Page 55 of A Convenient Secret (Merged #3)

Lily

I roll my eyes, but a smile stretches across my face. I’ve tried all day long to resist, but it is a lost battle.

A devil on my shoulder is reminding me he’s being crazy to uproot his life for me. That he will regret it and hate me for that.

But leaning into that fear will rob me of potentially a lifetime of happiness with this grumpy, controlling man whom I love.

When he left last week without explanation, I stopped crying, my sadness replaced by anger and frustration.

When the first bouquet arrived with his “Just because” card, I was torn. A part of me got even more upset about his complicated way of communicating, or lack of it .

But a much bigger, significant part of me accepted that he needed to do things his way.

I place my hand over his where he is leaning against the kitchen island. “I’m sorry I ever compared you to Tim. I know that whatever you did, you never meant to hurt me.”

He takes my hand and kisses my knuckles. “Lily, I know I still have years to prove to you that you can trust me. I understand that you must have reservations, and all of this seems too fast, too spontaneous. Believe me, I feel the latter too.”

I smile. “I like spontaneous.”

He yanks me to him. “Then I really hope you like to be fucked right now. Because I can’t wait another minute without being deep inside you.”

Oh my. His arms around me dissolve every last hesitation I might have harbored. I missed his touch so much. “There is no furniture here.”

He pivots us and lifts me to the counter. “No problem.” Bringing his forehead to mine, he traces my lower lip with his thumb.

The anticipation crackles in the air. My heart thumps in my temples. It’s almost like we’re doing it for the first time.

I slide his jacket off his shoulders, and he lets it drop to the ground. He unzips my dress and traces my shoulders, my clavicle, and then my arms as he pulls the top down to my waist.

His gaze drops to my bra, and a guttural sound makes its way from deep in his throat. “My wife has the most perfect tits.” He cups them, flicking his thumb over my hard nipples. “So beautiful.”

“Declan,” I moan, arching my back, his touch not enough.

He dips his head to my neck, kissing me gently. “What does my Seagull need?”

Without hesitation, I grip his hair and force him to look at me. “Have me, wreck me, own me, but first, kiss me finally.”

His pupils dilate, and then his lips are on me, and the sound that comes out of me is feral.

Declan devours my mouth like it’s the first meal he’s had after a long time of starvation—savoring it, pacing his attack, but making sure he enjoys every single moment.

The kiss ignites every nerve in my body. I jerk his belt, trying to unbuckle it while I bite his lip.

“Someone is needy.” He chuckles.

“I need you inside me, Declan, I need it. Now.” I practically yell at him.

“Lift.”

I push off the counter and he grips my dress, sliding it down without grace. It ends up on the floor beside his jacket. I kick off my shoes while I concentrate on his tie and buttons.

It feels inadequately long before his shirt is off, and I attack his collarbone. “I missed you,” I breathe.

“Don’t ever walk out on us.”

“Don’t ever give me a reason.”

He lowers his lips to my nipple and bites hard. I yelp, but the pain provokes lust to spread through my body, coiling in my core.

“Show me how ready you are for me.” He straightens, his eyes burning with need. “Slide your fingers into your panties, Seagull, and show me how much you need me.”

I lick my lips and do as he says, groaning at the contact of my own fingers with my sensitive center.

Declan grips the counter like he needs purchase to control himself. God, I love making this man lose it.

“Now show me,” he growls.

I lift my hand to my lips, smearing some of my arousal on my bottom lip.

“Fuck, Lily. If you only knew what you do to me.” He takes my hand and licks my fingers. “Mine.”

“Always.”

He pulls out his cock, already glistening with pre-cum. It seems larger than I remember, but I have no time to hesitate, because Declan rips off my panties and yanks me to the edge. Guiding his tip inside me, he thrusts in an inch.

We both groan.

“Don’t go slowly. Take me like you hate me, Declan.”

I don’t know where the words come from. Perhaps the agony of the past weeks and his absence inspired my need.

“I love it when you ask for what you want. And you should have everything you desire, Seagull.” He thrusts in, burying himself deep inside me, and we both groan.

I look down at where we’re connected, and Declan starts moving, both of us entranced by the connection of our bodies.

“Look how well you take me, baby.” He lifts my chin and kisses me.

Things escalate quickly, and the room fills with our slapping bodies, moans and sighs, while Declan fucks me in our new kitchen.

He dominates the pace, the timing, and really, the entire experience, and I love every moment. Because that’s who we are. I make him lose control, and he helps me find mine.

Declan lifts me and moves us to the island in the middle of the room. “Are you going to be a good girl and come for me? ”

My back hits the cold marble, and Declan’s hand snakes under me, his finger prodding my other hole. My eyes snap at him. He’s already searching for consent.

“Let me make it explosive for you, baby.”

I nod.

He smiles. “Relax for me.”

He swipes his finger through my folds, coating it in my own arousal. He circles around the opening before sliding in. The sensation is foreign, but not completely unwelcome.

My body yields to his finger faster than my mind, and the lightning bolt of pleasure that shoots through me has me lifting from the counter.

“Easy, love, relax and enjoy it. I will get you there.”

Oh, fuck, he starts moving, and my mind fogs. “Declan!”

“That’s right, let the world know who you belong to. Come for me, Seagull.”

The orgasm is earth-shuddering, and I almost lose my voice screaming. Declan fucks me through it with his cock and finger, prolonging the pleasure.

“Look at me, Seagull.”

What? My foggy mind barely captures the command, and I find his eyes, blinking. He pulls out his hand and grips my hips. “I want you to see what you do to me. ”

So I watch. I watch as my beautiful, powerful, flawed man comes undone, giving me his vulnerability as a gift.

Just because.

“I found a hand towel.” Declan comes back to the kitchen with a damp cloth and helps me clean up.

The light reflects on his chest, and the sight just spreads another wide grin on my face.

“What are you smirking about?” He drops the towel to the sink and starts opening the cabinets.

His broad shoulders shift, muscles flexing beneath the glow of the under-cabinet lights. Delicious.

“I think you in your suit pants, bare-chested, is my favorite version of you.”

He bangs the cabinet closed and turns, leaning against the counter. “I thought it was me being balls deep inside you.”

I cross to him and snuggle against his chest. “Okay, fair enough. But it’s a close second.” I kiss his collarbone.

He nudges my chin with his finger. “My favorite version of you is spread on this kitchen island.”

I giggle. “You didn’t own the island a minute ago. ”

“Well, I bought it just in time.” He kisses me. “And it’s our kitchen island.”

My smile may split my face by now. “What were you looking for?”

“A glass. You need to hydrate.”

“My, my, Mr. Quinn, your aftercare game is impeccable today.”

“What aftercare?”

I roll my eyes. “What you do for your partner after you’ve fucked their brains out. Like helping me clean up and get me water. Or cuddle.”

He looks at me like I’m speaking an unfamiliar language. “So, common decency.”

I shake my head. “Let’s hydrate.”

“There are no glasses.”

I run the water in the sink and bend over to drink from the faucet.

“Now that’s just plain barbaric.”

I giggle and splash him.

His eyes widen. “You didn’t.”

“Maybe we need to christen our new home.” I flick more water at him.

“Lily,” he warns. “We will christen it when the kids are here.”

I stop the water. “Okay, party pooper. Wait? With confetti?”

He belts out a laugh. “Sure. ”

“I love you, Declan Quinn.”

“I love you, Lily Quinn.”

And just like that, I’m no longer Lily Thorne or Lilianna Spinelli. I’m Lily Quinn.

“We never said the vows, though.” I wrap my arms around his waist.

“I vow to protect, respect, love, and fuck you for the rest of my life.”

“Fuck me?”

“That’s an important vow.”

“Of course. I vow to love you in all its forms, as my soulmate, as my lover, as my partner, as my husband. I promise to communicate better with you, and never keep secrets.”

He kisses my forehead. “I won’t keep secrets from you either. Never. I came close to losing you once, Lily, and I will never make the same mistake again. And I will share my thoughts with you instead of assuming you know where my head is.”

“It’s interesting how you’re the chatty one when we’re having sex, but lose that ability in other situations.”

He looks at me, horrified. “I’m not chatty under any circumstances.”

I laugh. “If you say so.”

“Enough talking.” He captures my lips, whips me around, and walks us to the window. “Hands on the glass.”

“I meant to ask you, have you watched Friends? ” I pick up my dress, stepping into it.

He groans. “Some of it.”

I try not to grin. “Why?”

“Because I missed you. I never found the Seagull episode though.”

My heart swells, emotions clogging my throat. “I think you found the right ones, anyway.”

I turn, and Declan zips up my dress and then wraps his arms around me, pulling me back to his chest. “This kitchen will hold the best memories. I can’t wait to fill it with our family.”

“Do you expect me to learn how to cook?” I crook my neck to look at him.

“God, no. You’re only allowed here naked.”

“That would scandalize the staff.”

“We’ll have to hire resilient, blind people.”

I laugh, but it dies quickly when I realize we’re about to walk out of here. “Are you sure you’re ready to deal with the media, and my family?”

“Lily, I think once your cousin and his mother are dealt with, your family can slowly transition away from the public eye. They have been the ones instigating the scandals. But our boring little family will hopefully soon lead a more-or-less normal life.”

I sigh, letting out a long breath. That might be very na?ve. “It may not be that easy.”

“I didn’t say I expected it to be easy. I don’t expect it to happen overnight. I hired a very discreet security company for the kids and for us. I didn’t handle things well in New York, but I learned from that experience.”

“Promise not to shut down and push me away if things get out of control.” The knot in my stomach tightens again.

“I promise. But if I fail, know that it’s only my reaction to the situation. Promise me that you will help me through that, even if I’m an ass.”

“Will you always apologize with mind-blowing sex?”

He nods, slapping my ass. “Do you understand I was never truly upset with you? Never.”

“I know.”

“I’m sorry you were the collateral of my helplessness. You didn’t deserve that.”

I rise to my tiptoes and kiss him. “We will both try to communicate better next time.”

He takes my hand, and we leave our new home.

“You do know you will have to attend our family functions?” I tease as we walk down the street.

“By your side, anything is doable. ”

“On second thought, I may use that dreadful scowl of yours to scare people off. I guess everything is doable by your side.”

He kisses my knuckles. “Talking about families—”

“Let’s go get the kids.”

He lifts me, twirling us around. “Can you be any more perfect?”