“Declan,” I breathed. “You have to warn me when you do things like that.”
“I did,” he murmured, his mouth close to my ear. “I told you to hold on.”
I was still clenching his shirt in my fists, hanging on for dear life. “Is this your bedroom?” I managed.
“It is.”
It looked like him. Dark wood and plush fabrics, a view that rivaled the one at his office. It was sparsely furnished but still managed to radiate charm and coziness.
“You don’t know how hard it was to stop myself from touching you at work. Every day I had to tell myself to stay out of that office. I knew if I went in there…” He shook his head.
“If you’d told me the truth, I still would have kept your secret,” I said.
“I know. But I don’t take risks like that, Royal. Not ever.”
“Then why now?”
His gaze traced my features, skimmed my body, which was still tight in his grasp, and then came back up to my eyes.
“You know why,” he said, voice husky. He lowered me so my feet were on the ground and stepped away. “It’s you. No one else could make me feel like this. We’re more similar than you realize—but you’ll see. If you give me time, if you can trust me, you’ll see.”
Time. Trust. Serious words. Especially for a relationship that had started with lies.
“It’s a lot, I know,” Declan said. His lips curved. “So I won’t rush you. Right now, I just want you. Naked. Beneath me.”
A fever ravished my body, raking me from head to toe. I wanted him, too, more than I could say. With his hands on me, it would be easy to forget about the serious stuff. Just for now.
Declan toed off his boots, taking his time. It was amazing how slowly he could move when I knew what kind of speed was in his repertoire.
He had excellent control. He didn’t rush anything, only took slow steps in my direction so he met me where I stood, the backs of my thighs pressed against the tall bed, my body quivering in anticipation.
“It wasn’t hard to picture what you looked like underneath all those suits at work, but it still drove me crazy because I didn’t know for sure,” Declan murmured.
His finger traced my collarbone, just above the neckline of my simple cotton shirt.
“Even casual, I can’t take my eyes off you,” Declan said. “Or wonder what’s underneath.”
“Your suits cover a lot more skin than mine,” I told him with a smile. “But I have a pretty good imagination.”
He returned my smile. “I bet.”
But that didn’t mean I wasn’t salivating to see what was beneath his simple dark jeans and T-shirt. It clung to his chest and abs, the material stretching to accommodate his muscles. His thighs strained against the fabric of the jeans.
It was stuff dreams were made of. At least, the kinds of dreams I’d been having lately.
I reached out to grab the hem of his shirt. He lifted his arms, allowing me to remove it. Underneath, he was a feast of sculpted muscle. As perfect as a statue, but as real as I was.
And warmer.
“What are you thinking?” Declan asked, his fingers brushing my cheek.
“That you’re always really hot.”
He laughed, the sound warming me all the way to my toes. “That’s a nice compliment. An interesting one.”
“I meant that your skin is warm. Every time you touch me, it’s like you have a fever.” I reached out and slid my hands up his pecks. He hissed at the cold of my fingers but reached up to hold my hands in place before I could move away. “See? Even right now, you’re so warm.”
“It’s normal. My body temperature runs high. My father figured it’s because of my abilities. My immune system is constantly working harder than normal to keep me in top form. He did some tests…” Declan shrugged. “Science. Not exactly a turn-on.”
I grinned at him. “Speak for yourself.”
“Ah, that’s right.” Declan skimmed his fingers over my shoulders and then down my abdomen, making me shiver. He gripped the hem of my shirt and gently pulled it over my head as he talked. “A scientist just like her father. I haven’t seen that side of you yet.”
“The nerdy side?” I asked, trying to feel more confident about being exposed in front of a man who was on par with a god.
His gaze moved across my breasts, still covered in a simple white bra, so much fire in them I felt it between my legs. “If this is nerdy,” he breathed, “I don’t think I’ll ever be looking for anything else. You’re beautiful, Royal.”
My cheeks flushed. I’d been cold before but now I was practically sweating.
“Am I embarrassing you?” he asked, kneeling in front of me.
I blinked down at him, surprised by the swift movement. “It’s, uh…been a while.”
“Good,” he grunted. He tugged off my boots. “I don’t like to think about another man touching you.”
Compared to Declan, I had a feeling they were all going to seem like little children after this.
He seemed to know exactly what to do, how fast to go, where I wanted to be touched. Jealousy reared inside. That was probably because he’d had practice.
Dammit, Royal, shut it down. I didn’t need to be thinking about things like that unless I wanted to drive myself crazy. Besides, right now, we were just seeing where things went, right?
“Are you on the pill?” Declan asked, rising to his knees to undo the button on my pants.
“Yes. And I’m clean. And, well, like I said, it’s been a while.”
He lifted his gaze. “Good. I’m clean, too. I still get tested, but it’s probably not necessary.”
It hit me then that he probably couldn’t catch anything. If
