He seemed to be too, because he declared the day over and took my hand immediately, bringing it to his lips and kissing it before he said, “Let’s go.”
He didn’t release my hand when we stepped out of the office, even though Brittany was still at her desk. Whether or not she noticed, she stayed professional and told us both goodnight before we stepped into the elevator together.
The moment the doors closed, the space filled with a charge of electricity. The same thing I felt every single time we were alone. Like there was a current in the air and he was a magnet drawing me to him.
Declan's hand squeezed around mine. His voice came out gruff when he spoke. “I don’t know if I can do that.”
“Do what?” I asked.
“Be in the office with you every day and not touch you.”
My body came alive at his words, but I tried to stay calm. I turned slightly in his direction and gave a small smile. “You did touch me. A lot.”
“Not nearly as much as necessary to get me through the day,” he grumbled.
Because he had been patient, though, I reached up and cupped my hand on his neck, pulling his mouth down to mine. I slid my tongue across his lips, loving when he groaned softly and squeezed his hands on my hips like he could barely hold back.
“Royal,” he warned.
“Thank you,” I said before he could continue.
His eyes narrowed on mine, clearly unsure what the thanks was for.
“Thank you for understanding where I was coming from today and being patient. It means a lot to me.” I gave him another quick kiss.
He captured my hand before I could pull away completely and brought it to his lips. “You’re welcome.”
He released me when the elevator dinged on the first floor, only to put his hand to the small of my back. His fingers left tingles wherever they touched, especially when I could feel the heat of his skin through my thin blouse.
Declan ushered me across the lobby and to the front doors.
When we got outside and I spotted two Bentleys at the curb, this morning came back to me. Both the conversation with Randy and the other black car following behind us.
Crap. I probably needed to tell Declan about that. But I didn’t want to ruin the evening.
His hand moved to my elbow. “What’s wrong?”
I flashed him a reassuring smile. “It’s nothing.”
At least I hoped it wasn’t. His eyes lingered on my face, telling me he didn’t believe me.
One of the familiar drivers from our excursion to the foothills appeared and opened the back door for us. I remembered Declan calling him Parker.
“Mr. Dark. Miss Patterson.”
I smiled at Parker and got inside. Declan slid in after me and shut the door. The car smelled new, like fresh leather. I looked over at Declan.
“I forgot to say thanks,” I told him.
“I thought you already did that in the elevator.”
I reached out and took his hand, loving that it was my right to do that now. That I could lean over and kiss him if I wanted or straddle him right there on the seat and lose myself in him. And he’d probably like it. No, he’d love it. I could see already that it was costing him to be patient. He had amazing restraint, but I noticed his eyes traced over my face and my shoulders more than once. I saw his hands clench into loose fists and then unclench each time I was near.
I wasn’t going to admit it, but it was costing me too. I already had a taste of Declan, and it wasn’t nearly enough.
“For Randy,” I explained. “I don’t know a lot about what his family is going through, but I do know that they were struggling—not that Randy would admit it to me. This job means something to him and it's going to help his family a lot.”
Declan looked down at our entwined fingers and nodded. “I know. I talked to him a bit about his family and the situation.”
“When did you have time for this?”
He gave me a small smile. “Saturday. I almost went to his house because I wasn’t sure he’d believe me if I called him on the phone. It took a little convincing because he was the one who drove you to my house and you weren’t exactly happy with me at the time.”
“No, I wasn’t.”
“But once we got talking and I told him he was perfectly free to call you and ask you if I was, in fact, a decent human being—”
I laughed. “Decent, yes. Human being… God, you’re so much more than that. I’m sure there are a million things I don’t know yet.”
He squeezed my hand. “We’ll get to that. I’m also hoping I’ll have time to talk to Randy more about his son’s condition. Maybe there’s something we can do.”
My stomach cramped with the words. “You mean, like…?”
He shook his head. “No, nothing like what happened with me.” He glanced to the front of the vehicle where Parker seemed to be ignoring us as he took us to Russo’s. “More like, stem cell treatment or something. Something…”
He left the statement unfinished, but I knew what he was getting at. Something normal. Something legal. I blew out a breath. Good. Until I knew exactly what had happened to Declan and what his father had been trying to accomplish, I didn’t know that I trusted that serum at all. It was fascinating, but was it safe?
I needed to talk to my father.
Glancing over my shoulder, I searched for another dark car. A reflex.
