3. Frankie

Chapter 3

Frankie

D rying my hands, I take one last look in the mirror to make sure my makeup is still smudge-free. Deeming myself as good as I’m going to be to not scare anyone in my near vicinity, I toss the paper towel in the trash and pull the door open. A large body comes tumbling in, almost knocking me over.

It’s Declan.

With some amazing agility, he finds his footing with only a few sharp stomps of his large black boots, then is back to standing tall. It’s not until now that I realize how tall he is. Sitting on the bar stool is deceiving to perception sometimes, so seeing him here is a bit shocking. I’m not short at five foot eight, but Declan has to be at least a few inches over six foot.

“Sorry about that, bean ádh. I almost knocked you over.” Declan reaches out and grabs my hand, pulling me into the hallway.

“What is that you said?” I sense an accent he hides well, but I want to know what it means.

“Bean ádh,” he says again slower. BAN – OW. “It means ‘lucky woman’ in Irish. I’m from Ireland. A small town in Silgo. Maybe I’ll take you there one day to visit where I was born. ”

I’m dumbfounded. The things he’s saying, the sweet name in a foreign language, talking about where he’s from, it’s crazy. No one does this when they first meet, at least no one I’ve ever met before. And the way he’s holding my hand… I feel calluses and rough skin, but his touch is gentle and calming.

His thumb brushes back and forth over the inside of my wrist, almost putting me in a trance, so I barely notice my feet following Declan’s backward steps. I know I could object, pull back and stop him from leading me deeper into the darkness, but I don’t want to. I want to go wherever he goes. His pull is more than physical, I feel it inside my chest. I’ve never felt so at peace.

Declan never loses a step as he opens a door at the end of the hall with his free hand, then reaches into the opening to flip on the light. The glow makes me blink a few times to adjust to the brightness, but then I see a surprisingly big office inside what my mind thought was a small broom closet.

Inside straight ahead is a big leather office chair tucked behind a large desk. A laptop sits open on the surface, the rest covered in stacks of papers. To the left, one wall is corner to corner filing cabinets, and across the room to the right is a couch that looks identical to the one my paternal grandma had in her living room—olive green and burnt orange paisley pattern bordered with what was once white lines, the fabric faded from time and use but still comfortable and sturdy.

I notice more pictures hanging on the walls in here, same as out in the main bar area, but when I try to step closer to look at one of what I’m guessing is Declan in his teenager days, my steps forward are halted when I’m pulled back into a solid wall.

No, not a wall. A chest. Declan’s chest. His body forms around mine, his front to my back, making me feel like I’m being wrapped in the warmest, tightest embrace.

“Is this okay, bean ádh?” he asks, his lips skating softly along the side of my neck.

There are those words again. Lucky woman .

Am I lucky? If you would’ve asked me an hour ago, I would have laughed and told you no way. But right now in this bar, in this office, in this man’s arms, I’d say I’m taking what I can get and holding on for however long it lasts.

“Please,” I beg, the words escape my lips from no power of my own.

Next thing I know, Declan spins me around and I have to grab hold of his shirt to steady myself. His right arm catches me around the waist, his left hand holds my face tilted up to his, and I barely have a second to catch my breath before his lips are on mine. Heat. Dizziness. From chest to groin, we are connected. Our legs and feet seem to find their slot, pulling us as close as we can be together with our clothes still on.

Declan’s kisses are soft but soul-stealing all mixed together. He only lets me up for a breath when he needs one, then pulls me right back under the waves. He devours me, consumes me, showing me a need and desire I never knew existed. His lips are determined, demanding, but sensual. All I can do is hold on as his tongue finds entrance while I kiss him back with everything I have. It’s addicting.

He releases me on unsteady legs, but I find my footing only to be spun around again. Hands on my hips now, Declan steps backward, then pulls me down in his lap as he sits on the couch. My legs straddling his hips, I get my first full feel of what he’s been not-so-subtly been rubbing against me. I don’t know what they give growing babies over in Ireland, but whatever it is, thank their mommas. Today is my lucky day.

“I really should’ve thought this through better,” Declan mumbles in between kisses as he moves his lips across my cheek. “Back on your feet.”

And I’m moving again. Again under no power of my own, I’m on my feet and my clothes are magically disappearing faster than I can spell abracadabra.

I help Declan by pulling my shirt over my head as he unzips my jeans and pulls them down, followed by my panties. I kick off my shoes, then the annoying denim and lace, and I watch the fine muscled specimen in front of me strip down to his birthday suit.

Without popping a single button, Declan whips his dress shirt off, followed by the tight tank top underneath. He kicks off his boots then shimmies his hips and ditches his jeans, revealing that he has been commando this whole time. Lastly, he pulls off his socks then relaxes back, arms resting along the top of the back cushions. Knees spread, his long and thick manhood stands tall and proud for me to see.

Resting one knee, and then the other, on the couch, I crawl back into Declan’s lap and reconnect us. This time I initiate the kiss.

My hands roam his soft skin, my fingers trail along the hard lines of his even harder muscles. My mouth moves and explores along his neck, then my lips feel his pulse beating strong as I kiss him everywhere I can reach.

Declan’s hands slide up my back and he unclips my bra faster than I ever have, removing the last barrier covering my body. His mouth moves and explores the newly exposed skin along my chest before his lips find the tight pebble of my right breast and he sucks me in.

“Oh God!” I almost levitate as an orgasm overtakes my entire body. My skin is on fire. Every nerve tingles as I throw my head back and scream Declan’s name to the heavens.

“Fuck,” Declan groans as he rubs the head of his dick along my folds. “Sensitive. Just perfect.”

“That’s never happened before,” I stutter while panting, sensitive being an understatement.

“Are you protected?” Declan asks, prolonging my misery and bliss.

“IUD,” I groan as I rock my hips into his, wishing he’d hurry up and fuck me already.

“Thank fuck.” That finally kicks him into overdrive. “Are you ready for me, bean ádh?”

“Yes. Please.” I beg while trying to catch my breath even though I know it’s no use. If he does what I want him to, need him to, taking full breaths for the foreseeable future will be impossible and unnecessary.

Declan arches his hips, gliding the tip of his cock to my entrance, simultaneously pulling me down in one smooth and fast movement. Holy. Fucking. Shit. He stretches me in ways I didn’t know was possible.

All I can think and say is “Oh God” over and over again.

When he can’t pull me down anymore, Declan bounces his knees and that in turns jolts my body on his lap one, two, three times. With each thrust and fall, another inch of his cock hits a part inside of me that’s never been touched before.

“I’m. In. Heaven,” Declan grunts with each thrust, hitting that sensitive spot over and over. A second orgasm is building fast and fierce.

“Oh God,” I repeat for probably the twentieth time. “Fuck me, Declan. Use me. Fuck me.” I am delirious. There is nowhere else I’d rather be. Even if the building was on fire, I wouldn’t get off this couch, so the firefighters would have to carry us outside with it.

“With pleasure,” he growls with a thrust. “Grab the back of the couch and hold on tight.”

I do as he says and can only think of what happens next as my reward for doing so.

Declan grabs hold of my hips, lifting my body a few inches off his lap, and lets loose. His hips pound into mine as he lifts and drops me in a rhythm I have no control of. I am a marionette in his hold and take his pounding hard, deep, and fast.

Over and over.

Thrust. Slide.

Push. Pull.

Down. Up.

Hard.

Fast.

His body takes over mine and I let him .

Closing my eyes, I let Declan lead me into the sensations overtaking my soul. They roll through me, barreling over anything and everything in their way. I feel every nuance, every inch, every touch, every kiss, I even feel his growl flow over me. His heat becomes my heat. My emotions become his emotions. We are one.

“Come. Now,” Declan orders.

It hits me even harder and faster than the first, like a hurricane hitting shore. My body is pulled in every direction, yet implodes on itself. Bright lights float behind my eyelids, like a fireworks show finale on the Fourth of July, as I come on his demand. I feel the sweat rolling down my back and it sends me into a full body shiver.

“Oh fuck.” And there goes Declan. His head thrown back, eyes pinched shut, teeth clenching with a deep growl that would rival a bear, he continues to thrust in me like his life depends on it.

I feel the heat of his cum fill me, and there’s so much of it I feel it on my thighs. Between the sweat and cum, the slapping of our skin adds another bit of desire to our movements.

A few minutes pass as we slowly rock against one another, exchanging gentle, lazy kisses. We finally float back down to earth and melt into the cushions, using them to hold our limp bodies semi-vertical.

Declan’s hands reach up to cup my cheeks, pulling our lips apart. “That wasn’t what I had planned when I came to find you, but I can’t say I regret it.”

Turning my face, I sneak a kiss to his fingers before facing him again. “Would now be a good time to admit I kinda wished you’d follow me?” I can feel the blush take over my cheeks.

“Then I’m not sorry at all,” Declan whispers, pulling my face to his for another steamy kiss. “And while I’d like to do that again, I’ve got a bar to run so we need to get back out there.”

“I’m sure Toni is wondering where I am.”

Reaching over, Declan grabs his undershirt and hands it to me. “She told me to go after you, so I’m pretty sure she knows what we’re doing,” he says with a chuckle as he lifts me to my feet .

“She what?” I exclaim as I try to clean up without showing all my lady bits, even though being shy is futile seeing as though Declan is sitting two feet away.

“I’ll let you have that out with her.” Declan wipes himself off once I’m done, then we both start getting dressed. “If I’ve learned anything in my thirty-two years, it’s to never get between a lady and her best friend. Both my ma and sister would box me in the ears if they heard I spoke out of turn.”

I tug my shirt over my head, and slip on my shoes as I zip my jeans, then run my fingers through my sweaty hair. “Sounds like your mother taught you well.” Finding a hair-tie in my pocket, I pull my messy tresses back into a ponytail because this is as good as it’s going to get without a shower and fifteen hours of sleep. “I wish I had that,” I mumble to myself.

“She did,” Declan says as he searches between the couch cushions and comes up victoriously with his cell phone. “But before he make our way back out there to face the firing squad, would you be so kind as to give me your number. I want to call you tomorrow.”

“You do?” My reply is admittedly a bit cheeky. “And what will we talk about?” I ask as type my number in and hand the phone back.

He taps the screen a few times before sliding it in his back pocket. “Oh, you know,” pulling me into his arms, being cheeky right back. “stuff and things. Maybe arranging a date outside of the walls of the bar I run. Where someone else can serve us drinks and bring us food.”

“I think I like the sound of that.” I press a quick kiss to his lips before untangling myself from his clutches and lead us to the door.

Declan walks me back into the bar, holding my hand the whole way, only letting me go once I’m seated on my stool.

“Did you two kids have fun?” Toni starts her investigative inquisitiveness.

Declan pops that dimple at me again with a wink, but before either of us can answer, a crash comes from behind us. “Alright ladies, it’s time you two get on out of here while I handle this mess.” Declan lifts me off my stool as Toni grabs our purses, and we back away from the fight that is quickly growing out of control. It started with two drunk idiots and is doubling as each messy punch is thrown.

Neither Toni or I argue with his order.

One last kiss on the cheek, and a whispered “tomorrow” in my ear, and Declan is off to save the day.

As we step out of the bar, I spot a shiny penny on the ground. It’s heads up, the only way to get good luck, so I pick it up. As Toni babbles on about the craziness of drunk people, I rub the penny between my index finger and thumb and make a silent wish.

I wish that tonight will be the start of my heart healing.

I tuck the penny in my left shoe, then we head for home.

It’s too soon to be love, but my heart misses him already.