Chapter 17
Chapter 17
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Á77)
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I watch the elevator doors close and my pulse rings in my ears. The smell of Jayne, vanilla and mint, still lingers in the air. I breathe it in, letting it anchor me.
“Like a babe in the woods, Lucas.” Declan is studying the closed doors of the elevator that just took Jayne away from us. “She’s so delicious.”
Over the last two days, I’ve noticed a shift in Declan. The first crack appeared when Jayne’s friend delivered lunch and told us that Jayne had mentioned us.
He’s been brooding over his feelings since then, and he has begun to surrender himself to his hunger for her. The professional line keeping him from pursuing Jayne has been crumbling ever since.
I can almost see his inner predator pacing, stalking the sidelines.
“I can’t wait to find out just how delicious she is, Dec.” I’ve been waiting for him to catch up to my position, and he knowingly nods.
“She doesn’t look nervous about tonight,” Declan says, voice low.
“She really doesn’t know,” I answer quietly. “She’s refreshingly perfect.”
When we first heard she was coming to work for us, we were skeptical. Who wouldn’t be? Look at her mother.
But I was drawn to her the moment I saw her help Carl in the lobby.
I pull the memory of her first day. That moment when she helped Carl up off the floor with a soft touch. Her hand brushing his arm. The brief flicker of vulnerability before she composed herself. I replay it: the way the light caught the curve of her cheek, the slight quiver in her voice. That moment held so many possibilities.
As timid as she was then, she still helped someone weaker when everyone else made the choice to walk away. You can’t fake her level of compassion.
From there, everything she did pulled me in further. There’s something about her that fills me with an intense attraction, and in my impatience, I am thankful for Declan’s apprehension. He has always been the one to look out for us, for me.
His control centers me,
I’ve played it safe these past couple of years. Hell, I haven’t played at all. Not the way I want to, anyway. Not until Jayne walked through our front doors.
The first time Jayne said my name I felt like I was home. I was already imagining her saying it while she was tied down and receiving my discipline–or reward. At that point, I didn’t give a fuck which one it was.
So, yes, I was hooked almost instantly, but Declan held back. He has always protected the ones he loves first before satisfying his own needs. I’m more–selfish.
We balance each other out well.
9:41 Mon, Sep 22
Chapter 17
Until we don’t.
Now we’re on the same page.
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77
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Declan took his time with Jayne. He carefully considered everything about her. He weighed our risks, watched her work, and asked questions. Slowly, Jayne has given us most of the information we need, either through her answers or our own observations.
I feel a tightening in my chest when I imagine her across the dinner table tonight, candlelight flickering. The gentle rise of her collarbone under a low cut neckline, the curve of her throat, the scent of her skin mingling with wine. It’s intoxicating. My mind races through scenarios–her hand brushing mine as she reaches for her glass. Declan speaking and her looking at me, our eyes meeting briefly, both of us holding it.
I want that moment. I want it badly.
Yet there’s a part of me that resists. Because she is more than a fantasy. She is intelligent–capable, kind. The kind of woman who deserves respect, not just a hunger–fueled conquest. That contrast sharpens the tension. Every animal impulse I feel is tempered by something more grounded.
I know she’s curious about me too–sometimes from her eyes, sometimes from her voice. When she asked about the dress code, I saw her searching for approval. Did she notice my attention? Did she feel my gaze? I wonder whether she does–and whether she’s emboldened by it or frightened.
Declan doesn’t always understand what this does to me, but I look at his face now and I see a hunger that matches mine. A shared need. We are synchronized in our desire. And in our caution.
It’s maddening.
There are still a couple of things we need to get past Saturday’s lunch with her delightful mother being one of them. I can tell by looking at Declan, he knows Jayne’s place is with the both of us, and not just at work.
Her place is by our side, in our beds, and bound to us in ways I’m sure she has never imagined possible yet.
Searching Declan’s expression, I know he is content. He’s ready to encourage Jayne into a new dynamic. He’s on board. Everything is working out the way we want it to, and it all begins later tonight.
“Well then, let’s get out of here.” Declan turns to close his office door.
AD
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