Page 64 of Declan's Hope

EPILOGUE

"Garrett, my man,"he muttered to himself as the little, dark blue, 5-speed, Mini Cooper came into view on the monitor. "You might be this close to being considered a stalker."

Garrett Wallace tensed as the car slowed, then inched forward toward the electronic gate slowly opening to the inside of the estate. It wasn’t a new experience for him—this wariness. He dreaded it every time his woman disappeared behind the 15-foot high, sandstone-colored brick wall bordering the twenty-plus-acre estate.

And she was his, whether she knew it or not.

Shebeing Destiny Maddox.

The tin can she called a car lurched forward and he grinned. He really needed to work with her on her first gear skills. His jaw clenched.

"Shit."

What was he thinking? He wouldn’t be showing her anything. At least not anytime soon. At least not until he could find a way to get her to understand his true intentions toward her. Intentions that were probably more than she was ready to accept.

And, god, he wanted her to accept him.

Especially after the kiss.

Having her so close, along with the defiance in her beautiful dark eyes flashing up at him and her pointy finger digging into his chest—the fact she had no concern about the danger she might have been in. It had all been too much, and he’d snapped. Since then, Garrett had thought of little else.

Even three weeks later, the memory of those few moments haunted him. He shuddered.

It had been everything he’d imagined and more.

How her taste had filled his senses. How her slight body had trembled in his arms when she’d molded herself against him. How his own body had hardened when she’d tugged on his hair and quietly moaned into his mouth.

His body hardened now while he peered at the screen, hoping for a small glimpse of her profile.

That one, fleeting kiss had proven what he’d known for months. She should be in his arms. Always.

But he might have gone too far.

He’d promised himself he’d give her space. Let her come to him on her own terms. She’d been through a lot.

Howhe knew what Destiny had been through wasn’t something he wanted her to know. Him digging into her past wouldn’t be something she would appreciate. He snorted.

Not appreciate?

Hell, once she found out what he’d done to know exactly what she’d gone through, royally pissed might end up being a more apt description. But he’d needed to know. Haven had hinted to him a few times that he had to take things slowly with her, but wouldn’t expound on her cryptic remarks.

"It’s not my place to tell you," would be all Garrett ever managed to get out of Haven on the subject.

And though Destiny would have definite issues with him prying into her personal life, what she’d kept hidden from him was something he’d needed to know. He never wanted his attraction to her to make her feel pressured.

His fists clenched on his keyboard at the memory of reading the sealed reports. The three juvenile assholes who had gotten away with—

His insides knotted as the gates fully opened and Destiny’s car stuttered before doing a little jump as it went through it. Seconds later, the gates closed behind her and she was gone.

He stared at the oversized S’s on both gates.

The Shaw Estate.

Harrison Shaw.

The man was an enigma. And no amount of digging he’d done had revealed anything about him. Sure, he’d come across the occasional news article, mentions of the man and his philanthropic work in various magazines, and a rare photo taken from a distance. But nothing else. Nothing of any substance that would tell him who he was—exactly—or where he’d come from.

The worst thing was, the man’s private servers were unhackable. And he’d tried. Numerous times.

Garrett didn’t like it.

He also didn’t trust that whatever this man’s business dealings entailed, it wasn’t just what he let the world see.

Worse yet, the woman he wanted more than anything or anyone was working for him. And right now she was once more enclosed in the heavily guarded compound that might as well be impenetrable.

Not only was Destiny ensconced with Harrison Shaw for hours on end several days a week, now she was going to be his date for some fundraising event. When Hope had mentioned that little fact, he’d almost come unglued. The man had no business sniffing around her.

Because that petite, intelligent, prickly, smart-mouthed, beautiful, and perfect woman was his destiny, and it was about time she—and everyone else—realized it.

THE END