Fire Down Below

by Andrea Simonne

  I move my body against his in approval, but Declan doesn’t seem in any rush. Instead he shifts to the side slightly and rests on one elbow. He fingers my necklace.

  “Do you ever take this off? I don’t think I’ve seen you without it once since you’ve been here.”

  “No, I only take it off to shower and when Ben is around.” I stop talking, saying more then I intended. I think it’s rude to discuss former lovers when you’re in bed with someone, but Declan is unfazed.

  “Did Ben give you a hard time about it?”

  “You could say that.”

  He chuckles. “I can’t say I blame him.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “If you were mine, I’d never let another man give you jewelry.”

  If you were mine. The words echo in my head. But I am yours, I want to say. I’ve always been yours, even when I didn’t know it. I should tell him this. I have a feeling he’d like it, but some irrational fear holds me back.

  “If I were a nice guy,” Declan continues, “I would have given it to you in private, so Ben wouldn’t know it came from me. If I were a really nice guy I would have let him buy it for you himself, but I’m not even close to being that nice.”

  I snort. “Don’t worry, Ben would never have bought me this necklace.”

  Declan looks at me in surprise. “Even though you wanted it so badly?”

  “He doesn’t like to spend money on things that he thinks are useless. Also he would have thought it was too expensive.” Old resentments come back as I remember how stingy Ben could be.

  Declan doesn’t say anything. Instead he slides his fingers up towards my neck, until he’s gently holding my jaw.

  “I’d buy you a million necklaces if I thought it would make you happy.”

  We study each other. I swallow, trying to keep my emotions in check, not wanting to cry again. It’s like I’m starved or something. Soul starved. Starved to feel this kind of connection with Declan.

  He gives me a sly smile. “However, as fond as you are of this piece of jewelry, I am going to have to ask you to remove it.”

  “You are?”

  “I said I wanted you naked—remember?”

  “I am naked.”

  “I want you completely naked. No clothes, no jewelry. And most importantly—no backtalk.”

  “Oh? And what will happen if I decide differently?”

  “You don’t want to know. Bad girls are always punished.” Declan runs his hand over my bottom, patting it gently. “But I know you’re a good girl, so take the necklace off for me.”

  I bite my lip, trying not to smile. “Forget it. I love this necklace and it’s not coming off.”

  Declan raises his eyebrows. “Is that so? And here I thought you were a good girl.” He leans over, covering my body with his, and whispers in my ear. “I’m going to give you one last chance to do as I tell you Kate. Take it off.”

  I squirm beneath him, feeling turned on. “No,” I say, in a sassy voice. “Take it off yourself.”

  “Did you just tell me no?” There’s a warning in his tone, but before I can respond with something glib, I feel the sting of his hand as he suddenly slaps my ass.

  “Hey!”

  “Now are you ready to do as you’re told?” His voice is low, but I can hear the arousal in it, his erection pressing hard against my thigh.

  I shake my head and scoff. “Forget it.”

  He puts his hand on my hip and before I know it he’s flipped me over so I’m lying on my stomach, his body still pressed against mine. I feel his hand caressing my bottom, his fingers kneading my flesh. He slaps me again and I let out a soft moan. He’s not hurting me, but there’s definitely a sting.

  “Such a luscious ass. It’s going to be pink though if you keep up this disobedience. Do you have anything to say for yourself?”

  “Fuck...off.”

  Declan makes a tsk, tsk sound. “Not what I wanted to hear. Now I’ll have to punish you some more.”

  When the next slap comes I can’t believe how aroused I am. The sting is erotic and forbidden. I feel like I’m already on the verge of climaxing as my hips try to move against the bed. He slips his hand between my legs and I know if he even touches me, that’s it. I’m done for. I lift my bottom to give him better access, but he must sense that even the slightest pressure is going to set me off because he only slides his fingers over me very lightly.

  “Should I let you come?” he breathes. “Would you like that?”

  “Yes....” I moan into my pillow.

  “But you haven’t told me what I want to hear.” His fingers circle my clit with a feather like touch. “Are you going to stop this defiance?”

  I nod, digging my nails into the mattress.

  He slaps me again and the jolt of it sends an erotic shock through my whole body. “You have to say the words.”

  I squirm some more. “Yes,” I say, panting. “I’ll do whatever you tell me.”

  “That’s more like it. I knew you could be a good girl with the proper motivation.” His voice is low and lyrical and there’s a note of male satisfaction in it. I tense as he runs his hand over my ass again, waiting for him to slip it between my legs and when he finally does I’m practically shaking with need. His fingers are firm against me and at the first touch I start to climax, pushing myself into his hand, moaning loudly.

  Afterwards when I roll back over I feel embarrassed at my strong response to our little game.

  “Did you enjoy that?” Declan asks.

  “Yes.” I smile and look away, still feeling embarrassed. “I’ve never done anything like that before.”

  “There’s nothing to feel shy about. I thought it was fun too. I love watching you lose control like that.”

  I don’t say anything, but I roll towards him and bury my face in his neck. I feel his hand gently stroking my back. When I look up at him he’s watching me with a tender expression. And I have this sense that I’ve been on a long journey and have finally found my way home

  I put my hand on his cheek and he turns his head to kiss my palm. “You’re always safe with me, Kate. I’d never do anything to you that you didn’t want. You know that right?”

  “I know.”

  I close my eyes, inhaling the scent of his skin. The thought comes to me that I’d feel safe exploring anything with Declan. Maybe even love.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  We spend the next few days at The Clarence, only going back to the house at night. Declan rents the same gorgeous room for us overlooking the Liffey and when we come back to it each morning, the room is fresh and tidy, the bed made. It’s so familiar and cozy that it feels like our home.

  “The maid must think we’re vampires. All day we have a ‘Do Not Disturb’ sign on the door and all night we’re gone.”

  Declan shrugs. “I’m sure she’s seen weirder things than that.”

  We are, of course, in bed again. It’s like we can’t get enough of each other. He pulls me in close, our bodies spooning.

  “Should I be taking you out to see the sights of Dublin?” he murmurs in my ear. “I know I’m a selfish bastard keeping you all to myself.”

  “I don’t mind. We go out enough.” I think back to this morning when we went out for coffee and pastries to a bakery down the street, walking down the sidewalk together window shopping and holding hands. I kept giggling as Declan pulled me into every available doorway to kiss me. The truth is I’ve never felt so recklessly happy in my entire life.

  “I should feel guilty,” he continues. “You’ve been in Ireland a week and you’ve seen more of the inside of this room than anything else. Maybe I should have at least booked us at a few different places.”

  “See Dublin through its hotels?”

  Declan chuckles. “Something like that.”

  I turn around so we’re facing each other. “I love it here. This is our place and I don’t want to go to another hotel.”

  He raises an eyebrow knowingly. “Still hoping t
o see Bono in the lobby, are we?”

  “No!” I say with mock indignation. “Although where the heck is he anyway? Doesn’t he have to show up sometime?”

  “I wouldn’t hold my breath.”

  “I’m going to write a letter to management and complain.”

  Declan grins and pretends he’s writing something on his hand. “Dear Bono, I spent my entire vacation waiting for you in the lobby of your hotel. That is when I wasn’t upstairs in one of your magnificent rooms screwing my brains out.”

  “Shut up!” I laugh, grabbing one of the pillows from the bed and hitting him with it. “I hate that expression.”

  “What expression is that—screwing?”

  “Yes, it sounds horrible.”

  “And what word does the lady prefer?”

  “I don’t know. Fucking is better than screwing.”

  Declan pulls me into him again, so his mouth is at my neck. “Hmm...tell me more. I like to hear you say naughty things.”

  My breath catches at the feel of his lips. It figures he’d want to hear more. I’ve never been with anyone who enjoys wordplay in bed as much as Declan. I also never knew it could be so exciting. He likes telling me exactly what he’s going to do to me. And his voice is so damn hot, I think I’ve been spoiled forever. Sometimes just hearing him describe the way he’s going to touch me, or taste me, or fuck me is enough to push me over the edge. He wants me to say things too, tell him exactly what I want and if I’m feeling shy he’ll tease me until I’m so aroused that I’m finally begging. He’s a passionate and earthy lover, but also creative. He enjoys playing games and I can’t believe how much fun we’re having.

  I suddenly remember something. “Wait a minute, I have a surprise for you,” I say, pulling away from him. I spot the bag I brought back from the bakery this morning and get up to retrieve it.

  He sits up, shoving some pillows behind his back. When I come over to him he’s watching me curiously. I hold the bakery bag up and shake it, grinning at him.

  “You’re going to feed me a snack?”

  “No.” I lean in close, so my mouth is right by his ear, as I whisper, “I’m going to suck your cock, but in a very special way.”

  I hear his breath change and when our eyes meet, his are dark with pleasure. I love watching him get turned on like this. And before I do anything else, I put the bag down and run my hands down his chest, sliding my fingers through all the light brown hair, over his nipples. I bend down and take one of them in my mouth, using my tongue and teeth to play with it.

  He groans, putting his hand up to my hair. “You have my undivided attention.”

  I begin kissing my way down to his erection, which is already at full mast. “What have we here?” I say softly, running my hand over him. “I have a present for your cock, would you like to see it?”

  Reaching over I grab the bag and then carefully remove the glazed donut from inside and hold it up for Declan.

  He looks confused for a second, but then gives a shout of laughter as understanding dawns on him.

  “Aren’t you the inventive one.” He grins.

  I smile shyly back at him. I never did try the donut trick with Ben, so this will be the first time. “You’ve never heard of this?” I ask.

  “Putting a donut on my dick? No, I can’t say that I have, but I’m sure it’s fun,” he says, still grinning. “And I approve wholeheartedly of this kind of fun.”

  “Are we ready?” I wave the donut around provocatively. “Shall I begin?”

  “I’m ready. Do your worst.”

  Biting my lip, I gently slide the donut down onto Declan’s erection. I purposefully picked one with a large center, figuring it would be a better fit. Even so I can only get it about a quarter of the way down.

  I feel his eyes on me as I wrap one of my hands around the base of him, lean over and start nibbling. I nibble at the edges of the donut, since I don’t want it to fall apart. I try to let my mouth touch him as I take these tiny bites. I keep it up for a while, but I feel completely silly the whole time.

  “Is this doing anything for you?” I ask, glancing up at him.

  Declan chuckles.

  “I knew it! This is dumb, isn’t it? I’m going to stop now.”

  “No, wait, don’t stop. You’re right, it is a little silly, but it’s arousing too. I like having your mouth down there.”

  “So I should continue?”

  “Definitely.”

  I sigh and then continue my nibbling, wondering whether I should just eat the bloody donut so I can give him a regular blow job.

  But then as I’m licking some glaze from my lips inspiration strikes. Using the fingers on my other hand I take some of the glaze from the donut and rub it all over the head of his cock, smearing it everywhere. Then I bend over and start licking off all that sticky sugar, doing a very thorough job of it. When I hear Declan’s sudden intake of breath, I know I’ve done something right.

  After that I’m in the zone. Totally turned on. When the donut falls apart I squish it onto him messily and then lick and suck it off, treating his cock like some kind of delicious dessert that I can’t get enough of. By now Declan has both hands in my hair, his hips are moving.

  “That’s so good...,” he breathes, groaning. “That’s it...don’t stop.”

  Afterwards he’s grinning at me, trying to catch his breath. “That was something else. You really turned that around.”

  “Thank you,” I say, feeling smug.

  “No, thank you.”

  ***

  We spend the rest of the afternoon being lazy, lounging in bed, talking, eating room service, and basically enjoying the now familiar luxury of being with each other.

  “You’re pretty hairy,” I say, running my hands down his chest. He doesn’t have any hair on his back, but there’s quite a bit on his front, including his arms and legs. I slide my fingers over his head. It feels bristly. “Yet oddly, you have so little up here.”

  “I know. I’ve got more hair on my chest than I do on my head. Mother Nature’s idea of a joke.”

  “I don’t know about that. I like it.”

  “You do?”

  “Yeah, I think you have a great body—hairiness and all. You know what my favorite part of your body is though?”

  “My giant willy?”

  I roll my eyes. “No, though I’m not complaining. My favorite thing about you is your smile. It’s gorgeous. I love your teeth.”

  “My teeth?” Declan starts laughing. “Did you just say you prefer my teeth over my dick? I’ve never heard that before. You are a strange woman. I think you may even need therapy.”

  “I’m totally serious. I’ve always had a thing for pointy eyeteeth.”

  Declan considers this. “My vampire teeth, huh? People used to tease me about them as a lad. They called me Dracula and werewolf.”

  “I love your smile. It was the first thing I noticed about you when we met.” I think back to when Declan first came to work, all the introductions, everybody asking him about being Irish. I’ll never forget the first time I saw him smile. “Do you remember the day we first met?”

  He nods. “I do.”

  I wait for him to say something more, maybe give his first impression of me, but he doesn’t say anything. “You don’t remember do you? It’s okay. I won’t hold it against you or anything.”

  “I remember everything about the day we met,” he says. “You were wearing dark jeans and a white sweater. Your hair was longer than it is now. It was pulled back in a ponytail where it swished every time you moved your head. You were quick witted and had an easy laugh and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t take my eyes off of you. I thought you were the prettiest girl I’d ever seen.”

  My mouth falls open in astonishment. “Really?”

  He nods thoughtfully. “It’s true. I was struck by a thunderbolt.”

  I put my hand out and stroke Declan’s face. I feel moved in a way that makes it difficult for me to even speak. “Why di
dn’t you pursue me?”

  “Are you kidding? I wanted to. I thought about it a lot, but I could tell you weren’t interested in me.”

  I’m quiet as I think about this. I’ve made a lot of shallow choices regarding men.

  “Was I wrong?” he asks.

  “No, you weren’t wrong.”

  “When we became friends I didn’t want to spoil it by coming on to you. I figured being friends was better than nothing.”

  “I wish I hadn’t been so dumb.”

  Declan smirks. “I wish you hadn’t been so dumb too.” Suddenly he sits up partway. “And would you like to know what my favorite part of your body is then?”

  “Sure, okay.”

  He pulls the covers back and studies my nakedness, stroking his jaw in contemplation. “Right there,” he finally says pointing to my hip bone, “that freckle.”

  “I think that’s a mole.”

  “All right then, that mole.”

  “This mole is your favorite part of my body?”

  “Absolutely.”

  I’m wondering if he’s lost his mind, but then I see the glimmer of amusement in his eyes. “You jerk!” I reach over and smack his arm.

  Declan bursts out laughing.

  “Don’t talk to me anymore!” I grab the sheets and roll away from him so I can pretend I’m mad. He comes up behind me and holds me close. Neither of us says anything for a while.

  “Did you really think I was the prettiest girl you ever saw?” I eventually ask.

  “Yes.” He runs his hand down my side. “And I still do. I’ll always think you’re the prettiest girl—inside and out.”

  ***

  For New Year’s Eve Declan tells me he’s made plans for us.

  “I haven’t seen much of my friends this trip, but they’re a good bunch. There’s a pub we usually all go to on New Year’s.”