Declare (Declan Reede: The Untold Story #4)

by Michelle Irwin

  “Squirt,” he said, moving a little and wincing in pain before he spoke. “I’m sorry I couldn’t be there for you in person. You know if the docs had given me clearance, I would have been there in a heartbeat.”

  I nodded stupidly, not knowing whether it was a two-way feed or not.

  “I haven’t known Declan for as long as some of the people gathered in that room, but I’ve known him long enough to see that Alyssa was made for him. I’ve seen him do some pretty crazy stuff.” He laughed, no doubt remembering some fucked-up thing we’d done together. I rolled my eyes; as if the anti-Declan people gathered in the room needed more ammunition against me. “But since reuniting with Alyssa, I’ve seen a change come over him. He’s softened in some ways, but he’s so much stronger in others. On the track, he is more focused and determined than I think I have ever seen him—even if he is just driving a Mini.”

  He chuckled to himself.

  “His strength and commitment to his family are second to none. Even though it’s something I never expected to see, it is clear he is devoted to not only Alyssa but also to Phoebe.

  “Alyssa, I know we didn’t get off to the best start, and I have to apologise again for what I did. It was stupid, inconsiderate, and I can’t even begin to try to justify it. All I can say is that I did it during a time when I didn’t understand love properly. Before I knew how much hurt the one you love can inflict on you. Love can cut you so deeply that you think there is no way you will ever survive the injury, but it can also heal you. I know this because I have seen you heal Declan in ways that I never thought possible. In ways I hadn’t even known he was broken.

  “I’m sure he won’t ever admit how broken he was; perhaps he doesn’t even understand it himself. I never realised until you came back into his life. In fact, if you’d asked me a little over a year ago, before Queensland Raceway last year, I’d have said he was in complete control, unbroken and unbreakable. But in making him stronger, you have demonstrated just how vulnerable he was. I hope we can begin to mend the bridges I have broken, because you are important to the two most important people in my life.

  “It says on this piece of paper that Eden gave me that I’m supposed to toast to the bridesmaid, Ruby. I can’t see you, I had to prerecord this, but I’m looking at your picture in Gossip Weekly, and I have no doubt you are smoking in your dress. To Ruby, for being there for Alyssa now and always.”

  I stood and toasted Ruby, giving her an extra round of applause. The emcee grabbed control of the night again, and everyone else seemed as relieved as I was that the speeches were behind us.

  Before long, Alyssa and I were called over to cut the cake. We waited for the photographer to take what felt like 101 photos. Then after the official photographer was finished, we had to pose for all the amateur photographers amongst our family and friends. Finally, it was time to cut the damn thing, but it almost seemed a shame to take a knife to the three-layer masterpiece covered in sugar flowers.

  The cake was whisked off as soon as our hands left the knife. We had ordered mud cake so it could be served as dessert. While it was off being sliced, diced, and garnished with cream, we were directed to the dance floor. The night was flying by in a haze.

  The emcee gathered the crowd before starting the music, lowering the lights and setting the spotlight on us. “Please welcome to the floor, Mr. and Mrs. Reede for their first dance as a married couple.”

  “Mrs. Reede,” I said as I offered Alyssa my hand in invitation. Even though I had known what was coming, I was blown away by the emotions that coursed through me as I guided Alyssa in front of me to dance to “Ocean Wide” by The Afters. I was glad that the music was a decent speed, because it allowed me to lead Alyssa smoothly around the floor with what little rhythm I had. Every few seconds, I had to swallow down the emotions that threatened to burst from me.

  Alyssa didn’t know, but I’d listened to the song over and over in the car. I wanted to be able to sing the lyrics to her as she danced. There was a reason I’d selected the song after many hours of deliberation; it was our song. It told our story more succinctly than I ever could.

  At first, I twisted Alyssa around and gently dipped her as I serenaded her. The song was an extension of my vows. Before long, the rest of the world fell away, and it was just Alyssa and me swaying gently in our own private bubble. I brought her hands to my chest, pressing them gently so her palms rested over my heart. I dipped my head down and infused every word I sang with all the meaning I could muster.

  We swayed against each other through the chorus and continued even after the music had faded away.

  “I love you so fucking much, Lys,” I whispered to her, causing her to giggle. It broke the moment, but it had to; if the intensity weren’t broken somehow I probably would have taken her right there in front of all of our guests. I figured that wasn’t exactly the sort of “first dance” they wanted to see.

  “Wow,” the emcee enthused. “Feel that love! Let’s keep the lovefest happening, with the daddy-daughter dance. And just in case you are wondering, there is a bit of a difference tonight because all the songs were specially requested by the groom.”

  I dropped Alyssa’s hand, but didn’t leave the dance floor. Alyssa looked uncertainly at me, but I just winked at her and indicated she should go to Curtis. I headed in my own direction as the song started. I’d picked the music for this dance too, and had stumbled onto a song named “Call me Papa.” It was a nice slow song but with a surfer-style sound. I held out my arms in invitation for my own daughter, wrapping my arms around her and pulling her up to my height. I slotted her into place on my hip and headed around the dance floor with her in my arms.

  Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Alyssa and Curtis dancing too; there seemed to be a little bit of tension between them. Alyssa’s entire body seemed rigid, much more so than in our dance just a few minutes prior. For our part, Phoebe and I just danced and giggled until the song came to a close.

  “Aw, how’s that?” the emcee called. “Any sweeter and we’d all have cavities.”

  I flashed Alyssa a smile as the next song came on. The emcee invited everyone to dance and announced the cake would be served in fifteen minutes. The music switched up to some party starters. Some people took to the dance floor, while others returned to their seats. But almost everyone took at least a minute to come up to either Alyssa or me to congratulate us and wish us good luck.

  I was so fucking happy. The formalities were largely over and done with, and Alyssa was officially mine. It was just time to let down our hair and party. We mingled and mixed, but found ourselves constantly drawn back to one another.

  Inevitably, every time we came within a few metres of each other, someone would clink their glass and we would have to kiss. My only complaint in the whole deal was that my cock was getting harder and harder each time. I wanted her so fucking badly, but I knew I was still a few hours off claiming her to consummate our marriage. I considered asking if she would complain about running upstairs to the suite for a quickie, but I knew it was impossible because people would realise we were gone.

  After the cake, Mum brought Phoebe over to say goodnight. We both kissed her and hugged her, wishing her happy dreams. We’d already organised that she would stay in the hotel, but in a room with Mum. That way, she’d be close by if anything happened, but—barring an emergency—Alyssa and I would be uninterrupted.

  All.

  Fucking.

  Night.

  Long.

  Alyssa raised her eyebrow when she noticed my smirk, but I just shrugged. She knew what I was fucking smiling about. In fact, she was thinking the same things. I could tell by her come-fuck-me eyes.

  I circulated some more, spending a few minutes chatting with my teammates. Danny and Hazel came over and gave me their best wishes.

  “I’m sorry that you didn’t make the two poles needed to claim your honeymoon,” Danny said. “I had hoped to be able to offer you a chance to get away.”

  I nodd
ed. “Yeah. I’d been looking forward to going back to London too. It changed so much for me.”

  He sighed. “If only circumstances had been a little different. But it might be a good thing in the end. I’ll need you at a few track days coming up if we’re going to get things tuned properly.”

  I grinned, knowing it was his way of letting me know I was still in the V8 for the enduros. I wasn’t sure exactly how he was going to manage it with Morgan off the track, but I was willing to go for a little trust. “Tell me when and I’ll be there. What happened to Morgan is all kinds of fucked-up”—in ways I wasn’t sure Danny was willing to acknowledge—“but we’ll get through it.”

  He nodded and looked across the room. I followed his eyes and saw him regarding Alyssa. “She really is good for you. You two are made for one another, don’t let anyone tell you any different.”

  “Don’t worry, old man, I won’t.” I slapped his back gently.

  “Less of the ‘old man’, thank you very much.” Danny laughed. “I can still call everything off.”

  I shrugged. “Yeah, but who else could you get on such short notice?”

  “Oh, you’d be surprised.”

  “Okay maybe, but would they have my mad skills?”

  He laughed.

  Alyssa came over and touched my arm lightly. “I think they want to do the bouquet toss now.”

  I nodded and clasped her hand. I never knew how much fucking organising went into this wedding shit. Even while I was supposed to be having fun and socialising with guests, I was being pulled from pillar to goddamned post.

  The emcee gathered all the single girls around and lined them up. Alyssa turned her back to them and threw the bouquet into the air. Before it had even landed, the girls were clamouring for it, roughly pushing and pulling at it and each other. It wouldn’t have surprised me if they’d started sinking their teeth into one another next.

  Women were fucking scary sometimes.

  After watching that ruckus, I was a little worried about the next part of the evening. Alyssa had no idea what Morgan and I had hatched up, but I had absolutely no doubt that she would not approve in the least. I was glad that Flynn had seen the humour in it and agreed to go along with it when I’d told him about it.

  Finally, one of Alyssa’s uni mates emerged victorious with the tattered bouquet held aloft. I shook my head at the lunacy of it.

  Then my heart plummeted as I watched them bring out the chair and set everything up for the garter toss. Fuck. I was looking forward to having a little fun, but I hoped I’d still have a wife at the end of it.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN: NAUGHTY NASTY BOY

  ALYSSA SAT ON the chair provided for her. It had a white cover over it that fell to the floor so no one could see what was hidden underneath. The emcee started the song for the removal of the garter, and I began performing my stripper moves for Alyssa, which brought a delicious shade of pink to her skin as she no doubt recalled our night out where we turned stripper for one another.

  I glided my hand down Alyssa’s dress then gently clasped her ankle. I made a little circle there with my thumb—a subtle promise of things to come later. I slid my hand further up her leg under the cover of her dress. I teasingly ran my fingers softly along her inner thigh.

  “All right,” the emcee started, “he’s going in! Now remember, Declan, you want the garter. Just the garter—not the whole belt.”

  I lifted Alyssa’s dress over my head and settled in to the wonderful little space with her barely covered legs.

  Taking my time, I kissed Alyssa’s thigh to distract her while I fished under the back of her dress and reached below the sheet for the box of goodies Flynn had left under the seat while the girls were fighting over the flowers.

  I pulled a tiny, lacy G-string out of the box first. I continued to run my lips along Alyssa’s thigh while I lifted my “prize” out from under her dress before shaking it a few times then pressing it into Flynn’s hand to show the crowd.

  “Not those, Declan!” the emcee exclaimed as the crowd giggled, and I lapped it up with a few waves of my hands. “Aim a little lower maybe?” he suggested, and I gave him a thumbs up in reply.

  Never breaking the contact of my lips on Alyssa’s skin, I reached back under her dress and into the box. I wondered if I would be able to push my lips higher. The thought of being covered by her dress kissing her pussy in front of everyone made me hard as a fucking rock. My lips inched a little higher and I snaked my tongue out and licked a patch of flesh that was showing just above her lace-topped stockings, enjoying it all the more when she squirmed slightly in her seat.

  Knowing I had to keep focused on the gag or I’d never get through it all, I pulled the Yellow Pages out of the box and slid it along the floor between my legs and out into the open. The book had been hard to find, but totally worth it.

  “Well,” the emcee quipped, “we can see that he sure lets his fingers do the walking.”

  I reached back into the box, knowing the next lines of the song were about icing her cake. To match the music, I reached in and pulled out a novelty toy cake that sang “Happy Birthday” when it was switched on.

  When I held it aloft, I heard the emcee chuckle into the microphone. “Are you giving her your special frosting, Declan?”

  I nodded emphatically under the dress, feeling the material rise and fall rapidly against my back as I did.

  Knowing I wouldn’t be able to get away with the jokes too much longer, not if I still wanted Alyssa to like me at the end of the night, I reached in for the second to last item we’d placed in there. I clasped the toy cat and held it up as high as I could without relinquishing my hidey-hole before passing it to Alyssa.

  I heard the emcee laughing hard before he gathered himself enough to speak. “Well, it’s obvious someone knows how to handle her pussy.”

  Alyssa whacked the back of my head, and I shrugged against her. Sure, I felt a little guilty for her embarrassment, but I was making sure our wedding was one to be remembered. Besides, I was quite happy in my private tent. Just me, her legs, and her . . .

  With one more kiss to her thigh, I pulled the remaining item, a black lace garter, free and held it aloft as I climbed out from beneath Alyssa’s dress. I decided I would definitely have to revisit there later—hopefully not too much later. I turned back to wink at her, and I knew a goofy-arsed grin was probably plastered across my face, but I didn’t care.

  Her actual garter remained in-situ and I would remove it in private . . . preferably with my teeth. The garter I held in my hands was a spare I’d put into the box because there was no way in hell I was going to throw anything that had rested against her thigh into a pack of salivating wolves.

  I flung the garter high into the air aiming at the loosely gathered men then pulled Alyssa into me.

  “You’re going to pay for that later,” she threatened in a low whisper.

  “I was counting on it,” I whispered back before kissing and nibbling on her lobe. I was harder than fucking cement, and I didn’t care who saw it.

  “Come on, let’s dance a while,” she said, rolling her eyes and pulling me gently to the middle of the half-full dance floor.

  I felt the weight of someone’s stare on us as we moved, so I turned to look at the crowd. Curtis stood off to the side, unabashedly watching us as I twirled her around the room. One look at the snarl on his lips told me that the time was right for my other plan. My “get back at Curtis for being a wank during the speeches” plan. In truth, I’d arranged it long before then, but his performance during our special moment gave me all the ammunition I needed to follow it through.

  With a wave and a nod, I let the emcee know I was ready for my next song request.

  Less than a minute later, the song I’d selected began to play. I swept one hand slowly down Alyssa’s spine before pushing against the small of her back to press her tightly against me. With the other hand, I brushed the hair off her neck and as the song started, I breathed the lyrics for “Le
t’s Make it a Night to Remember” by Bryan Adams against her neck.

  As we danced, and I whispered the lyrics to her, I rubbed my hands along her bare shoulders. Slowly, I traced my fingers from her nape to her wrists and back up again.

  I twisted her around so her back pressed into my chest. With her moving against me, I wrapped my arm around her waist and ground my hips against her arse. When she dropped her head back to rest against my shoulder, I guided her hands behind her and onto my thighs as I continued to caress her stomach.

  Alyssa was letting herself go, relishing in the sensation and the music.

  She turned her head toward mine, closing her eyes and moaning softly. I kissed her cheek then made my way down her throat, breathing the words across her skin.

  I turned my head to make sure Curtis was watching his daughter unravel in my arms. I knew what I did to her—it was the same thing she did to me. My hard-on was pressed firmly into her arse as I splayed one hand out across her throat and chest. The other pressed her stomach firmly, guiding her body ever closer to me and pinning her there. There wasn’t even a centimetre of space between us. If I’d been able to, I would have held her in place right there as I fucked her silly.

  “Fuck, I want you, baby,” I whispered to her, pulling her closer still.

  “Mmm,” she agreed. “I need you.”

  “Soon, baby, soon,” I promised as I pressed my lips against her collarbone.

  I risked another glance over at Curtis. He was attempting to look distracted and keep his eyes anywhere but firmly planted on us. However, I could tell by his rigid stance and the way he kept clenching and unclenching his fists that he could see me. No doubt, he was disgusted with our display on the dance floor, but I couldn’t care less.

  The way Alyssa’s body reacted to mine, and mine to hers, was a big part of the reason I wasn’t afraid of forever with her. Not anymore. I’d come to cherish our magnetic draw, the one that had once scared the living shit out of me.