I narrow my eyes at her as I step closer. Teagan gives Brian a little push on the shoulder and tells him to get going. As he heads toward the door, he glances back at me over his shoulder with an indiscernible expression.
“What was that all about?” I ask.
Teagan pauses for a moment before answering.
“It’s always good to have a Plan B.”
Chapter 37
I’m pressed up against the kitchen counter. We’ve been in the apartment about nine seconds, but Deklan’s hands and lips are all over me.
“I need you.” His words warm my ear, but his pleading tone and frantic hands set me on edge. “Please, Kera.”
“Yes,” I whisper.
He yanks my shirt up over my head and then kisses from my neck to my shoulder as he pulls at the button on my jeans. I place my hands on his shoulders for support as he yanks my jeans down my legs.
He’s been like this before—a sudden, overwhelming need to be inside of me consumes him, and all I can do is give myself to him completely.
Leaving my clothing on the floor in the kitchen, Deklan hauls me into the bedroom and throws me on the mattress as he nearly tears his shirt and pants off. He’s on top of me a moment later and inside of me a moment after that. I gasp and tighten my fingers on his arms as he enters—I’m not quite ready to take him in. He leans his forehead against my shoulder and stills himself. His light kisses against my skin apologize for the roughness of his strokes.
His breaths are labored and accompanied by rhythmic grunts that match my own. I’m bouncing wildly on the bed, and I can’t steady myself enough to get my legs around him to hold on better. I give up, lay back, and just let him fuck me.
He needs it. I need it. It’s the only way to stop thinking about everything else that’s happening.
I try to relax, but he’s going so deep, it almost hurts. It’s a good hurt—a deep and overwhelming feeling of being wanted, needed, desired. I feel my stomach quiver, and it sends a shockwave through my legs. I press my thighs against his hips as the cascade of sensation hits me, and I cry out.
He slows for a moment, adjusts his hand on my hip, and begins to pull me to him with each thrust. With a loud cry, he buries himself and fills me.
Deklan’s hands and arms tremble, and he collapses on top of me. I take the weight and wrap my arms around him, holding his head to my shoulder. After a moment, he rolls off, and I gasp again as his cock slips from me. I’m going to be sore tomorrow.
He lies on his back with one arm under his head, staring at the ceiling. His breathing has returned to normal, but his jaw is still tight.
“Are you all right?” I ask softly. I lay my head against his shoulder and look at his face, but he doesn’t turn toward me.
“No,” Deklan says, “not really.”
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s not your fault.” Deklan slides his arm under my shoulders and pulls me closer. His chest rises as he takes in a deep breath. “Teag is right—I’ve been blind to Sean’s behavior. I didn’t want to see it and acknowledge it for what it is. I kept thinking he was just…just…I don’t know. Getting his bearings, I guess. Learning to run the family business. I feel like an idiot, and I put you in danger. I’m not sure I can forgive myself for that.”
“I don’t blame you.” I snuggle against his chest and wrap my arm around his waist. “I should have told you what he said to me before now.”
“Fergus was fine the day before he went into the hospital,” Deklan says. “Even when he said he was going to see the doctor, he told me he thought the clams he’d had the night before must have been off and that he’d be fine. The next thing I knew, he was gone. I should have seen it. He had always been in peak health. I should have realized something wasn’t right.”
“How old was he?”
“Sixty-four. Too young.”
We lie together quietly as the room darkens with the setting sun. I can tell Deklan isn’t sleeping, but he doesn’t seem to want to talk, and I’m all right with that. I don’t know what to say.
After an hour of just lying there, Deklan pulls his arm out from under me and gets out of bed. I watch him walk out the bedroom door, assuming he’s going to pee, but he bypasses the bathroom and disappears down the hallway. After a few minutes, I follow.
Deklan’s standing on the small balcony of the apartment, leaning against the rail and staring at the street below. The sliding door is still open, so I walk up quietly, slip my arms around his waist, and rest the side of my head against his back.
“I wish I had some weed.” Deklan chuckles through his nose.
“You smoke weed?”