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Maybe he didn’t want to hurt her feelings by addressing it. Or he was afraid to have the same conversation she was about to have with him. Telling him how she felt might ruin their friendship.They both avoided this topic. Well, either way, tonight would be the start of a new chapter in their relationship. Hopefully, a chapter filled with lots of clothes ripping…
“I know, I know…” he said as he held up his hands, making his black stained T-shirt creep up from the top of his dusty jeans. She bit her bottom lip at the sight of his dusty trail of hair going down beneath his belt buckle.Bree cleared her throat.
“The color is gross, Dec. It’s—”
“Yeah, I know. You’re right. I should have listened to you. But at least for now, it has a coat of paint.” He shrugged before he opened his arms for her to step into. She couldn’t remember the time he wouldn’t invite her into his arms for a hug.
Even wearing a new dress for this special occasion couldn’t hold her from hugging his dirty torso. The smell of clean, manly sweat accompanied by wood dust infiltrated her nostrils. She placed her cheek to his T-shirt clad chest to get her fill. He squeezed her tighter for a moment and stepped back to travel his gray eyes over her.
“You seem different. What did I miss? Didn’t we talk this morning? What’s up?” Declan said as he took her biceps in his calloused hands. The observant cop side of Dec scrutinized her expression as he narrowed his eyes.
“Geez. I’m wearing make-up? Maybe that’s it?” Bree said as she tucked a curl behind her ear.
“No. That’s not it. It’s somethinginyour eyes, notonyour eyes. Your eyes always speak volumes to me. And they’re telling me there’s something going on you’d rather not say. What’s the matter?”
Bree sighed and shook her head. Why was this so hard? He was her best friend; she usually told him everything. Well, perhaps not that she’d masturbated this morning after hanging up the phone with Dec. His raspy voice after he’d just woken up had gotten her all hot and bothered. She’d needed some kind of relief before going into work and had made do with the showerhead.
Oh, how she longed to feel the real deal instead of getting off on just the thought of Declan. They stood so close she could almost taste him. Bree took a deep breath, full of his scent, and closed her eyes for a moment.
Okay, let’s do this. It’s now or never.
“Dec…” she said as she opened her eyes. His name came out in a pained whisper.
“What is it?”
His eyes searched hers for answers. As he cocked his head, his charcoal longer hair on top swished over his frowned forehead.
She swallowed the big lump in her throat and said, “I’m in love with you.”
His brows shot up, and he took a step back from her. His hands let go of her upper arms. Losing his warmth and the lack of a verbal response made her involuntarily shiver. She looked up through her eyelashes and winced at his expression.
Dec rubbed his neck, exposing his hard bicep next to his ear. A smear of ugly vermillion paint graced his elbow. He shook his head in disbelief.
“Fuck, Squirt. I…”
She swallowed back the tears threatening to overflow her eyelids. After a few hefty blinks, the first damn tears descended. Declan wasted no time and beat her to it as he wiped them away with his thumb.
“Shit…”
He took her cheeks in between the palm of his hands and for a moment; she was sure he would lean in and kiss her. His stormy eyes locked onto hers, but she couldn’t read him. How could he control his emotions like this? Didn’t she affect him as he did her?
“Say you feel this too, Dec,” Bree said. The pleading in her voice was clear.
“I… yes, I love you.”
Bree’s heart rate went sky high, but his pained stare demolished all hope. And his next words shattered her heart into a thousand pieces.
“But not in that way. I’m sorry, Squirt.”
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Excerpt Duncan - book 1
DUNCAN BOOK 1
Salty dropletsof sweat stung Duncan’s eyes as he jabbed his right glove against the cut jaw of his younger brother Ronan. Other than a smothered grunt, the big ape didn’t let on Duncan’s force affected him.
The grunts of both brothers and the tapping of gloves against each other echoed through the otherwise at this hour deserted gym. A blow to his knee made Duncan swear out loud. Ronan chuckled and said, “Was that as good for you as it was for me?”
