Page 64 of His to Protect

His shaft jerked in my hand, hot silk over steel. I had a vision of my mouth wrapping around his erection sometime soon. I had never wanted to taste a man before.

I wanted to know what every single inch of Declan felt and tasted like.

He undid me in ways I never thought possible, and it wasn’t because he knew how to expertly use his hands on my most sensitive areas.

“Stroke me again,” he grunted, and I looked at his face to see him concentrating on my small fingers sliding up and down his shaft. “Harder.” I listened. I squeezed him tight, following his commands until his hand covered mine. Then his hands went to my hips and he rolled onto his back and pulled me over him. “I want you to ride me. Take what you need from me.”

My lips parted.

He’d already given me everything I needed. Somehow, the last few weeks with Declan had returned my confidence. I felt stronger. I felt more like a woman than I had in years.

It had nothing to do with this moment in bed.

Everything I needed, Declan had already provided with his respect and his kindness and his patience.

Tears pricked my eyes. He had come to mean so much to me in such a short time.

I didn’t want it to end.

But I listened.

I climbed on top of Declan, wrapped my hand around his erection, and slowly began to ease it into me.

And then I showed Declan with my actions what my overwhelmed self couldn’t express with my words.

I began to tremble on top of him, our hips meeting in perfect rhythm, and as he took me to the precipice again, we came together, chest to chest, our hands entwined, my heart beating against his and his against mine.

I knew in that moment that nothing would ever be the same again.

I didn’t want it to be. I wanted to hold on to this incredible man for as long as he’d let me.

—

The fall air was brisk as the ferry pushed through the swells of Lake Michigan. I didn’t know what to expect when Declan first brought up the idea of this trip ending with a ferry ride across one of the Great Lakes.

I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t been nervous. The idea of being on a boat on a huge lake was more than a bit frightening for someone who wasn’t all that thrilled with large bodies of water.

This was more than cool, though. The ship was large, and seemed to be three stories high. Below the passenger decks, my new-to-me, but older-than-dirt Ford Explorer safely sat with dozens of other cars and trucks.

We’d done it. We hadn’t heard from Tyson if he’d been able to find any information about Kevin yet, but I was choosing not to think about that today.

Not after the incredible morning Declan and I had.

A smile formed on my lips as the wind whipped my hair behind my shoulders.

“You still grinning about getting your way with the Ford?” Declan wrapped his arm around my waist and tugged me toward him.

I turned to him, putting the boat’s railing behind me, and faced him fully.

My smile widened. “I wasn’t. But I am now.”

He shook his head and I couldn’t help but laugh again. I’d been laughing about our argument at the dealership for the last several hours. When we pulled into another run-down dealership’s parking lot early this morning, after we’d finally untangled ourselves from the sheets of our bed, caught the train from Chicago, and then took a taxi, my eyes immediately fell on a gray Ford Explorer.

It was basic and nondescript, and would blend in easily, because I always saw Explorers on the road. It was also cheap enough that I still had a couple of grand left over from the check from the sale of my convertible, which Declan had deposited late last night.

Declan immediately steered me toward a newer Tahoe.

I dragged him back to the Explorer.

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