After a while, the cold gets to me and I shiver, despite the body heat he radiates.
“Should we go get cleaned up?” I ask, rolling onto my back in preparation of getting up.
But Declan scoffs, grabbing me by the waist and pulling me against his body. Slowly, he shakes his head and walks his fingers down to the short curls above the apex of my thighs. “Fuck no, sweetheart. We’ve got all night.”
CHAPTER NINETEEN
I’m startled awake, a sheen of sweat layering over my skin as I sit up in bed. The room is dark, but Hailey’s fire-hued hair is fanned out over the pillow on what I’m hoping to permanently call her side of the bed.
The sight of her comforts me, even while in a state of fear. I can’t remember the dream, but I know the way it made me feel.
Uneasy.
Inadequate.
Like disaster is looming just off in the distance.
Quietly, I toss my legs over the edge of the bed, rubbing my hand down my face. I need a cold bottle of water to ease the edge, then I’ll go back to bed.
The flooring is cool on my feet as I enter the kitchen, squinting as I pull open the fridge and am assaulted by the light. Chugging down one of the cold bottles of water, I crumple it and toss it into the nearby trash can before I head back upstairs.
Entering the room, I’m ready to crawl back under the sheets. I push back the covers, stopping for a minute to look down at the woman sleeping contentedly.
It’s crazy to me that less than six months ago, she wasn’t in my life at all, and now, in the span of the last few weeks, so much has changed between us.
It’s hard to pinpoint a time frame where my view of her shifted from just being Sailor’s nanny into realizing my attraction to her was more than just a physical one, but I think it happened much earlier than I care to admit.
The only thing that’s been standing in my way is myself. Even though I’m terrified that if I were to lose Hailey, Sailor would inevitably lose her too. I still feel this is a necessary risk for both of us.
Hailey is everything I’ve ever wanted—ever hoped for. She’s not only perfect for me, but perfect for Sailor, too. She’s proven time and time again just how much she loves my daughter. Not because she has to, but because she wants to. I never once fathomed that a woman stepping into our home to become our nanny would be capable of such an incredible maternal relationship with my daughter, but then again, there’s no one else in the world like Hailey Shea.
Slipping into the bed beside her, the mattress dips from my weight, and I scoot closer, tucking my arm around her midsection. She grumbles in her sleep as I pull her tight against me, but snuggles into my chest further, fitting against my body in the perfect little spoon.
The feel of her skin against mine instantly makes me hard, images of her writhing beneath me earlier flash through my mind, and the contentment I went to bed with reignites into desperation.
Gliding the back of my hand down the side of her breast, my fingertips trace over her stomach, pausing briefly at the waistband of her cotton underwear before I easily move them aside.
Spreading her lips, I find her clit and start tracing small circular motions with my middle finger. I toy with it lazily until she starts to rock her hips in her sleep, unknowing where the pleasure is coming from, only recognizing that her body should be chasing it.
I strum my fingers against her center, pulling up the wetness she’s leaking until it coats her sensitive bundle, and I intensify my ministrations.
She moans, pressing her ass back against my dick, and seconds later sucks in a sharp breath when I press a finger inside of her.
“Declan,” she moans, my name like a prayer on the tip of her tongue.
My lips trace the shell of her ear. “Shhh. You’re such a good girl, sweetheart. Your body is so wet and ready for me already, even when you’re asleep. Is this what I have to look forward to night after night?”
She hums in agreement, pressing against me more. “Keep going,” she whimpers.
My finger never strays from her clit. “This pussy is so wet, I could have slid right inside you and fucked you while you slept. Would you like that, sweetheart? To wake up with me inside you?”
“Yes,” she moans. “More.”
“Or maybe we’ll just go to sleep tonight with my dick in your heat. Warming it, keeping it cozy all. Night. Long.” I enunciate every word, pride blooming in my chest at how with each sentence that comes out of my mouth, Hailey grows wetter. “You’re such a good girl, you’d let me do that, wouldn’t you? Make us both feel good.”
“My God, Declan, please. I need you,” she pleads. “I need you inside me.”
“Fuck, sweetheart. How can I deny you when you beg so beautifully?”
