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First, a potential solution to my Nightshade troubles.

Now, an experimental Declan.

Maybe this was only a dream.

But it didn’t feel like a dream. It felt real...so very real. And I didn’t want to question it a second longer.

Grasping the edge of my tank top, he pulled it up, skimming it over my skin. I wasn’t wearing a bra underneath, which saved some time. I gasped out loud as his mouth closed over my right nipple and he slid his tongue around it in a hot, wet circle.

He looked up at me. “Let me know if I’m doing this right.”

I struggled to breathe normally, but it came out like a needy moan. “So far, so good. Actually, better than good. Great, really.”

He moved to the other side, making me shiver, goose bumps breaking out along my skin. I helped him to peel my top off over my head, then squeezed my eyes shut and allowed the sensation of his mouth against me to swirl me away.

Experimenting with Declan was a very good idea. Yes, I was so very glad I’d thought of it.

When he kissed me again, sweeping his tongue against mine, I pulled up his black T-shirt, sliding my hands under to feel his skin beneath, down over his hard, muscled abdomen. I started to unbutton his jeans and slide the zipper down, but he grabbed my wrist to stop me.

“No, Jill,” he rasped out.

I looked up at him with surprise. “Why not?”

He shook his head. “I already told you, this isn’t about me.”

“I want to touch you,” I told him.

Declan pulled my hands away from him and raised them up above my head. “If you can’t play by the rules, then this experiment will have to end.”

He was strong enough to easily keep me pinned, but his grip on me remained loose enough that I could have broken it if I wanted to.

“I’m not sure I like those rules,” I said.

Declan moved his mouth to my ear, and my breasts flattened against his T-shirt-covered chest. “I want to make you happy, Jill,” he whispered.

I believed him. His expression lacked the blazing fire to match what I was feeling but held endless sincerity. He couldn’t make love to me, not completely—not the way I wanted—but he still wanted me to be happy after what he’d overheard Jackson say to me.

Jackson had offered me no-strings-attached sex.

I’d said no because I wasn’t attracted to him. I didn’t want a quick lay, and I didn’t want Jackson. I wanted more than that, even though I knew that wanting more would only leave me frustrated.

Declan wanted to take away some of that frustration. Here. Now.

Which meant my clothes came off. But his stayed on.

“I can stop.” Declan’s deep voice turned gruff when he spoke quietly. “Or I can keep going. Your call.”

My throat thickened with an odd mix of cool disappointment and hot desire. I could have Declan, but not all of him. At least, not tonight.

“Do you want me?” he asked when I didn’t answer right away.

I nodded wordlessly.

“Do you need me?”

“Yes.”

“Then keep your hands like this.” He pressed them up against the headboard, curling my fingers around the cool metal rails.