Page 93 of Wild Ever After
“Library,” Declan says.
“Jack has a library?!”
“You want a library, baby?” He lifts my shirt and his lips graze over the top of my breasts.
“I didn’t know that was an option. I don’t even buy paperbacks anymore because I got tired of moving them from apartment to apartment.”
He pulls back long enough to look me in the eye. “You can have whatever you want.”
My heart pounds in my chest at the sincerity of his words. Declan is the kind of guy I have to remember to be careful sharing my dreams with because he’s just ridiculous enough to try to make them come true.
“Right now. I just want you.”
A slow smile pulls at the corners of his mouth. “If you weren’t already my wife, I’d ask you to be my girlfriend.”
33
GET A ROOM
DECLAN
On Sunday after practice,the guys and I head to Wild’s to celebrate our goalie, Mikey’s birthday. Ash and Maverick are counting as they make the kid chug for twenty-three seconds because that’s how old he turned today.
“Remember your twenty-third birthday?” I ask Jack as we stand at the bar, leaning our backs against it and watching our teammates.
“Barely.” He drains the rest of his glass and then turns and signals to the bartender that he wants another. “We were here. I remember that much.”
“Yep. It was during development camp. We were only a few years older than most of the guys, but we took them out the last night, which coincided with your birthday, and they conned you into attempting twenty-three shots.”
“Not attempting. I succeeded.” He shudders.
“Does it count if you can’t remember?” I turn to grin at him. I had to carry his ass out of the bar.
“I wished I hadn’t the next morning. That part I remember well.”
“We’ve had some good times in this bar. Lots of celebrations. Lots of booze.”
He lifts his new beer toward me. “And many more to come.”
I tip my glass in his direction.
“You want another?”
I glance down at my nearly empty beer. “I think I’m gonna head out after this.”
“Aw, come on. It’s early.”
He’ll have my balls if I tell him I’m itching to get home and hang with Jade. Things are good. No, things are great. I don’t have a lot of free nights and I’d rather spend them with her than getting shitfaced.
I love my teammates, but I’m tired of the bar scene.
“Listen, if you go, then Leo will leave, followed by Tyler and Mav.” He makes a rolling motion with his hand. “You catch my drift?”
“Yeah, man. It wasn’t subtle.”
“But you still want to go?”
“Mikey is already blitzed. He isn’t going to notice if I leave.”
