Page 28 of Hooked on a Demon
“Declan.”Why does his name feel so good on my tongue?“Ev would never be okay with it. You know him. I know him.”
“So he doesn’t need to know. As of right now, there’s nothing to know. We can see where this goes for now and keep it between us. Assuming, of course, that you are interested in exploring whatever this is between us.”
“I do. I mean, I am. I don’t know why, but I’m drawn to you. You set me aflutter like no one else ever has, and I find myself flustered around you.”
“I’ve noticed.” He laughs.
“But I don’t know if I can lie to my brother.”
“I wouldn’t call it a lie, more omitting the truth… again for the time being. To give us time to figure out if there’s something here.”
“And how do you suggest we ‘figure things out’?”
He steps into her space, wrapping their clasped hands behind her back and pulling her into him. Her head tilts back so she can still look into those precious blues. “Well, we could go on dates. Spend time together. I’ll be here quite a bit, too.”
“June did ask me to be an overseer of the project.”
“Perfect. So there’s a valid reason for why you’d be here, checking me out.”
“True,” she responds, ignoring his purposeful slip but knowing full well she’d definitely be checking him out. Her eyes dip down his lips, plump, perfect, and so close. “But you and Everest hang out a lot. How do we avoid running into him if we go on dates?”
“I can tell him I’m busy with work, or Buckley, my dog, misses me. Whatever it is, I’ll figure it out. What do you say? Will you go out with me, Eliana Oaks?”
She runs everything he’s said through her mind again. Can they do this? Can they actually be together and manage to hide it from Everest? Does she want to?
She looks back up at him, looking deep into his eyes, and feels his chest pause as he awaits her answer. “Okay, I’ll go out with you.”
Before she can second-guess it, his lips are crashing onto hers, and it’s everything she had imagined it would be.
CHAPTER17
Declan
Scents of peppermint and grapefruit fill his nose, making his brain go haywire as he realizes what he did. No, what he’s doing.
He’s kissing Eliana.
She said okay, which to him meant he was free to do what he’d been thinking about all morning. She wasn’t wrong when she said he was looking at her like he wanted to do things to her. With her. For her. It’s all he’s been able to think about since she walked into his shop with her broken-down car. Everything he’s done since has been because of her. Rejecting Becky. Trying to stay home more, despite Everest’s objections, so he didn’t risk doing something stupid. Even turning down Charlie when they went for coffee.
All of it is for her.
Eliana had barely looked at him and he knew he didn’t want anyone else.
Which is such a strange thought. He’d never considered her in that way when they’d crossed paths before. Maybe because he’s been too tied up in his freedom and the excitement of another conquest. Or maybe it was because she was a few years younger, so he only saw her as Everest’s little sister. Whatever the reason, he realizes he was so wrong. So very fucking wrong. His lips on hers tell him that with great certainty.
His free hand cups the side of her face briefly before sliding to the back of her neck, tilting her head back further, giving him better access. Releasing her hand from behind her back, his other hand joins the one on the back of her neck. She pushes her body against his as her hands work their way up his back.
Her mouth opens slowly, giving him opportunity to deepen the kiss, their tongues meeting tentatively at first, testing this new development. She pushes her hips into him, and he groans into her mouth. She swallows the sound hungrily while her hands find his hair, tangling her fingers into his braided mohawk, and pulls.
He groans again and nips her bottom lip. “Oaks,” he says, his voice low. Strained.More,his demon demands. And fuck if he doesn’t agree. He needs her. Needs more.
His tongue traces her lips, and she nips him back. He tastes her again as she tugs on his hair, sending waves of heat through him. His cock is already hard and throbbing in his jeans. She grinds her hips into him, pushing against his cock, making him ache for more. He pulls away, putting a little space between their bodies, and rests his forehead on hers. “Oaks. If you keep doing that…”
“What? What are you going to do?”
He sighs. “Nothing. Because as much as I want to, I will not have our first time being in the aisle of a theater where little kids are going to perform.”
She laughs before lifting her face to his again and kissing his lips gently. Eliana brings her arms down and places her hands on his chest before reluctantly pushing herself out of his grasp, leaving him feeling adrift as he tries to find his sense of balance in a space without her in his arms, where she belongs.
