“You could have wanted the truth and probably still not have gotten it.”
“I’m sorry that I didn’t tell you. I had no choice.” She clasped her hands in her lap.
“Can I say that I’m happy the thirty grand went to your sister, no, but I can still afford bread and milk. Did she pay up whatever, whomever, she owed?” Seeing her pale expression, he sighed. “She didn’t pay?”
“She gave the money to Phillipe and it’s gone.”
“Oh fuck! The dirty rotten bastard,” he growled.
She dropped her feet and sat straight. “You said you wouldn’t be mad.”
“Not at you. I’m real pissed at this sack of shit, Phillipe. Let me guess. He lost every cent either in gambling or drugs?”
“Probably.” She lowered her eyes to the patio stones.
He couldn’t stand to see her this way. With a finger, he tilted her face up. “Hey, this isn’t your fault. You did everything you could.” He saw the moisture in her gaze and he swore if she cried, he’d lose it.
“She’s asked for more help.”
He cocked his head. “No surprise. What did you tell her?”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Ash met his pensive gaze and the muscles low in her stomach clenched. Although talking to him about her sister wasn’t easy, she felt a weight lifted from her shoulders. His eyes were kind and he showed no signs of anger, at least not toward her. “I offered to give her my grandmother’s earrings, but she didn’t take them.”
He sighed and scrubbed his jaw. “Let me help.”
“You already did.”
He grinned. “You’re my family, Ash, and the Knights watch each other’s backs. We stick together. I’ll see what I can do for Abby, and about this Phillipe. It’s not for you to worry about anymore.”
She blinked. “You would do that?”
“Do you think I’m an ogre?”
Shaking her head, she picked at a thread on the hem of her shorts. “No, not at all.”
“Thanks.” His grin deepened. “Now, let me take care of that problem, and you and I, well, let’s not ponder our family’s issues, at least not tonight. I want us to take this time to enjoy ourselves.”
“I certainly want to try. It is so beautiful here.” She relaxed some.
His gaze skimmed along her bare legs, feet, arms, chest and back to her eyes. “Very.” He dropped to his knees, grabbed both of her ankles and spread her legs. She squealed as he crawled between her thighs, his face so close that their noses touched. “You’re so damn beautiful, sweetheart, that I can’t see the views of anything but you.”
She bit her lip and wrapped her arms around his neck. She wanted to speak, but forming words was impossible when his warmth and his scent intoxicated her.
“Thank you for telling me about Abby. I want your trust. I want all of your secrets,” he whispered.
“I don’t have any secrets, at least not now.”
“Oh, but darling, you do. We all have secrets.”
“Then by all means, open up Declan and tell me a few of yours.” She smiled, rolling her finger along his smooth jawline.
He slipped his finger down her cheek. “I work too much.”
“That’s not a secret. That’s a fact.”
“Okay then. A biggie. Angelina had left me a letter to receive after she passed and I finally worked up enough nerve to read it.” His eyes softened.
“What did it say, or maybe you wish to keep it private.”
He grinned. “If that were the case, I wouldn’t have told you in the first place.”
“True.”
“It was an apology.” He pulled back but stayed between her legs.
“An apology? For what?”
He shrugged. “I have no clue. I wondered if maybe you did?” He kissed one corner of her mouth, then the other.
Ash gave her head a quick shake. “I don’t have a clue. Tell me more.”
“That she meddled once again. Now Angelina was the one with lots of secrets.”
She nodded. “She wanted everyone to be happy.”
“And she loved to intrude upon my love life. I just find it odd how things are falling together, like puzzle pieces.” He shook his head. “But enough of this line of conversation.” He stood, held out his hand for her.
Without hesitation, she laid her palm into his and they entwined fingers as he pulled her up to stand. Together they walked into the house and he led her down the narrow hall into the bedroom. It was a large room with country style decorations of blue and white. Long white curtains billowed in the open French doors. The king-sized bed was the focal point. It was massive with a pale blue comforter and a large, massive wooden headboard with hand painted birds sitting on a tree branch.
Declan grinned as he pushed her back onto the bed and covered her body with his. He felt so good, so perfect against her. His lean, toned body was a perfect contrast against her softer curves. He situated himself between her thighs and his impressive erection pressed against her core, turning her into a quivering mess.
Sliding her hand inside of his shirt, she caressed his bare skin, enjoying the feel of his coiled, lean muscles. His skin was slightly damp with sweat, yet he was smooth to the touch as she followed the lines of sculpted muscles.
He lowered his mouth to hers and made her crazy with his talented tongue and he smoothed his palm along her outer thigh, over her hip until he reached her shirt. Upward his fingers crawled, covering one breast. Her nipples hardened, straining against the lace of her bra. He ran his thumb over the bud, testing its hardness and she arched against him, crying out in the magical touch.
His eyes remained on hers, his were filled with passion and desire, matching the emotions swirling inside of her. Her breath caught, and she ran her fingertips around to his waist, along the band of his shorts, the tips of her fingers brushing his erection that was growing outside of the waistband.
“I can’t seem to get enough of you, baby. Can’t seem to stop running my hands over your sweet body.”
“I like you touching me. Correction. I love you touching me. No complaints here.”
“I’m glad to hear.” He brushed his fingers down her cheek, tucking strands of her hair behind her ear.
“It feels good to say the words. I feel much freer with you knowing the truth.”
He glided his hands down her neck, barely touching her, but erupting sensation through her nerve endings. “You’re so soft. Love how your nipples blossom like an exotic flower under my touch.”
“That’s not the only part of me that blossoms,” she whispered.
He kissed her forehead, the area between her brows, each cheek, then her chin. “Yes, I’m witness to how your body changes, responds to me. You taste like cotton candy.” He gently nibbled the delicate skin by her collarbone and she sucked in a breath. “I could lick and suckle every spot, every bend, soft curve, every lip.”
She closed her eyes, focusing on his touch as he moved to her other breast that too blossomed under his hand. His lips were back on hers, gently, languorously, taking his time to savor. He ground his hips against her inner thighs, pressing his bulge against her pulsating pussy lips. A deep groan crawled from his throat. Although she’d always wanted him, there was a new draw forming between them, one she couldn’t understand or put into words. She wanted all of him, to consume him. Wanted him hard and fast, but slow and gentle too. His tenderness swirled fluffs inside of her heart, filling her blood with an invisible drug.
He sat up, pulling her along and discarded her shirt. Her nipples tingled as the breeze swept through the open French doors. Drops of water landed on her face and she realized it was starting to sprinkle outside and the raindrops were coming in through the door. “I’m getting wet.”
“That is my intention.” He wagged his brows.
She chuckled and moved her hands up the cords of his back, then down, grabbing the hem of his shirt. She tugged it off his shoulders and tossed it onto the floor. “I don’t mind the
rain if you don’t.”
“Can’t feel anything but the blood rushing to the tip of my cock.”
“Ooh, sounds delicious,” she whispered.
“Damn it, woman. What the hell are you doing to me?” He sucked in a ragged breath. “I’ve never been this upside down, twisted, and turned inside out. Hell, I didn’t even know I had this many nerve endings in my body.”
“I’m glad to know you’re just as caught up in this as I am. My heart is beating so fast that it surely will pop right out of my chest.”
“If that should ever happen I would pick it up, put it back, and revive you back to life.” He winked.
She chuckled. “Thank goodness!”
“I’m a tough man, Ash, but you weaken me. Not sure if that’s safe.”
“Why is that?”
“Because I might just do something stupid. I might just lose myself, again.” He laid his forehead against hers and she could feel the heavy beating of his heart at her breastbone. He pulled back, his hands were noticeably shaking. She felt disappointment when he removed his hand from her shirt. “I feel like we need to build a ladder.”
“What do you mean?”
“When we married, we jumped in, heart and soul, without really laying out all of our needs and expectations. Maybe it was the reason for the demise.”
The raggedness of his breath spoke volumes. “What do you want to know?” She lifted herself onto elbows.
“I want to know everything. I think I know pretty much everything up until five years ago. I’m sure you’ve changed.” He slid around and leaned against the headboard, dragging her up beside him, holding her. “Favorite music?”
“Sam Smith.”
“Favorite movie?”
“Do you have all day?” She laughed.
“Pretty much.”
“Let’s see, I’m a homebody and staying in was my life. I’ll watch anything with Adam Sandler. I also love the Discovery Channel.”
“Ahh, that’s right. He starred in the first movie we watched together.”
“You remembered.” She lifted her chin, looking at his profile.
“Of course. You couldn’t keep your hands off me that night.”
“What?” she sputtered.
“Only teasing. Biggest regret?”
She sighed. “Maybe this isn’t the path we should be taking.”
“What path? Talking? Are you a nymphomaniac now?” He laughed.
Playfully pinching him on the arm, she relaxed. “Okay then, biggest regret is leaving things between us as they were.”
“Really? I would have sworn your answer would be different.”
Shifting so that she could easily see him, she propped her head on the pillow. “And what were you expecting?”
He looked down at her, his jaw soft and his eyes warm. “To find your dad.”
Her throat constricted. “As I’ve told you before, that’s a lost cause.”
“Yeah, I remember you’ve said that often, but not sure it’s quite the truth.”
She gave her head a quick shake. “Then maybe it’s good we’re talking because you don’t know me very well.”
“My opinion, it’s a raw emotion in the back of your mind that you can’t quite shake. If my dad had left me, I’d have lots of questions that I’d want answered. I’d want be come face to face and run him through the coals.”
“It’s simple really. He and Mom didn’t get along. He took off.” She shrugged as if she could just brush off the subject.
“A dad doesn’t leave his kids just because he doesn’t get along with mom. That’s what divorce and visitation are for.”
“Whatever you say.”
“Are you brushing me off?” He lifted a brow.
“No, not brushing you off, but this an uncomfortable subject.” She sighed. “Now, your turn for the hot seat. Why so many women after I left?”
He took her hand, rolling his thumbs along her knuckles. “That’s an easy answer, sweetheart. I didn’t want to get close to anyone.”
“But sleeping with them?”
“I didn’t sleep with everyone I was seen with.”
“Just a handful. Oh, that’s better.”
“I haven’t been a monk, but it’s not how you must think it is.”
She rolled her finger along the sculpted muscles of his stomach. “Okay. It’s really none of my business.”
“Don’t say that. I’m your business and I’m sorry.” His handsome face was so sweet, so sincere that she couldn’t have not forgiven him.
His phone rang from the nightstand. He looked at her as if to ask for permission to answer it. “Go ahead. You should get it.”
She barely paid attention as he spoke. He placed his phone against his chest. “It’s my assistant with numbers I had asked for.”
“Okay.”
“If you don’t want me to take this now—”
“Don’t be silly. That’s why we’re here. You have business to take care of.”
He kissed her on top of the head, stood and reached for his shirt from the floor. He dragged it on, then gave her another kiss, this time on the lips. “I won’t be long.”
She watched him leave into the next room and finally got up herself. The day was beautiful and she was curious about the Hannigan Estate. The sprinkling had stopped and she cleaned up their lunch from the patio, placing the basket inside of the kitchen.
She stepped into the next room where she found Declan shuffling through papers. He looked at her and she mouthed, “I’m taking a walk.” He nodded.
The sun was bright and the sky was a very pale blue, reminding her of Declan’s eyes.
With that thought, she stepped down the cobblestone sidewalk, shielding her eyes from the sun as she scanned her surroundings. It was absolutely a lovely view and she instantly felt her energy triple. She smiled as she made her way further down toward the water, her mind preoccupied with thoughts of Declan and how much had transpired between them in a matter of days. Her stomach prickled, much like the area between her legs. She liked the physical sensation.
Taking another deep breath, she inhaled the freshness of nature, the crispness of the water and the hint of fishiness. The sun reflected off the top of the water, and further along she spotted a boat. The day was blissfully quiet, a retreat for the mind and as she strolled between two rows of trees while she listened to the birds chirping playfully. As their singing lulled her, she continued on her path.
The beauty of the estate marveled her. The green of the trees, the bright colorful arrangement of flowers in the beds along the walkway, and a plot of lavender that swayed in the gentle breeze. This was so different than the city, the hustling and bustling of people, car horns and loud radios. The sunshine, the clean fresh scents, the bright sky that seemed, well, brighter here. The flowers perfumed the air, calming her.
She continued to walk and didn’t realize she’d approached the back of the main house until she heard the splashing of water. A man dressed in a T-shirt and shorts stood along the flowers holding a hose. He stopped and took a step backward, but not before he lifted his head and saw her. He was a short, stocky man with dark hair peppered with silver, and a thick mustache. “Hello there, madam.” He smiled.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to intrude. I got to walking along the rows of flowers and I lost my way.” She took another step back.
“Don’t be silly. It appears we’re both enjoying the beautiful afternoon and a man can never complain when he has the company of such a beautiful young woman.”
“Then I’m not disturbing you?”
“Not at all.” He waved a hand through the air as if he could flick away her words.
“I’m Ash Knight. My husband and I are staying in the guest house. Mr. Knight is talking business on the phone and I’m keeping myself occupied with this amazing property.”
The man’s smile grew wider. “I’m Roe.” He laid the hose aside. “It’s an enjoyment to work out here on a sunny afternoon. Have
you walked down by the water yet?”
“Not close enough.”
“Then by all means, will you humor an old man and walk with me? I was just heading there myself.”
She had no clue who this man was, but there wasn’t any part of her that warned her to say no. In fact, she thought she’d very much enjoy his company for a walk. “I’d like that.”
He held out his elbow and she tucked her fingers in the curve. He led the way down a beaten path of grass passed the amazing rows of fruit filled trees.
“Does the fruit grow this well every year?” she asked, admiring the plumpness of the peaches.
“Yes. I have a green thumb, fortunately.”
“You most certainly do.”
As they reached the edge of the water he led her to a bench that sat under the shade of a massive, ancient tree. She was grateful to take a seat to enjoy nature a bit longer. He sat at the other end of the bench. “This isn’t like the city. I find myself needing to be one with nature, to rejuvenate. I was never much of a city man.”
“I’ve lived in the city all of my life.”
His gaze narrowed. “Ahh, but please tell me you’ve had the pleasure of visiting such areas like this to refresh yourself.”
She shrugged. “I’m afraid not. Work keeps me busy.”
He nodded. “Work, work, work.” He sighed. “It can certainly be a demon.”
“It pays the bills.” Realizing what she said, she cleared her throat. “Even a rich man like Declan Knight must work.” She turned her gaze toward the water, watching the ripples and the sea gulls flying above.
“Yes, even a rich man must keep the hammer to the grind.”
A relaxed silence came over them as each stared out along the amazing view. Roe shifted, turning to face her ever so slightly. “Tell me, what do you do, my dear?”
She couldn’t very well tell him that she waitressed tables, but she didn’t want to lie, not to a kind gentleman. “Actually, I’m getting ready to graduate with my master’s in social work.”
His Weekend Wife (The KNIGHT Brothers Book 2) Page 17