Page 7 of Stolen Sun

Our food arrives, and we talk about a few more of Declan’s clients as we eat. He mentions a few companies that JV Marketing also works with, which leads me to ask one of the many questions I’ve had since he left my office.

“Who referred you to JV Marketing?”

His eyes narrow slightly before he answers. “You did,” he answers.

Taken aback by that, I stumble over my next question. “Wha-, um, how did I?”

“I stopped trying to figure that out years ago.”

His strange answers have my head spinning. When Trish brings the check, I’m thankful for the excuse not to respond because I don’t know what to say.

He thanks her and throws money on the table without looking at it. He stands and looks around the restaurant as he waits for me to slide out of my seat. Maybe it’s the conversation or the dominating presence of him in general, but I find myself waiting for him to indicate whether or not I should walk in front or behind him when I’m out of the booth.

He looks down at me as I smooth out my pants and places his hand near the small of my back,letting me know to walk in front of him. Even though he doesn’t make contact, I can feel his hand hovering just above my ass. He follows close enough behind to push the door open from above my head for me to exit the diner in front of him.

“I’ll get it,” he says as I reach for the door handle of the truck.

I step aside for him, looking up into his face. “Such a gentleman,” I joke.

“Always,” he says as he winks at me.

“Hmm” is my only response. I’m not so sure I believe that to be true.

When he cranks the truck, he turns the volume up as his phone connects to Bluetooth. “The Diary of Jane” by Breaking Benjamin plays in the background. My seat vibrates with the bass, tickling between my legs. I try to ignore it as we pull out of the parking lot, but I have to cross my legs as the song builds.

From my periphery, he seems to be oblivious as he drives. I adjust myself further by putting all my weight on one leg to stop the vibration from being directly on my pussy.

When we stop at a red light, he looks over at me with the hint of a smile on his face. His eyes dance with mischief. “Should I turn it down? Or up?”

I narrow my eyes at him and reach for the radio, turning it down completely. He lets out a deep chuckle as I look out the window, and the truck accelerates with traffic.

“Glad I’m so amusing to you, Declan,” I seethe without looking at him.

“You’re the first woman to sit in that seat. I only realized what was happening when you started to squirm,” he says.

“Mmhmm,” I say, still staring out of the passenger window. Now I can’t look at him because of the somersault my stomach did at the thought of being the only woman he’s taken somewhere in his truck.That should not matter to me.

His deep voiceis stern when he says, “I’d never purposely do something like that without your permission, Noel.”

Turning slowly to read his expression, I see he is as serious as he sounds. I relax slightly and stop leaning into the door as we stop at another red light.

He turns to face me again, and I nod my understanding. His smile is genuine at first but turns wicked almost immediately. My eyebrows scrunch together at his shift in mood.

“Withyour permission, however,” he trails off and looks ahead as the light turns green.

“I’ll sit in the backseat next time, so you can listen to music. How’s that?”

He shakes his head with a smile. “It would be much worse back there, but you’re welcome to sit anywhere you’d like. Next time.”

Preferably on your lap, I’m sure.“Are you always this charming with your female associates?” I tease.

He clears his throat. “You’ll always be sunshine to me,” he says, and my heart skips a beat.

He pulls into the parking lot of Velocity and shuts off the truck. Neither of us move. So much was said in the spaces between his words that I feel truly speechless after the last comment.

“Thank you for coming to breakfast with me,” he says, taking the pressure off of me to respond by changing the subject.

Smiling at him from the passenger seat, I place my bag in my lap. “Thank you for having me and for trusting me with your account.”

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