Page 62 of Crush (Deadly Hearts 1)

“You know I’m right, Princess,” he says softly. “That time isn’t for sex. Yes, I can cause you pain and then pleasure you, it’s part of the process but intercourse isn’t right. I don’t want that, for you or for me.”

I blink back the tears. I think I get what he’s saying in a backhanded way.

“You find our time precious?” I ask, hoping I’m right and not about to make a huge fool out of myself.

“Very,” he says. “You need it to bring you peace and I need to give that to you. I don’t want it sullied by sex.”

We pull up at a red light and he shifts the car into neutral and puts the handbrake on. He turns to me, cupping my face again. “That’s not rejection, Princess. I want you very much. If you want me in that way, then we have to agree to engage in sex outside of the roleplay. Can you do that, or it is sex with your Daddy that you’re looking for?”

My lips part as I search his blue eyes for the answer. “I want sex with you,” I whisper. “I don’t know how you want to do this?” I lick my lips; my mouth has gone dry.

“Why do I make you nervous?” he asks seriously. “Where is the confident Ruby that grabbed David and kissed him when she had no idea if he would kiss her back?”

“You don’t make me nervous,” I scoff, but it’s a lie. I sigh. “I can’t read you,” I admit quietly. “It unnerves me.”

“I’m an open book for you,” he replies.

I blink as a horn blasts behind us and he smiles. “Guess the light is green.” He turns back to the road and sets off again.

After a substantial pause, in which I have no idea what to say next, he thankfully breaks the silence. “We will resume our DD/LG relationship in the same way with which we have been, but all the other times, I want a normal relationship with you.”

I choke back my laugh. “Normal?” I croak out. “Can you do normal?”

“Can you?” he retorts.

“I can try,” I say, “but seriously. What do you constitute as normal?”

He shrugs. “We’ll have to see how it goes.”

I nod, glad that we have sort of resolved this issue. It’s all a learning curve. “The other men?”

“Do what you want with them,” he says. “They are no factor for us.”

I nod, pressing my lips together.

We drive on in silence, the only sign that he even knows I’m still there is when he grabs my hand and laces our fingers together, until he has to pull it back to drive properly or crash the car.

It’s a welcome relief when we finally pull into the parking lot of the bar, which appears to have kicked into club mode slightly early. I guess the explosion outside of the city didn’t slow anyone down. I don’t wait for him to be chivalrous, I just get out and wait for him to join me. “I’ll need to go to Canal Street later on, stop in on the other two.”

He nods and takes my hand, leading me to the back entrance.

“Front,” I say. “I need to check on Ramsey.”

He changes direction, still not uttering a word. He is deep in thought, that much is clear. I hope he isn’t going to change his mind about anything we just discussed. It will gut me.

The queue at the front of the bar is long and loud. We skip to the front, and I grin up at Ramsey.

“How’s things?” I ask, before he bends down to kiss me. I snake my hand up around the back of his neck, standing on tiptoes, despite my heels. Declan doesn’t let my other hand go as I kiss Ramsey in front of everyone. It’s the first time that I’m showing the world I have more than one man, and I like it.

“Fine,” he says and downs another shot of tequila.

“Ah,” I say with a laugh. “Not too much.”

“Last one,” he says and hands the shot glass back to Benn. I give him a quick smile and then we head through as Ramsey gets lost in the job.

The club is darkened, and the music is thumping loudly.

On impulse, I lead Declan to the middle of the dancefloor and start to move against him. He spins me around so that he is pressed close to my back. His hand slides down my hip, over the silky material of the dress and slips into the split. His fingers crush over the lace of my underwear before he plucks the fabric up and slides his fingers onto my pussy. I gasp at the bold move.

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