AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I don’t want to give up on her,” Declan said, staring right at me. It was hard to pretend not to notice him when he stared at me with such fervent longing. “I told her I was going to fight for her, and I meant it.”
Talking about me in the third person, because we were two weirdos. Right. Could this get any weirder?
“Well,” I said, sitting up as I set my phone aside, “maybe she doesn’t want to be caught.”
“Is she afraid she’ll be trapped if I catch her?”
I almost said she’s afraid that the bigger fish swimming after her will jump onto the boat and capsize it, but that was a bit too close to the truth, so I settled for saying, “She’s a free spirit. She wouldn’t do good if she was caught.” Comparing myself to a wild animal. Great. This analogy was starting to get out of hand, I think.
“I wouldn’t cage her in,” Declan said, gripping the back of his chair so hard his knuckles were turning white. I knew it took everything in him to not get up and come near me, knew he was practicing self-restraint due to the nature of our conversation. “She could be mine, but she could still be free.”
“She doesn’t want to be like your last catch,” I said, running my hands over my knees.
“Anyone can see that she’s not.”
I stood, feeling the urge to pace the length between the two beds. Just eight or so feet, and yet it was enough. This…conversation was going in circles and driving me nuts. Couldn’t Declan just agree to let this go? To let me go? Surely it wouldn’t be so hard. It wasn’t like he’d known me for years. We were relatively new in each other’s life, whatever we felt for each other still fresh and budding and growing. Nip it in the bud, and it would stop.
That was the idea, but whether or not we could actually execute the idea…who fucking knew.
“I…” I shook my head, not wanting to refer to myself as a she anymore. I was done with the analogy. “I just want you to be happy, Declan.”
“I am happy,” he said, slowly getting to his feet as he watched me pace. “With you.”
I shook my head. “You could be happy with someone else, and safer, too.”
Declan’s brows furrowed, and he questioned, “Why wouldn’t I be safe with you, Ash?”
I stopped my pacing, glancing at him with an open mouth. Shit. I said a bit too much there, didn’t I? “Let’s just say there are things about me you don’t know,” I started, biting my lower lip as I thought of what to say. How could I say it without really saying it? “Things that you’d…you’d look at me differently for.”
His legs brought him closer to me, and I backed up, leaning my ass against my nightstand. I did not want him any closer, lest my hormones take over and make me do something I’d regret tomorrow.
I’d been all over the place lately, wanting to throw myself at a high Sawyer, letting Travis kiss me and corner me against the wall like that…and Declan? Oh, boy. Where Declan was concerned, I was perhaps the most lost. Him and Will, the two brothers who seemed the nicest out of the bunch. If anyone deserved better, it was them.
“Ash,” he whispered my name softly, his eyes so dark the irises blended in with the pupils, “nothing you could ever do or say would make me look at you differently. You were here when I needed you, even when I pushed you away, and now it’s my turn to be here for you. To fight for you and show you that I mean every single word I say.”
God, what did I ever do to deserve someone like Declan in my life? He was too good, too pure. He might have an anger streak, but didn’t we all when our buttons were pushed?
“And I do,” he went on, stepping closer yet again. Just two feet between us, and yet he was both too far and too close. “I do mean every word of it. You know that, don’t you? I don’t say things I don’t mean.” The two feet between us became one as he added, “I need you more than I’ve ever needed anyone in my life.”
My eyelids fluttered shut, unable to look at him while he was saying such serious, solemn words to me. He needed me more than he’d ever needed anyone before? What about Sabrina? What made me so special?
I felt Declan touching my cheek, his fingers weaving through my hair.
No, no, no. This was bad. This couldn’t happen.
“Let me show you just how much I need you,” Declan’s husky voice whispered into my ear, and I felt a shiver course down my spine, causing me to lean forward, right into his chest. His body heat flooded me, and I knew right then it was too late. Whatever was going to happen was going to happen; I was too weak to stop it.
His lips pressed against my cheek, and a fluttery sigh left me. I still leaned on my nightstand, and I refused to open my eyes, knowing the moment I did, this would be more real. Stupid, but like I mentioned before, me and logic weren’t really seeing eye-to-eye right now.
Declan moved his mouth to my collar bone, nipping and licking, making me go crazy in the best way. “If you want me to stop, just tell me, otherwise…” He let his voice trail off, leaving me to imagine just what he intended to do to me.
Hoist me over his shoulder, throw me onto his bed and have his way with me? Tug off all of my clothes right here and make me regret ever trying to push him away? There was only so much a girl like me could take, and lately I’d been constantly at my breaking point, ready for the other shoe to drop. Yep, me being hit by a car and Will getting stabbed was only the first shoe. The second was bound to fall sometime soon.
As his mouth got to know the crook of my neck well, his hands found their way to my hips, digging under my shirt. His fingers gripped my hipbones with a strength I couldn’t deny, nor did I want to.
Everyone had moments of weakness. I was strong when I’d stumbled upon Sawyer, but now? Now I wanted to be weak, even if it was just for a little bit. A momentary lapse that would never again repeat.
I moaned when his hands crept up my stomach, my gut clenching and my heart speeding up when his fingers snaked beneath my bra and cupped my breasts. With his lips on my neck and his hands on my chest, I was in heaven. Sensual, blissful heaven, and I never wanted to leave. My body had ached to be touched like this ever since stepping foot on Hillcrest’s campus.
