Fighting for You (7 page)

Chapter Eight

“I like your apartment. It’s so . . . clean.”

Declan chuckled and said, “That’s all you could come up with, huh? I rented it completely furnished. I’ve been meaning to buy a house, but haven’t had the time for the hassle yet. Since I barely do more than sleep here, it hasn’t mattered much to me.”

Ella blushed, wishing she had been a little more complimentary of his home. Everything in it was top of the line and the granite countertops in the kitchen gleamed against the dark wood of the cabinets. The stainless steel appliances were sleek and modern. It was obvious that Declan paid much more in rent than she did on her small apartment. And his was spacious with three bedrooms and two bathrooms. She was a little surprised that he had such a big place for just himself. When she had asked him about it, he simply said that he didn’t like tight spaces.

When she offered to help with dinner, he pointed to the refrigerator and put her in charge of the salad. She had to give him credit, he had only paused for a brief moment before he handed her the sharp knife to cut the vegetables up. She was determined not to draw blood and reward his faith in her. “I like the music you have on, who is the group?”

Declan looked at her in surprise. “It’s Norah Jones. Haven’t you heard of her?”

“No, not really. My parents didn’t believe in any popular music. I rarely ever listened to the radio. I still don’t much now unless I’m with Beth. She is doing everything she can to catch me up on the Bon Jovi years and even though she tries to blame it on her gym, she also likes Justin Timberbake.”

Declan started laughing. “I believe you, Ellie, because it’s actually Justin Timberlake.”

“Oh . . . whoops. Don’t tell Beth, she would be so disappointed in me.”

“Your secret’s safe with me.” As he walked back toward the balcony, he looked over his shoulder. “I picked up a movie for after dinner if you’re interested. My sister recommended it.”

“That sounds good. I brought one as well so we can see which one looks the best.” Ella knew why he had the slightly embarrassed look on his face when she pulled his DVD out.
Sleepless in Seattle,
really? When he walked back into the kitchen she was trying to hide hers. She was sure that after their movie choice last night, he would know her tastes a little better. Apparently, he was still under the mistaken impression that she was a quiet, chick-flick-watching, girlie girl. Maybe it was better to let him think that. Her movie did have some romance in it though; didn’t she get points for that?

Looking over her shoulder, Declan asked, “So what did you bring?”

“Uh, nothing interesting. Let’s just go with your choice. It looks great.”

“Aw, come on Ellie, no holding out on me.” When she still wouldn’t show him her movie, he suddenly started tickling her. As she shrieked and jumped out of the way, he grabbed the movie and waved it in the air in victory. His expression was almost comical when he finally brought it down to look at it more closely. “
Lethal Weapon?”

As she did whenever she got nervous, she started rambling. “It’s okay; we can watch your movie.
Lethal Weapon 3
was really the best one anyway. I just loved Rene Russo in it. But I wasn’t sure if you had seen the first two so I didn’t want you to be lost or anything. We can watch mine another time. Maybe we can have a whole
Lethal Weapon
marathon.” As he continued to look at her without saying anything, the rambling got worse. “How about Jason Statham? You remind me of him, well, without the British accent. I love the
Transporter
movies or we could do something military for you. There is
Black Hawk Down
or the
Expendables
movie.”

Finally, Declan started chuckling and pulled her against his chest. “Oh Ellie, if I could clone you, every man in this world would be in heaven. You and I might not agree on everything, but we damn sure won’t have a problem deciding which movie to watch.” As Ella started to return his embrace, he suddenly pulled back and muttered something about checking the steaks before leaving the kitchen.

What the heck was that?
Surely, Declan wasn’t running from her now. Did he think that because she watched action movies, she was going to attack him? Of course, she was still holding a knife so he was probably trying to protect himself from another mauling. Later, she planned to test his resolve. She felt like she had been waiting for Declan, or at least the idea of Declan, for a long time and now that they were sort of together, she wanted it all . . .
now
.

He, however, seemed to be moving at the pace of a turtle. For years, her mother had been telling her that men only wanted one thing from her and that she should guard against that. Well, when exactly did they want that one thing—because other than some hot kisses where he pulled away before they became too intense, she had seen no sign of him wanting or trying to get in her pants? Maybe she needed to wear different pants.

Dinner was wonderful and Declan looked at her in approval when she ate almost every bite of the mouthwatering steak he had grilled for them. He hadn’t even cringed when she knocked over her full wine glass and drenched the table and the floor beneath it. They cleared the table and loaded the dishwasher like an old married couple. She couldn’t believe that she was so comfortable being alone with a man in his apartment. This was Declan though. They had spent so much time talking at the office that she was almost as comfortable around him as she was with Beth.

They carried their glasses of wine back into the living room and, with a knowing smirk, Declan casually dropped a towel beside her glass. “Okay, did we decide on my award-winning movie selection of
Sleepless in Seattle
or your action-packed movie
Lethal Weapon
which is filled with a lot of amusing, gratuitous violence?”

Pursing her lips, Ella said, “Hmmm, well, you make a strong case for both movies. I feel that choosing the first movie would just make me into a stereotypical girlie girl who lives and breathes for a good chick-flick. Therefore, I feel that I must choose the second movie just to break out of the restraints that society has placed upon the female sex.”

As Declan started to applaud, she was proud of herself until he said, “Oh Ellie, I bet that was a fine speech, but I completely shut down when you said
restraints
and
sex
in the same sentence!”

Ella started blushing as images of those two things flashed through her head. “Um . . . that could have been a poor choice of words, well, unless you’re into that. Are you . . . into that?”
Did I really just ask him if he wants to tie me up during sex?

She was happy to see that she wasn’t the only one completely thrown by that train of thought.

Declan fumbled so much with the movie cases that he was beginning to look like he was practicing his juggling routine. Clearing his throat he said, “Well . . . I’ve tried it before, yes,” then he quickly added, “But you don’t need to worry about that Ellie. I would never ask you to do something that you didn’t want to do.”

Giving it some thought, Ella finally said, “I’ll just have to try it and see if I like it. Do you do the whole spanking thing with it or is that something else?” She was alarmed to see that he had turned white as a ghost and seemed to just be staring at her in a daze. “Are you feeling okay? You’re sweating and you look like you might pass out.” Jumping up, Ella started to the kitchen to get him a glass of water.

“No,” he managed to croak out. “I’m fine. You just . . . distracted me for a minute there with all of the spanking talk. Before you even ask, yes . . . I have tried that as well, and no, I’m not doing that to you. At least, no time soon. Ellie . . . baby, can we please not talk about anything else below the belt tonight? This would be a bad time to figure out that I have a heart condition.”

Ella looked down to find that things below his belt line had gotten a bit more noticeable than they had been. The realization dawned on her that without even trying, she had turned him on in quite a big way. Really big. She couldn’t help but feel proud of herself. She had been wondering how she could get to Declan and apparently just talking about restraints, sex, and spankings did the trick. When he settled beside her on the couch, she curled into his side and after a brief hesitation; he wrapped his arms around her and settled her head under his chin. If it felt this good to be in his arms fully clothed, Ella could only imagine how it would feel to be skin to skin with him.

***

Declan pulled back the covers and settled in his king-size bed alone. He found that he longed for the day when Ella would cuddle beside him. It was damn near killing him to take things slow. She made it pure torture to do the right thing. He had almost stroked out tonight when she asked him if he was into spankings or tying her up.
WTF!
He had been constantly trying to shift his cock around during the movie without her noticing. It was hard enough to be that close to her without ripping her clothes off. It went to almost impossible when she wiggled her little bottom and draped herself all over him to watch her damn movie.

He had never met a woman who was full of so many contradictions. He knew from their conversations at the office that she wasn’t an uptight prude, but truthfully, he wasn’t prepared for who Ella was emerging to be. Come on, who would have thought that the church girl was an action-movie junkie? She wasn’t just pretending to be to impress him either. She had quoted line after line from
Lethal Weapon
tonight, before it even happened on screen. After that, she had talked with great affection about the next movies in the series and how they tied in with the first one. He had a bad feeling that if Mel Gibson ever visited Myrtle Beach, he would be dumped like yesterday’s news.

It was getting harder and harder, both literally and figuratively to walk away from her door after a goodnight kiss. My God, she was enthusiastic. He was still trying to figure out how she had managed to wrap her legs around his waist tonight without his help. One minute he had been starting to pull away and the next minute her legs were around him and his cock was nestled against her crotch. That had ensured another five minutes of near torture as he tried desperately to talk himself out of ripping her panties off and taking her right there where all her neighbors could see. Clearly what Ella lacked in experience, she more than made up for in enthusiasm. She had tried to urge him inside of her apartment for some privacy, but he knew if he crossed that threshold, there was nothing stopping him from finally taking her.

The lines were getting blurred with her. He had made no promises in the beginning and now after only a few dates, even he was thinking crazy shit. He was a soldier, for God’s sake, where was his control? He had exercised it his whole life, even before the military, so why was it deserting him now? Maybe it had just been too long between women. He could go out now and take care of it. There had been no talk of exclusivity. But he knew in his heart that Ella would be destroyed if she found out that he had slept with another woman and even he wasn’t that big of a bastard. He had lain in a damn wet ditch in Afghanistan for hours without making a move. Surely, he had the willpower to keep his dick in his pants for another few weeks until Ella was ready. With that thought, he resorted to doing something he hadn’t in quite some time . . . he took matters into his own hands while thinking about the woman who was slowly driving him out of his mind.

Chapter Nine

Ella wondered not for the first time, why she had called this lunch meeting. After another couple of weeks of never getting Declan off her doorstep and into her apartment at the end of the evening, she was beginning to think there was something wrong with her. She had to bite the bullet, and went straight to Suzy for advice. Unfortunately, Suzy was busy and told her to get everyone together for lunch. So instead of just one person looking at her as if she were a failure, she had four people. Claire, having no idea that they were lunching to specifically discuss Ella’s love life, had invited along the new girl. Even though Ella liked her, she really didn’t want to discuss something so personal in front of Emma. So Ella had attempted to keep the spotlight off of herself until Suzy asked, “Are we going to get to this problem of yours before I’m old, gray, and wearing polyester?”

“That’s pretty much it. We see each other most every evening, but other than kissing and stuff, nothing else ever happens.” Then looking down to hide her embarrassment, she mumbled, “I even tried the leg thing that you suggested.”

Suzy looked reluctantly impressed. “You wrapped your legs around his waist and he still didn’t lose control? Man, that pushes Gray over the edge in no time flat.” Claire and Beth were both nodding their heads in agreement. “Okay, so there is no way that you could put that move on a man and not have him realize that you are willing so it must be something else. What are you wearing on these dates?”

“Well . . . just the usual. Some kind of dress or pantsuit.”

“Not the kind of dress you’re wearing today, right?”

Ella looked down at her sundress and said, “Yeah, just like the ones I usually wear.”

“Ah-ha,” Suzy shouted. “Ladies, we have a winner!”

Emma looked around the group of women in surprise. “Are all of your lunches like this?”

Claire patted her on the shoulder laughing, “No, they’re usually worse, especially if you’re the one with the problem.”

Beth nodded her head. “Yep, I was in the hot seat not long ago. I’m glad that everyone lets the pregnant woman off easy now. When I was going through my crying phase, I think I traumatized my sister for life. I can barely get a good insult out of her now.”

Emma smiled as Beth rubbed her stomach affectionately. “How far along are you?”

“Six months, give or take a few days.”

“Well, you look beautiful,” Emma said and then pointed over to Ella, “And I don’t think you have to worry about Suzy turning her attention back to you either because she found a good outlet for that while you are out of commission.”

Claire laughed saying, “You’re probably next, Em, she loves to solve man problems and, I’ll give her credit, she is pretty good at it.”

Ella was still looking down at her dress in puzzlement. “What is wrong with my clothes?”

Waving her hand in the air, Suzy said, “They are fine for the office, but for a date you need something that doesn’t scream jailbait. You’ve got some pretty good tits there so you need to start showing them a little more. Let those girls get out and roam around.”

Horrified, Ella dropped her head onto the table so no one could see how red her face was. She felt an arm around her shoulders and looked sideways to see Beth trying to hide her laughter as she comforted her. Stiffening her spine, Ella sat back to face the rest of the group. If letting the girls roam was what it took to get Declan off her doorstep and into her apartment for more than five minutes, then maybe it was time to go for it. She could barely believe the words that left her mouth next. “Suzy, will you help me pick something out for my date tonight?” The others at the table looked surprised, but Suzy looked like a mafia don nodding her head in approval. Ella wouldn’t have been surprised to hear her say, “Yo, forgetaboutit.” Of course, maybe she watched too much television and mafia people didn’t actually talk that way.

“I’d be happy to, Ella, but no complaining. I’ll even pick a dress, but one with a little less . . . coverage. When I finish with you, Declan will swallow his tongue and cough it back up.”

“Ugh,” Claire laughed, “I don’t know if that is exactly what she’s after. But I will say that when I put my . . . uh, girls on display, Jason can barely mumble a coherent sentence. I don’t know what it is about men, but Suzy is right, they can’t pass up a good set of girls.”

Rolling her eyes, Beth said, “Mine are like, officially fifty pounds each and Nick loves them. Instead of rubbing my belly, he wants to rub my boobs all the time.”

Suzy started gagging and shouted, “Stop! I’ve told you that I don’t want to hear any brother-in-law sex stories.”

Looking at Emma, Claire said to change the topic, “Hey, I forgot to ask, how are things going with Brant? Is he a little easier to work with now?”

Emma raised her fork from the table and pretended to stab herself in the heart. “Well, I made him sick this morning so I don’t know if this is going to be a good day or not.”

Interest peaked, Suzy said, “Oh, do tell.”

Sighing, Emma said, “He is lactose intolerant and when I made his coffee this morning, I forgot and added cream to it. Come on, wouldn’t you think he would have noticed the difference? But,
nooo
. An hour later he comes rushing to my desk holding his stomach. I ask him what the problem is and he demands to know if I had given him anything with dairy in it. I had to confess that I had put cream in his coffee. He shot me a dirty look and rushed out the door. I’m pretty sure that he believes I tried to kill him. Why is keeping up with
his
dietary requirements part of
my
job? Shouldn’t he be a little more careful? He didn’t seem to appreciate it when I yelled after him, ‘They make medication for that.’”

“Alright, I’ll just be the first to say what we’re all thinking. That is freaking hysterical. Your boss is probably still riding the porcelain throne and calling you every name in the book—nice!” Suzy grinned at the new girl.

Claire coughed trying to hide her laughter, Beth’s stomach moved at an alarming rate as it shook, and Ella tried unsuccessfully to cover her grin. “Just so you’re prepared though, the whole employee of the month thing is probably out for you.”

“Yeah, no shit,” Emma laughed.

Once they had all finished eating, Suzy stood and grabbed Ella’s hand, “Come on, girl, let’s go get you one hell of a ‘do me’ outfit. Do we need to get underwear too? No one wants to open a shiny new package and find an old toy inside.”

“I have some new stuff—”

Shaking her head, Suzy said, “Let’s just get it all. How high of a heel can you walk in? On second thought, you don’t need to walk much, just make short trips and do a lot of standing.” Then with that scary thought in Ella’s head, they were off through the mall like a blur.

An hour and several credit card swipes later, Ella had a dress that covered next to nothing and underwear that could have been classified as dental floss. Those two things were scary enough, but the shoes that Suzy had picked were the equivalent of strapping a skyscraper on each foot. When Suzy said for her to stand around a lot, she’d meant it.

At the end of the day, Beth helped her pack her purchases in the trunk of her car. “So, are you going to have the nerve to wear that tonight?”

“Well, I either go on my date with Declan tonight practically naked or I admit to your sister that I chickened out and didn’t wear the clothes that she picked out. Hmmm, I’ll pick the naked thing every time. It’s less scary than admitting failure to Suzy.”

Before she could answer, Beth squealed in surprise as Nick walked up behind her and pulled her back against him. “Hey, princess.”

“Geez, Nick, you don’t do that to someone who’s pregnant!”

Ella felt herself swoon as a sexy laugh rumbled out of Nick. “Sorry, babe. I couldn’t resist. Hey, Ella, do you mind if I steal Beth away for dinner?”

Beth swatted his arm and said, “Hey buddy, we haven’t finished our girl talk yet.”

“Yeah, no doubt. I’ll be doing Declan a favor by dragging you off right now.”

“Ha-ha, very funny. Declan’s a big boy and I’m sure he can take care of himself,” Beth smirked.

“No man can hold out against all of you women when you are plotting. Come on, Princess, you can save the world tomorrow.”

Ella watched them playfully bicker back and forth and felt a stab of envy. Nick and Beth were so perfect for each other. They got along with the ease of a couple that had been together for years instead of months. Would she ever have that with Declan? She was comfortable with him and they never lacked for conversation, but there always seemed to be something he wasn’t saying and, at times, she could practically see the thoughts racing through his head. Could she be the one to finally get through all of his walls to the man underneath?

***

Another upcoming date, another cold shower. He hadn’t showered or jerked off this much since he hit puberty. Ella was coming on stronger and stronger and he was getting weaker and weaker. One more slide of her tongue against his or one more slip of her hand across his ass and he was done for. They were well past the three-date rule and if he made it to the end of the weekend he would be surprised. Tonight he was taking Ella to see the new James Bond movie. Apparently there wasn’t an action franchise out there that she wasn’t a fan of. When his sweet little Ella sat beside him on the couch and started quoting lines from movies, it was about the hottest thing he had ever heard. The girl knew almost every line Bruce Willis and Mel Gibson had ever uttered on film. Somewhere along the way, her uptight parents had lost control whether they knew it or not.

These last few weeks with Ella had been some of the best times he could remember. For someone who claimed he wasn’t dating material, he had adapted to the role with unsettling ease. Even if they did nothing else, they almost always had dinner together. He was no longer content to sit in his apartment alone and let the walls close in on him night after night. Now he craved hearing Ella’s voice and seeing her smile. He had even gotten used to her frequent accidents, dropping something on him or herself. When she had lost the battle with her plate of spaghetti a few nights back and had a huge red stain on the front of her white dress, she had just laughed and continued. That would have been the end of the evening for most women he knew.

It was starting to scare him that he had become so attached to her so fast. Hell, it would either get worse when they finally had sex or it would restore his sanity.

When Ella opened the door to him a few moments later he had his answer.
Holy fuck, where are her clothes!
He knew he was standing there like an idiot with his mouth hanging open, but he seemed powerless to do anything else.

“Do you want to come in for a minute before we leave?” she asked.

Terrified of that prospect, he blurted out, “Oh, hell no!” She was plainly startled at his abrupt answer so he took a deep breath and said in a gentler voice, “I mean, no, we will be late. Do you, um . . . have a jacket, like a long jacket?” He was profoundly grateful when she brought out a knee-length trench coat. He grabbed it from her hands and tried not to stare at the amount of cleavage on display as he buttoned it completely before tying the belt for added security. He knew she was looking at him, clearly puzzled by his odd behavior. As they shut her door, he saw the dangerously high heels she was wearing and settled her securely under his arm as they made their way slowly down the stairs.

What the hell was going on? Instead of his sweet Ella, it was like picking up Suzy for a date. The short dress that she was wearing was formfitting and showed far too much of the swells of her creamy breasts. Men always gave her a second look, but tonight, they were probably going to drop to their knees, and it freaked him out to think of that happening. He wanted to march her back in her apartment and demand that she change.

When he opened the door to his car, Ella paused for a minute before getting in. “Is everything okay?”

Hell no, everything is not okay. Where are the rest of your clothes?
“Sure, Ellie, everything is fine,” Declan replied as he kissed her lightly on the forehead. With one more uncertain glance, Ella allowed him to help her inside and shut the door. He walked around the back of the car instead of the front so he could take a few deep breaths without her seeing him. So much for the cold shower; they were up to DEFCON-5 here and it wouldn’t take much at all to set him off.

***

Ella saw Declan’s knuckles turning white from his tight grip on the steering wheel. What was wrong with him tonight? She had expected some kind of reaction out of her new dress, but this wasn’t exactly going how she’d hoped. He had looked like he was going to pass out when she opened the door earlier and things hadn’t improved much since then. Was he sick? She had caught him staring at her chest a few times before they left her apartment. That was the only outward indication that he had noticed anything different. Maybe different wasn’t always better because he had buttoned her coat up to the very last button. She had to shift around to keep her airflow going. Well, right or wrong, she had gone to this much effort and she was seeing it through. The jacket was coming off at dinner and if Declan was turned off by seeing more of her body, then she needed to know about it before they slept together.

With that vow in mind, she quickly handed the hostess at the restaurant her jacket despite Declan’s attempts to convince her that she might get chilly. He was still throwing reasons out for her to keep her coat, even as the hostess walked away with it.

“Declan, I’m not cold, I promise. I will let you know if that changes.”

Their waiter was very funny and friendly and Ella smiled as he insisted on bringing extra bread and wine to their table. Declan continued sitting across from her in sullen silence.

Finally she had had enough. “Alright, what’s going on with you tonight? Are you not feeling well?”

“I’m fine, Ellie; I’m just tired of watching that jackass look down your dress while he drools all over you.”

Shocked, Ella gasped, “What?”

“Oh come on, Ellie, look at our table and look at everyone else’s. We have enough food in front of us to feed an army. I have never been so well waited on in my life.”