Page 81 of Saved By the Boss

My stomach growls suddenly, loud enough to break the comfortable silence, and I laugh, burying my face against his chest.

“Guess I worked up an appetite,” I mumble, my cheeks flushing.

Declan chuckles, the sound deep and warm. “Was dinner not enough for you?” he teases, his hand sliding up to brush a strand of hair from my face. “Come on. Let’s get you fed.”

I groan in protest, not wanting to leave the cocoon of warmth we’ve created, but the truth is, I’m starving. Reluctantly, I situp, grabbing a throw blanket from the couch and wrapping it around myself as I stand. Declan follows suit, his movements slower thanks to his ankle. He doesn’t complain, though. He never does.

We make our way to the kitchen, and I sit down at my earlier seat while he grabs my barely touched leftovers for me. Truthfully, I was too anxious to eat during his confession. Now, though, I could eat the whole damn chicken.

He laughs as he watches me devour my meal, and I let the blanket slip so that my breasts are fully on display for him. That shuts him up fast, and he just stares at me for a while, his eyes dark and heavy-lidded.

“You know,” I say a moment later, breaking the heated silence. “I didn’t peg you for a guy who knows his way around a kitchen. This is really good.”

He glances at me, one eyebrow raised. “It was probably even better when it was warm,” he teases good-naturedly. “But living out here alone, I had to learn quickly. It’s not like takeout is a viable option.”

“True,” I muse, reaching my hand over to his leg as I talk. It’s a comfortable gesture, but it becomes more charged as I feel his muscles ripple under my touch.

He swallows hard as he looks me in the eye, his hand coming up to my face to move a strand of hair out of the way. “There’s a lot you don’t know about me,” he whispers huskily. “But I want to show you everything. If you’re okay with that, of course.”

I simply nod and lean over to press my lips chastely against his.

“Good thing we’ve got time,” he says, his tone light.

“Yeah,” I agree, my heart doing a little flip. “Good thing.”

I finish my meal and we ease into lighter, more comfortable conversation. Now that our biggest secrets are on the table, it’s much easier to find a rhythm. And I’d be lying if I didn’t admit how nice it is to get to stare at his body unabashedly. With nothing between us but the blanket on my lap, I get to memorize the muscles on his arms and abs. He’s incredibly fit. I can’t help but wonder if he’s got a home gym somewhere in this huge cabin. He clearly works out.

When the plates are cleared away, I turn to him, my stomach full and my heart racing. I can’t believe how keyed-up I still feel, but I can feel my nipples hardening and heat pooling between my legs again. He moves to sit on the couch, his legs stretched out in front of him, looking completely at ease. But there’s a tension in his shoulders, a flicker in his eyes, that tells me he’s feeling the same pull I am.

I don’t overthink it. I walk over to him and climb onto his lap, straddling him, and his hands come up to rest on my hips instinctively. His eyes meet mine, and for a moment, neither of us moves. The air between us is charged, crackling with an unspoken electricity that makes my skin tingle.

Then his hands tighten on my hips, and he pulls me down against him, his lips crashing into mine. The kiss is hungry, desperate, like we’re trying to consume each other, and I lose myself in it. My hands thread through his hair, pulling him closer, and his grip on me tightens, anchoring me to him.

His hands move down my body, gripping my thighs so tightly I’m sure I’ll have bruises in the morning, but I don’t care. The only thing I can feel is my want for Declan, my need for him. And something even deeper starts to form in the pit of my chest,though I’m not totally ready to acknowledge it yet.

22

Declan

When I wake up, the first thing I notice is Jade curled up beside me, her head tucked against my chest, her hand resting lightly over my heart. Her hair falls in soft waves across her face, and she lets out a little sigh in her sleep, like she doesn’t have a care in the world. If I can only give her that feeling temporarily, it’s worth it. I always want her to feel safe with me, to know that she can trust me.

For a moment, I just stare at her, trying to soak it in. I can’t remember the last time I felt so free, like the weight of the world wasn’t pressing down on me. Even with my meeting with Patrick looming over me, all I can feel is peace. Having Jade here with me, it’s like everything in the world is finally right. For her sake, I’m going to do everything I can to keep it that way.

I can’t help the grin that spreads across my face. It’s not just a throwaway attraction to Jade, or a spark that isn’t going to go anywhere. As strange as it may seem after knowing Jade for such a short time, I get the feeling that this could be the real deal.

I loved Cassidy. She was my world for a long time and losing her shattered something in me that I never thought I’d get back. For so long, the world was devoid of any color and I was sure that it always would be. But that was a long time ago. And as much as I hated moving on, I’ve had to. Life doesn’t give you a choice. Until Jade came along, I was sure that I was doomed to an existence of solitude for the rest of my life.

She’s not just filling a void either. She’s hardly the first pretty face I’ve encountered in five years, and she’s so much more than a good lay. She clicks with me in a way that’s hard to describe, but easy to feel. It’s like she just fits here, with me, in my arms. And for the first time in years, I feel like maybe I could have something real again. Maybe I deserve it.

She stirs beside me, her eyes fluttering open, and when she looks up at me, the smallest, softest smile tugs at her lips.

“Morning,” she says, her voice still heavy with sleep.

“Good morning,” I murmur back, leaning down to press a kiss to her forehead. She closes her eyes for a moment, letting out a little sigh that sends my heart race. God, she makes it hard to leave her.

But I have to.

“I need to go,” I say quietly, brushing a strand of hair out of her face. “I have to meet my brother.”

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