Declan + Coraline (12 page)

“Stare any longer and you might lose your eyes,” the woman said to me, without even looking up from her phone.

“Sorry. I just really like your shoes.”

She nodded without speaking.

One of the three guards around her stepped up to me.

“Excuse us, miss,” one of them said with a thick Italian accent.

Nodding I backed up.

“They look amazing, good choice. Sorry for bothering you again,” I said to her before I walked away.

Was Cancun really that dangerous? I had asked Eric and Patrick to wait outside, but maybe I shouldn’t have.

EIGHT

“Sometimes we want what we want even if we know it’s going to kill us.”

―Donna Tartt

CORALINE

It was our last night here and I hated the thought of leaving. We had spent the day as complete tourists; going through the city, eating from street vendors, and having our portraits drawn by street artists. And for his closing act, Declan was making dinner—chef hat, apron, and all.

“You still haven’t told me what you’re making.” I leaned over the counter, but he closed the lid before I could see.

“I said it was a surprise.”

“Aren’t you tired of surprising me?”

“Not even a little bit.” He blew on the wooden spoon and lifted it to my lips for me to try.

I moaned. God, it was good.

“And here I thought I was the only one who could make you moan like that,” he pouted, as he licked the spoon.

“Apparently, it’s not just you, but everything involved with you. So far you’ve proven that you’re fearless, bilingual, a master chief, a devil in bed—”

“A devil? Really?” He grinned and wiggled his eyebrows. “I’m honored to have pleased you so well. What put me over the top? The second night I took you from behind? Or was it the fifth day when you rode my tongue—”

“And you are gentleman, for the most part, with a good family,” I cut him off without answering.

He snickered to himself, as he turned his attention back to his pots.

“Come on, you’ve gotten to know some of my flaws. You know I snore, I run away from commitment, I don’t drink, I don’t party unless I’m dragged out of my house and I don’t really have an adventurous bone in my body despite having enough funds and resources to do pretty much whatever I wanted… you’re almost too perfect, you must have a flaw of some sort. So tell me, what is it? Are you secretly a serial killer? Do you not want kids? Do you have dirty thoughts about family members or perhaps some weird fetish?”

“The only person in the world who thinks those are flaws is you, Coraline, and that doesn’t count. And regarding all of the questions you asked afterward, the answer is no.”

“Hey, my flaws are crimes against my twenties
,
okay?” I replied, and he laughed at me while stirring the vegetables.

“Fine.” He sighed as he put the burner on low, and wiped his hands on the dishcloth that was draped over his shoulder.

“Fine?”

He nodded and walked over to me with the same virgin drink we’d had on our first night. Handing it to me, he leaned in.

“I have a fear of clowns.”

I stopped and looked him over, his face was serious, but I saw his the corner of his lip twitch.

“You’re lying, aren’t you?”

He nodded and I lightly smacked him on the shoulder.

“Seriously, what’s your biggest flaw, Declan Callahan?”

He thought for a moment, as he leaned against the counter.

“I have nightmares,” he said softly. I waited for him to go on. “My parents died in front of me when I was nine, which is why I live with my uncle and his family now. The nightmares were worse when I was younger. I even used to wet the bed too. Now I just wake up shaking and covered in a cold sweat.”

“Every night?”

He took my cup and sipped at its contents. “For the most part. I can usually only get a good night sleep after staying up a couple days or pills. But I prefer to stay awake rather than take pills.”

“So…” I tried to think back, but each night I usually ended up going to bed before him. “You haven’t slept since we’ve been here?”

“On the contrary, I’ve never slept better. And it’s all because I have you next to me. I haven’t even thought of my parents. At home, it’s obvious. I love my family, Sedric has always made sure that I knew he thought of me as his son. I told you that before. He even takes me out to Cubs games for father-son bonding. I’m so grateful. But—”

“But he still isn’t your dad,” I finished for him. “I understand, what were your parents like? Your mother’s name was Kelly Laoghaire?”

He nodded. “She grew up in Boston, then moved to Chicago to marry my father, Killian. She’d only met him once when they were teenagers.”

“No way? It was an arranged marriage?” People still did that?

He nodded. “My grandfather arranged marriages for both of his sons. He was all about ‘keeping it Irish.’ ”

I frowned at that knowing that if I ever met his grandfather it would be…interesting.

“Don’t worry.” He kissed my lips softly. “Sedric didn’t listen to him either. Evelyn, my aunt, is half Irish, half American. My grandfather almost went insane, trying to get him to marry the woman he chose. But Sedric wouldn’t. He married Evelyn the moment they were both legally able to.”

“What did you grandfather do?”

He smiled. “He disowned him and cut him off from the family money. It was only after my father died that he was forced to get over it since Sedric had to take over the family business.”

“Family business?”

He paused for a second and it was so quick that I wouldn’t have even noticed it if it weren’t for the fact that he looked like he was kicking himself in the head, as he moved away from me and back around the counter to the stove.

“My family owns shares in many small business all around the country.” He stirred the pot.

“If it was so hard back then, how did the Callahans come into money?” I paused thinking more to myself than anything.

He snickered softly. “Fights.”

“You’re kidding.”

He shook his head. “At the very beginning, the Callahan family was nothing bunch of hot blooded Irish men in boxing rings. On our family crest it says; Troid le do lámha, bite le do chuid fiacla, déan cinnte a théann siad a codladh.”

I shivered and leaned towards him. He sounded so…exotic when he spoke like that.

“What does that mean?”

“Fight with your hands, bite with your teeth, make sure they go to sleep.” He smiled.

“The fighting Irish.”

“Damn straight.”

I giggled as I shook my head.

“One order of spicy minced beef and pea curry, milady,” he stated as he placed the food in front of me.

I looked up at him as he waited for me to pass judgment on his cooking skills. Taking a bite, I said the first and only thing that came to mind. “Wow.”

Smiling to himself, he came over and sat beside me. “My aunt would bring chefs to the house for cooking classes when we were younger. She said that every man should know how to cook.”

“She’s so wise, keep listening to her.” I took another bite.

“I’ll let her know you think so.”

He grabbed the remote and I turned to him. “What?”

“I love this song. I heard it once before, but I haven’t been able to find it again.”

I put down my spoon and took him by the hand as I led him towards the windows.

“The food—”

“You can’t let a good song go to waste,” I said as I forced him to dance with me.

He spun me around with ease.

“Great. You can dance too.”

“What can I say, I’m almost the perfect man…almost.”

Almost? He
was
the perfect man.

We were dancing at first and then both of us just started to sway back and forth on the living room floor. I rested my head on his chest and closed my eyes.

“I don’t want to go back tomorrow,” I confessed.

“Neither do I.”

I smiled. “Run away with me then, this time it will be my treat.”

He snickered and kissed the top of my head. “You make a tempting offer. But I can’t, my family needs me.”

“Yeah, I know.” I knew I was going to have to deal with my family again too.

When the song ended, we were still swaying without really caring about what was playing on the radio.

“What do you want to do tonight…?” I drifted off when my stomach growled.

“Well, one of your requirements was to feed you, so let’s start with that.” He led me back to the kitchen. Grabbing my plate, he covered it before he placed it into the microwave. He only had it in there for a minute before the steaming plate of food was placed in front of me again.

“Step one, done,” I said, taking a hot bite. “What else?”

“Tell me more about you.”

“More? I’m not sure what more there is left to tell about me.”

He nodded as he sat next to me on the bar stool. “What are your hopes and dreams, Coraline? Where do you see yourself in the future?”

“Only if you answer as well.”

“Fine by me. But I can’t promise to answer everything.”

There he went again, pulling me closer while pushing me away. I wasn’t sure what he could possibly think was so scary about him.

“Okay, let see. I hope and dream for something more out of life. I’m not sure what it is exactly…I guess I dream about being happy. But then again who doesn’t,” I said softly.

“And what about in the future?”

“Isn’t that the same thing?”

He shook his head. “Close your eyes.”

I put my fork down and did what he said. It was only when he brushed my hair behind my ears and kissed my shoulder did I realize he was behind me. His chest pressed against my back, as his hands slid to my waist and his mouth barely touched my ear.

“Imagine yourself ten years from now. You wake up, and what’s the first thing you see?”

“The sun, it’s blinding me, so I turn around and curl up next to…”

“Next to who?”

Him
, but I didn’t want to say that. “I’m not sure.”

“What do you do next?”

“I give up on sleep and kiss the man beside me. He smiles and rolls on top of me.”

“Do you both fuck or make love?”

“A little of both.”

“And when you’re done?”

I smiled leaning against his back. “We want to go at it again but our kids start banging on the door.”

“Cock blockers,” he whispered and I giggled.

“Welcome cock blockers…ahh…the man besides me gets up, and only after we have on our robes, he picks our son and daughter up in his arms. They’re laughing their heads off and I can’t wipe the smile off of my face. We’re going to have a family picnic.”

“A picnic?”

“Yes, not just for us, but a whole family picnic. We will dance around a fire pit in the middle of the park while our kids play with their cousins. I’ll plan the whole thing.” The more I thought about it, the more I wanted it.

“It sounds like the perfect happily ever after.”

I stopped, and turned on the stool to face him. “It isn’t a happily ever after, it’s just the beginning of a new story.”

“How do I read it?”

“Just fill in the blanks in your head,” I said and reached up to touch his face. He hadn’t shaved since he’d gotten here. While I liked the little scruff he had going, I also liked it when he was clean-shaven too. “You said you would shave before we headed back.”

He nodded. “My aunt prefers all of us to look
clean
and
proper
.”

“Let me do it?”

“Later.”

And then he kissed me.

DECLAN

It was midnight and she sat on my lap, her legs on either side of me, dressed only in my shirt. My whole shaving kit was on the table, washcloth, straight razor, and shaving cream. Using the brush, she gently spread it all across my chin and cheeks.

“Hey, head up,” she demanded, as she grabbed the razor blade. “You trust me, right?”

“I’ll let you know,” I lifted my head for her. I had never been shaven by anyone. I preferred to be the only person who held a knife to my throat. But I couldn’t say no to her. She was so serious, concentrating only on my skin as she pressed the blade from my neck to the top of my chin slowly.

“You’re beautiful,” I whispered.

“Don’t distract me.” She smiled without meeting my gaze.

“Yes,
ma’am
.”

She bit her bottom lip, and I could see myself in her brown eyes.

“Close your eyes. I can feel you burning a hole in the side of my face.”

“You’re really going to deny me the sight of you?”

“For only for five more minutes.”

“Fine,” I whined, and as I closed my eyes, I found that I was even more aware of her. She smelled like fresh jasmine.

Our flight was in five hours. I wanted to stay with her longer, but I couldn’t. Sedric would want me back before the family went to church. There were two things the Callahan family always did together; dinner and noon mass…

“Done.”

I grabbed the hot towel and cleaned the rest of the shaving cream off of me. Opening my eyes, she handed me the mirror.

“What do you think?”

Shifting my head side to side, I touched my smooth skin and smirked. “I might employ you full time.”

“Come on, we should go to bed.” She stretched out her hand for me.

Taking it, I followed her into the bedroom and allowed her to crawl into bed before I slid in beside her. She rested her head on my chest, as I put my arm around her.

“You never asked me what I hoped for, or where I saw myself in ten years,” I whispered, staring up at the ceiling.

“You distract me too easily,” she said as she yawned, “tell me in the morning.”

I waited a few minutes, and sure enough she started to snore, but I had gotten used to it…funny enough it made me feel comfortable that she could sleep so well in my arms.

“I try not to think of the future,” I whispered. “In my life I’m not sure what will happen tomorrow or if we will even make it to tomorrow. But for now, Cora…I want to be that guy next to you in ten years. You deserve a good man and I’m not good, Cora. I can’t change that about myself. But I still want to be that guy next to you in ten years.”