“Already thought about it. You just need to graduate and then you’ll see.”
“You’re kidding, right?”
He shakes his head and leads me back to my room. He takes me into my bathroom and starts the tub.
“Are you trying to distract me?” I ask when he pulls my sweater over my head and snaps my bra open.
“No, I want to take a bath with my girlfriend and show her how proud I am of her. Then I want to make love to her before I have to leave.” He has my jeans pushed all the way down and I step out of them. He picks me up and puts me into the warm water. I pour some of my favorite bubbles into the stream and the room quickly fills with the aroma of lavender. Declan settles in behind me and pulls my back to his chest. He runs kisses along my exposed neckline. I relax into him and he massages my shoulders as I whimper under the pressure. He turns off the water and I feel his erection against my thigh. I wiggle against him in jest, trying to get him to play, but he adjusts an
d continues to rub my back.
“Baby, this is all for you. You’ve been working really hard the last few weeks. Let me pamper you for a little while.”
“What if I want to pamper you too?”
“You do, every single day I’m with you.”
I stay quiet and let him rub the knots out of my back. Every time he hits a sensitive spot, I moan in appreciation. I finish my champagne and rub my hands along his legs, tracing patterns as I go.
“Dec, you know I feel pretty lucky to have you too. I’m completely, utterly, and shamelessly in love with you.”
He stops and sits up straight. He grips my hips and turns me to straddle him. My legs wrap around his back. And in one quick motion, he’s in me. I arch my back and buck my hips, taking him deeper. He groans and I throw my head forward, grasping his face with both hands to kiss him. I can’t stop my body from surging back and forth. His hands grip my ass hard as he tries to slow me down, but I keep moving. I move my hands through his hair, down his neck, and grip his shoulders while rocking with as much power as I have. He moves one hand and fingers my nipple until it’s pebbled and throbbing. He breaks our kiss and lowers his head. As soon as his tongue touches my skin, my body starts convulsing. I tighten my muscles around him and he nods his head against me. I slam down on him one more time and he wraps his arms around my naked waist, screaming into my neck. This sets me over the edge and I muffle my cries against his collarbone. Our hearts are beating together and my breathing finally gets back under control.
“Safe to say, making love is off the agenda this afternoon,” he says against my skin.
“What do you mean? I think we just did.”
“Sparkle, that wasn’t my idea of making love. I’m pretty sure you just fucked the shit out of me.”
I feel blood rush to my cheeks. I did attack him.
“Hey, don’t be embarrassed. It was hot. I’m getting hard again just thinking about it.” He moves against me and pulls the drain to let the water out.
I get us a couple of towels and we dry off. I reach for my robe, but he stops me and leads me back to my bed. He throws our towels on the floor and wraps himself around me when we lay down. I run my fingers over the tribal designs on his chest and shoulder.
“Are you ever going to tell me what these mean?”
“Nothing to tell, really. The tribal design is something I spent time scribbling until I got it the way I wanted it. Originally, it was an arm design, but I drew it too big. I couldn’t figure out where to cut it so I transferred the whole thing. The small symbols on my torso are both my mom and my signs. She was an Aries too.”
“I like them all. You have talent.”
“So you’ve mentioned.” He looks down at me provocatively and I laugh at him.
*****
Christmas Eve at my parents is one of my favorite holiday events. Declan and I arrive early so I can help my mom prepare dinner. Her house is always decorated elegantly and she has three Christmas trees placed throughout it. We walked in and I smell the familiar pine scent mixed with cinnamon. My dad greets us both with hugs and handshakes and then offers to show Declan his room for the night. Declan goes tense and I hold back a laugh. He didn’t really think my dad would let us sleep together, did he? He nods his head and takes my bag as well. I’m sure my dad will show him my room.
I find my mom in the kitchen and start helping her by setting the table. Declan comes back to greet my mom with a kiss on the cheek and compliments the house.
My parents have warmed up to him immensely considering he’s my first and only real boyfriend. They even showed up at my little party last weekend and followed us to The Steamroom. My mom kept telling me how attractive she thought Declan was even though she never liked facial piercings before. My dad didn’t say much, but he did tell Declan the music was good- which was a huge compliment in itself.
Declan and I set up the bar area and put the hors d’oeuvres out. Robbie arrives late as usual and completely flustered. I know he just finished his Christmas shopping so I laugh in his face. He throws a cashew at my head and begs me to wrap my parents’ gifts. I agree to do it if he’ll help Mom finish dinner.
I hear Declan come into the room, but I don’t look up. He moves my hair over my shoulder and kisses my neck as I tie the bows onto the gifts.
“Do you want to tell me why we have to sleep in different rooms tonight?”
“I probably should have mentioned that before, huh?” I say shyly.