Page 71 of His to Protect

As much as I wanted to relish the feeling of being in his arms, along with the comfort and strength they provided, I wanted to forget about this. I wanted to do everything I possibly could to not only erase the memory of Kevin’s phone call, but his entire history from my life.

“Take me home,” I whispered, murmuring into Declan’s neck.

His fingertips pressed into my lower back before he stood up, gently setting me on my feet.

I didn’t know what I’d just said or done to cause the softened look in his eyes, but when his smile tilted at the edges and his lips brushed against my forehead, I realized.

“Okay, Trina. We can go home.”

Home.

That’s what I just called his house.

And he seemed to like it.

An hour ago, I’d thought that, more than anything, I wanted to be on my own, living it up in Blue’s beautiful shabby-chic apartment, but as Declan grabbed my purse and handed it to me, then slid his hand into mine, I realized that I’d been terribly wrong.

I didn’t want to be anywhere he wasn’t.

“Actually,” Blue said, interrupting whatever tenderness I felt passing between Declan and myself, “I think this is the perfect night to introduce Trina to the girls.”

Next to me, Declan sighed, and I tilted my chin to face him.

“What girls?”

“Yeah, a bunch of us always meet up on Thursdays, at least once a month, for girls’ night out. But tonight definitely calls for immediate girl time. We drink margaritas and eat our weight in nachos.”

“Sounds, um, fun?” It sort of did, but it didn’t change the fact that just minutes ago, I was shaking on the couch with Declan’s arms around me. I wasn’t sure tonight was the night I wanted to meet a bunch of Gabriella’s friends.

She laughed and reached out for my hand, then squeezed it. “I’m sorry. I know we don’t know each other at all yet, really. But when I was new to town, these girls reached out to me and took me in. I’d like to do the same for you. The girls are cool, honest. Well, except Paige. She’s a bit nutty, but the rest are normal.” Her face scrunched up and she shrugged before letting loose an easy grin. “Mostly.”

“Um. Okay?”

Declan’s arm squeezed my shoulders. His voice was deep, tinted with laughter when he said, “When I took off, Mac said he’d cover for the night, but I could always go back. Maybe you should go, Trina. Make some friends and forget about all this shit.”

“Yeah.” Blue’s eyebrows wiggled. “Plus, they drool over Declan, so you’ll be, like, the star of the night. They’ll want to know all the good stuff about him.”

Declan frowned. “Maybe it’s not such a good idea.”

Blue pulled me toward her, forcing me out of Declan’s hold, and wrapped her arms around my shoulders. “Oh, but it is. Because you’ll get to take her back to your place…and she’ll be all tipsy drunk.”

His lips twitched. “Point made. Just don’t tell Suzanne anything. The suspense will kill her.”

“You’re a lot nicer than you look, you big ol’ brute,” Blue scolded, wagging her finger at him, “but that’s just mean.”

Declan crossed his arms over his large chest and smirked.

“Suzanne?” I asked.

Declan rolled his eyes.

Blue giggled. “You’ll see soon enough.”

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