Page 55 of Declan

His jaw clenches, and I see the guilt flicker there for just a second before it’s buried under something darker. Need. Frustration. Want.

I step closer, drawn to him like a moth to a blazing fire.

“This is wrong,” I murmur.

“I know.”

“But I can’t stop.”

His hand lifts, knuckles brushing my cheek. “I don’t want you to.”

My breath catches.

He leans in, voice low and rough against my ear. “But he can’t find out, Lena. Not yet.”

I nod because I get it. I do. I don’t want to hurt Wes, not more than I already have. But being away from Declan feels like punishment for something I can’t help.

“I hate hiding this,” I admit.

He pulls back just enough to meet my eyes. “Me too.”

There’s a beat between us, full of all the things we can’t say out loud.

Then he asks, voice soft and sure, “Come home with me?”

I don’t hesitate. “Yes.”

He doesn’t smile, but his eyes burn hotter. He brushes a kiss across my lips, tender and quick, but it’s enough to unravel me. He climbs on his bike, and I slide on behind him without another word, pulse pounding like I’ve made a deal with the devil and I’m begging him to collect.

Chapter 16

Declan

She doesn’t say a word the whole drive back.

Neither do I.

Her arms wrapped around my waist, fingers twitching like she’s thinking about sliding them lower. I want to reach back, pull her into my lap right here on this damn bike, but I force myself to focus on the road. Just a few more minutes. Then I can have her the way I need to.

The way she needs.

When I pull into my driveway and kill the engine, she’s already climbing off. I get off and go to meet her. She doesn’t wait though, just walks past me and heads toward the house, hips swaying like a fucking siren calling me home.

I follow. Like always.

Once we’re inside, I barely get the door closed before she turns around and grabs my shirt, pulling me into her like she’s starving. Her mouth crashes into mine, open and demanding, and I groan deep and low because fuck, I’ve missed this. Missed her.

Even if it’s only been a day.

My hands find her waist, then her ass, lifting her like she weighs nothing. She wraps her legs around me without hesitation, lips never leaving mine. I carry her through the dark, not needing light to find my way.

Her back hits the wall of my bedroom, and she gasps when I grind into her, the heat between her legs already soaking through my jeans.

“I couldn’t stop thinking about you,” she whispers, dragging her mouth along my jaw. “Even when he was talking.”

I growl and slam my mouth onto hers again, this time slower. Deeper. I make her feel it. All of it.

“You think I don’t know?” I rasp. “You think I don’t see the way you look at me across the room, like you’re about to fucking break if I don’t touch you?”

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