Page 31 of Declan

He leans in close and whispers, “Only one bed, darlin’.”

“That little bitch,” I exclaim.

Declan laughs again, then adds, “Yeah, she gets that a lot.”

“One of us will just have to sleep on the sofa.”

“We can take a closer look, but I don’t think those little loveseats are gonna cut it.”

“Well, we can’t sleep in the same bed.”

“Who says we can’t?” Declan responds rather nonchalantly. “Frankly, it would look quite strange if we didn’t sleep in the same bed together.”

“Who the hell is gonna notice here?”

Now, his expression shifts to incredulous. “If there’s even one single person within spitting distance, someone will know. Hell, I’ve had people send drones onto my property trying to get shots.”

“Drones!”

“Yes, drones. Those can be fun though for target practice, illegal or not.”

I glance over at the bed one more time and shake my head, knowing I have no real argument. We are both adults, and I know Declan wouldn’t make me do anything I didn’t want to do, so that’s not a concern.

“What are you afraid of?” Declan asks softly, suddenly standing so close to me that I feel the heat coming off of his body.

“I don’t know.”

His hand comes up, and he strokes a finger lightly down my cheek, along my neck, my collarbone, and I shiver. “Are you afraid you’ll throw yourself at me, that you’ll beg me to touch you?”

The deep timber of his voice sets my blood on fire, and I try to squash it down, but I know my response is still slightly breathless. “Is this where we make a wager to see who can hold out the longest?”

He drops his hand and steps back, shaking his head. “Absolutely not. I’ll tap out now and pay up whatever you want.”

Now, I laugh as I turn back to the bed and say, “Well, at least the bed is big. It could be a little bigger, given that you’re a rather large guy, and I’m kind of a bi –”

His hand covers my mouth before I can finish the word, his other hand pressed against my back as he whispers into my ear, “Don’t do that. Don’t ever speak badly about yourself. I won’t have it.”

He drops his hand from my mouth, sliding it down the front of my neck and stroking slightly before squeezing just a tad until I swallow against the pressure and then ask, “And what are you gonna do about it, Declan?”

He squeezes my neck a touch more firmly, his nose running along the shell of my ear as he replies, “Have you ever been spanked before, doll face?”

There’s that clenching again.

I make a face that I can only hope conveys boredom, but I have a distinct feeling it’s more interested than anything else. I search for a reasonable answer, but then he steps in close, the hand on my mid-back slowly stroking a line down my spine to the very top of my ass. Then, once again, he whispers into my ear, “What I wouldn’t give to have this fine, round ass over my knee.”

The hand on my lower back slowly slides downward until he’s cupping the curve of my ass cheek right where it meets the back of my thigh. The tips of his fingers twitch, and I feel him right there, inches from where I’m throbbing for him. The strangled noise that comes out of my throat is most definitely not bored.

I grind my teeth and press my lips together in an attempt to control myself, but I’m certain he knows exactly what he has done to me with his well-placed hand and even more well-placed words.

I expect him to push me to see how far he can go, but he doesn’t. Instead, he presses his lips against my cheek and steps away. “I’ll leave you to get freshened up, then we’ll go check the place out and grab something to eat. Is that okay?”

I turn what I am sure are my wild eyes to him, and my nostrils flare as I nod, grateful when he doesn’t say anything further. It’s taking every ounce of self-control for me to choke down the maniacal cackle brewing inside me and then the other part of me that wants to tear his clothes from his body and eat him alive.

My entire body is on fire, but it’s the intense pulse between my legs that has me feeling a certain level of crazy. I’m confused, exhausted, and likely turned on to the point of combustion from our whirlwind hot and cold travel shenanigans. I feel crazed, my urge to hump him like a wild animal intense, and it’s sheer self-preservation that keeps me from throwing myself at his feet and begging him to fuck me.

There’s that cackle again.

He’s walking toward the door, and I follow behind, every nerve in my body standing at attention, the throb between my legs so intense it borders on pain.

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