His Wicked Pleasure (6 page)

Before Kristie had a chance to adjust her position, Declan leaned into her and whispered, “I plan on proving to you how serious I am about you and about us. I’m twenty-eight years old and, by now, I know exactly what I want and what I want is you.”

“Oh my,” said Kristie doing her best to feign off the heat he was stirring deep within her being. “Those are some pretty serious words.”

“Those words are from here and here,” said Declan taking her hand in his and first bringing it to his heart then straight to his head. “I’m not like every other asshole you seem to know so don’t classify me as such.”

Paul cleared his throat and turned to face Lorie with a huge boyish grin. “He’s right. Neither one of us are assholes or players.”

“Great,” said Lorie glaring daggers at her sister while she spoke between clenched teeth. “Now that we got that all straightened out, can we please change the subject?”

Kristie grimaced and she wanted to argue but instead, she looked at her purse, which kept buzzing as her phone went off. She ignored the phone and fidgeted nervously, as she looked anywhere but at Declan. Finally, looking across the table, she asked in a rushed voice since she wanted to change the subject, “So what do you both do for a living?”

Declan stuttered a few times and finally said, “I work for the government.”

“Oh cool. Doing what?” asked Kristie with interest.

“I’m what you would call a trouble shooter. A problem solver so to speak. I head special operations in my department.”

“Oh,” said Kristie in a soft voice...hesitating slightly as she did. It sounded like he had something to do with IT and computers. “Cool.”

“That sounds exciting,” said Lorie turning towards Paul. “What do you do for a living?”

“I take orders from that one,” said Paul with a huge smile. “We’ve been working together for quite a while now.”

“That’s awesome,” Lorie smiled as their food finally arrived. “Oh before I forget, we’re having a huge barbeque out our house in a few hours and I would love for you to come.”

“Really?” asked Paul glancing over at Declan. He wondered if Kristie approved of this invite.

Shocking everyone at the table, Kristie said, “Here’s the address,” as she pulled an oversized envelope out of her purse and handed Declan a fancy invitation.

~*~*~*~

Making their way to Kristie’s house, Declan looked around at the neighborhood and asked in disbelief, “Seriously dude, we can’t be in the right area?” He marveled at all of the beautiful mansions with their manicured lawns and their perfectly trimmed bushes and trees. “I feel like I’m in a scene from ‘Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous’.”

“According to my GPS,” Paul confirmed in a deep voice. “The girls’ house should be on the next block.”

Declan looked at Paul like he was crazy, “Come on, are you serious?”

They pulled up to a beautiful multi-colored brick driveway, where each brick was perfectly placed. The entrance definitely gave their guests a feel of what’s to come. The scent of spring enveloped them, as they noticed the freshly manicured lawn with beautiful bushes in various shades of green lining the driveway, trimmed to perfection. As they approached Kristie’s home, Declan gasped.

The mansion standing before them was absolutely breathtaking with its warm terracotta brick exterior, outlined with darker bricks around every angle. The straight lines of the home and gardens gave a calm and welcoming feeling. The windows were sparkling as the sun reflected off of them like little stars twinkling in the night. The entrance of the home had a beautiful brick archway, which reached out and beckoned you inside. The various pitches of the roof just added to the charm.

The two of them walked up to the entrance, rang the doorbell, and waited. Declan looked around in amazement, “The architect who designed this home did a fantastic job. The detail and color contrast really makes this home stand out.”

Lorie answered the door and she grinned when she saw them. “Well hello; please, come in. Everyone’s in the backyard.”

As soon as they walked inside, they stepped onto a beautiful, white marble floor in a bright, entrance hall that was decorated with cherubs and angels of various shapes and sizes. As Declan looked around, he noticed high, corniced ceilings, which were painted to perfection. The large, bay windows allowed in a lot of sunlight and the room sparkled with the brightly colored sashes above the windows.

They followed Lorie through the entranceway and Declan whistled as he looked at the tastefully decorated home. To their right was a beautiful, sunken living room, extremely large in both length and width. It featured a huge flat screen television that had to be at least one hundred inches in diameter. There were five various shaped couches, all cream in color, with different shaped throw pillows scattered around. An oriental rug in the center of the room provided a splash of color and tied the room together.

Declan took every aspect of the decor in the house, as they walked a little further down the hall. He looked up as they passed through a beautiful archway and into the kitchen, which was done with the same detail as the rest of the house. The floor was a light, ceramic terracotta tile, each piece laid with a perfection that added a warm and friendly atmosphere to the space. The lightwood cabinets filled the entire wall and were offset with polished brass handles that matched the marble countertop and high quality, stainless steel appliances. Like the rest of the main floor, the kitchen was huge and even managed to allow for a huge table near a bay window that looked out onto the manicured yard.

Turning towards Paul with a smile, Lorie said, “Please, make yourselves at home. I’ll be right back, I have to find Kristie.” She paused, “Actually, I’m not even sure if she’s home yet.”

****

Walking into Kristie’s room, Lorie smiled, “The guests are beginning to arrive. Why don’t you come downstairs and give me a hand?”

“Sure,” said Kristie as she stood up and took one last look at herself in her full-length mirror. She looked great and the sundress was perfect for a barbeque. She smiled as she followed her sister downstairs and wondered if Declan would come.

Billy and Benny seemed to have the grill under control while Jason was running things to people. Walking over to them, Kristie picked up a few chairs and carried them over to where they wanted the seating to be arranged.

“Hey beautiful, need some help?” asked Declan as he took the heavy iron chairs from Kristie. Looking at her with wicked grin, he asked, “Will you be on the menu tonight?” before he kissed her on the lips.

She sighed into his kiss and then turned away from him as she arranged the furniture. She looked over her shoulder and replied in a seductive voice, “That depends.”

She grinned when she heard his groan and saw the lust in his eyes. “Why don’t you go and help my brothers? I have to set up a few lights and I have that covered,” she said before she picked up the box of lights and walked over to where she was going to hang them.

She got right to work and while she noticed Declan from time to time, she quickly lost track of him. Of course, she didn’t lose track of how his lust filled glances were making her feel. As she finished hanging the last of the lights, she walked over to the switch and flicked it on.

It was breathtaking and her backyard had been transformed into a fantasy world of blue, white and purple, twinkling fairy lights. Feeling muscular arms wrap around her, she leaned back and whispered, “Thank you for all your help, I really appreciate it.”

“Help? What are you talking about?” asked a different voice then what she’d expected.

Jumping back, she turned around and frowned, “Sebastian, what are you doing here?”

“Expecting someone else?” he asked in a bitter voice, his eyes hardening as he glared at her. He moved closer and her heart leapt into her throat as it sped up.

She returned his glare and raised her chin in defiance as she said, “Well I wasn’t expecting you that’s for sure.”

Her eyes searched the gathering crowd, and she saw Paul and Declan glance towards her. Declan’s eyes were full of possessive confusion and his gaze zeroed onto Sebastian’s hand as he touched her arm. With his arms over his chest, Declan walked over with Paul and asked, “Everything okay over here?”

“Yes,” said Kristie nervously, “Sebastian was just leaving.”

“Leaving? I just got here.” He took a step towards Kristie, which caused her to take a step back. She glanced at Declan with worry as she took in his stormy expression.

“I don’t want you here,” she said, “You weren’t invited; now leave.”

“Hey man,” Paul held up his hands and his voice was calm. It was clear that he was doing his best to keep the scene from escalating. “Why don’t you do what the lady is asking and leave?”

Sebastian scowled at him before his hand snaked out and wrapped around her arm. He pulled Kristie into his embrace and rested his head on her shoulder as he glared at them. “Not until I’m ready,” he snarled.

Declan’s stomach turned as he watched Kristie in another man’s arms. No one’s touching my woman, he thought to himself as he took the few steps to close the distance between him and Kristie. He wrapped his arm around her waist as he pushed Sebastian back with his other hand. Kristie pressed against his chest and he breathed in her scent before he passed her to Paul.

Sebastian stumbled, completely caught off guard by Declan and before he could react, he was facing the angry Declan. Scowling at him, Declan said, “As you can see, Kristie doesn’t want you here so, perhaps, you should leave.”

“Screw you,” growled Sebastian; his fist clenched and he swung...his hand hitting nothing but air as Declan moved around him.

With lightening speed, Declan clasped Sebastian’s hands behind his back and brought him to his knees. “I’m giving you one last chance; leave now.”

Sebastian nodded and Declan released him with a small shove. Sebastian stood up ran his fingers through his hair and said, “I’m leaving but this isn’t over Kristie. It’s not over—not by a long shot.”

Declan stood there calmly as he assessed the man. He wasn’t going to fight...at least, not now but he may become a problem eventually. He didn’t care, he would deal with him if needed. Taking a deep breath, Declan stared at him and said in a deep, confident voice, “It’s over man. Kristie is with me now. Leave.”

They stood there and watched Sebastian leave and they continued to listen as they heard a car start and peel away from the front of the house. Turning towards Kristie, Declan pulled her into his arms and held her as he drank in the feel of her. She shivered under his touch and he wasn’t sure if it was from what just happened or if she was reacting to him. Placing his head on hers, he assured her, “That clown will not be bothering you again.”

Feeling embarrassment creep through her body, she said, “Thank you for handling him the way you did. My brothers would have made a scene and started fighting.”

“Oh, don’t think that wasn’t on my mind, beautiful. I’m not that easy going,” said Declan catching his breath as he pulled out of the hug. He looked at her with longing before he added; “It took everything I had not to beat him to a pulp.”

Paul laughed and patted Declan on the back, “Proud of you man, I was a little worried for a moment.”

              Kristie nodded and then shook herself out of her embarrassment. She glanced towards her brothers, who were all watching the exchange. “I guess I should officially introduce you to my brothers,” she said in a soft voice as an embarrassed flush spread across her cheeks. “I apologize for being rude.”

              Declan smiled, “Don’t. We already met them.”

She nodded and then she couldn’t reply as guests started arriving in droves. She quickly got caught up in the role of hostess and didn’t have much time to talk to him, although, her eyes often sought him out through the evening.

As the barbeque began to wind down, Kristie bid her guest goodbye as, one by one, their friends began to leave. She began cleaning up as her sister walked over to help. Lorie whispered to her, “I really like Paul. I hope you’re wrong about them being players because the more time I spend with him, the more I like him.”