Page 20

Chapter twenty

Noel

W atching Declan wash his vehicles might be my new favorite thing to do. If this is how he spends most Saturday mornings, I’ll be sure to set an alarm from now on.

He grips the towel as he dries his blacked out Corvette the same way he grips my legs when he's spreading them wide. His brows pinch with determination just as they do when he thrusts into me.

After watching him wash and rinse the car, I decide I can’t take it anymore. I set my coffee down and walk over to him. He turns when he hears my footsteps splash through the puddles, and looks at me in confusion.

“Wanna help?” He asks, holding out the towel.

“Something like that,” I tell him with a smirk and pull off my shirt, revealing my bare chest to him.

His eyes darken. He walks over and spins me around. Using the rubbery towel, he ties my hands together behind my back and shoves down on my shoulders, forcing me to kneel on the wet concrete. Walking around to stand in front of me, I can see his dick hardening inside his thin shorts.

Looking up at him, I lick my lips and say, “Use me, baby. I’m yours.”

“Mm. What’s gotten into you?” He grabs my hair from underneath, holding my head in place as I stare up at him.

“You,” I tell him .

Pulling his hard cock out to rub against my lips, he says, “Only me. Now be my good girl and swallow this cock.”

He shoves himself to the back of my throat, holding it despite my gagging.

“Breathe through your nose,” he orders impatiently, and I do as I’m told.

When the gagging stops, I wrap my lips around him and slide my tongue out flat beneath his shaft.

“That’s it,” he praises and begins to move, holding me still by my hair.

Keeping my eyes on him as he watches me has me craving more, so I try to bob my head with him. He loosens his grip on my hair enough to let me move some, but if I go too far he yanks my hair tighter.

My hips begin to rock from side to side to find friction against my blue jean shorts. He hasn’t taken his eyes off me, so he notices immediately.

“You like being my toy?” His deep voice is all gravel now.

The only way to answer him is to blink, and fresh tears fall down the sides of my face. He slows his pace before pulling out completely. Then, he stands me up to walk me over to the car. My back presses against smooth metal, just behind the passenger door.

He unbuttons my shorts and slides them off along with my thong. When I lift my foot to remove the shorts the rest of the way, he grabs my ankle. He throws my leg over his shoulder. He does the same to my other leg. His hands hold me up under my ass, and he has my pussy right in front of his face.

Without a word, he slips his thumb inside of me and devours the rest with his mouth. My legs wrap around his head instinctively. It feels as though I could fall without my arms to hold me up. He fucks me with his fingers while he sucks on my clit.

“Declan,” I cry out, and he rubs his unshaven face from side to side, scratching my sensitive skin to give me a mixture of pain and pleasure .

When he feels my orgasm building, he stops. Instead of letting me finish, he shrugs his shoulders to force my legs to fall to his arms. I squeal at the brief fall.

He smirks and stands while lowering me to lay across the car. He slowly pushes his cock into me.

He moves so slowly, that I can feel myself squeezing him, wanting more.

“Fuck,” he breathes, and I know he feels it too.

When he starts to move, he uses a hand to play with my body. He twists and pinches my nipples until I cry out. He squeezes my tits and slaps them.

My arms are crushed beneath me, and I try to shift my weight as best I can to relieve the pressure. Watching his face change from desire to pleasure to the darkest depths of losing control, I find myself craving whatever pain he needs from me to feel that good.

I wrap my legs around him, so he can use his hands more. He takes the opportunity to grab my shoulders for better leverage and slams into me.

“You’re so fucking perfect,” he praises just as an orgasm begins to tremble through my body, gripping him hard deep inside.

“Oh fuck,” he cries out as he finds his own release because of mine.

He leans over me to kiss my nipples and bites one before he stands to pull out. “This should be the picture hanging above our bed. My come dripping out of your perfect cunt,” he says, staring at it.

I keep my mouth shut, watching him stare at me. I should protest, but I’d be lying. He looks up at my face when I say nothing and cocks an eyebrow.

“Yours,” I manage to say.

“Fucking mine,” he agrees and helps me off the car.

After he unties me, he follows me inside to take a bath, leaving his morning chore unfinished. We soak in silence for a few minutes before I tell him what I’ve decided to do .

“I want to speak to a lawyer about the inheritance. Can you give me the contract you found on the drive?” I ask.

He sighs. “You don’t need the money. I’ll add you to every one of my accounts first thing Monday morning,” he says.

“Oh. No, I don’t want the money. I want a way out,” I explain.

“Tell him Tuesday night when we go for dinner.”

“What?” Splashing water, I turn around to look at him.

“He invited us over. We can tell him we’re moving to Tennessee, have dinner, then after I’ll make sure he understands you want out.”

I stare at him speechless. If I can find a way out of this inheritance before then, maybe Declan will reconsider his plans for my dad.

“It’s nothing for you to worry about,” he says, getting out of the water. “Chance can take you to my lawyer’s office on Monday, if you must. I’ll email the file to her today, so she can be prepared for you.” Then, he walks out of the bathroom.

I jump out and grab a towel, chasing after him. “She?” I ask.

He turns to see I’m serious, and I hope he sees the murder in my eyes because I feel it spreading over every inch of me. He cocks an eyebrow.

“Do you have a problem with female lawyers?” He asks.

“Don’t send me to meet a woman you’ve fucked, Declan,” I warn between grinding teeth.

He looks amused. Smirking now, he asks, “Haven’t we already covered this?”

“Do you have any past with this woman?” I ask, my blood boiling.

He chuckles, pulls on his shorts, and leaves the room. What the fuck!

Following him outside, I ask again. “Have you fucked her? ”

He turns and walks right up to me. “Don’t take what he did and make it my fault. I would never hurt you. We’ve already discussed this, and I told you I didn’t have history with any other associates,” His breath fans my face.

“You never outright said you didn’t,” I counter, standing my ground.

“Do you want a list, Noel? A death warrant for every woman I've fucked?” His voice barely above a whisper. He tsks. “That’s half of fucking Vegas just from the night you got married.”

I gasp. How does he know when I got married?

“I don’t even remember their faces because they were all you in my head. So how will we find them all, hm?” His fingers touch a piece of my hair.

I search his face as he remains inches from mine. The hurt in his eyes is plain to see. I should’ve known it was all a lie. I should’ve fought harder for him. He would’ve always been mine if I hadn’t been so naive. I take a deep breath and press my forehead to his, closing my eyes.

“The sun outshines every other star in the universe. Don’t fucking forget it,” he says and walks away.

What the fuck is wrong with me? I go back inside to find his workout room. Obviously, I need to blow off steam.

It’s not like me to get jealous or pick fights. Something about the way he said “her” instead of a name sounded so much more personal. The thought of his hands on someone else makes my own hands itch to strangle someone.

Jesus . I find out my husband was trying to get other women pregnant, and I’m just grossed out. But Declan having a past makes me murderous. I jump on a treadmill and crank up the speed until I have to focus not to fall.

“Chance will be here at 2:00 to follow you to the lawyer’s office,” Declan says, pulling the car to a stop by the front door of JV Marketing.

“Follow me?” Since he’s bringing me to work, I don’t have a vehicle to drive.

He looks out his side window, and I follow his line of sight to see a blacked out Range Rover. When I look back at him, he holds out a key.

“If he bought it, you don’t fucking need it,” he says as I take the keys.

“You bought me a car?”

“Mmhmm.” He nods.

“It’s so sexy! Thank you!” I kiss him.

He holds me to him so that I can only pull away a few inches.

“I’d sign his death warrant if I could," he says. "I did not fuck the lawyer."

I exhale all the anxiety I’ve felt since our argument Saturday. He didn’t bring it up again, and neither did I.

“Thank you,” I breathe out and kiss him again.

Jumping out of the truck, I go check out my new ride. His all black obsession is definitely growing on me. I watch him laugh at me as he drives away.

Joey pulls into the parking lot while I’m looking at all the features. He walks up to the open door. “Nice!”

“Thanks! Declan just surprised me with it!”

“Who?” He asks, confused.

“Oh, um, my boyfriend?” I explain even though that word doesn’t feel like the right one.

He chuckles and shakes his head. “Damn, girl. Don’t even know what to call him, but he’s buying you a car. ”

I blush but don’t bother explaining. Locking up, I walk into work with Joey.

My day drags by while I wait for 2:00. I’m worried that my dad will show up at my door all day and can’t get anything done because of it. When the time finally comes, I practically run out of the building.

Chance’s Camaro is parked next to my new Range Rover Sport, so I wave to him and get into my new seat. After punching the address to my GPS, I pull out of the parking lot with Chance following close behind.

The office is a stand-alone building with a wrap around porch. Chance opens the door for me and follows me inside a cozy waiting area.

A tall, blonde steps out of an office to see who walked in. With a polite smile, she walks over with her hand out.

“You must be Noel. I’m Cassidy Thomas, Mr. Adams’ lawyer. Please, come in.” She gestures to the office she just came out of.

I look at Chance, and he’s standing by the door. “I’ll be right here.”

I nod and walk into Cassidy’s office.

“I’ve reviewed the files Mr. Adams sent. Would you like for me to go over them with you or do you have specific questions about them?” She begins.

“To be honest, I’m not completely clear on what he sent you, and I’ve never seen any documents pertaining to my inheritance. I knew my parents were wealthy, but it wasn’t something they discussed with me.”

“Alright, well. Let’s start with that,” she says, handing me a thick packet of paper. “Your inheritance isn’t really yours. It’s meant to pass down to a male heir. If there’s no male heir by the time you turn thirty, the estate is to be dissolved and donated. This is a very outdated practice, but it’s essentially done to ensure the continuation of a family with a male as head of the family.”

“How can I opt out of the inheritance completely?” I ask.

“Your grandfather would have to change it,” she states .

“Well, that’s not possible,” I say.

“That’s usually why things were done this way. The only option would be to comply with the requirements, or the family loses everything. Another option would be to have the beneficiaries agree to amending it in court, but it’s not likely that these charities would be willing to do that.” She gives me a sad smile.

“What if I did have a male child before I was thirty?” I ask, trying to understand why my father would be against my being with Declan now.

“That is where your inheritance gets interesting. There are additional criteria outlined as to whose child would be considered legitimate. Your grandfather listed specific families.”

“You’re telling me that my grandfather decided which families I could marry into?” My heart twists in my chest. My parents would’ve known all of this my entire life but never said a word.

“I’m afraid so. I’m sorry, Noel. I don’t pretend to understand how you must feel,” she offers.

“I was only five years old when he died!” My stomach turns sour at the thought. She stays quiet while I process the information.

“What if I had been a man?” I ask.

“No marriage stipulations, but you would’ve had to have a male grandson by the time your youngest daughter reached age thirty if you did not have a son of your own,” she says calmly.

My mother always said that wealth came with its own set of responsibilities and sacrifices, usually when I’d point out how she had every reason to be happier than she was. I’m starting to glimpse her meaning, but I still have so many questions.

“I took the liberty of looking up the families listed because I expected you’d want to know. Only two families had a son around your age. Your late husband’s family and the Cantons,” she says.

The world stands still as it all falls into place. My parents want me to marry Isaiah, and they will lose everything if I don’t. Not only would I have to marry him but also have a son with him in less than three years.

Feeling the bile rise in my throat, I run out of her office. Not sure where the restroom is, my only option is to get outside. Chance is on my heels. Unfortunately, he witnesses my getting sick in the bushes.

“Noel, are you alright?” He asks from behind me.

I look at him and shake my head. Of course, I’m not alright.

Walking away from my parents is one thing. Single-handedly destroying their lives is going to be much harder to live with. Being in a room alone with Isaiah gives me the creeps. The last thing I’d do is marry him, much less have his children.

But more important than all of those things is Declan. He’s the missing piece of my soul, and I won’t live without him.

“Where’s Declan?” I ask Chance.

“He’s expecting you at Velocity when you finish up here. Are you alright to drive?” He asks, concerned.

“Yep. Let’s go.”

It’s time to see what Sport stands for on this new car. Pushing the pedal to the floor as soon as I merge onto the interstate, the Range Rover hits 100 in no time. I’m weaving in and out of traffic. Being in control of this much speed is just what I needed after learning how little control I’ve had over my life.

My head is spinning at the thought of what my parents have done. Realizing that Nate knew when he met me at school that I was going to be his wife makes me feel sick again. Did he know all of those things about me? Did my own father tell him exactly what to say to me to get me to like him? To fall in love with him? Who the fuck did I even marry?

According to Declan, Nate was trying to get other women pregnant because he didn’t want to believe he was the reason we hadn’t had a baby yet. Was my father pressuring him? Jaclyn thinks he was murdered, and Declan thinks this would be the motive. If my father killed Nate with time to spare, he’d absolutely try to kill Declan now.

Oh, god! What am I going to do? I can’t fathom a life without Declan. My dad knows I’m with Declan. What if dinner tomorrow is a set up? How can I protect the man I love?

My vision gets spotty as the fear of losing Declan takes over my entire body. The car slides into the parking spot as the brakes lock up. I close my eyes to the darkness, expecting the front end to crash into the side of the building. My arms go cold as my hands grip the steering wheel hard and both feet tingle from pushing so hard on the brake pedal. I lose myself to the cold, dark as the panic takes me under.

“What the fuck happened!?” A voice bellows beside me.

“I don’t know! She threw up and dipped! Why the fuck did you buy her a car this fast?” Another one sounds farther away.

“Noel? Baby, can you hear me? Noel Elise Anderson, let go!”

I’m slammed back into the seat by what must be the airbag deploying and scream. My arms are pulled from the steering wheel, and I’m yanked sideways, falling out of the car. My hands instinctively find my face as my legs give out, but I don’t hit the ground. Instead, I’m floating. I open my eyes to smoke and Declan’s beautiful face.

Is this heaven ?

He laughs. Oh, God, I died. Now I’ll never be able to tell him how much I love him. I wrap my hands around my Heaven Declan, thankful he smells like the Earth Declan I left behind. What have I done?

We float away, but I don’t open my eyes. I focus on breathing him in just in case I can’t take this memory with me to the other side. My nose finds his skin first, then I kiss his neck.

“Thank God you taste the same,” I whisper into his perfect neck and lick him for good measure. Oh, shit. Licking probably isn’t allowed.

He laughs again as I feel a hard surface beneath me.

“Open your eyes, Noel,” he says from above.

Slowly, I open my eyes to see his face with a halo of light around it. Staring at him, I wait to be told what comes next.

“Turn off the overhead light,” he demands as his face turns serious. My heart picks up at the possibility that something isn’t right.

When I try to sit up, his hands push down on my shoulders to keep me in place. “You’re alright,” he says, soothing this time.

“Declan? Where are we?” I ask once the lights dim. The room looks familiar to me, but I can’t place it.

“We’re in my office. Can you tell me your birthday?” He asks.

“January 10th, 1998. Why?” I feel my face scrunch in confusion.

“Does your head hurt anywhere?” He asks as he searches my face with his hands and eyes.

“No. Did I hit the building?” I ask, remembering now that my vision went black when I was trying to stop.

“I’m not sure how you didn’t,” a voice behind him speaks.

“Oh, God, Declan, I tried to stop, but everything went black,” I say, panicking again .

“You did stop. You’re alright. Can you sit up for some water?” His voice soothing me again. “Everyone out!” He yells.

He helps me sit up. I watch the office door close and realize I’m on his desk. He holds a glass of water to my lips for me to take a small sip then sets it down. He pulls a chair up to sit in front of me, rubbing his giant hands over my thighs.

“You blacked out, Noel. Chance said you drove like a bat outta hell from the lawyer’s office to here after you threw up in the bushes.”

“My whole life has been a lie. They just used me for money. If he killed Nate, he’ll kill you, too. The only option I have is to disappear until the money's all gone. Otherwise, you’ll have a target on your head,” I tell him.

“You’re not running.” His deep voice is full of authority.

“What else can I do? If I don’t marry Isaiah and have a boy in the next three years, they lose everything. The only way to protect you is to marry Isaiah or run. My dad isn’t going to care about what I want.”

“He won’t be able to do much from where he’s going,” he threatens.

He tugs on my knees gently to help me into his lap. His hands frame my face as he lightly kisses my lips.

“If you ever get behind the wheel in that state again, I will spank your ass with a belt until you can’t sit for days. Do you understand?”

My eyes pop open to meet his very threatening ones. I search his face but don’t find any trace of humor in his expression and feel myself blush.

“I won’t,” I whisper. Then, I add, “I thought I died.”

He scoffs. “Yes, apparently licking might not be allowed in heaven.”

I gasp. “Oh, God!”

He chuckles at my embarrassment as I hide my face in my hands. I try to remember everything that ran through my head, wondering what else I said out loud .

Pulling my hands away, he puts them around his neck instead and uses his own to rub my back.

“Why are you embarrassed, sunshine?”

“I just didn’t know I said that out loud. What else did I say?”

He smiles but doesn’t answer. Instead, he looks down at my chest as he rests his hand over my heart. Placing my hands on either side of his face, I breathe in. His eyes meet mine again, full of adoration.

“You’ve already told me how you feel about me. Every kiss. Every scream. Every touch. Every lick . The word I need from you has five letters not four, and I’ll make you say it every day for the rest of our lives. Now, tell me you’re mine.”

The hand covering my heart presses down to feel the beating speed up as I answer him.

“Declan, I’m so selfishly in love with you that I don’t care who I hurt to be yours.”

“If my sun goddess requires a sacrifice, so be it.” His voice is barely more than gravel now.

The words settle around us, and I’m trapped inside his gaze. The world fades away, and all that is left is the truth. Sacrifices will be made for our love.

Pressing my forehead against his, I close my eyes. After a moment, he stands with his hands under my thighs to set me back on his desk.

Lifting my chin with one hand, he presses a gentle kiss to my lips. When he pulls away, he takes my left hand and slips a ring on my finger. I look down to see a round, canary diamond engagement ring wrapped around my finger.

Gasping, I look back up at him.

“The sun from my universe was stolen from me before I was old enough to grasp the true meaning of what I had lost. I’ve walked in darkness ever since, searching for you. Be the light to my dark, marry me, sunshine. ”

Tears cloud my vision as I press my left hand over his heart this time. He presses my hand down into his chest to be sure I can feel his heart pounding.

“Today,” I say.

His smile cracks my chest wide open as he pulls me into his embrace and buries his face into my neck.

“Today,” he whispers before setting me down to kiss me again.

“Let’s go,” he says, taking my hand.

When we walk into the lobby, I see several people sitting around. Chance is sitting on a sofa doing something on his phone. Declan’s father is here leaning against a wall. Zander is propped against Claire’s desk while she is busy on her computer. Everyone stares at us in unison, and we stop walking.

Declan holds my hand up to show everyone my ring, and they all smile before they move at once.

Chance walks to the door resuming his responsibilities with a smile. Claire beams and nods at me, watching the rest unfold. Zander walks up to give Declan a bro-hug before he wraps me in a full-on bear hug.

“Don’t go swimming with that thing on,” he jokes.

When he steps away, Declan’s father, Levi, is right behind him. Instead of addressing his son first, he takes both of my hands in his.

“My son has loved you since he was only a kid. There were times I wished he had never met you, so he might be able to find someone, but he never gave up hope that a day would come when he could be with you again. I can’t tell you what it means to me to finally welcome you to the family, love.”

He kisses my cheek then turns to Declan. The tears swell in Levi’s eyes as he hugs his son.

“Dad, come with us,” he asks .

His father nods, and Declan takes my hand again to lead me to the parking lot. Outside, I see my new Range Rover has been parked correctly in a parking spot, but the tire marks on the pavement show where I almost crashed. Declan helps me into his truck as his dad gets into the little truck parked next to us.

As Declan drives us to the courthouse, he kisses my hand around his ring.

“What about your ring?” I ask.

“I’m getting mine tattooed.”

“I want one too,” I tell him.

“You don’t like the ring?” He asks as he side-eyes me.

“Oh, the ring is unbelievable, Dec. It’s absolutely perfect! I want to get a tattoo with you, not as a ring, something else.”

“Yeah? What do you want?” He resumes rubbing his lips along my fingers and hand.

“Something that proves I’m yours and can’t be removed.”

“I have an idea,” he says, pulling into the courthouse parking lot.