Page 21 of Playing with Desire
“Or you can stay in my shirt all day,” he suggested, grinning wickedly.
“Only if I can put on a bra when I get to my place,” she said, not opposed to wearing the garment. In fact, she decided it would look cute tied off at the waist and paired with jean shorts. “If I go like this, every guy is going to be staring at my breasts and nipples.”
He frowned, zeroing in on where she’d just mentioned and realizing how thin the material actually was. “Definitely wear a bra while we’re out in public. I don’t want to have to gouge anyone’s eyes out.”
She laughed, leaned over, and kissed his cheek. “You’re adorable.”
He grunted in response, but his eyes sparkled with humor, belying his attempt to act sullen.
A little over an hour later, they were strolling through Seaport Village on an amazingly sunny, warm, pleasant Sunday afternoon. Her heart did a little flip-flop in her chest when he slid his hand into hers, holding it for most of the day as they enjoyed the sights, the music, and overall atmosphere. There were no heavy discussions, just a day of lighthearted, flirty conversation that had them both smiling and laughing as they wandered through the numerous artisan shops and ate amazing food.
For Summer, it felt like another date that wasn’t a date.
They watched the sunset sitting on a bench near the harbor, with his arm around her shoulders while she cuddled into his side, and by the time he drove her back to her small studio apartment, it was after seven in the evening. And after the weekend she’d had as a whole, she was admittedly very tired.
Still, when they reached her door, she couldn’t help but invite Declan inside, because she didn’t want their time together to end. “Do you want to come in for a bit?”
He exhaled a deep breath and framed her face in his warm hands. “Silly question, kitten,” he said affectionately while one of his thumbs swept across her bottom lip. “Hell yeah, I want to come in, but that will lead to me keeping you up all night long doing dirty, filthy things to you, and I know you have to work in the morning.”
“You’re such a gentleman,” she murmured, teasing him.
“I’mtryingto be,” he said gruffly, and she actually liked that he was battling to restrain himself.
“How about I pick you up for lunch tomorrow?” he suggested.
She smiled. “I’d like that very much. I’ll text you the address of the shop.”
He kissed her good-night... and this time it was an incredibly slow, sweet, and sensual melding of lips and tongue. Romantic, even, which wasn’t a term she’d thought she’d ever use to describe Declan.
After seducing her senses and leaving her with a slight sensual buzz coursing through her veins, he waited for her to unlock her door and get safely inside her apartment before finally leaving. Dropping her purse on the small eating table right next to the equally tiny kitchen, she headed toward the Murphy bed she kept opened and out in her living room since she rarely had guests and flopped back onto the mattress, a dreamy smile on her lips.
Despite any lecture she could give herself, Summer already felt herself falling for Declan and all the different nuances of his personality she’d seen over the course of the past twenty-four hours. In three weeks, there was no doubt in her mind that she was going to be completely in over her head with this man.
She swallowed hard, because she also knew there wasn’t a damn thing she could do to protect her emotions from that free fall straight into heartbreak.
Chapter Seven
“Someoneis asmitten kitten,” Stephanie said, as their group of girls met for breakfast Monday morning as planned.
Sitting at a table surrounded by Kendall, Paige, Raina, Stephanie, and Jillian, Summer could feel all their eyes on her, curious and speculating about her evening at The Players Club Saturday night. “Is it that obvious?” she murmured, her cheeks warming with her friend’s teasing comment.
“Judging by the radiant glow on your face, the sparkle in your eyes, and the smile of contentment on your lips, I’d say yes, it’s obvious,” Jillian said, just as their server came to their table to pour a refill on their coffees while they waited for their breakfast orders to arrive.
Once she was gone, Stephanie arched an inquisitive brow at Summer and leaned closer. “But the real question is, are you once ortwicesmitten?” she asked, clearly alluding to her encounter with RickandDeclan.
“Oh, my God!” Paige exclaimed, eyes widening in shock as she realized what Stephanie was insinuating. “You mean to tell me you hooked up withtwoguys your first night ever at the club?”
Since Kendall and Paige had also left their table in the VIP lounge before Summer had made her interest in the two men known, they stared at her just as incredulously. But before she could reply, Jillian beat her to it.
“Not justanytwo guys,” her friend said with a grin. “Rick and his extremely hot stepbrother, Declan, who is home on leave from the military for a few weeks. Declan was the dark-blond-haired guy with Rick at Stephanie’s birthday party.”
“Oh,” Kendall said in realization. “We all saw him there. We just didn’t know who he was.”
“Well, now you do,” Stephanie said playfully. “And I’m assuming that Summer now knows both menveryintimately.”
As the other women digested this new bit of info, their waitress delivered their breakfast orders. Summer only had the chance to take one bite of her cheese omelet before the questions started coming her way.
“So, what happened?” Paige asked impatiently as she buttered a pancake.
