McKenzie, Cooper - Saving Chloe (Siren Publishing Classic) (2 page)

Chapter 2

Chloe gasped at Declan’s bold statement. Then the rest of what he said sunk in. “Human vampires? Yes, that sounds about right. But I can take care of myself. I don’t want your wife to be upset because you’re helping me.”

She stopped talking when he straightened and stepped away. For a moment, he’d looked furious. She swore his eyes flashed red in the dark. She’d obviously said something very wrong.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered as tears filled her eyes at offending the man. But why was she worried about that? He was a stranger. And why did he appear so angry that she stood up for herself?

At the loss of his touch, a cold chill shivered through her body where heat had filled her just moments earlier. She dropped her head forward until her chin rested on her chest. As she wrapped her arms around her middle in a protective gesture, she waited to hear footsteps as Declan stormed away.

“Oh, darlin’, I’m the one who’s sorry. I should have told ye. I’ve no wife or offspring,” he said gently.

His sudden change of tone confused her even more, though the information he shared comforted her in a way she had never felt before. Even though she knew he was too young for her, and she carried too much emotional baggage for him or any other man, she still felt drawn to him.

She did not pull away as she normally would, when two cool fingers slid under her chin and lifted until they were nose to nose. “Ye’ve no need ta worry about any others. I’m all yers.”

Chloe blinked as a single hot tear rolled out of her left eye and down her cheek. She gasped when he shifted and licked the tear from her skin. “Shhh, darlin’ Chloe, all will be well. Ye’ll see,” he murmured as he began to brush kisses across her cheek until he reached the corner her mouth.

“But you’re so much younger than I am,” she blurted out without thinking about her words.

He pulled back and smiled gently at her. “I’m older than you think,” he said, just before he leaned in and traced the tip of his tongue across her bottom lip. “Does age really matter as long as we make each other happy? Does me body please ye?”

Chloe found her brain couldn’t put an answer together, much less get her mouth to form the words to voice her protest. Her mind completely blanked as Declan slid one hand around the back of her neck and gently held her head still. The tip of his tongue pressed between the seam of her lips and brushed across her teeth.

Parting her lips, Chloe slowly extended her tongue until it touched his. Suddenly, any restraint she might have had evaporated like smoke in a high wind. Declan seemed to accept that as her unspoken invitation and took the kiss deeper.

When she retreated, and her muscles stiffened under his touch, Declan pulled his lips from hers long enough to murmur, “Relax and kiss me back.” Then he returned his lips to hers.

As if he had given her a command, his directive shattered the good-girl restraints she’d lived under all her life. At once, she felt a freedom she’d never experienced before. With a barely-there moan, she parted her lips further and thrust her tongue into his mouth to taste him. She sighed as his tongue began to duel with hers, making her want even more.

Without realizing what she was doing, she lifted her hands from her lap and laid them on his shoulders. She slid her palms around the back of his shoulders until her fingers became entwined in the silky strands of hair that flowed down his back.

As the kiss went on and on, she pushed to her feet. She needed more. She needed to be closer, to touch him. She needed to confirm that he was as turned on by this as she was. Never before had kissing a man energized her before. But with this man, her being close to him overrode the exhaustion she had felt just moments before.

Once she found her balance again, she stepped down one step and then another, stopping her descent only when her breasts brushed against his chest. Then she shifted on the step until their bodies pressed together, separated only by the layers of their clothes. His long, thick, rock-hard erection pressed against her hot, wet mons.
Nope, thank heavens this wasn’t a one-sided attraction
.

She began to tremble.

“Are ye a’right, darlin’?” Declan asked against her lips. He brushed both hands down her back to cup her rounded ass cheeks.

“I don’t know,” Chloe answered honestly. “Do you feel it? I’ve never felt anything like this before.”

“What are ye feeling?”

Chloe blinked and turned her face, not wanting him to see the embarrassment she felt. No man had ever asked her how she’d felt about sex before. The men in her past didn’t seem to care how she felt, as long as she gave them what they wanted when they wanted it, and criticized her for her technique.

When Declan lifted a hand to cup her cheek, she nuzzled into it, the feel of his cool skin against hers sending even more need and want surging through her. “Tell me,” he urged in a deep, dark, sexy whisper. “What are ye feeling?”

She looked him in the eye and knew she would never be able to lie to him. “I feel like I’m going to explode into a fireball. I’ve never felt like this with anyone before, and I’m not even drunk. I don’t understand it.”

* * * *

Declan rubbed his cheek against her as he smiled and did a mental fist pump of celebration. “I do. Ye feel the magic calling us to be together. And yes, I feel it as well. Canna ye tell?” he asked, pushing his hips forward before shifting them left and right.

He sucked in a breath as the need to join with this lovely lady spiraled even higher. Though he wanted nothing more than to claim her here and now, he knew she needed time. She needed to learn of him and accept the pull between them before anything further happened.

Easing back, he kissed her again, working carefully to ease the sexual tension back to a more manageable level. Finally, he pulled away. “May I call ye later? We can talk? I’d like ta hear yer voice before ye fall asleep and dream of me.”

“Um, okay.” She gave him a shy smile. She blinked and recited her phone number as if in a trance.

He smiled in return as he repeated it in his head. Then he ran the back of one finger down her cheek. “Good sleep ta ye, sweet Chloe. Rest well and dream good dreams.” With his heart and body fighting his common sense for control, Declan slowly turned and walked away. She needed time to relax around him, to trust him, to understand what he was. Though his body wanted differently, he would give her that space. By the time he stepped inside his front door, he wondered how in the hell he was going to take things slow when all he wanted was to slide deep inside her and make her his own. After closing the door, Declan turned and watched through one of the windows that framed the front door as his mate sat for a few more minutes staring at the night sky. He watched until she stood up and went inside herself. Going to his office, he pulled out his cell phone and programmed her number into it. Feeling a need to be closer to her, he returned to the front porch, and he watched her house until the lights went off in her living room and came on in her bedroom. He gave her a few minutes before he scrolled down to her number and hit send.

After four rings, voice mail picked up. “Hi, this is Chloe. I can’t come to the phone, so please leave me a message, and I’ll get back to you.”

Declan waited impatiently for the beep. “Hello, Chloe. Tis Declan. I was jes’ callin’ ta say good night and maybe talk a bit, but I guess that will have ta wait ’til tomorrow. Sleep well.”

Hanging up, he slipped the phone into his pocket before heading to the bathroom. He needed relief from the erection that had grown painfully demanding, and he knew there was only way he would be relieving it tonight.

* * * *

Chloe jumped when her cell phone rang just as she slid under the covers, tired but horny. Looking at the clock and then at the phone’s display, she silenced the ringer. Not recognizing the number, she held firm to her rule not to answer the phone from a number she did not recognize. If it was someone trying to reach her at this time of night, they could leave a message. If not, they could call back tomorrow at a decent hour. At that moment, all she wanted was to sleep and hopefully dream of a certain tall, dark, sexy neighbor.

With a sigh, she climbed out of bed again and went to her office. There was one last piece of business to be handled before she slept. After sending an e-mail to her publisher requesting a seventy-two-hour extension on the two books she’d been assigned to edit, she crawled into back into bed and immediately fell into a deep sleep.

Chapter 3

By the time Chloe got home from her day job, she knew she had to see Declan before she went crazy. She’d dreamt of him the night before, only to wake up hot and sweaty and so aroused she had to find relief before she could climb out of bed and start her day. When she did get out of bed and listened to her voice mail, the message filled her with an intense need to go and see Declan. It was a feeling she had not felt toward a man in a long, long time. It was a feeling she wasn’t sure she was comfortable with. After saving his number to her phone, she struggled to focus on her day and not him.

She struggled through her day, trying to keep from losing herself in replaying her encounter with Declan the night before. But he was never far from her thoughts, and whenever she had a spare moment, she could hear his wonderfully accented voice, and the hunger he had brought out in her returned. Then she wondered if their next encounter would prove just as intense.

After eating a sandwich for dinner, Chloe tried editing, but found herself unable to concentrate on the story. All she wanted was to go across the street and hug Declan, then see where it led to.

She jumped when someone knocked on the door, and then recognized Jasmine’s knock. Taking a deep breath, she opened the door and looked at her friend. “Sorry, Jasmine, I really can’t talk tonight. I’m up to my eyeballs in work.”

“But it’s Friday night. Take a break and come have a drink with us.”

“No, I’m sorry. I’m way behind, and I just can’t. But you go and have a good time.” Amazed at herself, Chloe closed and locked the door before the other woman could say another word.

Returning to the bedroom she’d turned into her office, Chloe couldn’t help the smile that grew from her insides out. She’d done it. She actually stood up to Jasmine and won.

But for how long?

Jasmine wouldn’t be ignored that easily. No doubt she’d be back within the hour with Ray and Winston for backup. Would she be able to hold the line against the three of them? Maybe she should take her computer and go to the coffee shop. But they closed early on Friday nights.

Before she could talk herself out of her evening plans of editing, Chloe returned to her desk, put on her headphones, and got back to reading and marking up the manuscript, quickly losing herself in her work.

She had just finished writing her notes up on the first manuscript when a heavy hand thumped at the front door. After saving the file, she stood up and headed for the front door, stretching as she went. Knowing it was
the
inevitable, at least she’d finished something, so she supposed it would be okay to take a break and go have a beer with the Porch People. Especially since her boss said she could take as long as she needed to edit, within reason, of course.

She stretched once more before opening the door. “All right, Jasmine, I’ll come have a beer,” she said without looking at the person on the other side. “Just let me get my keys.”

“I would have pegged ye as a wine drinker,” a deep, masculine voice replied.

Chloe blinked and turned to find Declan standing on the porch and not Jasmine. “Oh, I’m sorry. I thought you were Jasmine coming back to demand I come and have a beer.”

“Sorry, but if ye’d like, I’ll go fetch her for ye,” Declan said with a wry smile.

“No, that’s okay. So, what can I do for you this evening?” Chloe asked, fighting the urge to throw herself at him for a long, strong hug.