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With goosebumps flowing down my spine, he steps away. A few seconds later the shower runs, and I pad after him into the bathroom.
I don’t want to be alone. I don’t want the liquid courage to leave me. He’s stepping into the shower when his eyes lift and he sees me at the door. Declan raises his arms and pushes the water through his hair, his eyes on mine. Despite all that’s happened, I still feel the heat behind that look.
My heart hammers and I’m only vaguely aware of what I’m doing. I want it to be easy again. I want to go back to when it started. That’s all I can think about in this moment.
Take me back to that place where I fell in love with him.
I pull his T-shirt over my head and drop it to the floor. Declan’s eyes track down my body and follow my hands as I find the waistband of my panties and take them off. My heart in my throat, I cross to the shower and get in with him.
The hot water is soothing and the white noise that surrounds us only urges me to keep going.
At first, I just put my hands to his back, skimming my palms over his shoulder blades. He lets out a low noise and turns, pulling me tight against him. Water slicks between us. Declan tips my face to his and kisses me.
His lips meet mine and I can’t help but groan from the simple pleasure in it all.
There’s something in his kiss that will always attract me no matter what I do. I could try to run away and never think of him again, but it would be impossible. I’d always imagine the way his tongue slides over mine. He’s commanding and possessive, and he doesn’t change. The stress of the past couple of days hasn’t diminished anything about him. It feels good to let him take control.
My mind hesitates, but only for a second. My body knows what’s right, too. Sometimes, my body knows before my mind has had a chance to keep up. Deep down, there’s a part of me that knows he’s right for me.
“Declan.”
“Hmm?”
It’s clear he doesn’t want to stop kissing me, and I don’t really want him to stop, either. I let him keep going for another minute until I’m so hot and bothered from his body and from the wine and the way he’s kissing me that I push at him a little.
Declan pulls back, water droplets clinging to his eyelashes. “Yeah?”
I dare to do what Aria said. To talk to him and tell him how I’m feeling. “We need to…fix things. Between us.”
His brow furrows, and he manages to look solemn, even though we’re naked in the shower and the water sprays against his back. A stray droplet hits me in the eyes every so often and makes me blink. It could be the wine giving me this courage, or the time I spent with Aria and Addison, or just the realization that’s slowly sinking in.
It takes him a moment of studying my expression before he answers, “Tell me how we can fix it.” His voice is soft and patient.
My throat tightens and my heart hammers. I don’t want to screw this up.
“I realized…I’m realizing, right now…” Declan’s patient with me. His hands slide to my waist and he holds me close to his body, but he doesn’t rush me. “I never want to go back to that place we were. I can’t handle not being able to trust you. So I need you to understand that I’m not going to respond well to certain things.”
He nods but stays quiet, giving me the space to say what I need to say.
“I think I’ll be okay if you don’t lie to me.” This is the part that scares me to admit out loud. People like the Cross brothers are used to having to lie. They move in worlds where lying and violence are part of everyday life. Somewhere from some source of courage, the words tip out with a fierceness I didn’t know I had. “No more tests. No more white lies. And no more secrets. They make me feel like I’m going crazy, and I can’t do that.”
Declan waits until he’s sure I’m finished, then leans in and kisses the tip of my nose. It’s a sweet, tender gesture and I know he wouldn’t do that for me unless he truly had feelings for me. “Promise me you’ll marry me, and I’ll tell you everything you want to know. That’s all you have to say, and I’ll protect you from everything in the world, Braelynn. You won’t have to be afraid again. I’ll never lie to you again.”
Marry me.He said it again.
My blood runs hot as his promises sink in. The water continues to crash around us and his hands stay on my hips, my hands on his chest. Our eyes locked.
That’s what I want. I want the safety he’s offering me. I want him to wrap me in his arms and never let go. But marriage?
“Why would you want to marry me?” I whisper the very real question out loud. I know there has to be another reason.
DECLAN
No matter how much she tells me she’s okay, I can see the pain lingering there. The distrust. She’s not a good liar. I already knew that though.
“I don’t just want you to marry me because I love you and I don’t want you to ever doubt it. I need you to marry me to protect you from legal shit.”
Her lips part but she stops herself from asking whatever it was that came to her mind.
