strap of her jumper, then the other. "I don’t need you just for this." He pulled the front flap down past her breasts, then he tugged at her shirt—with her lifting slightly—until it rose up over her body and cleared the cups of her bra.

"And not just for this." He kissed the top slopes of first one breast then the other before pulling the cup down over each—his touch lingering over one of them. She shivered at his calloused hand caressing the plumped flesh, while his thumb glanced across the hardened tip. He never looked up from his task. "Although this…" She jerked, then moaned when he bent and swirled his tongue around that same tip. The slow lick over her hardened nipple had her lips parting on a low moan. "This is worthy of all my worship."

"I wouldn’t say that," she nearly panted, glancing up from his other hand going to the buttons along the side of her jumper. "They’re—"

"Perfect." His gaze whipping to hers dared her to disagree with him. She didn’t argue. Not when she couldn’t tear her attention away from the play of Declan’s muscles as he sat back on his calves and made fast work of the rest of her remaining buttons. And not when she lifted herself onto her elbows when her slow inspection landed on his twitching cock. She hadn’t imagined how perfect it was.

She collapsed back onto the bed, sighing, "Oh my," followed by his graveled, "Oh mine," as he laid aside the front section of her jumper, revealing her white satin half-slip. Those two words shouldn’t have sent excitement shooting through her, but they did. Then her excitement grew as he went to his knees and took hold of the top of the slip along with her panties at her hips—the brush of his knuckles against her flesh almost as hypnotizing as his cock bobbing as he worked both down her legs before tugging them off.

---