Page 27

CHAPTER 26

LIZZY

GOING COMMANDO.

My emotions were a tornado inside me. I threw myself at Declan, relief at his acceptance and fear at his rejection twirling together into some torment of emotion that could only be expressed physically. Luckily, he seemed to be on the same page. And I didn’t blame him.

My hands found the hem of his shirt and pushed it off his muscled torso as if my life depended on it. The second his skin was bared. I dropped to my knees, kissing a trail down his chest to his navel, and then immediately helping him out of his shorts.

I barely had a moment to think before he had me off the ground in his arms and was carrying me through the apartment. He made good on his promise to try out the kitchen counter, and despite the frigid chill of the stone beneath my butt, that was hardly the first thing on my mind.

Declan laid me across the countertop and I didn’t have a second to breathe before his mouth was on me, one hand teased one breast while his mouth laved and sucked the nipple of the other. Everything inside me responded and I gasped and arched beneath him.

It was as if conscious thought was on some different plane than the one which we inhabited in those moments. My body reacted, my breath, my voice, my hands, all directed by some primal instinct brought to life by Declan‘s insistent ministrations. Then, he raised up, fitting himself to my entrance, and he shocked me by grinding out in a gruff, angry voice, “Get ready, Lizzy. Take me in.”

Something about the anger laced in his words, the ferocity with which he thrust into me, and my own feral desire for him had me meeting each move of his hips with my own aggression.

I could barely breathe, the sensations ratcheting through me were so intense. I had a momentary fear that I might actually die. But it would be worth it, I thought.

Declan‘s calloused hands circled my hips, pinning me to the kitchen island as he penetrated me deeply over and over again, my body responding to each thrust, despite my mounting exhaustion. Even if I didn’t want to climax, Declan was going to force it from me, and the sheer virility of the prince fucking me against the kitchen island was a thought so lascivious it nearly finished me. I knew I would be thinking of it later and it would be all I would need to reach the same point, even if I were alone.

I heard myself scream my release at the same moment as Declan‘s voice rose in something that sounded like an animalistic roar. His hands never left my hips, and as he slumped across my body, both of us heaving, his hands slid higher, crossing beneath my back until he was holding me to him tightly. And what had begun as a fierce sexual battle concluded in an intimate tender hug.

“What do we do now?” he asked softly.

“I need to get you home, Your Highness.“

Declan held me like that for a long, long time, and I knew his mind was racing through all the implications of leaving Virginia so suddenly.

My departure wouldn’t be without complications either. I had grown fond of my position with the Wombats, and wanted to see it through. But that would be impossible.

“How quickly can you pack?” I asked him.

“Do you think it’s even safe to go back to my place?”

That was a valid question. And one I thought I should have thought of. “You stay here and I’ll go. Tell me what you need and where I can find it.”

Declan released me and stepped away, his expression serious as he gazed into my eyes. “No, Lizzy, it might not be safe for you either.”

We had both forgotten who I really was. A hazard of the job, I supposed. But now I needed to regain my former identity.

I slid off the island, stable on my feet once again, and looked into the prince’s eyes. “This is exactly what I’m trained for, Declan. I will go get what you need, I will be back in an hour. And then we will go.“

“It just doesn’t feel right.“

“What doesn’t? Leaving suddenly, or me doing my job?“

“All of it. Any of it.”

I knew it would take a while for the prince to come to terms with his duties, and with the fact that his father was not well. But my mission was clear and I would complete it.

I dressed quickly, forgoing the PR consultant wardrobe I’d been wearing since I’d met Declan here in the United States. I pulled on a functional pair of black pants and a tight fitting long sleeve black shirt that concealed my weapon. And as soon as I got everything together, I left.