“I have more than one talent, Ms. Vendetti.” I winked at her.
Why was I flirting?
Wanting her is a bad idea.
I got to work on the ahi tuna while Isla scoured the fridge for spring greens and other stuff to throw in our salad. In twenty minutes flat, we had our fairly decent meals in front of us—seared ahi tuna on a bed of spring mix, complete with a bottle of pinot noir.
Isla plopped herself on the barstool and crossed her long legs, so they were facing mine. This was certainly much better than my usual meal for one. She took her first bite and made a sound that had my cock stand at attention.
“Of course, the great Declan Winston Noble can cook.” She rolled her eyes.
“My name sounds really long when you say it like that.” I laughed. “You think I’m great?”
“The tabloids do.”
“Don’t believe everything you read on social media. Trust me.” I cut into the fish and took a forkful, followed by a swig of my wine. “You’re lucky we weren’t caught last night.If we had been in the UK, you’d be tabloid fodder right about now. It’s cruel, really.”
“I never thanked you, by the way.” She swallowed her food, though I could tell the effort was more to contain the tears. “For helping me outside the club. Like I said, not one of my proudest moments. It’s been a rough couple of days.” She rubbed the inside of her wrists for a beat, then glanced up at me. “Did we have sex last night?”
“What?” I coughed and spilled my wine all over her legs. For crying aloud.
I leaned forward to wipe the liquid off her thigh. In the same beat, she jumped off her seat and practically landed in my lap. Her body, her smooth skin, and that scent—I was too distracted to even think to push her away. When her lips pressed to mine, it felt like the most natural thing in the world to kiss her back.
8
A FEW HOUSE RULES
Isla
I’d died and gone to heaven. Declan was kissing me. Like honest to God, take off your clothes right now kissing me. How was this even happening? One minute we were talking, I was about to burst into tears from all the crap of the past few days, and then his lips were on mine. Did I start this or did he? Okay maybe I did lean in, but he didn’t seem to mind. I had fantasized about his mouth on me for so long, now that we were here, I didn’t want it to stop. He was too good; he felt too good.
I raked my fingers through his soft hair, pressing my body to his. His growly moan and his hands all over my ass taking handfuls of it sent me into some state of delirium. The kind that made me forget about the world and the fact that Declan was a player, a total bastard at times, and more importantly, my boss.
“Isla.” He panted, coming up for air before he thrust his tongue past my teeth.
A raw and heated burst of desire shot straight to my core and the throbbing spot between my legs. He seemed to know my body so well. I fit perfectly in his embrace as if I’d done this before, which confirmed my suspicions. The scene that had been playing in my head where he kissed me and made me come over and over hadn’t been a dream. That actually happened last night. I hated myself for not remembering more of it, all of it.
“Omigod, Declan. I want you again.” I rubbed my pussy against the rock-hard bulge in his pants.
He responded by deepening the kiss as his hand moved up from my waist up into my hair, gripping tresses and pulling to get better access. The way he took control was such a turn-on. He definitely knew what he was doing. His hard kisses turned to bites as he worked his way down to my breasts. My nipples pebbled at the thought of having his mouth there. What did he plan to do them? My need mounted until I couldn’t take any more of this foreplay. I reached for the straps of my cami.
“Bloody hell, we need to stop.” He dug his fingers into my lower back, pressing his forehead to my chest, panting while he labored to catch his breath.
“Why?” I arched toward him.
I didn’t care if my lungs needed oxygen. I didn’t want the kissing to end. Cool air brushed between us. Now that his big arms weren’t wrapped tightly around me and his hard body wasn’t pressed to mine, I could think again. The fog lifted, and slowly, I focused on his chiseled jaw, those sexy lips, and his bright blue eyes that were, understandably so, full of confusion and horror.
My cheeks burned hot as the realization ofwhat I had asked him to do washed over me—I basically blurted out I wanted to have sex with him again. What was wrong with me?
“I’m so sorry.” I shuffled back, placing a hand over my mouth. “I don’t know what came over me. I was thinking about last night and everything that happened.”
“What exactly do you believe happened last night?” He furrowed his brows.
“I thought…” I swallowed. “You know. You saw me naked.”
He glanced down, pinching the bridge of his nose. “You didn’t do anything you should be ashamed of.” His gaze lifted up to my cleavage. He sucked on his bottom lip as if he regretted that he’d stopped when he did.
I swore I saw desire in his eyes. And damn if that didn’t make me tingly all over again.
