Page 16

Chapter sixteen

Noel

D ay two of no contact with Declan. I fluctuate between wanting to call him and reminding myself that he has my number and knows exactly what I need to hear from him.

My morning at work blurs past, thankfully. Before I realize the time, a knock on the door takes my attention from my laptop to see Mom stepping into my office.

“Hey, Mom,” I say, realizing the time.

“Hey, Elle, did you forget I was taking you to lunch?” She asks with a smile.

I haven’t heard from my father since Saturday night, but I have no doubt he put her up to this. What I don’t know is how much he’s told her, so I have to play along with how she behaves.

She hugs me, and we stop by to see Uncle Joe in his office before leaving. My mother is my opposite in so many ways. She’s 5’7” to my 5’2” and blonde to my brunette. She is outgoing like Kate, but I’m more reserved. I’ve always suspected that she needs me to be this way. Mom likes things to go her way, and I learned early on not to fight her on most of them.

She chats about random topics in the car. I mostly add in a comment randomly to keep her talking. So far, she seems oblivious to the whole fiasco with Jaclyn and Declan this weekend .

We’re seated immediately at her favorite lunch spot. She finally decides to show her cards now that we’re in public, surrounded by people on all sides.

“Well, sweetheart, I’m not going to beat around the bush here. Joe came over last week just raving to your father about your new client.”

My alarm bells immediately start ringing. The only new client I have is Declan, so is this how Dad found out about him coming back into my life? He certainly wasn’t surprised to see him with me when he barged in on my meeting with Jaclyn.

“I know you fancied yourself in love with him as a kid, but I thought you understood your responsibilities to this family now.”

My entire body is burning with rage. I can’t even speak.

“Oh, don’t look at me like that. We didn’t want to bother you with minor details since you had Nate, but it’s time you know. Daddy needs a legitimate heir with whom to leave the estate, and that Adams boy is not good enough to father our grandchildren. We actually have someone else in mind. It’s time we discuss Isaiah Canton as an option.”

“What the fuck, Mom?” I shriek loudly.

“Noel Elise Williams! This is exactly why you can’t be trusted to make these choices for yourself. You get back in touch, and he’s already poisoning you with his subpar manners.” She chastises me in whispers across the table.

“I know that my marriage to Nate was arranged. Have you done the same with Isaiah?” I ask, unable to hide the anger vibrating in my voice.

“The ‘how’ and ‘why’ doesn’t matter, Noel. You will marry the Canton boy and get yourself pregnant within the year,” she says coldly.

Suddenly, a sense of clarity washes over me. Standing from the table, I stare her down. The waitress rushes over asking if everything is alright. My mother turns her best smile on to placate the girl as though nothing is happening when she just confirmed that my entire life I’ve just been a puppet on a string for them.

“Noel, please sit,” she says calmly with the same condescending smile she gave the waitress.

Without a word, I turn and walk away. Walking through the restaurant, I notice all the happy couples having lunch together, blissful in their ability to choose their partners.

They’ve misjudged me. There’s not a damn thing they can do to trick or force me into marrying someone of their choosing again. I have no doubt they will try, but it’s much harder to pull off the same trick a second time.

There’s only one person I want to be with, and they won’t stop me this time. I find his name and press call.

“Sunshine?” He answers on the second ring. I can sense a tone of annoyance in his voice, but I’m relieved to hear it regardless.

“Will you come get me from Ashwood Bistro?” I ask, holding my breath.

“Get into the blacked out Camaro right outside,” he says.

I stop walking and look around. The window to a black Camaro rolls down just to my left. “Declan?”

“It’s Chance. Get in, and he’ll bring you to me,” he says and hangs up.

Putting the phone down, I quickly duck into the passenger seat of the car waiting for me. Chance squeals the tires as he speeds down the road.

“How long have you been following me?” I ask.

He side-eyes me and smirks but doesn’t answer. I stare at his profile for a few moments hoping he’ll change his mind. When he doesn’t give in, I look out the window. My heart is pounding with anticipation of seeing Declan again .

Chance pulls up to the door at Velocity and waits for me to get out. When I open the door to the lobby, I notice the Camaro slip into a parking spot beside Declan’s truck. I guess keeping up with me is his sole purpose today.

Claire’s smile greets me when I step inside. “Mr. Adams is waiting for you,” she says, gesturing to the hall that leads to his office.

Before I make it to his door, I try to think of what to say to him. I wanted to slay my dragons alone, but they’re my fucking parents. Taking a deep breath, I open the door and step inside.

“Close the door,” he says without looking up from his computer.

I do as I’m told, frozen just inside the doorway. A moment passes.

“Come here, Noel.” Leaning back in his chair, he crosses his arms over his broad chest.

When our eyes lock, the anxiety of the past couple of days melts away. The heat in his stare pulls me in, and I go to him without hesitation.

He turns his chair to face me as I find myself behind the desk with him. His unreadable expression gives nothing away. But his eyes dare me to touch him. His arms remain crossed as he stares up at me, forcing me to make a move.

My fingers run through his soft hair then down his face. His jaw clenches beneath my touch. I lean down to kiss him. As soon as I make contact, his hands are on me. He stands to spin me around so my back is against his front.

“Did you find the answers you needed?” He whispers into my ear.

Trying to control my erratic breathing, I nod my head in response.

“Use your words,” he growls.

“I don’t want to face this without you.” My confession rushes out.

He turns me back around to face him, and his hands grip my hips. His thunderous face searches mine.

“I want you. Yesterday. Today. Tomorrow. Right now, Declan, please. ”

He pulls my dress up to my waist and shoves me backward before lifting me to slam me down on his desk.

“Declan,” I cry out at the roughness.

My hands gravitate to his belt. He shoves my top down as I do the same with his pants.

“Two fucking days, Noel,” he says as he moves my thong to the side and shoves his cock inside of me.

I cry out in a mixture of pleasure and pain at the fullness. He remains still, allowing us both a moment.

He sucks on my ear and whispers, “Goddamn, I missed you.”

I whimper and move my hips against him, letting him know I’m ready for more.

He stands back to his full height and slowly pulls out of me before slamming back in, taking my breath away. He does it again, but this time I feel his finger slide in too. While he fucks me, his finger curves inside to rub the spot that forces my insides to tighten. My orgasm is already building even though he’s just begun. Right before I reach the edge, he pulls his finger out and stops moving.

I’m panting, trying to rock against him before I lose it, but he stays perfectly still.

Shoving his finger into my mouth, he says, “Lick it clean.”

I suck his finger hard, still trying my best to fuck him while he stays motionless, punishing me.

“Please,” I beg, desperate for him to continue.

“This is what the past two days have felt like for me, Noel,” he growls.

“You mean the past decade,” I snap at him, pulling his waist into me.

His eyes darken. “Exactly. Fucking torture. ”

He slams into me once, stopping again. His eyes narrow.

“Do you think I’d put myself through that without good reason?”

Another punishing thrust. I moan and grind into him as best I can.

“No,” I admit.

“No,” he clips, slamming into me once more.

“Please, Dec,” I whimper as he stills again.

“You’re mine, Noel. Fucking mine. Trust me to take care of what’s mine,” he growls.

His eyes are clouded by all the emotions he keeps to himself.

“Yours, Declan. I’m yours, and you’re mine,” I agree, grabbing his hips again.

“More. Tell me you understand what this is,” he demands.

“Take all of me,” I beg. “Give me the darkest parts of you, and take all of me.”

“Good girl,” he says, his voice husky and deep.

He pulls my wrists together and places them behind my back in one of his giant hands. The other grips my hip.

He sets a pace that allows me to feel each delicious stroke as my whole body clenches in anticipation of my release.

He has me right on the edge when he says, “So fucking perfect. Come for me, baby.”

“Yes!” I scream as he speeds up just enough to send me over the edge. He lets me move against him to ride out the orgasm at my speed until it’s done.

“I’m going to fuck you harder now. Just so you can see how fucking perfect you are for me,” he says.

My legs shake, and my mind is still full of fireworks.

“Yours,” I say, giving him permission.

His eyes are molten when I meet his stare. His mouth meets mine. The kiss is so intense my head spins when he breaks away.

He kneels to take off my thong. When he stands again, he grabs my face and shoves my thong into my mouth. My eyes widen, but his grin sets my insides on fire. He palms my chest to push me down.

Lifting my ankles across my stomach, he pushes his cock deep inside. His body keeps my legs in place long enough for him to grab my wrists, which he puts under my ankles. Both of his hands hold my ankles in place, trapping my wrists. He has me curled into a ball, unable to move.

He smirks. Then he fucks me harder than I thought possible. The look of ecstasy on his face as he uses me for his own pleasure is intoxicating.

“Mm, look how good you take it,” he says, his voice all gravel and breath.

The pressure building radiates heat from my core to the rest of my body. Realizing my hand is close enough to touch myself, I play with my clit. The look on his face intensifies when he notices.

“Dirty looks so good on you,” he says with a grin as he slams into me.

His cock throbs as he comes, and it sends me over the edge right along with him. I’m screaming behind the thong in my mouth and convulsing on his desk while he grinds into me, calling out my name.

When we’re both still, he pulls away. Still holding my ankles, he opens my legs wide and stares at my pussy.

“When this stops dripping, I’m going to fill you up again,” he says as he tucks himself back into his jeans.

Laying perfectly still, I let the weight of what just happened settle over me. I’ve given myself to a sex god who wants to kill my father, but not before he fucks me in completely unexpected places. Who am I?

Declan types on his laptop beside me. He kisses my ankle as though it’s perfectly normal for him to work while I lay on his desk dripping with his come .

The only thing I’ve done for the past five minutes is remove the thong from my mouth. At first, he raised an eyebrow at me. I thought he was going to make me keep it in. Instead, he took it and put it in his pocket.

Laying here exposed to him, I realize the best way to deal with my problem is simple. If I’m going to be with Declan, I need to let him help me. I told him I wanted to face this together, so he has to know what I know.

I turn my head to Declan. Noticing the movement, he stops typing to look at me.

“If I give you the USB drive, could you figure all this out without getting blood on your hands?” I ask.

He chuckles. “Grant gave it to you?”

At first, I’m confused as to why he would ask about Grant. Then, I remember the way Chance laughed at me when I asked how long he had been following me.

“No, I took it off the table when you pulled me from the table.”

Something flashes in his face. He hides it just as quickly. Irritation?

“Good move. I’m not making any promises.”

I roll my head to stare back at the ceiling, thinking it over. Declan traces a finger from the inside of my ankle, up to my knee, and down to my pussy.

“What’s on it?” He asks.

“I still don’t know,” I admit.

“Let’s find out then,” he coaxes, rubbing his palm over my sensitive clit.

“Mm. It’s password protected. With only three, Dec-,” I try to explain.

“Three what?” He asks, removing his hand.

“Three tries every 24 hours. I haven’t tried today. But I’m six tries in and out of ideas.” I finish .

He stares between my legs in awe. He exhales then lowers my legs and helps me sit up. I fix my top then pick up my bag on the edge of his desk to get the drive and hand it over to him.

Plugging it into his computer, he starts typing away. Within minutes, we’re looking at the contents of the file.

“How?” I ask. I tried every password Nate ever used plus his birthday.

“The only thing I know about him is you.” He looks up at me. “And I know that subject better than anyone.”

A storm rages in his eyes as they search my face.

“I should’ve come back sooner,” I admit.

“You’re done doing things for other people. You came back when you chose to,” he says. “I want you every fucking day, but it has to be your choice.”

“I choose you.”

His office door opens, and a man walks in talking.

“Dec, I’m ready when-” He stops when he realizes Declan isn’t alone.

He resumes walking after a beat and says, “It’s nice to see you’ve found your way back.”

Declan rubs his palm on my thigh just under my dress as I say, “Yea, um, hi.”

Zander sits, and I lean into the corner of the inside of the desk to give them a line of sight without separating myself from Declan.

Turning to his monitor, Declan clicks through the files. Zander and I wait quietly for a few minutes, and I’m uncomfortably aware that my underwear is still in Declan’s pocket as his come trickles down my thigh. I shift to rub my thighs together, and Declan looks up at me with a smirk then back to his monitor.

“We'll handle this,” he says, searching my face, his smirk from a moment ago gone .

“Please, I need to know,” I say.

“Zander, give us a minute?” He asks while holding my nervous gaze.

When the door closes, he stands. Our breath mixes together as he leans down into my face, his lips inches from mine.

“I can already see that it’s going to be hard to tell you no,” he whispers.

“Then, don’t,” I meet his stare, trying to plead with my eyes.

He rests his head on mine. “Alright, a compromise then. I’ll tell you everything when I’m sure I’m right.”

“Declan, no. Tell me what this is. What is going on?” I demand, grabbing his shirt.

He grabs my wrists to hold me to him.

“I’ve waited so long for this. For you. I’m going to take care of you. No one will cloud your light again.”

“What are you going to do?” I ask.

“Protect you, sunshine. Eliminate the threat. Burn the fucking world if I have to. Love you the only way I know how.”

My breath catches, and I’m completely caught under his spell. The promise is clear in his eyes, and I believe he will do whatever it takes.

If only he didn’t believe that included murder. He may be willing to make that kind of sacrifice, but I’m determined to find another way.

“Come on. I’ll take you to lunch. Chance said you weren’t there long enough to eat. You can tell me all about what she said to send you back to me,” he says, grabbing my hand to pull me out of his office and away from the secrets in those files.