Declan (8 page)

Declan is still a mystery to me, but not as much as he was before this evening. I can sense that there’s more to the story than he’s told me, but like me, he finds it hard to share.

As hard as it is to talk about Danni and Justice, and everything that happened, I never felt that Declan held me responsible for any of it while we spoke. He just held my hand and nodded in understanding.

He’s a sweet guy, although I’m guessing with his military background he’d hate me calling him that. He even remembered that I love blueberry muffins.

It’s so peaceful here; I can feel the heat from his body lying beside me on the blanket. I think I could fall asleep here and not have nightmares.

Declan reaches over to brush the hair away from my face; his touch is gentle and tender as he pushes the stray lock behind my ear. His finger traces down the side of my cheek, down my neck and to the swell of my breasts where he pauses.

He moves his hand and lifts my chin towards his, planting a soft kiss on my lips. I kiss him back. The kiss deepens between us, soon we’re biting lips and then his tongue invades my mouth. I can feel his kisses all the way through my body. I’m on fire. Between us my shirt has been removed, and I’ve almost wrestled his t-shirt over his head. Holy shit. This guy has abs. He’s a lot leaner and more toned than the guys back at the clubhouse, but his body vibrates strength and energy. I trace my nails down his chest towards that seductive V that disappears into his jeans. Meanwhile he’s tracing his hands up inside my skirt.

We’re making out like a couple of teenagers and I love it. His hand reaches the silk of my panties, teasing me. It would be rude not to reciprocate so I undo the belt and buttons of his jeans, pushing my hand inside his boxers. He’s hard as steel already. His cock is pulsing beneath my fingers as I wrap my hand around him.

His fingers push my panties aside and he eases a finger into me. Fuck. That feels good. I’m already wet for him as he pushes his finger in deeper. His thumb meanwhile is working on my clit. I’m trying to move my hand up and down his cock, but the distraction from his fingers and thumb is too much. I just clench my fist tight around him as he takes me to the brink of my orgasm. Holy shit. The sky has nothing on the stars that explode behind my eyes as I peak.

I struggle to draw in a breath. That was amazing. Declan hasn’t stopped though. He’s pushed my skirt up around my waist and removed my underwear. All the while he’s continued to kiss me.

He pulls back, an unspoken question in his eyes. “Yes.” I whisper. “I need you.” He moves away from me for a moment to remove his jeans and fish a condom from his wallet. I feel the chill as his body leaves mine. He’s quickly back at my side, already sheathed. I gasp as he enters me for the first time. The feeling is indescribable; we fit together so perfectly. He eases further into me then starts thrusting. His cock feels like steel as he pushes deeper and deeper. I arch my back to meet his thrusts, wrapping my legs around his back.

He takes a hand and pulls my left leg down, straightening it out and pinning it under his. My right leg is still wrapped around him. In this position we’re almost side-by-side facing each other. It seems even more intimate than when he was above me. This time when he thrusts its deeper still. The angle feels like he’s going to split me in two, but it doesn’t hurt. Instead it’s blissful.

He kisses me deeply, our tongues tangling, before pulling his head back to move down and draw my nipple into his mouth. He bites down lightly and the pain is exquisite. I cry out and I can’t believe it when I feel his cock harden even more at the sound. He bites down a little harder the next time and my orgasm rushes through me. I scream out as I come. Seconds later he comes as well. The look on his face and the roar he lets out, as as he fills me with his come, is my undoing. I lay back, sated and with the hugest smug grin on my face.

He laughs when he sees my expression. “Well don’t you look like the cat that got the cream.”?

“Yep.” I smirk, seeing a similar smug grin on his face. “So do you. That was fucking awesome!” I grin.

“Why thank you.” He collapses on his back at the side of me.

We lay there under the stars letting the night air cool our overheated skin. It’s dawn before we pack up the blanket, collect up our rubbish and get back in the truck to head home. We’ve made love several times, each time better and more mind blowing than the time before.

I’m going to have trouble walking tomorrow and it’s going to be worth every single ache and pain.

I can’t help walking around with a smug grin on my face all morning. Holly and I have exchanged several texts but not set up another date yet. I definitely want to see this girl again. The sex was amazing, but it’s more than that. There’s some sort of connection between us, when we’re together I feel whole.

Another text sounds and I smile at the message she’s sent me.

HOLLY: My abs are killing me! I feel like we did a huge gym workout last night!

DECLAN: Well the gym is good for you; we’ll have to arrange another session ;- )
HOLLY: Definitely! The sooner the better x

I’m about to think of some witty reply to send back when there’s a commotion from the front of the bar. Something’s happened outside judging by the fact most of my bar staff are rushing outside as well as some of the customers.

I head outside to see what’s going on. The tattoo shop down the street looks to have a smashed front window. The bikes outside are on the ground.

“What the hell?” Josh, one of the barmen cries. “Not again!”

What does he mean not again? I pull Josh to one side and ask him. He tells me that three months ago, when the club had all the trouble, someone fell through the tattoo shop window and was killed. It was the woman who’d killed Danni.

The guys over at the Tattoo shop seem to have everything under control so I usher everyone back into the pub. I’ll go over later and see what happened. For now I’m probably better off trying to minimise the whole thing in front of the staff and the customers. It’s too much of a coincidence to me that they tell me we’ve got a drug problem in Severed and then their shop window and bikes get trashed.

I don’t have to wait too long before a pissed off Angel comes into the bar with Cowboy and the tattooist Ink.

I usher them over to a quiet booth, away from eavesdroppers.

“So you had your window smashed and the tyres on all your bikes slashed?” I ask. “You boys sure lead interesting lives.” I laugh.

Angel tells me that Ink and Cowboy had seen someone dealing drugs on the main street and confronted him. The guy had no shame and no intention of getting the hell out of Severed when they asked. I’m guessing they weren’t very diplomatic in their asking. The dealer told them that his boss is in town now and they need to accept that. Shit. This isn’t just some small town dealer working alone; it’s an organised group of them at least.

I’ve left them to their drinking for a couple of hours when the pub doors fly open and one of their prospects comes rushing in to speak with Angel. Turns out it’s the prospect they’d set to follow the dealer after their little encounter earlier. The poor kid lost him. I exchange a look with Angel, the kid needs a break, he’s obviously shit scared at sharing his failure with his boss. Angel nods; he’s not a bad bloke after all. I pass the prospect a beer just as Angel’s phone rings.

Angel answers then gulps down his drink, it looks like he’s got to get out of here.

“We gotta run, Declan. Thanks for the beers.”

I assure Angel it’s no problem and promise to get in touch with my contacts again. We need to get to the bottom of this shit and fix it, sooner rather than later.

I put the phone down in shock. I can’t believe things have escalated so badly and so quickly.

That was Cowboy. There was an explosion at Carnal MC’s clubhouse. The guys from Severed had gone there for a meeting to try and sort out this drug situation. The president of Carnal is dead, and the Severed MC president is in hospital in a critical condition.

The way Cowboy described the explosion, and the fact the perpetrator used grenades tells me we’re dealing with a serious offender. They think the explosion was a result of the Carnal guys roughing up the dealer the Severed MC prospect lost the trail of yesterday.

This shit is serious. I’m just thankful none of the other Severed guys were seriously hurt. I’ve got to get in touch with Chris and see if he’s found anything out that can help us. I’m going to be calling in a massive favour, but it can’t be helped. I may have only just moved here, but I can’t sit back and watch Severed be destroyed by drugs.

I think of Holly and how all this must be affecting her, then remember that her Uncle is Severed’s president. Shit. She must be going through hell right now. I’m guessing she’ll be at the hospital with her Aunt, but I need to talk to her, make sure she’s okay.

The phone rings onto voicemail so I leave her a message letting her know it’s me and the time. I’m not expecting to hear back from her any time soon, but the phone rings almost as soon as I put it down. It’s her number.

“Hey.” I ask gently. “How are you?” Such a stupid question at a time like this.

“I’m okay, still in shock.” I can hear her sobbing quietly down the phone.

“Are you at the hospital?”

“No, he’s in intensive care. They’ll only let my Aunt in to sit with him, so I’m back at the clubhouse. I saw him earlier.” Her sobs get louder. I can hear someone in the background comforting her.

“Do you want me to come over?” I offer.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea right now. The place is in uproar.” She pauses to sniff. “Can I come sit with you for a bit?” She asks cautiously.

“Of course you can. You need me to pick you up?” I don’t hesitate to invite her.

“No, it’s okay. Eve will drop me off. I’ll be there soon.” She hangs up and I’m left staring at my phone.

I quickly ring Chris and fill him in on what’s happened. I don’t want Holly to overhear this conversation, and the sooner we can get control of this situation the better for everyone.

He’s got some information for me, but doesn’t want to share it over an unsecure phone line so I agree to drive to Melbourne tomorrow for a meeting with him. It’s going to be a long journey there and back, but if I set off early enough it’s doable.

When I’ve finished the call with Chris I go round my small apartment tidying things away before Holly gets here. It’s not too bad, my military lifestyle means I normally pick up after myself, but running a bar often means I’m late to bed and early to rise and have started leaving things laying around in the interest of sleep.

Tidying up only took a few minutes and I find myself restlessly pacing the floor waiting for Holly to arrive. I keep checking my watch; surely she should be here by now. What if something’s happened to her? I’ve just about decided to go searching for her when she walks in. She looks absolutely shattered.

I rush over to her, enveloping her in a tight hug. She feels so frail. She seems to notice our surroundings and looks around panicked for a moment. I know she doesn’t want the club to know she’s seeing me just yet, not with everything else that’s going on. Luckily it’s fairly quiet at this time of day, just a few regulars at the pool table in the far corner and they’ve not looked up from their game yet.

Josh is serving the bar and just gives me a nod when I ask him to keep an eye on things for me. I escort Holly upstairs to my apartment where she sinks into the sofa. When I get back from the kitchen with the coffees I’ve made she’s shivering despite the heat of the day.

Placing the coffees on the table in front of us I sit down beside her, drawing her in close and placing a blanket over her bare legs. She’s wearing cut off denim shorts and my cock is standing to attention, now’s not the time though. Holly nestles closer into me, my arm protectively around her back and her head on my chest as she sobs quietly. I rub my hand soothingly up and down her back, so very different from the other night when my movements were slow and sensual. Today I just need to calm her, to hold her and to let her know she’s not alone.

Soon she’s breathing lightly, she’s fallen asleep on me. This feels good, holding her while she sleeps. I lean back into the sofa, making sure that she’s still comfortable and keeping her close. She sleeps for several hours, watching her sleep makes me drowsy, but I stay awake for her, maintaining my vigil, watching over her to make sure she’s safe.

She wakes with a start and looks around her, unsure of her surroundings. It’s the first time she’s been in my apartment. She nestles into me with a sigh once she’s reassured herself where she is and who she’s with.

When she looks up at me with those dark eyes of hers I can’t stop myself from leaning across and kissing her. She kisses me back. We make out on the sofa for a little while before she stops me. Standing from the sofa she reaches her hand out to me, pulling me up. From the way she’s looking around my apartment I’m guessing she’s looking for the bedroom. I nod my head to the door on the opposite side of the room and she pulls me along behind her until we’re in my room. Holly pushes the door closed behind us and leads me to the bed.

As much as I want to take things slowly with her, especially when she’s in such a fragile state I can’t stop her when she starts to undress me. I’m hoping that she needs this as much as I do right now, because I don’t think I can stop what’s about to happen between us.

Holly and I spend the rest of the night discovering each other’s bodies, sating ourselves with orgasms and ignoring sleep. I’m going to be so knackered come the morning, but it’s going to be so worth it.