Kate Hoffmann - Declan

Rachel didn’t want him to leave, but in the end, she didn’t stop him. The moment the screen door slammed, she let out a tightly held breath and closed her eyes. This was for the best, wasn’t it? She’d been so caught up in this whirlwind of desire that she’d never really considered the consequences.

It would be so simple to fall in love with Declan. He’d been her white knight, riding to her rescue, ready to protect her with his own life. Gosh, it was such a predictable response that she was surprised she hadn’t seen it coming.

And never mind the fact that she’d manipulated him into wanting her. She’d had her own bad luck with love, but Rachel wasn’t sure she’d be able to recover from a bad ending with Dec. It wasn’t in a woman’s nature to separate sex from love. She’d tried and it didn’t work. Maybe, if it had been another man, she would have succeeded. But Declan Quinn was just too much of what she’d always wanted.

DEC WASN’T QUITE SURE how such a promising evening had ended so badly. He cursed his decision to pick up the phone, knowing that the call had been the beginning of the end. A walk in the woods hadn’t helped his mood and when he returned, he’d fully intended to straighten everything out with Rachel. After all, she’d always been interested in how he was feeling.

And how was he feeling? Frustrated, confused? A little angry, maybe? He’d been so quick to trust her, so certain that she wasn’t like other women he’d known. But Dec realized he might have been wrong. After her behavior tonight, he could call her fickle and capricious and manipulative.

He could also say, in all honestly, that she might just be a little bit confused and he still wanted her more than ever. As he walked back to the cabin, he went over in his mind what needed to be said. But when he got inside, Dec found the lights turned down low and Rachel’s bedroom door closed. He walked up to it and raised his hand to knock, but then realized that the closed door was proof enough of her feelings. So he’d stretched out on the sofa in the dark with a cold beer and every intention of getting himself good and drunk.

In the end, he fell asleep midway through the first beer. It wasn’t a restful sleep and he hovered near consciousness as images of Rachel flickered in his head. Over and over, he’d wake himself up, more determined to stop thinking about her. And then, he’d lapse into a fitful dream that made him even more frustrated.

He wasn’t sure what brought him out of his dreams again. But when Dec opened his eyes, he cursed softly. The clock on the mantel was closing in on three a.m., barely three hours since he’d first laid down. With a deep sigh, he threw his arm over his eyes. The effects of the earlier wine had worn off and Dec considered waking Rachel, getting her packed and leaving for Providence right then and there.

But there was still time to figure out how to salvage something from what had begun between them. Couldn’t she see what it would be like for them, Dec wondered. Wasn’t she even curious where it might lead? She must have had some pretty nasty experiences with men to blow him off so quickly.

He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, then drew in another and another, consciously trying to relax himself. As he lay perfectly still, Dec slowly realized he wasn’t alone. He pulled his arm away and pushed up on his elbow. Rachel stood at the entrance to the hallway, her back against the wall, her eyes closed.

“Are you all right?” he asked.

She jumped, as if surprised to hear his voice, then quickly straightened. “I just came to get a glass of water. I was afraid I’d wake you.”

“I wasn’t asleep,” Dec said.

“I couldn’t sleep,” she murmured.

She moved toward the end of the sofa, her hands clutched in front of her and her gaze fixed on the floor. She wore just her camisole and panties and he could see the soft outline of her breasts beneath the fabric. Dec couldn’t deny he wanted to take her into his arms and kiss her, to shelter the vulnerable woman he saw before him.

When he held out his hand, he was prepared for her to refuse it. But then she slowly moved closer to take it and he knew what had been said earlier made no difference at all. She still wanted him.

He pulled her down on top of him, stretching her slender body over his until he could feel every inch of her. Her leg slipped between his and he brought his foot up along her hip, bringing them even closer together. Rachel pressed her lips to his naked chest but before she could do more, he raked his fingers through her hair and forced her to meet his gaze.

“Don’t mess with me,” he warned. “Either you want to be with me or you don’t.”

“I do,” she whispered, an edge of desperation in her voice. She slid up along his body and kissed him softly. “I do want to be with you.”

Her belly rubbed against his cock as she shifted on top of him and he felt himself growing hard. His need for her had always been consuming, but after this evening, Dec felt it even more deeply. He ached to bury himself inside her, to lose himself in her heat and damp.

But Rachel had wanted to take things slowly and now he saw the wisdom in that. He’d make her want him as much as he wanted her. He’d drive her so crazy with desire that she’d have no choice but to continue seeing him once they’d returned to Providence. It wouldn’t be finished tonight. He’d make sure tonight was just the beginning.

Dec drew her thighs up along his hips, then cupped her backside, running his hands beneath the silky fabric of her panties. The feel of her skin was amazing, perfectly soft and smooth. She sat on top of him and Dec pushed up to sit, his erection pressed against the warm spot between her legs.

He kissed her breasts through the soft cotton of her camisole, holding her close as she arched back. And then, grasping the hem of her shirt, he pulled it over her head, revealing a body that grew more beautiful every time he looked at it.

Rachel wrapped her arms around his neck as he gently brought her nipple to a peak with his tongue. When he’d done the same to both breasts, he trailed kisses back to her mouth. She left him breathless, teetering on the edge, and he was stunned at the power her touch held over him.

Even the most innocent caress-a soft nibble on his ear, her nails raking down his back, her foot sliding down along his calf-sent desire spiraling through his body. And when he didn’t think he could take any more, he could. Dec was almost afraid to go further, afraid that the pleasure he ultimately felt would be so profound that it might ruin him for sex with any other woman.

Right now, Rachel was the only woman he wanted and he couldn’t imagine it being any other way. Her pleasure was what he wanted to see, her surrender. He grabbed her waist and pushed her back into the pillows on the end of the sofa. Holding her arms above her head, Dec kissed her neck, her long, lovely arms, her fingertips. Then, he began a slow, sensuous trip lower, kissing and nipping and licking until he reached her belly. Hooking his fingers beneath her panties, Dec pulled them down and tossed them aside.

He stared at her for a long moment, her body completely naked, flushed with the excitement of his touch. He’d always appreciated the special qualities of a woman’s form, the things that made it so different from his own. To his eyes, Rachel’s body was absolute feminine perfection, from her small but full breasts to her narrow waist to the gentle flare of her hips. Everything about her was designed to drive him mad with desire.

His gaze dropped to the neatly trimmed patch of hair below her belly and he reached down and gently parted her lips with his fingers. A sudden cry erupted from her throat and she jerked in response to his touch.

Already, she was hot and damp, as if prepared for him. But Dec had decided that they wouldn’t complete the act tonight. Tonight, she would have her pleasure. He dipped his head and ran his tongue along her tight slit. Her eyes flew open and she looked down at him as he settled himself between her legs, his tongue gently working her clitoris.

She was sweet and damp and with every stroke of his tongue, Rachel grew more wild with desire. Her fingers twisted in his hair as she responded, giving him cues to what gave her the most pleasure. Dec brought her close several times, then backed off and let her relax.

He’d never been quite so careful, so attentive to a woman’s responses. This was not just a prelude to his pleasure, this was meant to prove something to Rachel. He couldn’t be denied. He was the only man who could make her feel this way and she’d be silly to go looking for any other.

He flicked his tongue across her clit again and again and she arched against him. But this time, when he sensed she was close, Dec decided to take her all the way. Gently, he began to suck and her immediate reaction was so strong that he knew he’d found the key to her release.

A few seconds later, she stopped breathing, tensing, her fingers clutching at his hair. And then, in a heartbeat, spasms wracked her body. She cried out, repeating his name over and over as she came, writhing beneath his mouth until she was completely spent. Gasping for breath, she tugged his head away, then laughed in delight.

There was no doubt in Dec’s mind that he’d pleased her. She’d want this again and again and each time, he’d make sure it was as good as the first. He slid up on the sofa, until he was stretched out beside her, gently caressing her belly until the last of her orgasm was spent.

She rolled over and faced him, pressing a kiss to his chest. “Now you,” she murmured.

“Don’t worry about me,” Dec replied, gently biting her shoulder. “I’m just fine.”

“It’s not good to hold it in,” she whispered as she tongued his ear.

“Is that the doctor talking or you?”

“Nature requires that men ejaculate at least once every seven to ten days. It’s dangerous not to. It’s a physiological imperative.”

“Gee, I wonder why the nuns never told us about that,” Dec joked. “Besides, you forget what you did to me last night. I think I took care of my imperative.”

“Let me do this for you,” she begged.

Dec stood up and grabbed her hands, pulling her to her feet. He bent and pressed a kiss to her belly, then pulled her along to the bedroom. They tumbled down onto the bed together. At first, all he’d wanted was for Rachel to sleep again, to do away with the temptation of giving in to her demands.

But she was determined to please him and he was left with no choice but to bring her to her peak once again, simply to distract her. Her second orgasm, this one more powerful than the first, did the trick and before long, she was curled up beneath the covers sound asleep, her body relaxed and sated.

Though Dec laid down beside her, he found himself unable to sleep, his mind filled with images of what he could have enjoyed. He slipped out of bed and walked to the bathroom, certain that a shower would relax him. But the very thought of Rachel, her body twisting and tensing against his mouth, was too much to deny.

He stood beneath the shower, the warm water rushing over him and stroked himself until he found relief, fantasies of Rachel swirling in his head, vivid and arousing. This would be what he was left with until he decided the time was right to surrender to her.

Two could play her game and he intended to win-especially since the prize was something he’d been searching a very long time for.

WHEN RACHEL OPENED HER eyes the next morning, she wasn’t sure where she was. She’d slept so deeply and dreamlessly her mind seemed especially slow to grasp reality. She rolled onto her back and looked at the ceiling until the events of the previous night gradually came to her.

Closing her eyes, she listened to the soft sound of Dec’s breathing, just then aware he was beside her in bed. Rachel rolled onto her side and stared at him, her gaze taking in the boyish features of his face. He looked much younger when he slept, his normally serious and watchful expression replaced by a calm beauty that she found stunningly fascinating.

He had the most incredible face, his features in perfect balance-sculpted mouth, straight nose, strong jaw and lashes that would make any girl envious. But his blue eyes were the most devastating feature he possessed, a color so deep and intense that it made Rachel shiver just to think about them.

Her gaze drifted along his body, then stopped at his belly. He was erect, his shaft pushing the fabric of his boxer briefs out into a little tent. Her thoughts wandered back to earlier that morning, to the two incredible orgasms she’d experienced at his hands-and his tongue. She’d expected him to be good-a man as handsome and charming as Declan would have plenty of practice pleasing women. But Dec was beyond good. Rachel knew the limits of her responses and she’d gone soaring past them the moment his tongue began to work.