Unleashed: Declan & Kara (Unleashed #1-4; Beg for It #1)

by Callie Harper

  “Take my come!” I roared. When I exploded in her it was with shuddering force, pumping come so deep inside of her she couldn’t form words, couldn’t do more than claw at my back, my buttocks, wanting more of me as if there could be anymore, as if she could possibly take even another inch. I filled her so completely.

  I sank down on top of her, resting most of my weight to the side but staying inside of her still.

  “You blow me away,” I murmured, kissing the side of her face.

  She nuzzled against me and murmured, “I love you.”

  I basked in her smell, her softness, completely sated. “I love you, Kara.”

  I didn’t know about anything else I’d heard that day, but I knew that much was true.

  CHAPTER 10

  Kara

  I didn’t settle down, not after we had sex, not after we showered and had sex again, not after he went to work out and I took a brisk walk along a hiking path.

  I might never settle down again.

  What an insane story! I felt like I’d stepped right inside an over-the-top soap opera, the kind where people had amnesia, mistook their worst enemy for their husband, and then discovered that they were a queen of a small European country.

  Declan’s lawyer, Stephan, had stopped by briefly to say goodbye. He apologized for all the drama, advised Declan to give it some thought before he made any decisions, and left us with a dossier. A full file folder of information about the Kavanaugh family. Thick and black, it beckoned to me.

  But I didn’t open it. That was Declan’s decision. I wanted to tuck into it like a tantalizing new book from my favorite author, but it wasn’t my call. This was his past. Now he had to decide about his future.

  Declan came back from the gym like he usually did after a workout, shirtless, dripping with sweat and looking like a model for some kind of protein powder supplement. His chest was so chiseled and defined, his muscles so sculpted and perfect I had to admit I forgot for a moment everything that was going on. He was that drop-dead sexy.

  “I can’t believe this,” he said, standing there with his hands on his hips.

  “It’s a lot,” I agreed, forcing my attention back to the matter at hand.

  I sat on the couch, the black leather binder in my hands like a Christmas present. “Can we open it?”

  Bless him, a brief smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. “You’re loving this, aren’t you?”

  “No. Well…” I paused, trying to express the whirlwind of emotions struggling through me. “I realize you learned a lot of crazy things today about your past. And your mom…she’s not winning any parenting awards. But you also learned about the present. And, yeah, it kind of sounds interesting, doesn’t it?” Interesting was a mild, watered-down way of my saying, “Declan, WTF!!! A family of brothers and a sister! And two hundred and fifty million dollars to boot?” Not bad for a day’s revelations.

  “Aren’t you the least bit curious about them?” I asked.

  He exhaled, running a hand through his thick hair. “I don’t know, Kara.” He shook his head. “It’s a lot to take in.”

  I should leave off, stop pressing. Give him time and all that. But, come on! That thick file of information just about burned through my hands.

  He sighed again, looking at me. The man knew me well. I didn’t even have to say a word. I raised my eyebrows and tried unsuccessfully to suppress a smile.

  He nodded in defeat. “All right. You win, Kara. We’ll look through it.”

  I squealed in excitement. “Come and sit. Let’s meet the family!” I patted the couch next to me.

  “Let me pour a drink first,” Declan said wryly, making his way over to the wet bar. But with a scotch in hand, he joined me on the couch and we opened up the portfolio.

  The first page was a big photo of an extremely handsome family. Holy shit, they looked like a Brooks Brother catalogue! Obviously a professional photo. Who did black and white photography anymore? I guessed uber-wealthy families in New York City, that’s who.

  On the next page was a huge family tree, with lines and more lines connecting people way on back in the Kavanaugh lineage.

  “Ooh, look, there’s a family tree. I LOVE FAMILY TREES!” I clapped my hands together in delight and couldn’t suppress a squeal.

  “I think you just spoke in all caps,” Declan wryly observed.

  “I did,” I confirmed. “Look!” I pointed at the rectangles, each representing one of his half-siblings. “Here’s a brother, and another brother, and here’s your sister!”

  “You sound like you’re looking at a box of chocolates.”

  “Yes, it’s exactly like that.” I knew he was teasing me, but my enthusiasm remained undaunted. “Ooh! I love the name Kavanaugh. Does that sound Irish to you? Or Scottish? Maybe you have a family crest? Or a plaid?”

  “I was probably related to Braveheart.” He sounded so deadpan I believed him for a second.

  “Or you might be British? You might be related to the royal family! I’ve always wanted to meet Kate. She’s so classy.”

  “I don’t see Kate Middleton in this.” Declan gestured down to the papers before us and, true, he probably was not related to Duchess Kate and Prince William. Still, this was pretty cool.

  I turned the page and we got a bio of his older brother, Colton, now head of Kavanaugh Investors. Colton. It sounded so refined and snooty. He wasn’t even a year older than Declan. Huh. The math on that one made you wince. He must be the baby his father had left at home with his wife while he’d flown out to Montana to make himself another baby.

  Anyway. I turned the page to the next sibling. He had an even fancier name, Asher. Wait. I grabbed onto Declan’s arm. “Declan!” I yelled, though he was sitting right next to me.

  “What?” He leaned over, wondering what had alarmed me.

  “Declan, do you see who your brother is?” I looked up, wide-eyed and open mouthed. “Ash Black!”

  “Ash Black?” He showed no recognition.

  “Ash Black!” I continued, as if just the repetition of his name would jog his memory. There was no way he hadn’t heard of the guy. He was the lead singer of a hugely popular rock band. I loved his music. “You know, the lead singer of The Blacklist?”

  “The Blacklist.” Declan nodded as if vaguely recalling something associated with that name.

  “Come on, you know! ‘Get up, Get out?’ ‘Starfish?’ ‘I’m Outta?’”

  “I Oughta?” He looked at me like I was speaking another language.

  “No, I’m Outta. You know, like,” I drew myself to sit up tall and began belting it out, Ash Black style, “I’m outta here! You never even knew my name!”

  “Yeah,” Declan nodded, “I think I’ve heard that.”

  “Everyone’s heard that!” I guessed amassing your own real estate empire by the age of 27 like Declan had didn’t exactly leave much time for listening to music. But, still, The Blacklist was the hottest band I could think of. So hot, the music and the lead singer.

  “I can’t believe it,” I gushed, looked down at the portfolio again. There was no picture included on the page devoted to him, shame. But there was a brief descriptive bio, how he’d formed the band at 18 under the name Ash Black. Now 26, he lived in San Francisco.

  “What are the chances?” I asked, amazed.

  “Slim to none,” Declan answered, sounding like he wished it were the latter.

  “He’s so hot!” I looked over at Declan sitting beside me on the couch, now decidedly glowering. OK, maybe hot wasn’t the right word to use. “I mean, he’s not as hot as you.” It was completely true, no one held a candle to my Declan. But it didn’t sound true coming out of my mouth, not at the moment.

  “OK, that might be enough meeting my family.” He moved his hands to take the portfolio out of my lap.

  “No! No!” I snatched it in my greedy little hands. “OK, I promise! No more Ash Black! Even if it is crazy that you’re related to a rock star.”

  “I don’t see what
’s so great about it,” he grumbled.

  “All right, look.” I turned the page. “The next brother is named Heathcliff. That’s a ridiculous name. And he lives in Vermont. No one lives in Vermont.”

  Declan grunted, non-committal.

  “And Georgiana! Your baby sister! That’s so cute!”

  “She’s only four years younger than you. She’s not an actual baby.” Again, he tried to temper my enthusiasm. To no avail.

  “I know! We might become good friends! Ooh, she’s in school at Vanderbilt University. That sounds fancy.”

  “It is,” Declan confirmed.

  I bet she was lovely. I could be like an older sister to her! Maybe she liked some of the kinds of things I did? Maybe we could trade recipes and raise our children together, holidays with the cousins!

  Declan took the portfolio from my lap and flipped through the remaining pages. Apparently his father had remarried toward the end of his life, just three years before he passed away. Altogether, he’d left behind a sum total of six descendants: Declan, four from his first wife plus a stepson.

  “Six kids,” I marveled. From three different women. But, I guessed family came in all shapes and sizes. Whatever, however, whoever, I thought it was exciting.

  Declan clearly didn’t. He sat staring at a page with a picture of his father, the late Richard Kavanaugh. “He wanted to find me.” He shook his head, staring into the middle distance. “I can’t believe it.”

  “It sounds like he tried.”

  “But he didn’t succeed.” He looked up at me and I could see all the emotions there swirling through him, sadness and anger and loss. I needed to settle down and give him time to make sense of this all.

  I didn’t even bring up the two hundred and fifty million dollar elephant in the room. It harrumphed and trumpeted around enough without my saying a word. That was a gargantuan amount of money. I knew Declan didn’t need it, he had more than enough as it was, but what could that kind of money do for his charity? Think of the children he could help with that kind of funding.

  But to release the funds, he had to agree to meet the family. As much as I wanted to hop on a plane with him right now and be by his side as we knocked on everyone’s doors, starting with Ash Black so I could get him to sign a t-shirt for me, I had to admit, I couldn’t exactly picture Declan doing it. He was such a proud man, had defined himself so resolutely as a lone wolf. He’d spent all 27 of his years standing proudly on his own two feet. What would it feel like for him now to attempt to enter into a family that didn’t want him to exist?

  He was probably right, with that kind of money there had to be at least some relatives who wished he’d crawl right back under a rock and leave that money untouched so the rest of them could split it. Not to mention the ex-wife his father had cheated on when he’d come out to Montana and slept with Declan’s mother. She couldn’t be happy about him surfacing now, after all those years. Declan wouldn’t want any part of causing more pain and anger.

  Still, I couldn’t shake it, the sense that this was a good thing. He wasn’t an unwanted cast-off, a boy whose father had abandoned him. His father had wanted to find him, had sent money to provide for him all along.

  But I couldn’t push. Declan was a stubborn and proud man, and he needed time to make his own decision. I wanted to plunge in headlong, but I always wanted to do that. I felt certain things would work out. Declan felt certain everything would require a fight to the death. It was one of the many reasons we made a good team together. We balanced each other out.

  Declan put the thick, black portfolio back down on the coffee table.

  “Let’s go get some dinner,” I said, giving him the opportunity to change the subject.

  “Sounds great to me,” he agreed.

  I knew what I needed to do. I needed to give him time. It wasn’t as if we were married and this was a joint decision.

  In fact, I didn’t even know what the future would bring for us. I’d been hanging out with him here at this resort, lounging in this alternate universe, recovering from my trauma. Bill at the ranch and Dot at the diner encouraged me to do it, but soon I’d have to return to reality. Would Declan be in it? Different question, same answer. Give it time.

  §

  “Wanna go swimming?” The next day Declan sauntered into the main room in the cabin, a boyish grin on his face. I loved seeing him look so young. I wondered how many times in his life he’d had the chance to ask that question. I guessed it hadn’t been all that many. His childhood hadn’t exactly been filled with lazy days picnicking at swimming holes.

  “I didn’t even know you were back!” I stood up from the couch, delighted. He’d headed up to Billings early that morning, but now, three o’clock, here he was.

  “You up for a swim? he asked again.

  “Absolutely,” I agreed.

  “There’s this amazing creek,” Declan continued, sounding a lot like a six-year-old the night before Christmas. “I can’t wait to show you.”

  “I can’t wait to see it!”

  “Wait…” He paused and drew back. “Are you sure you’re up to this? I don’t want to exhaust you.”

  “Declan, yes, I’m up for it.” If I could have sex with him like a rabid bunny, I figured I could manage to go for a swim. He still seemed nervous about my full recovery, but I wasn’t, not anymore.

  Declan packed a picnic blanket and some towels. I pulled together some sandwiches, chips and fruit. We headed off into the day, blue sky, green grass and birds chirping overhead.

  Driving over, I felt my whole body relax. I didn’t have to fight anything anymore. Declan had been my fantasy since I’d been 18. I’d fallen for him the moment I’d seen him. I hadn’t been able to stop thinking about him ever since.

  “I can’t believe you left because my father kicked you out,” I blurted out, mid-stream of my thoughts.

  “Wow, what’s going on in your head over there?” At the wheel, Declan looked over at me.

  “I guess I’m just still adjusting. So much has happened in the past couple of weeks.”

  “That is a massive understatement,” he agreed.

  “That summer you left? I really thought you’d hit it and quit it.” I shook my head. I’d known my father was over-protective, but his role in it all still surprised me. “I can’t believe my father did that.”

  “I was pissed at the time,” Declan acknowledged. “But, now I get it. I was a mangy mutt back then.”

  “You were not.” I remembered him like something out of a movie, the classic cowboy against that setting sun, long legs in worn jeans, hat tipped just right.

  “I was, trust me. I was.”

  “You’re defending him?”

  “I’m just saying, someday if I’m ever lucky enough to have a daughter, if I see some joker like me messing with her, I’m going to run him straight off my property.”

  The thought of Declan as a father made me giddy. I couldn’t believe he was talking like that. I’d never heard that sort of thing from him before. I’d let myself acknowledge my feelings for him, sure, but never fully let myself dream. I knew he’d never seen himself as the settling-down sort of family man.

  He cleared his throat as if sensing where the train of my thoughts was taking me. “I’m just saying. If someday.”

  I smiled at him. What was this, Declan feeling awkward? I freaking loved it. This powerful, wealthy man, more gorgeous than literally any guy I’d ever seen before, was maybe feeling self-conscious? My heart swelled in my chest.

  He had more inner strength than anyone I knew, rising from impossibly hard circumstances to make so much of himself. Hard-working and smart, he’d found a way to sustain the ranching life out here in Montana while also moving it forward. And he’d started a foundation to help foster kids! Now, I felt self-conscious. What had I done to deserve this man?

  We drove the rest of the way in silence, each of us rapt in our thoughts. He parked us in a sunlit clearing by a weeping willow. Suddenly shy, I fussed
with the picnic things, setting out the blanket and arranging Tupperware containers as if it was of utmost importance.

  “Kara,” Declan choked out by my side. He looked distraught and I almost wondered if he’d hurt himself.

  “I used to worry that I wasn’t a good enough man for you,” he continued. “Now I know I’m not. I don’t deserve you, but I need you. I know I’m not the perfect man for you. But I want to try.”

  Wait, what was happening? Declan dropped down on one knee. In his hand he held out a diamond ring.

  “I know things are crazy. And I can’t promise you what the future will bring. But I can promise you I’ll love you the rest of my life.”

  Tears sprang to my eyes and I brought my hands up to my face. What was he saying?

  “Kara,” he asked, his voice gruff with emotion. “Will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”

  “Declan!”

  “Will you marry me, Kara?” he asked, offering me the ring. It glittered in the sunlight, the diamond casting sparkles in every direction.

  “Yes!” I flung my arms around his shoulders and even though he had to have at least 80 pounds on me he nearly lost his balance. I gave him everything I had. We tumbled together onto the soft flannel of the picnic blanket. He kissed the tears from my cheeks even as more flowed from my eyes, happy tears, and we kissed and laughed. Thankfully, he still managed to keep the ring between his fingers even as we fell together to the ground. He wiped another tear of joy from my cheek and took my ring finger in his hand.

  The ring fit. I didn’t know how I’d manage to get used to wearing something that spectacular on my hand every day for the rest of my life. But it was a challenge I was willing to face.

  I kissed him again. I’d never get enough of his lips, so soft and so masculine all at once.

  “Kara,” he murmured into me, kissing me as if his life depended on it.

  “Declan.” I never wanted to let go. And now I never had to. We belonged to each other. Always had. Always would.

  EPILOGUE

  Declan

  Six Months Later