Page 10

DECLAN

“ G od, you feel incredible,” I groan, straining to hold back when all I want is to move. “So tight, so perfect.”

She’s exquisite—tight, wet heat enveloping me as I still for a moment, giving her time to adjust, pressing my forehead against hers and fighting for control.

Victoria rolls her hips experimentally, and we both moan at the sensation. Taking it as encouragement, I begin to move, establishing a slow, deep rhythm that has her eyes widening with pleasure. I alternate between languid rolls of my hips and more targeted thrusts, watching her reactions to learn exactly what she needs.

“Harder,” she gasps, her nails digging into my shoulders. “Please, Declan, I need...”

A low growl escapes me as I comply, snapping my hips forward with increased force and speed. The new pace is demanding, urgent, and Victoria matches my rhythm perfectly. I’m on a razor’s edge, clinging to control with everything I’ve got. Her body milks me with every thrust, and it’s taking everything in me not to lose it first.

“Stay with me,” I urge when her eyes start to flutter closed from the intensity. “I want to see you.”

Her eyes open, meeting my gaze, and the connection between us nearly knocks the wind out of me. This isn’t just sex—it’s something else entirely. Something I’ve never experienced before, something that both terrifies and thrills me.

As we move together, I can feel her getting close, her inner muscles beginning to tighten around me. I slip a hand between us, finding her sensitive bundle of nerves and rubbing in tight circles, perfectly in sync with my thrusts.

“That’s it, Victoria,” I encourage, my voice low and rough. “Let go for me. Come on my cock.”

Her response to my words sends a surge of heat through me. With a sharp cry, she shatters, her inner muscles clamping down around me as wave after wave of pleasure courses through her. The sight of her coming undone, the feel of her pulsing around me, pushes me over the edge.

“Fuck, Victoria!” I gasp, burying my face in her neck as my own orgasm overtakes me, my body shuddering as I spill myself deep inside her. “Fuck.”

We cling to each other as we come down, hearts racing, breath mingling. I can’t stop pressing soft kisses to her shoulder, her jaw, her lips, needing to maintain the connection. Her hands roam over the sweat-slicked skin of my back, her touch both soothing and electrifying.

When I eventually pull out and roll to the side, I feel a sudden sense of loss without her warmth surrounding me. I reach for her immediately, pulling her into my arms and tucking her against my side with her head on my chest. Her soft curves fit perfectly against me, and I marvel at how right this feels. My fingers trace idle patterns on her bare shoulder, raising goosebumps on her skin.

We lie in contented silence for a while, basking in the afterglow. My mind, usually racing with thoughts of hockey plays or training regimens, is calm and focused entirely on the woman in my arms. I’ve never felt this... complete after sex before. This isn’t just physical satisfaction—it’s something deeper, more profound.

Eventually, I press a kiss to the top of her head. “You OK?” I murmur into her hair, suddenly anxious to make sure she has no regrets.

She tilts her face up to look at me with a smile that makes my heart flip over. “More than OK,” she assures me. “How about you?”

“I was just thinking,” I admit, searching her eyes like they’re the only goal worth watching.

“About?”

I hesitate, uncharacteristically unsure. Me, Declan O’Rielly—the guy who shoots every shot without second-guessing—suddenly afraid of saying the wrong thing. But then, I’ve never been one to play games or hide my feelings.

“About the fact I’ve never felt like this before.”

I see surprise flash across her face. “Declan?—”

“You don’t have to say anything,” I add quickly, not wanting to pressure her. “I’m not expecting declarations or promises. I just want you to know that this matters to me. You matter to me.”

Victoria pushes herself up on one elbow to study my face, and I let her look, keeping my expression open and honest. “How are you so sure all the time?” she asks finally.

I smile, reaching up to cup her cheek. “Because when you know, you know. I’ve never hesitated on a breakaway, and I’m not starting now. I know how I feel about you, Victoria. I’m not going to dance around it or pretend this is something casual. Not when every part of me is saying this is right.”

She leans into my touch, her eyes fluttering closed for a moment, and I drink in the sight of her—flushed skin, tousled hair, lips swollen from my kisses. She’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.

“You’re too charming for your own good, O’Rielly. You know that, don’t you?” She runs her fingers through my hair, smoothing it back like she doesn’t even realize she’s doing it. It’s the kind of touch that says more than words, and it makes something deep in my chest go soft.

“I’ve been told it’s one of my better qualities,” I whisper, pulling her closer, finding her lips again in a kiss that’s soft and lingering. The taste of her, the feel of her melting against me, sends warmth curling through me again.

“The way I see this,” I murmur between kisses, “you have two choices.” I pull back slightly, lifting my brows playfully as desire and humor mingle inside me.

“What are my choices?” she asks, pretending suspicion, though her grin gives her away.

“Option one: you fall madly in love with me and we live happily ever after.”

Victoria laughs, her hands wandering over my shoulders in a way that makes my skin tingle. “Bold move putting that out there.”

“Hey, they say you miss one hundred percent of the shots you don’t take, right?” I kiss her nose, trying for earnestness despite the playfulness of the moment.

“And option two?”

“More of this.” I smirk and roll us so she’s beneath me again, trailing kisses down the length of her throat. “Which might just make option one inevitable.”

She curls her arms around my neck, pulling me closer as she surrenders to the heat building between us once more. My hands wander over her body, retracing the sensitive places I’ve already discovered, memorizing the sound she makes when I touch her just right. I trace a hot path down her collarbone and across the curve of her breast, already addicted to the taste of her skin.

“And which one do you want?” she breathes, arching into my touch.

“I think it’s obvious,” I murmur against her skin before taking her nipple into my mouth and sucking gently until she’s a whimpering, needy mess beneath me. My fingers slide between her legs, finding her slick and sensitive from our first round. She gasps and clings to my shoulders as I rub her, my touch unraveling her all over again.

“God, Declan,” she moans, her body tightening around my fingers. “I can’t—it’s too much.”

I lift my head to look at her, heat and need burning through me. “You can,” I say fiercely. “And you will.” I shift slightly, positioning myself at her entrance again. Her whole body tenses in anticipation beneath me.

“This is going to be fast,” I warn, a grin kicking up the corner of my mouth. “Option two has a way of getting out of hand.”

“Then hurry up and—oh God!”

I thrust into her before she can finish, sliding deep in one fluid motion that makes us both gasp. There’s no hesitation this time, no gentle exploration. Just pure, urgent need driving me as I set a punishing pace that has Victoria clinging to me, meeting every thrust.

Her nails dig into my back, marking me, claiming me as surely as I’m claiming her. Everything is sensation—the tight heat of her around me, the drag of skin against skin, the desperate sounds falling from her lips that push me closer to the edge.

Every nerve ending feels raw, like she’s burning me alive from the inside out. I don’t want to stop. I want to live right here, inside this fire, until there’s nothing left of me but her.

It’s overwhelming. It’s perfect. Victoria cries out beneath me, her body clenching around me as she comes apart again, her pleasure triggering my own release. I bury my face against her neck, groaning her name as my body shudders with the force of my climax.

We stay tangled together, not speaking. Just breathing. Just letting it sink in.

I’ve never done this before—held someone after and felt like the whole game changed without warning. Like the ice shifted beneath me and somehow I’m still standing.

I run my hand slowly down her spine, press soft kisses to her temple, her forehead, whispering words I don’t even hear. She sleeps against me like she trusts me to catch her. Like maybe I already have.

Because she’s mine. And I don’t need a plan to convince her. I just need time.

And I won’t waste a second of it.