Only five minutes later, he was back with a sandwich that was better than anything she could make. The bread was a dark, soft, thick rye. The chicken was a thin breast that was moist and tender. Tomatoes and leaves of fresh spinach completed the tasty treat. She did her best not inhale it, but it was hard.
“When did you eat last?”
“I had lunch.” Miranda detected a note of censure, and stiffened. No way would she admit that it had only been a chicken breast with a small salad and yogurt. Her ex-husband had wanted her to fit a certain mold, and had set her on a workout plan that lasted over an hour every day so she could be the size six he thought she should be. Once he had moved out, she refused to be a slave to the gym ever again. To maintain her figure, she ate simply and walked everywhere but to and from work.
“Hmm, that was a long time ago. I’ll make sure you have something waiting tomorrow before you begin working.”
She shrugged as she wiped her mouth and then returned to the ledger.
Another hour and she was done in. Her neck ached and her eyes were crossing. She sighed as she began to organize her work for tomorrow. She heard him lift the phone from his desk and key in a number.
“Mark, bring the car around to take Miranda home.”
“That won’t be necessary,” she said as she stood up.
Declan was already standing and around his desk. “Of course it is. It’s late and I won’t have you walking home or using public transportation alone. You are a beautiful woman and this city isn’t safe. It will only be a moment. Mark lives next door.”
“Fine, thank you.” She turned to go, but she should have known he wouldn’t let her go so easily.
“Miranda.” A gentle command that refused to be ignored.
She turned to face him and crossed her arms, setting her expression to bored. “What?”
How had he gotten so close, she wondered. Declan was only a step away from her. His hands slid to her hips and burned through her clothes, and once again her body betrayed her. Heat flooded through her, and she couldn’t move away from him. He brushed against her, and she melted into him. That damn smile was back, wicked and enticing, full of dark and naughty promises. His mouth teased along her cheek and up to her ear. The feeling of his breath hot against her skin had her fighting to swallow a moan of longing.
“I would like you to think about this attraction between us and allowing it to run its course. I will make sure your body knows every satisfaction and that you scream with pleasure. It likely will not last long, a fire so strong is likely to burn out fast but in the time that it does, outside of sexual pleasure, I will treat you with every respect you deserve and be with no one but you.”
Declan was sincere, almost heartbreakingly so. Miranda knew she should tell him then, but couldn’t. Words were too hard for her to form. Then he pulled her tighter to him, and the evidence of his desire was pressed against her stomach. He was large, hard, and thick. Her body froze, and heat fled her all at once. It gave her the strength she needed then. Pushing him away was so hard, but she only shook her head and walked away. She barely remembered to grab her bag from the closet, but she closed it with a snap and opened the door with numb hands. She walked down the wide porch and into the night.
Thankfully, Mark was quiet as he drove her home. Her mind replayed Declan’s words in a constant loop. The feeling of him pressed against her played again and again, as if it had been burned into her. She only had to close her eyes to feel him again. As she exited the car and made her way inside her dark and empty home, she couldn’t stop playing the loop. An offer so clear and honest she had no doubt he would do whatever it took to fulfill his p
romise. She undressed and climbed into bed naked, a way she had never slept before, and wondered what it would be like in Declan’s bed. Would she find pleasure she had never known before, or would it all blow up in both their faces?
Chapter Four
Miranda slept deeply that night, and again her dreams were filled with Declan and sex. Her shower was slow and hot enough to leave her skin red as she dried off. Her bra and panties were a matching set in dark red, soft and delicate whispers of silk. As she stood in front of her closet, she found a silky black skirt that moved with a breeze. Her blouse was silk and caressed her skin; the light pink complemented her coloring, and she left the top two buttons undone. Putting her hair up into a severe ponytail, she slipped into her black flats. She didn’t check the mirror before she left, not able to look herself in the eye.
Work was an agony, and she felt every minute of the day. Butterflies filled her stomach as she rang the doorbell. Mark was there again, opening the door for her. She handed him her purse without him asking, and he nodded his thanks.
“Please, ma’am, if you’ll have a seat at the table. He’s a mind for you to have dinner before you begin. He’ll be with you in a minute.”
Entering his office, she found the two club chairs had been removed to make room for a small, linen-covered table set for two. She sat down with unease. This wasn’t a good idea. The tapping of high heels on the wood stairs drew her attention, and she saw a stunning, ethereal woman go down the stairs and down the hall and right out the front door. Jealousy stung hard. There was little doubt the woman was coming from Declan’s bedroom.
Mark set down a plate in front of her, and she flinched, as she hadn’t even realized he was speaking to her. Her eyes took in the appealing food, but her mind was tortured by the thought of Declan with the woman.
Miranda looked around the room as Mark left, and wondered how the hell she had come to be here. Here she was mooning over a man who was a criminal and was only interested in a roll in the hay. She had said no, so he’d found someone else. Declan Kelly had done an excellent job in reminding her of every reason he wasn’t for her. She would remember that as she ate with him, and until she finished what they had agreed she would do. When she was finished, she would be thankful that she hadn’t fallen into his bed, and in weeks, he would be nothing more than a bad memory.
When he entered the room a few minutes later, she was proud of herself for the dismissive nod she gave him when he apologized. Only to ruin it with her reply. “I hope I didn’t run your girlfriend off.” Anger flared in herself for even mentioning the stunning woman.
“Sweetheart, you have no need to worry about Karen. Lovely girl she is, no doubt about that, but I’ve made it clear that I have no woman. No, sweetheart, it was simply a case of Karen helping me with the no small problem that my cock wouldn’t go down for the wanting of you. Three days of pain was more than I could take. I’ve been told numerous times that her mouth is a treasure, and I found her skills not exaggerated. It’s as simple as that.”
At the idea of another woman’s mouth on him, rage punched Miranda in the stomach and flared out to every inch of her body. She dropped her gaze to her clenched hands in her lap, and she worked to even out her expression and hide her grief from him. She sniffed her disdain. “Well, I hope you paid her well for something so disgusting.”
“Disgusting? No, sweetheart, giving your partner pleasure is not disgusting at all. It is a beautiful thing. I know that I am very much looking forward to learning the taste of your pussy.”
A blush at his casual and shocking words washed over her entire body, along with want and need. Her nipples became so tight they were almost painful, and she wanted to scream at him to shut up. Fighting her body was hard enough without fighting Declan’s caressing and enticing words in that light, intoxicating brogue. She pushed her chair back to leave the table. She couldn’t take it anymore. “I’m tired of this. I’ve said it before: it isn’t going to happen. If that’s all this is about, then this dinner of yours is a waste of time, and I’d rather just finish the audit and go home and eat.”
Grateful her legs held her up, she moved toward the desk, but in a flash he was up and at her side. He sighed as he stepped toward her, and she took a step back. “I apologize, sweetheart. My desire for you gnaws at me and makes me act poorly. I admit, I am also feeling guilty that you saw Karen leave. It wasn’t right for me to use Karen for the release I want from you alone. I told myself the use of her mouth wasn’t the same as the use of her body, but it was the same thing, and I’m sorry. I promised you that I would be with no one but you, and although you have refused, if I still want you then I shouldn’t have used another woman for my pleasure. If I had found out you sought relief from the desire you feel for me with another man, he wouldn’t be breathing on his own.