Ella pulled back and met his gaze without wavering. “I want you, Declan. You are the only man who has ever made me feel this way, and I’m not walking away.”

Declan let out an unsteady breath then he circled her lower lip with his fingertip. “Thank, God, because that would have probably killed me. He groaned as she wiggled on his lap. “Baby, please stop moving like that before I break my promise and take you right here. I want to show you all of the ways to give and take pleasure before I’m inside of you.”

Ella could feel herself blush again at Declan’s frank words. Despite his protests though, he seemed powerless to resist when she slid her hands into his hair and pulled his head slowly toward hers. She was dying for another kiss like their last one. She wanted to feel his tongue against hers and lose herself in the heat of his mouth. She placed her lips softly against his and waited for him to take the lead. But other than gripping her hips tightly, he didn’t move. She tentatively parted her lips and darted her tongue against the seam of his mouth. A rough growl erupted from his throat as he took control of the kiss. He nipped, sucked, and plundered every corner before pulling abruptly away.

“Ellie, we need to stop. I’m about two seconds from bending you over the kitchen table. And, as much as I’d love that, I’d rather that not be how your first time happens.”

Ella whimpered in protest and tried to pull him back to her, but he held her hands in his and denied her the contact that she was so desperately seeking. Sticking her lips out, she said, “Well, damn,” and then promptly covered her mouth with her hand.

Declan chuckled at her obvious frustration. He kissed her forehead and pulled her toward the door. “I’ve got to get going now. I would love to stay longer, but I can’t risk it right now.” Giving her what she knew was a rare uncertain smile, he asked, “How about we go to dinner tomorrow night?”

She grinned and quickly agreed.

As if he couldn’t help himself, he gave her a quick kiss on the lips and gruffly said, “Lock the door behind me, Ellie. I’ll see you at the office tomorrow.”

She turned the lock behind him and sagged against the door. Please tell me I’m not dreaming. To double-check, she pinched herself and was relieved when she felt the sting. She did a happy dance right in the middle of the kitchen. It was actually going to happen. Declan Stone wanted her, finally! She grabbed her phone and sent a quick text to Beth arranging for a girls’ lunch for the next day. She shuddered as she imagined the advice she would get from Suzy. Of course, with a husband like Gray, Suzy had proven that she knew how to get her man. She might be a little graphic, but the girl knew what she was doing. Beth texted her back wanting to know what was going on, but Ella didn’t want to discuss it yet. She wanted a night to let it all sink in. When the phone rang in her hand, she laughed as she answered the call. “You just couldn’t wait until tomorrow for all of the dirty details could you?” After a moment of silence, she cringed as she heard her mother’s voice.

“What dirty details are you talking about, Ella Marie?”

“Um . . . hi Mom,” she said weakly.

Never one to let a subject be changed easily, her mother repeated, “What dirty details?”

“Oh . . . well, it’s just a television show that Beth and I both watch. She didn’t get a chance to see it tonight so I figured she was calling to see what happened.” You big fat liar. Why didn’t you just tell her the truth? I’m sure she would be all for her baby girl having sex with a bad boy. She couldn’t imagine her mother’s reaction to that news. She would have grabbed her dad and they would be at her apartment before she could hang up the phone. They were still holding out hope that she would marry their pastor’s son who, incidentally, hated Ella because she laughed when he fell off his bike when he was ten. For someone whose father preached forgiveness weekly, he certainly knew how to hold a grudge.

With a loud sniff of disapproval, her mother said, “Honey, I have told you not to watch those trashy shows. There is nothing but smut on nowadays and a young, impressionable girl doesn’t need to see that.”

“Mom, I’m twenty-eight years old. I haven’t been a girl for a long time. You watch the cooking network all of the time and those women dress like s—”

“Ella! What has gotten into you tonight? I think you need to come home next weekend and spend some time with your father and me. Everyone at church has been asking about you. It’s gotten rather embarrassing to keep making excuses as to where you are.”

Ella wondered if her mother could see the irony of lecturing her about going to church while she admitted in the same breath that she lied about why she wasn’t there. She was smart enough not to mention that particular thought out loud though. She had learned years ago that things went better if you didn’t argue or make waves. Now, she tended to avoid these types of conversations with her mother altogether if she could. “Mom, it’s getting late and I need to get to sleep.”

Luckily, her mother wasn’t one to question it when you pretended to be sleepy at eight thirty. “Okay, honey. You know if that place is too much for you, your father could find you something that is less stressful. I don’t think those people there are very good influences on you anyway.”

Ella picked up the fork still sitting on the table from dinner earlier and pretended to stab herself with it. Why must her mother be so judgmental about everything and everyone? All she seemed to care about was how people in her church and the community viewed her. Appearances were everything to Dorothy Webber and she seemed willing to go to any length to keep them up. She couldn’t even imagine what her mother’s reaction would be when—and if—she met Declan. Only one word came to mind—horror. There was no way she would ever want him to sit at her dinner table.

She had tried her best to raise her daughter to be a doormat and constantly nagged now because it wasn’t working anymore. By moving out and getting a job on her own, Ella had successfully cut the apron strings and her mother didn’t like it one bit. Until Ella knew if there was any kind of future with Declan, she needed to keep them apart. She didn’t want to subject him to the disapproval and she didn’t want to put herself through the hell that would surely follow. For now, it was best to keep her parents in the dark and not let them realize that their daughter was finally starting to live her life on her own terms.

Chapter Five

At lunch, Ella put her hands over her ears as Beth squealed at the top of her lungs, “Yesss! I knew Declan would come around. I thought it might take a few more dates, but I knew it would happen. Of course, I also had a little insider tip from Nick.”

Suzy slammed her glass of iced tea down on the table and demanded, “Why am I just hearing about this?”

Ella’s glass landed next to Suzy’s as she asked, “Shouldn’t that be my line?”

Claire held up a hand for silence and said, “Alright everyone, let’s give Beth a chance to explain what she knows and why she held out on us and then we will go after her!”

Cringing Beth said, “Thanks, Claire . . . I think. I didn’t find out till last night and it was too late to call everyone.”

Suzy interrupted saying, “Haven’t I talked to you at least three times today?”

“I’m pregnant,” Beth defended. “You know I have a lot of issues right now. First there is—”

Rolling her eyes, Suzy said, “Okay, okay, no need to start with all of the bodily function things you’ve got going on, just tell us what you know.”

Ella squirmed as Beth took an unusually long time to settle back in her seat before she began. “Well, Declan came by Nick’s office yesterday and was pissed off that I helped Ella sign up for the dating service. Nick was surprised since they aren’t really buddies. He said Declan was furious and wanted him to tell me to talk Ella out of it. Apparently, his sister was attacked by some guy that she was dating and he is afraid the same thing will happen to Ella.”

“Wow,” Claire murmured, “I had no idea that something like that had happened to Ava. It does explain why she seems so reserved, though. And why Declan is protective toward the women in his life, which is a good quality to have.”

Suzy slung an arm around Ella’s shoulders and said, “So you’ve at least got the man on loan, now what do you plan to do with him?”

“Well, he says he will try the dating thing before we . . . you know.”

Claire chimed in, “That’s a good thing, right?”

“Ella,” Suzy began, “I’m just going to ask what everyone else is wondering—you do know how all of the other stuff works, don’t you? Eventually, you will get down to having no clothes on and then the good stuff begins.”

Ella wanted to crawl under the table especially when the woman at the next table gave her a look of sympathy. “I know. I’m a little nervous about it, but I’m ready.”

“I’m sure Declan has a lot of experience,” Beth offered, “You can just follow his lead. Everyone at this table has been where you are, so don’t be embarrassed.”

Suzy burst out laughing. “No one at this table has been where you are, kid. Yeah, we were all the big V at one time, but none of us were initiated by a stud like Declan. I wanted to cry after my first time. Not because it hurt or anything, but because I was so damn depressed that sex was such a letdown. Of course, now that I’m with Gray, it’s like winning the orgasm lottery every single day of my life . . . sometimes, several times a day.”

Beth groaned, Claire chuckled and Ella tried tapping her feet together under the table and telling herself, there’s no place like home . . . there’s no place like home. Dorothy must have been a liar because that had yet to work for her.

“Don’t sweat it,” Suzy continued, “You have us and we won’t let you suck in bed. Well . . .”

“Stop!” Beth and Claire both begged.

“Please don’t go any further with that statement.” Claire shifted toward Ella and said, “What Suzy is trying to say is that we’re all here for you if you need advice on anything. You shouldn’t worry about it though because it just comes naturally when you’re ready. But Suzy is right, you are very lucky that it’s a man like Declan. That’s bound to make it much more memorable than my first time.”

Ella looked gratefully at each of her friends in turn, even Suzy. “Thanks so much, you guys. I never really had many close friends growing up. My parents scared most of them away.”

“Yeah,” Beth laughed, “We know where you’re coming from there. By the way, speaking of friends, have any of you met Emma Davis? She’s Brant’s assistant.”

“Ugh,” Suzy groaned, “That must be a rough gig. Gray invited him over for drinks a few weeks ago and I thought my eyes would glaze over before he left. You would just expect someone that hot to be more interesting. He might look like Declan, but the man is a bore. I tried to inject some humor a few times to liven things up, and he looked at me like I was from another planet.”

“That’s pretty much what Emma says about him,” Beth nodded. “Anyway, I thought we could ask her to lunch one day. We talked a few times, and she doesn’t know anyone else at the office. The poor girl probably needs some comic relief to get through the day.”

“Come on, guys,” Claire said, “He’s not that bad. I admit, he seems to be all business, but Jason and Gray both like him.”

Continuing with her theory that sex solved everything, Suzy deadpanned, “Maybe he just needs to get laid. He could be going through a dry spell since he relocated here. He probably put his last few dates in a coma before dinner was over. If Emma wants a better boss, she should hire him a hooker or something.”

Ella giggled. Leave it to Suzy to think you could solve any problem by hiring a hooker. As uncomfortable as the conversations could get sometimes, especially when she was in the hot seat, she still loved her time with the girls. She had no doubt that the women at that table could take over the world if they set their minds to it.

***

Declan was nervous, and it was a feeling he hadn’t had in a long time. Even with hell breaking loose all around him in Afghanistan, he had never been nervous. He always lived his life by the motto, if you have a job to do, you do it. Somehow doing something as normal as a date seemed like a daunting task. The last date he had gone on was before joining the military. Since then, rather than dating, it was more like scratching an itch when his body demanded it. He wasn’t particularly proud of the fact that he didn’t remember many names of the women he had scratched that itch with.

Ella though, deserved better. A better man would have never started this with her, but now that he had, he intended to see where it went. If that meant feeling like a damn teenager on his first date, then so be it. He had been in meetings out of the office all day and hadn’t seen her since the night before. He had called briefly to confirm their plans for the evening, half afraid that she had changed her mind, but the happiness in her voice had reassured him that she wasn’t having second thoughts.