Fighting for You (13 page)

On a laugh that held very little humor he said, “I took his place as the loose cannon. I lost my fucking mind for a while. I took stupid risks and put myself on the front line at every opportunity. If it hadn’t been for Mac saving my ass a few times, I probably wouldn’t have made it home. I had planned to be career military, but as the time drew near to re-up, Mac sat me down and told me that not only had I become a liability to myself, I was to the rest of the group as well. Suddenly, I knew how Craig must have felt having all of us watching him like a hawk. Even though I said some pretty nasty things to Mac, it forced me to take a long, hard look at where I was and where I was headed and for the first time since I had enlisted, I was scared. Not of the enemy though, but of myself. Mac was right, it was time to go. I couldn’t live through another person dying on my watch or worse yet, being the cause of it.”

Curious, she asked, “Who’s Mac? Is he still in the military?”

With his first genuine smile since they had started talking, he said, “His name is actually McKinley Powers. Sounds like a real prick, right?”

Smiling at the obvious affection in his voice, she said, “I think it’s a great name.”

“Mac left when I did. We enlisted together. Just a couple of hotheaded, hell-raisers looking for a purpose. Lucky or unlucky enough, depending on how you look at it, to get shipped off together. I think he only re-upped for his second tour because he hated to leave me behind. I think he would have left at the end of the second one though even if he had to bodily force me out along with him. He does private security in this area now. Danvers is one of his clients.”

“Hmmm, have I met him?”

“I doubt it, Ellie, unless you’ve done something to get you arrested and escorted from the building. Mac isn’t there much unless there is a problem. His company has grown and he stays pretty busy. We manage to catch a beer sometimes though, plus he drops in to check on Ava from time to time.”

“Your sister?”

“Yep, that would be her.”

“Don’t take this the wrong way, but you two don’t look anything alike. She’s so pretty, but quiet. Oh, shit! I mean shoot. I didn’t mean that you’re not pretty. I mean not pretty, handsome. You are handsome and sexy . . . I just meant, you look different. I—”

Declan clamped his hand over her mouth as she continued to rattle on. “Ellie, babe, I know what you’re trying to say so relax. I’m nothing like either one of my siblings and I readily accept that. Every family needs a black sheep and I’m it for the Stone family. Ava is quiet. She wasn’t always, but shit happened. Mac was there for her and he still is.”

“What—” Suddenly the air left her lungs in a whoosh as Declan flipped her backwards and eyed her naked body. She had completely forgotten about clothes when she was roused from sleep. She knew she should be embarrassed, but the look in his eyes made her feel bold and sexy. When he continued to inspect her body without touching her, she took his hand and placed it on one aching nipple. His eyes widened and grew heavy.

“I like where your head’s at, Ellie, but before I touch you any further, show me what you like.” He removed his hand and left hers cupping her breast. Part of her wanted to remove her hand and run, but the other part was spellbound by the arousal that he couldn’t hide. His cock stood at attention as he sat riveted by the sight of her shy hand moving slowly back up to rub her nipple back and forth between her fingers. Heat shot through her body. She knew this had started with him trying to distract her from asking any more questions, and it had worked well. She now had no rational thought left. Like most single women, she had long ago learned how to take care of her own needs. But, she had never dreamed she would be touching herself while someone was watching. Boy, it felt so good to be a bit of a bad girl.

She continued to pull on her nipple as she shyly asked him, “What next?”

Declan sat back on his heels saying, “You tell me, baby. Better yet show me how you make yourself come.”

Feeling her face flush a bright red, she stuttered, “I . . . um—”

“Close your eyes and pretend I’m not here. Touch that beautiful body and let me see you fall apart.”

***

Was he having chest pains? Possibly a stroke? The veins in his neck bulged along with another part of his body as he watched Ella tentatively begin to stroke herself. He was surprised that she had agreed. He had fully expected to spend some time convincing her. Now as her breathing and her hands picked up the pace, it was obvious that she knew her needs well. Her hands didn’t falter after the initial hesitation. She had pleasured herself before. His cock jumped as he imagined her doing it while thinking of him. God knows he had jacked off enough while thinking of her.

When her small hand slowly lowered to her glistening core, he started to pant like a dog. Would she do it? Touch herself there with him watching?
Come on baby, slide your finger into that sweet spot and show me how you like it. Oh holy mother, there it is. Jesus!
The low moan that slipped from her throat was almost his undoing. He desperately wanted to see her bring herself to orgasm, but keeping his body reined in was becoming harder and harder. One of her hands was expertly flicking her clit while the other was rubbing her nipple into a hard nub. He could see by her face that she was so caught up in the moment, she had forgotten his presence. Well, he was about to change that.

He still wanted her to finish what she had started, but there wasn’t anything wrong with a little help was there? Unable to resist, he quietly moved to a position near her spread legs and leaned forward to plunge a finger into her wet, swollen folds. Her eyes popped open and her hand froze as she registered his penetration. Locking eyes with her, he whispered, “Keep going, baby. I want to feel you come around my finger.”

She whimpered as he withdrew his finger and then buried it back inside of her. Her hips lifted to meet his thrusts and her hand resumed its previous rhythm. He added another finger and worked them in and out of her tight passage. The urge to join her in stroking her clit was strong, but he was determined to let her finish what she had started so he concentrated all of his attention on plunging in and out of her wet heat. He alternated between going in fast and hard, and teasing her with just the tips of his fingers. When the motion of her hips grew more frantic and her breathing more rapid, he knew she was on the edge. One hard stroke from him and she would go over. Still, even as sweat dribbled down his back, he continued to tease her with shallow penetrations. “Tell me what you want, Ellie.”

“Faster!” She moaned.

Trailing his fingers leisurely around her now drenched mound, he asked, “What do you want fast?”

“Your fingers!” she screamed in frustration.

Declan smiled as he asked her one last question. “What do you want me to do with my fingers, Ellie, baby?”

“Fuck me hard with them, now!”

Declan was impressed. Any woman who could shout a demand like that deserved everything she asked for. The fact that she threw in the F-word turned him on even more. He pushed three fingers into her in rapid succession and pushed her over the edge. She moaned and thrashed as her body convulsed. His body on the other hand was screaming for release and he had held it in check for as long as he could. He removed his fingers and, with the ripples of her orgasm still shuddering through her body, he mounted her and thrust his cock deep inside. She almost came off the bed as they both gasped in pleasure.

Grabbing her ankles, he put them on his shoulders and sank even deeper inside of her. She was so hot and wet that his cock felt like it was on fire. “Grab your tits, baby, and stroke them for me.” Without questioning his command, she tugged on her erect nipples and threw her head back in ecstasy.

“Declannn, don’t stop!” That was one demand she didn’t need to make. His damn dick was about to explode. He’d probably die of blue balls if he even attempted to pull out now. He pounded into her, trying to hold back his release until he knew she was close to hers. He gripped her waist to pull her closer against his cock, grinding against her clit. As her moans got louder and quicker, he knew she was starting to crest. Her pussy was starting to convulse, trying to milk everything he had. With a harsh shout, he went balls deep over and over, causing the breasts that she was still cupping to jiggle as they found their release together.

His heart was hammering and his head was swimming as he collapsed on the bed beside her. She lay beside him panting just as hard. He hoped to God he hadn’t hurt her. It was hard to remember that she was basically innocent when she responded with such abandon. For the first time with her, he hadn’t held back at all. This had been raw and wild. He had fucked her hard and she had chased the peak with him every step of the way. Gone was his sweet, timid Ella. In her place was a woman who made his dick twitch in renewed interest just minutes after coming harder than he could ever remember. What was it about her? Was it that mix between innocent and wanton? He was beginning to realize that there were a lot more sides to her than he could have ever imagined.

She had been so damn sweet when he told her about Craig. It was hard to believe how much his life had changed in the last few weeks. He was actually involved with a woman. He couldn’t kid himself about Ella—she was different from any other woman he had been with. If she wasn’t, she’d have already been gone. For her, he had broken all his rules. She had not only slept over one night, she slept over most every night, and he liked it that way. He even fucking cuddled with her. She was the first person he had wanted to tell when he found out about Evan. Hell, Brant and Ava still didn’t know and he was in no hurry to tell them. He didn’t want to hurt her though and he knew that no matter how hard he tried, that was going to happen when whatever this was between them was over. He knew he would miss her friendship most of all should the ending go badly, but he wasn’t fool enough to think he could handle sharing his space for long. It just wasn’t in him, no matter how attached he had become in such a short time. Unlike the women who had come before her though, some part of him would always care about her. Maybe too damn much.

Chapter Fifteen

“I’ve turned into a slut!” With that statement, Ella slumped against Beth’s couch while her friends looked at her in surprise.

“Okay, would you like to elaborate? Or are you going to leave us guessing,” Beth asked.

“Oh hell no,” Suzy snorted, “Leaving us hanging isn’t even an option with a statement like that. Plus, calling someone like you a slut would be like calling Dora the Explorer a prostitute.”

“Well, Dora does seem to spend a lot of time away from her parents,” Claire laughed. Besides Claire, their new friend Emma chuckled.

Ella could feel herself turning a bright shade of red. They were having a girls’ night out or in this case, girls’ night in. Beth’s feet were swollen to the size of boats and her doctor had ordered her to keep them elevated as much as possible so they had all decided to come to her.

And in a fit of honesty, she had blurted that out. Now Suzy would never let it go and she could only imagine what Emma would think of her. Seeing the look of determination in the three sets of eyes watching her, she lowered her own saying, “I did it in front of Declan.”

Wrinkling her nose, Suzy asked, “What do you mean? Like farted or something?”

Before she could deny it, Beth spoke up. “Ugh, yeah that sucks. I seem to have lost control of my body since I have been pregnant. It happened to me last week. Nick and I were cuddling on the couch watching a movie and it just came out of nowhere. Of course, the damn movie had to be at a quiet part at just that moment so it sounded like a gunshot in the room. I have never seen Nick move so fast before. He almost dumped me on the floor in his haste to get away. You wouldn’t believe how he acted. He was holding his nose, spraying air freshener, and gagging. That man wasn’t even near me at that point so I know it wasn’t bothering him. If I had committed murder he wouldn’t have freaked out that much! I mean, come on, it’s not like he has never done it around me before.”

While everyone was laughing at Beth, Ella wondered if she should let them believe that was it. Just as she decided to let it go, Suzy turned her attention back to her and she knew it wasn’t over. “Why would farting in front of Declan make you a slut? Nasty maybe, but a slut? That’s reaching even for me.”

“I didn’t do . . . that. I, um . . . kind of touched myself.” The room was suddenly so quiet you could hear a pin drop. If she thought everyone was eager before, they were practically falling out of their seats now.

“Oh do tell, my little star pupil,” Suzy purred.

When Ella remained silent, Emma of all people blurted out, “You masturbated in front of him?” Even Suzy’s mouth was hanging open as they all gaped at Emma. “Whoops, sorry. I’ve got a mother who constantly talks about
everything
so this would be a pretty normal conversation between us. Well, I don’t mean me confessing to it, but her asking me if I’ve gotten laid lately and suggesting I do.” When they all continued to stare at her, she said, “Oh crap, please forget you heard all of that.”

Appearing impressed, Suzy said, “Let’s do lunch one day soon.” She then turned her attention back to Ella. “Sooo, my little girl did the naughty in front of Declan.” Ella nodded her head bracing for impact. When Suzy wedged in beside her on the couch and pulled her into a hug, she was speechless. “Oh, my baby girl has grown up. You have made me so proud. It looks like you are getting close to removing those training wheels after all.”

Claire sat forward also giving her a look of pride. “Honey, it’s nothing to be embarrassed about and it certainly doesn’t make you a slut. What goes on in the bedroom or wherever is no one’s business. It sounds like you are comfortable with Declan, and with your body. That’s nothing to be ashamed of. Jason just loves, well you know, stuff like that.”

“So does Nick,” Beth added. “Thanks by the way for not making that clear, and letting me tell all of you about my farting. Friends don’t let friends do that.”

“Yeah, thanks for that, sis,” Suzy added. “I’ve just finally got past you doing Nick in my house, now I have to scrub your bodily function issues out of my head as well. But, back to Ella. Claire is right. It’s nothing to be upset over. Heck, I do that in front of Gray sometimes even when we aren’t having sex. I find they like it a lot when it’s completely out of the blue. I will add though, make damn sure you remember the cleaning lady’s schedule.” Visibly cringing, she added, “Whew, color me awkward. Now when she comes, she yells from the front door for five minutes just in case I have my hand in my pants.”

When everyone stopped laughing, Emma said, “Consider yourself lucky, at least you have someone to watch you. The last time I had any action, parachute pants were still in style. At this point in my life, my hand and I are seeing each other exclusively. All that’s left for me is to subscribe to porn sites and buy a dozen cats.”

Giving Emma an evil grin, Suzy said, “If we helped Ella not only land a man like Declan, but do herself in front of him, I think we can easily find you a man. Hell, everyone here dates someone from work. How about the stud that you work for? If he’s Declan’s brother, he must have some kink in him somewhere.”

Emma stuck her finger in her mouth in a gagging gesture. “Please don’t even say that. I couldn’t possibly imagine doing anything to him that doesn’t involve death or dismemberment. He is a complete ass wipe. When he isn’t bitching about me putting cream in his coffee and almost killing him, he’s complaining about me stapling his papers the wrong way.” In a perfect imitation of Brant’s voice, she said, “‘Emma, do you see something wrong here? How am I supposed to read this report with the staple so close to the first line?’ I will admit, I had a severe case of PMS that day and was tired of him picking on me, so I grabbed the papers and pulled them apart, then lined them up on his desk. I could tell he was really chapped over that, but he simply raised that annoying eyebrow at me and said, ‘How clever, Emma. Your job performance is simply amazing. You are a true asset to Danvers.’” Then, remembering the owner’s wife was in the room, she winced, “Sorry, Claire.”

Claire laughed. “Don’t worry about me. On girl’s night, I’m not Mrs. Jason Danvers, I’m just Claire. Unless you are insulting my husband, everything else is fair game. If it makes you feel any better, Chrissy did spit up all over his jacket the last time he was at the house. Jason and I laughed our asses off when he left. The expression on his face was priceless. I thought he was going to be sick right there on the spot. Instead, he walked out holding his jacket as far away from his body as he could.”

Emma held her sides as she giggled, “Oh my God, I can imagine. I’m surprised he didn’t call me and insist I come clean his jacket for him. Ella, you are so lucky you got the better brother. If I fingered myself in front of Brant, he would probably call the cops!”

Ella doubled over laughing. Now that the spotlight was off her, she was glad that she had opened up and gotten some reassurances from her friends. Even though Declan had seemed to love her loss of inhibitions, she had been more than a little embarrassed after the fact. She was relieved to hear that this was apparently normal and that she hadn’t turned the corner from eager lover to tramp. She had told Declan she was going home tonight after she left Beth’s, but she was now tempted to surprise him. Maybe there was a few more firsts that he wouldn’t mind helping her with.

***

Declan shifted uncomfortably as the woman across from him continued to sob. His life was starting to resemble a circus. He never knew what the next act was going to bring. Ella was out with her friends and he had been looking forward to some down time. Of course, a few hours into the evening and he had been pacing around, restless and at loose ends. When his phone rang, he was surprised to see Julie’s name on the ID. She had wanted to give him the name of the doctor she was using for the paternity test as well as his appointment time. She had also asked for his address so that she could send him some photos of Evan. He had thought that a bit strange since he was likely to see her again soon, but didn’t question her further. Now here he sat watching a woman he barely knew sob. WHAT. THE. FUCK.

Lifting tear soaked eyes, Julie gasped out, “So sorry, Declan, I . . . shouldn’t have come here.”

He had the desire to reply, “No shit,” but thought better of it. He had no idea what the problem was. She had been crying since the moment he opened the door. The only thing he had managed to get out of her was that Evan was fine and at a friend’s house. “Julie, uh, is there someone I can call for you?” If possible, that seemed to make the crying worse. But he was a guy and he had no idea how to handle something like this. Maybe he should call Ella. She would definitely be better at this than him.
Yeah, brilliant idea. Call your girlfriend and ask her to come over and talk to your previous one-night stand, oh, and the mother of your child.
Maybe that wasn’t such a good idea after all. Instead, he kept his mouth shut and hoped that she would get herself together sooner rather than later. Would she be offended if he turned on ESPN?

Finally, after what seemed like hours, the crying tapered off into sniffles and she dug a wad of tissues out of her purse. “Oh my God, I’m so sorry, Declan,” she sniffed. “I had no business coming here.”

Even though he completely agreed with her, he took pity on her because she did look embarrassed. “It’s fine Julie. Are you okay now?”

Giving a self-conscious laugh, she said, “If you’re scared I’m going to cry again, I promise, I’m cried out.”

Even as he felt like he had to ask, he desperately hoped she wouldn’t answer. “Is something wrong?” When she ran a hand through her hair and was quiet for a moment, he started to think she was going to ignore his question . . . no such luck.

“I had a fight with Graham.”

“Graham? Oh yeah, that’s your fiancé?”

She looked surprised for a moment, but then gave a small smile. “Oh, that’s right; I mentioned him to Ella. Yes, we are engaged. He um . . . shit, I shouldn’t be telling you of all people this, but he’s upset about you coming into our lives.”

It was Declan’s turn to be surprised. “Your whole issue tonight is over me? Evan doesn’t even know I’m his father so why would your . . . Graham have a problem with it?”

Almost as if she didn’t want him to think badly of Graham, she began with, “He really is a great guy, but this has thrown him for a loop. He has always accepted Evan and me as a package deal. I think he sees himself as a father figure to him. Suddenly, with you coming into the picture, he feels threatened.” Almost sheepishly, she admitted, “I think he is afraid I have some kind of feelings for you which is absurd. He knows it just happened the one time and that I never saw you again, but he’s afraid that it will happen again now that you are back.”

Releasing a loud breath, Declan shook his head saying, “That’s crazy. I’m sorry that this has caused problems in your life, but I’m not sure how I can help you. I’d be happy to tell him that he has no worries there, but it’s doubtful he is going to believe me if he trusts you so little.”

Julie cringed, “Ouch, you don’t pull any punches do you?” When he opened his mouth to reply, she cut him off. “No, you’re right. This isn’t your problem even though it involves you indirectly and yes, he should trust me enough to know that he doesn’t have anything to worry about.”

When the doorbell rang again, Declan rolled his eyes and hoped that it was someone selling something. Some Girl Scout cookies would be way better than a hysterical, sobbing female. When he opened the door, Ella threw herself into his arms, legs around his waist before he even knew what was happening. Obviously not seeing Julie, she gave him a suggestive wink and said, “I thought tonight you could touch yourself while I watched. I’ll be happy to help though, if you need it.”

He was wrong, things could always get worse. Any other time, that offer would have landed Ella squarely on her back in about two seconds flat, now he was just dreading her finding out that they had an audience. “Um, Ellie . . . baby, I have company.” It took a moment for his words to hit home. He knew the second they did because he felt her body stiffen in surprise. As her legs went slack, he let her slide down off of him. When she slowly turned around and noticed Julie for the first time, she looked both surprised and uncertain.

“Oh, hi, Julie. I . . . uh, didn’t see you there.”

As she studied Julie’s red, puffy face, and wet eyes, Ella seemed to grow even more uncomfortable. Declan put his arm around her reassuringly. He could appreciate the fact that walking into something like this might be a little unsettling to Ella and he wanted to let her know without embarrassing Julie that there was nothing going on here. “Ellie, Julie was upset and needed someone to talk to. I wasn’t expecting you this evening. I mean, of course I’m glad to see you, I just thought you were having a girls’ night.” That sounded lame as hell, even to his own ears. What he really wanted to do was push Ella toward Julie and make some excuse to leave. This was one of those times when he wished he smoked so he could use needing to run out for cigs as an excuse to escape. He tried to gently push Ella toward the sitting area, but she had dug her heels in and refused to budge.

She gave Julie an over bright smile before turning back to him. “I’m just going to go. I should have called first.”

He made a grab for her elbow, shaking his head, “No, honey, please stay.” Julie stood too, offering to leave instead. It seemed to him that pretty much everyone in the room at that point was heading for the door and the one that actually left before he could stop her was Ella. Yeah, this evening had really turned out outstanding. Now the room was filled with an awkward silence and he wanted nothing more than for Julie to leave so he could call Ella and explain. Women made everything so damned complicated. Thankfully, Julie took her cue from his expression and grabbed her purse from the table.

“I’m sorry for trying to involve you in my problems. I . . . just didn’t have anyone to talk to and I obviously screwed up your night.”

Declan ran a hand through his hair as a wave of exhaustion hit him and he decided that some honesty was in order even if it made him the bad guy. He didn’t want a repeat of this evening. “Julie, I’m sorry my reappearance has caused problems with you and Graham, but that has to stay between you two. He probably wouldn’t appreciate me even knowing about it. If you have anything to tell me that involves Evan, then call me day or night, but I can’t be your girlfriend. I will take the paternity test as planned tomorrow and I will help you out if you need it financially or with whatever Evan needs. I will be happy to take him if you and Graham need some time away.”