bubble of laughter looming inside my
chest but I can’t hide the smile on my face from his sudden, fierce
possessiveness. I’ve seen it a few times in the last three months.
His tone would change during certain discussions on the phone or
when Jerry would cross a line at the bar, I would see a little bit
of his possessive side come out, even with his friends, but this
was much more than I’ve seen before and the silly girl inside me
melted from it.
I still feel unsure about the whole
situation. I can’t be positive that he’ll be able to handle my
hectic schedule, but I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt and
handle the outcome later.
“ You ready to go inside?”
he asks in a much softer tone.
I nod my answer and he takes my hand. “I
just need to freshen up real quick before anyone sees me like this.
I’m a mess.” I look up to Declan and find him smiling down at me
with such happiness in his eyes that I almost start crying all over
again.
“ You look beautiful, but
I’ll take you to the restroom before we head out back.”
“ Why are you dressed like
that, by the way?” I ask. “I hardly recognized you.”
He chuckles a little. “Uhh, you’ll see in a
minute.” He pulls on my hand and I try not to freak out over that
vague answer. What could possibly be in the back that would rid
Declan of his piercings, messy hair and street clothes?
We walk inside and are greeted with a
two-story foyer with a curved staircase on either side. The floor
is dark hardwood and it runs all the way up the staircase. The
bannister is made up of a rich wood and intricate wrought iron
detail. It’s stunning.
Declan pulls my hand to have me follow him
upstairs. He looks back down at me and the happiness has mostly
vanished—he looks peeved. “It’s just a house, Ava.”
“ Um no, it’s not, Declan.
This place is…”
“ Don’t. It’s just a
house.”
I’m not sure why he’s acting this way. I
can’t put my finger on his mood exactly. If this were my place, I’m
pretty sure I would have dragged him through every room already. I
would be so proud of it. Instead, he almost looks embarrassed.
“ I was just going to say
that it’s beautiful. It doesn’t suit your personality, but I still
love it.”
“ Yeah?” he asks, relaxing
a little as we start to walk down a short hallway before
approaching a set of double doors.
“ Yeah.”
He leans down and kisses me chastely. “Well,
wait ‘til you see my room.” He pushes open the door to the right
and gestures for me to go in. It’s like a different world in here.
There’s plush beige carpet across the expansive room and a huge bed
with plain brown bedding sits off to the right. It looks so
comfortable I just want to crawl up in it and take a nap. There’s a
chair and a side table next to doors that open up to a balcony.
On the left is a living area with a couple
recliners and a sofa surrounding a huge flat screen TV. On either
side of the TV are framed posters of fighters. There are several
shelves that hold framed magazine and newspaper articles, along
with a lot of trophies and colored belts from a karate GI.
“ Now this is more of what
I had imagined.” I chance a look up at him and he’s smiling again.
This is room he’s proud of. He’s obviously happy to have me in here
and I couldn’t be happier to be here.
“ This is the only room I
was able to keep Macie out of,” he explains as he leads me into the
ginormous bathroom. I mean seriously, what does one need with all
of this space in their bathroom? “She’s infatuated with my shower,
so she showers in here when she stays over. She keeps her own
drawers stocked full, I’m sure I can find you some of those makeup
wipe things.” Declan digs through some very full drawers before he
fishes the wipes out of the last drawer. He walks back over to me
and I can’t take my eyes off of him. Everything about him is so
beautiful. He pulls a wipe out of the case and starts to gently
wipe the
chest but I can’t hide the smile on my face from his sudden, fierce
possessiveness. I’ve seen it a few times in the last three months.
His tone would change during certain discussions on the phone or
when Jerry would cross a line at the bar, I would see a little bit
of his possessive side come out, even with his friends, but this
was much more than I’ve seen before and the silly girl inside me
melted from it.
I still feel unsure about the whole
situation. I can’t be positive that he’ll be able to handle my
hectic schedule, but I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt and
handle the outcome later.
“ You ready to go inside?”
he asks in a much softer tone.
I nod my answer and he takes my hand. “I
just need to freshen up real quick before anyone sees me like this.
I’m a mess.” I look up to Declan and find him smiling down at me
with such happiness in his eyes that I almost start crying all over
again.
“ You look beautiful, but
I’ll take you to the restroom before we head out back.”
“ Why are you dressed like
that, by the way?” I ask. “I hardly recognized you.”
He chuckles a little. “Uhh, you’ll see in a
minute.” He pulls on my hand and I try not to freak out over that
vague answer. What could possibly be in the back that would rid
Declan of his piercings, messy hair and street clothes?
We walk inside and are greeted with a
two-story foyer with a curved staircase on either side. The floor
is dark hardwood and it runs all the way up the staircase. The
bannister is made up of a rich wood and intricate wrought iron
detail. It’s stunning.
Declan pulls my hand to have me follow him
upstairs. He looks back down at me and the happiness has mostly
vanished—he looks peeved. “It’s just a house, Ava.”
“ Um no, it’s not, Declan.
This place is…”
“ Don’t. It’s just a
house.”
I’m not sure why he’s acting this way. I
can’t put my finger on his mood exactly. If this were my place, I’m
pretty sure I would have dragged him through every room already. I
would be so proud of it. Instead, he almost looks embarrassed.
“ I was just going to say
that it’s beautiful. It doesn’t suit your personality, but I still
love it.”
“ Yeah?” he asks, relaxing
a little as we start to walk down a short hallway before
approaching a set of double doors.
“ Yeah.”
He leans down and kisses me chastely. “Well,
wait ‘til you see my room.” He pushes open the door to the right
and gestures for me to go in. It’s like a different world in here.
There’s plush beige carpet across the expansive room and a huge bed
with plain brown bedding sits off to the right. It looks so
comfortable I just want to crawl up in it and take a nap. There’s a
chair and a side table next to doors that open up to a balcony.
On the left is a living area with a couple
recliners and a sofa surrounding a huge flat screen TV. On either
side of the TV are framed posters of fighters. There are several
shelves that hold framed magazine and newspaper articles, along
with a lot of trophies and colored belts from a karate GI.
“ Now this is more of what
I had imagined.” I chance a look up at him and he’s smiling again.
This is room he’s proud of. He’s obviously happy to have me in here
and I couldn’t be happier to be here.
“ This is the only room I
was able to keep Macie out of,” he explains as he leads me into the
ginormous bathroom. I mean seriously, what does one need with all
of this space in their bathroom? “She’s infatuated with my shower,
so she showers in here when she stays over. She keeps her own
drawers stocked full, I’m sure I can find you some of those makeup
wipe things.” Declan digs through some very full drawers before he
fishes the wipes out of the last drawer. He walks back over to me
and I can’t take my eyes off of him. Everything about him is so
beautiful. He pulls a wipe out of the case and starts to gently
wipe the
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