“Absolutely.” He shut the car door and stood with his arms crossed on the sidewalk.
I hadn’t meant for him to leave completely but realized it worked for now. I wanted to hear Declan’s voice. I wanted to tell him how I felt, but if I could settle for just telling him how much I cared for him right now it was enough.
I pressed Declan’s name on my phone, and he answered after one short ring. “Royal,” he said immediately.
“Hi.” It came out on a soft breath of air.
“Everything okay?”
“Yes. I just talked with my dad and now I’m in the car. Davis is waiting for me to tell him where to go.”
“That was fast.”
“I know. If you’re not ready—”
“I am.” He paused and then his voice grew softer. “You know, even when I had to pretend your name was Stephanie, I still kept it as Royal in my phone.”
I blinked at his change in subject, amused. “You did? Was it hard to keep saying Stephanie when he knew that wasn’t my real name?”
“I imagine probably about as hard as it was for you to pretend to be Stephanie even though you weren’t.”
“You know,” I told him with a smile in my voice, “even back when I was pretending, Stephanie still found her boss hot.”
“Is that so?” His voice had taken on a gruff quality which I recognized easily now. The one that said he was thinking of me in an intimate way. And it instantly made me wet for him.
“That’s so.” I remembered then I wanted to tell him how I felt about him, but nerves crept up again so I kept it simple for now. We’d have time. “But now that I know the real you and you know the real me, it’s better.”
“I agree. I’ve already instructed Davis to bring you to my cabin. I’m on my way as we speak. I’ll be waiting for you.”
“Your cabin? Like… for the night?”
“Is that concern in your voice?”
“No. I mean, it’s fine. I just don’t have anything with me. No other clothes or—”
“Clothes?” he asked with a laugh. “I don’t think you’ll be needing many of those this weekend.”
I squeezed my thighs together, grateful that Davis was waiting outside instead of in here, even if he couldn’t hear Declan’s end of the conversation.
I could already picture us at his cabin, the first place we’d made love, in each other’s arms, naked the entire weekend. My sex started to ache, throbbing in time to my heartbeat.
“It’s unfortunate I don’t have the ability to read minds,” Declan said in a silky voice. “I’d love to know what you’re thinking right now.”
My lips curved. “I’m sure you can guess.”
“It’s the leather ninja outfit, right?”
I laughed out loud. “You wish.”
“Ah, Royal… It’s never going to be a dull moment with you, is it?”
My heart twisted with sweetness. “I hope not. I’ll let Davis know that I’m ready to go.”
“I look forward to seeing you soon.”
He ended the call, and I set my phone back in my purse. I opened the door to tell Davis that I was ready to go, and he instantly hopped in and headed in the correct direction. In my anticipation to see Declan, the drive seemed to take forever. The clouds had gotten heavier, lowering over the mountains and obscuring my view of the peaks. By the time we reached the cabin, it was misty and dim, the sun long since vanished behind those mysterious peaks.
We headed down the long driveway, and the moment the house came into view, I saw Declan exiting the front door to wait on the porch for us.
As always, he looked delectable. He made jeans and a T-shirt look expensive, and a day’s worth of stubble insanely sexy.
He was right, we probably didn’t need many clothes this weekend. I could think of little else I wanted to do besides learn more about him and be as intimate as possible.
Declan stepped off the porch and waited for the car to come to a complete stop before he opened the back door and offered his hand to help me out.
“Thank you, Davis,” he said, keeping his eyes on me.
Davis nodded and got inside the car again.
The mist coated my hair as I walked with Declan to the porch. The moment we were inside, he spun me to face him and his mouth was on mine.
I lost myself in his kiss, realizing it was exactly what I needed after today. Actually, it was always exactly what I needed. Being in Declan’s arms felt like being home.
“Something smells good,” I murmured between kisses, the smell of garlic reaching my nose.
“I was about to say the same thing.”
My lips curved. “I was about to ask how you got all this done so fast, but you seem to get everything done quickly.”
He chuckled and kissed my cheek. “I picked up the lasagna and I’m just reheating it. The rest I did make, though. And quickly, as you mentioned. I want as much time with you as possible this weekend.”
When he moved to kiss my other cheek, I said, “I need a shower.”
“That can be arranged.” He nibbled on my ear. “Dinner will be ready in about twenty minutes. Do you want to eat first or after?”
Because I’d been hoping he’d share a shower with me, and I doubted it would be done in twenty minutes, I smiled at him and said, “Dinner first please.”
He knelt in front of me, surprising me. “A woman who knows her own mind.”
Then he proceeded to pull off my shoes, making me moan quietly. It felt so good to be out of them.
He smiled up at me, running his hand along the back of one of my legs and
