“What happened?” Declan says.
“I fell when I was going up the stairs to escape Leonard,” I say in a small voice. “I went into labor thirty minutes later, and when she was born, she was dead.”
I remember the whole thing as if it were yesterday. “She had a perfect little face with the cutest features. She would have been a beautiful girl. I named her Lilly.” My heart fills like it’s going to burst from the emotions that the memories bring. It’s painful to remember but also a relief to talk about it.
I can feel Declan tense underneath me. He rubs my arms up and down.
“I’m ashamed that I didn’t leave him immediately. I stayed another month. And during that time, I wasn’t allowed to talk about Lilly. He kept saying she hadn’t been a real person. Then, it was fate that she had died, and she would have crowded our relationship.”
A sob chokes me.
“His reaction removed the cobwebs from my eyes. For the first time, I saw who Leonard was. He was a monster. With my mother’s help, I left Arlen and vowed never to return. I left Leonard to deal with the divorce.”
Declan wraps his hands around me and holds me close. “Bastard! I’m so sorry you went through all that.”
Tears flow down my cheeks.
“He’s lucky all he got away with was a broken nose,” Declan says, his voice harsh.
I’m confused. “What are you talking about?”
Declan lets out a sigh. “I suppose I might as well come clean. After I dropped you at your dad’s, I went to the bar I told you about for dinner. Guess who happened to be seated at the counter next to me?”
My heart beats so loud I can hear it thrashing in my ears. “Who?”
“Leonard,” Declan says. “I got so mad when I looked into his beady eyes. So, I goaded him until he got mad enough to throw a punch. I dodged it. Then I did what I’d dreamed of doing ever since you told me that he used to abuse you. I punched his nose.”
I should be upset with Declan for fighting. Instead, I burst out laughing. “I wish I’d been there to see it. He must have been so mad.”
“He’s a coward, and cowards don’t get mad,” Declan said. “They run away.”
I prop myself up on my arm to look into Declan’s face. “Are you serious? He ran off?”
“He ran away for dear life, to be precise,” Declan says, and I laugh.
When my laughter dies down, I look at Declan with new eyes. “No one’s ever fought for me before.”
“I’d do anything for you, Marian Carter,” he says as he strokes my lip with his thumb.
Tears flood my eyes. I believe him. I bring down my mouth to his, and we kiss slowly as if we have all the time in the world. Which I suppose we do. We have all night.
Declan pulls me on top of him, and I align my body with his, parting my legs to make space for his erect cock.
“Do you know how much I love you?” Declan says.
My heart swells, taking up all the space in my chest. What if he means it? What if Declan does love me? It’s too much to think about right now, so I shove that thought to the back of my head to be dealt with later.
I cover my mouth with his and kiss him as if both our lives depend on it. Declan’s big hands caress my back and ass, going down to my thighs. He brings his hands back up to caress my breasts.
His cock throbs against my thighs, and I rock softy against it, eager for some friction against my achy parts.
“I want to taste you, Marian,” Declan says and then gently flips me around so that I’m lying under him.
“But first …” he says and buries his head in my cleavage. He licks the valley between my breasts and then groans as he takes a hard-peaked nipple into his mouth.
“Fuck,” I cry out as he sucks on it hard.
“More?” he says.
“Yes, please,” I manage to say.
He switches and sucks hard on the other nipple. He alternates between them until I feel as if I’m losing my mind. I’m so wet that it’s dripping down my thighs. Declan lowers himself trailing kisses down my belly.
He parts my thighs and inhales deeply. “Your pussy smells like heaven.”
I want to say something amusing and clever, but I seem incapable of rational thought right now. Instead, I grip his head and direct him to where I need him.
“Impatient,” Declan says, chuckling softly. His tongue goes straight to my clit, sucking and licking it.
I thrash around like a woman possessed. He inserts a finger into my soaking wet pussy and then another. I teeter on the edge of orgasm. “Please.” I’m desperate to come. I ride his fingers and play with my nipples, and it finally happens. I bite down on my lower lip as the orgasm rolls from my pussy to my stomach before enveloping my whole body.