Page 53 of Shuttered Hearts

His voice is hoarse when he finally speaks. “I’m so happy for both of you.”

He stands, pulling Emily in for a hug first. I don’t hear what he says, but I can see he whispers something in her ear that has tears forming in her eyes.

Dad turns to Caleb, placing his hands on his shoulders. He stares at him for a moment before pulling Caleb in for a hug. From where I’m standing, I can see how tight of a hug they both give each other. They don’t say anything, but when they finally pull away, there are tears in both of their eyes.

“I am so damn happy for you,” Dad finally says to Caleb.

“Okay, that’s enough of that.” Emily wipes at her cheeks. “I’ve shed enough tears for all of us to last a lifetime since I found out. Hormones are no joke.”

A soft chuckle goes around the room, but I have a pretty good feeling I know what we’re all thinking. Will Dad be around in May to see this baby?

Declan reaches to me, pulling me into his side with his arm over my shoulders, and kisses my temple. “You okay?” he whispers.

I don’t say anything, for fear of the tears I feel in my eyes slipping free, but I do wrap my arms around his waist and squeeze. Thankful I have him to lean on.

twenty-five

QUINN

“You knowthey’re going to know we’re missing, right?” I laugh as Declan pulls me into the study at the front of the house.

“I don’t care. I just need a minute to kiss you without someone commenting on it.” He pulls me in close, arms around my waist, and looks at me.

“What?” I ask, my arms moving around his shoulders, bringing us chest to chest.

“I’m soaking in this moment. Surprisingly, we don’t get many of them.”

“Hmm,” I hum. “We don’t. We’re busy people.”

“You think we could find some time for us this weekend? We’ve got three days before we go back to work,” he says as he presses soft kisses to my neck, slowly making his way to the spot behind my ear that always has me melting.

“I think that could be arranged.” My hands grip the back of his sweater as I feel his tongue stroke my pulse point quickly before he moves back to my lips.

“Good,” he mumbles against me before finally giving me that kiss he was talking about. His grip around me tightens, his tongue seeking entrance into my mouth, and as soon as I grant it, he’s moving backward, pulling me with him.

He hits the edge of the couch before falling back and pulling me on top of him so I’m straddling his hips. His hands hold me in place, his fingers touching the exposed skin where my sweater has shifted above my skirt.

“We’re going to need to get back in there soon,” I breathe out as his lips trail down my neck toward the exposed skin of my collarbone.

“I know, but I’m not ready yet.” He continues trailing kisses over my exposed skin. One of his hands travels up the side of my body, grazing the side of my breast, following the top of my sweater. I feel my nipples tighten, and a shiver runs up my spine.

I arch into his touch, urging him on. “Someone could walk in on us.”

“So, you should probably be quiet.” He glances up at me as he pulls the front of my sweater down, exposing my bare breast to him. “No bra?” he asks before pulling my pebbled nipple into his mouth, sucking lightly.

“N-No.” I smother my moan with a hand to my mouth and grind down on his hardening length. “This is so not smart,” I finally manage to whisper.

I know I should stop him, but the likelihood of my family walking in is so slim—it’s practically non-existent. And if I’m being honest, I don’t want him to stop. I’ve been craving his touch since last week at The Diner. My need for him might scare me if I give myself time to think about it, but I won’t. I want this too much.

“Do you want me to stop?” he asks as he moves his hand to my leg, traveling up my thigh and under my skirt.

“No,” I groan. “But you’re playing dirty.”

“You like it.” He focuses his mouth back on my nipple while the hand on my leg travels higher, to the apex of my thighs, feeling the wetness that has built in my center through the cotton of my underwear.

I bite my lip to stop myself from making a sound. “What do you want?” he asks, moving my panties to the side, exposing my sensitive clit to the cool air around us. “Do you want to grind your pretty pussy against me? Or do you want my fingers again?”

“Your fingers,” I breathe. “We don’t have much time.” I grip the sides of his face, pulling his lips to mine as he slides two fingers inside me, thrusting in and out once before adding a third. “Yes,” I moan against his lips.

---