Page 45 of Sweet Revenge
Her eyes trailed down his tattoo again. “We can work it out later.”
As the door clicked closed behind her, his hands clenched into fists, and it took every ounce of his willpower not to go after her and fuck her against every available surface between here and his bedroom. It was killing him being this close and not being able to have her. And he didn’t know how much longer he’d be able to keep his hands to himself.
It took him another hour to relax enough to head upstairs to bed. He’d listened to Aidan come in from his assignment at the warehouse and then left his office, shutting off all the lights, locking up the house, and activating the alarm.
He’d have to spend some time thinking up more scut work for his brother to do. The kid needed to be brought into line. Declan was getting tired of his childish outbursts.
Halfway up the stairs, a frantic, piercing scream jarred his thoughts. Evie. He sprinted the rest of the way up and down the hall to her room, shoving the door open, eyes scanning the room for the threat.
When she let out another scream, then a gasping sob, he realized she was having a nightmare, her body thrashing, her face wet with tears.
He ate up the distance to the bed in quick strides, sinking down next to her to grip her shoulders. “Evie, wake up.” His voice was firm, but even he could hear the fear laced in it. “It’s just a dream. Come on, love.”
He gave her shoulders a rough shake, and she startled awake, shoving herself up, her breath coming in terrified, raspy gasps. It took a minute for her to recognize him, but when she did, she flung her arms around his neck, pressing her face against his throat.
“Oh God, Declan. The blood. So much blood.”
“It’s okay. You’re okay.” He rubbed her back in gentle circles while her tears fell hot and wet against his skin. “It’s just a dream.”
She gripped his shoulders, turning her head to press her cheek against his collarbone. “Just a dream.” She inhaled slow, deep breaths.
When he ran his hand over her curls, smoothing them, she leaned back, and her eyes fell to his lips. He wasn’t sure who initiated the kiss, but when their lips met, he lifted her onto his lap, groaning when she wrapped her legs around his waist.
He dragged his tongue over her bottom lip so they parted, and she moaned softly when he slid his tongue against hers. Fisting his hands in her hair as her hands roamed over his shoulders and down his back, her fingernails scoring across his skin as he devoured her.
He wanted to feel her under him, surrounding him. He wanted, desperately, to be inside her, to hear his name on her lips while she came around him.
Then someone cleared their throat from the doorway, and Evie yelped as she broke their kiss.
“Go away,” Declan growled, arm tightening around Evie’s waist when she tried to scoot off his lap.
“What. The fuck.”
“Go to bed, Brogan,” Declan said with a glance at his brother’s hulking frame in the doorway. “Everything is fine.”
“It didn’t sound fine a minute ago. It sounded like someone was being murdered, and now…” Brogan waved his hand at the two of them wrapped around each other on the bed. “This is consensual, right?”
Declan shot a warning look at the door, ignoring Evie’s snicker, and waited until Brogan retreated, mumbling under his breath.
“I’m sorry,” Evie said once Brogan was gone, leaving the door open to the hallway.
“Don’t be,” Declan replied, pressing a kiss to her temple. “It’s not the first time he’s caught us.”
She laughed then, and for a moment, everything felt normal and uncomplicated.
“We were good together once, weren’t we?”
He brushed her hair off her face, rubbing the pad of his thumb over her cheek. “Yeah, we were.”
She cupped his face in her hands, pressing a soft kiss against his lips, and when she moved to slide off his lap again, he didn’t stop her. Unsure of what to say, or if there was even really anything to say, he crossed to the door.
“Goodnight, Evie,” he murmured before closing the door with a soft click.
ChapterTwenty-Two
They spent the better part of three days going back and forth over the plan to get the drive from DiMarco. Evie wasn’t used to working with a partner, let alone one as…opinionated as Declan. That was the only nice way she could think of to put it.
Declan had originally argued that she get in, get the drive, and get out, presumably for her safety, but if Declan didn’t want DiMarco to know the drive was missing—and he didn’t—then the plan was going to be more complicated than that.
