His fingers tightened gently on my arms before he released me and stepped back. “Royal,” he chided me.
“Declan,” I said in response, exasperated.
Before I could assure him that I was perfectly capable of kissing him and probably doing plenty of other things we had been abstaining from these last few weeks, he turned to Davis, who’d gotten out of the car.
Dammit. I thought I had him this time. Three weeks. It had been an entire three weeks since he’d done anything more than hold my hand or give me chaste kisses that teased me but never went any further than that.
Now I knew how my father felt when I was trying to get him to stay safe at home.
With a sigh, I let Declan and Davis talk while I reached into the car to grab the backpack.
Declan glanced over and then frowned at me. He held out his hand for the backpack, and I dutifully passed it over.
“I can carry a backpack,” I mumbled, but he just turned his attention back to Davis.
With a sigh, I walked several feet toward the trail, letting the air fill my lungs. It wasn’t worth an argument. Not today. It was summertime, and the sky was beautiful, beckoning me.
With a glance back I saw Declan making gestures, and then Davis nodded. Declan was still being cautious, even though everything had been silent and peaceful. We hadn’t heard a word from Cole Johnson. He was probably recuperating at home just like I had been. Since then, Christopher Dark had also assured us that Cole wouldn’t be interfering in our lives anymore.
But that didn’t mean Declan had relaxed his guard entirely. He’d been extra cautious, on top of worrying about how I was healing. Which meant no going anywhere, and pretty much no doing anything.
We’d been staying at his cabin and he hadn’t even been going into work. He’d work from his office while I relaxed in various places around his house. Declan ventured out about every thirty minutes to make sure I wasn’t trying to pick anything up or do anything more strenuous than take a short stroll from the living room to the kitchen.
It had taken half of the morning, but I’d finally convinced him that I was up for a short hike. And, since he knew from experience there wasn’t usually a lot of people out here, and that he probably planned on carrying me halfway up the mountain and back down, he finally agreed. Reluctantly. And then grumbled about it practically the entire way here.
My lips curved. It was actually kind of cute. I knew he was just trying to take care of me. The only problem was that in trying to take care of me, he hardly touched me either. He was afraid he’d hurt me.
Today I planned on convincing him that wasn't going to happen.
Declan appeared at my side and took my hand. “Ready?”
I nodded and gave him a sweet smile. “I have been for a whole week.”
He shot me a look I couldn’t read because he was wearing sunglasses. But he didn’t comment. I grinned. He was pretty good at not falling into my traps.
We started walking together, and I kept it slow. I liked to tease Declan, but he was right. I still needed to take it easy if I wanted to heal enough to get back to normal life.
“I talked with Xander again this morning,” Declan told me.
“Oh? And was he convinced?”
Declan squeezed my fingers. “Just about. I think him knowing that we need to up security at the building and him knowing that you’re going to be working there is helping to convince him. I made it clear he’d only be working on a freelance basis. I understand he likes his freedom.”
“He does. But it’s more about being comfortable in his environment.”
“Absolutely. Which is why I offered him a corner office, away from everyone else so he’d have a decent amount of space and quiet. And, of course, he’ll have someone to drive him to and from work every day. Especially now that…”
I glanced over when he didn’t continue. “Now that what?”
He shrugged. “Now that you're staying with me fairly permanently.”
His words hinted at something more, making curiosity flicker inside of me.
“And?” I asked.
He glanced over. “And what?”
“It sounded like you were going to say something else.”
“Are you doing okay? Getting sore?”
I reached over and gently pushed his arm. “Stop trying to distract me and just tell me what you were going to say.”
“I was going to say, you’ve been staying with me since the accident. And it seems to be working out pretty well. I like having you close by and waking up to you every morning.”
I smiled at him. “Me too.”
“So…” He blew out a breath. “I was thinking that we could make it permanent.”
I blinked and stopped on the trail. “Are you asking me to move in with you?”
“It makes sense, doesn’t it? Once we go back to the city, we can go into work together. And I…I love you so much, Royal. This is it for me. I don’t want to be with anyone else. I just want you for the rest of my life.”
“I love you too,” I murmured, floored by the seriousness of his words. The rest of my life… That was definitely more permanent.
Declan put his arms around me gently, and I lowered my head to his shoulder.
“I’ll never get tired of hearing you say that,” he murmured in my ear.
“And I’ll never get tired of saying it.”
“So what do you think?”
I looked up at him. “Yes. I think that would be a good idea.”
“Really?” he asked, eyes wide and hopeful. I loved that he still
