I was jolted awake when I reached out with one hand and also felt nothing. His side of the bed was cool like he hadn’t been in it for a while.
Easing up on my elbow, I frowned. Where was he? After the conversation we’d had, he wouldn't have left unless there was a reason.
I sat up in the darkness and then heard a low voice. It was coming from the bathroom. However, there wasn’t a light on from what I could tell from the crack underneath.
What the hell? I crawled to the bottom of the bed and listened as closely as I could, but I could only hear a murmur.
Was he talking to himself in the restroom? Why?
It hit me then that he was probably on his phone. And he was trying to be quiet in order not to wake me. But who could he be talking to in the middle of the night?
I heard the toilet flush and scrambled again for the covers as fast as possible. Only seconds later, the door opened. In a flash, Declan was next to me in bed.
His arm bumped mine. “Royal?”
“I woke up,” I told him honestly, “and you weren’t here.”
“I had to use the restroom. Another one of those things that makes me human, just like you.” There was humor in his voice, but it also sounded strained.
“I thought I heard you talking,” I told him, snuggling up against his side.
“Just talking to myself. Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you.”
I froze for a long moment. He was lying to me. I knew he was talking to someone and he didn’t want me to know. But then I blew out a breath. Maybe he just didn’t want to talk about it right now and he would tell me tomorrow.
I didn’t have any reason not to trust him.
“You didn't wake me,” I told him.
He shifted to stretch his arm out and let me crawl closer against him. I did so without hesitation, telling myself things will be cleared up later instead of the middle of the night.
And then I fell asleep again.
Chapter 30
Sunlight touched my cheeks. I opened one eye at the brightness of the room, distinctly remembering Declan closing the curtains last night and wondering how it was so bright in here.
“I’m being selfish,” Declan said, standing by the curtains, which he parted slightly to let the sun in. He was stark naked, which woke me up faster than the light.
“Selfish?” I mumbled. I glanced at the clock and saw it was nearly ten am. I rubbed my eyes and mumbled, “Why didn’t you wake me up?”
Declan walked back to the bed and looked down at me. “That’s why I’m being selfish. I wanted to spend time with you so I purposefully woke you up.”
I chuckled softly and stretched my arms above my head. The comforter slid down, nearly exposing my bare breasts. Declan’s gaze dropped and a smile curved his lips.
“I think I know the real reason you wanted me to wake up,” I murmured.
He crawled onto the bed, his body poised over mine. “Can you blame me?”
“Not one bit. I’m sorry. I don’t usually sleep in this late. Or at all, really.”
“It was a long week,” Declan said. He bent to kiss my lips. “Are you hungry?”
I grinned. “Yes.”
I lifted the covers so he could climb underneath, but the moment he did, it got hot quick.
“You’re so warm,” I told him, closing my eyes again when he wrapped his arms around me.
His nose touched my cheek and then he whispered in my ear, “You're so cool. That’s why I can’t stop touching you.”
“I’m going to catch on fire if you keep doing that.”
He chuckled, but instead of moving away, he took the covers and whipped them off my body. I gasped when cool air hit every bit of naked flesh.
“Better?” he asked.
“Slightly.”
“How about this?” Declan levered himself over the top of me, taking away the heat on the left side of my body. Then he nudged my legs apart and slid inside of me like silk.
I sighed. I wasn’t thinking about the heat anymore. “Better,” I whispered.
“You can take another shower after this if you need to.”
Then he was pumping his hips against mine and driving me to a frenzied peak. The heat swelled around me, but I didn’t want him to stop.
He swiveled his hips and hit me right where it ached in my core. I shoved my hips against his as hard as possible, wanting to feel him so deep inside it was like we were the same person.
Declan didn’t relent, making me come quickly with a yell of his name. I loved the way his body shuddered against mine and he held on for dear life as if letting go would mean the end of pleasure as he knew it.
Before my breathing had even slowed, Declan kissed my cheek and got out of bed in a rush of energy.
“How can you do that?” I shut my eyes and stretched on the cool covers. “Just get up like that with endless energy when I feel like a noodle.”
“I need to stretch my legs,” was all he said.
I instantly felt bad. It probably wasn’t fun for him to stay in one spot all night, his muscles getting stiff instead of being able to use them.
Then I remembered. He hadn’t been in bed all night. Not when he’d been in the bathroom.
I opened my eyes immediately and then stood while he was going through the drawers at his dresser.
I flashed him a smile as I walked past and
