Declan + Coraline (8 page)

“Hey,” I said as I stepped out of my car and walked towards her.

“Sorry to make you drive all the way downtown. I didn’t want to have to reschedule this.”

“It’s no problem.” I held the door open for her before I headed back over to the driver’s seat. “Is everything okay?” I asked her when I sat down.

She nodded. “The WIB is voting on something today, so I had to be there. Don’t worry though, your money is safe.”

“Glad to hear that. Is this why you studied business? For your father’s bank?” I asked.

“Yeah. I used to have so many people try to explain things to me when I was younger, either that or I would have to withdraw my vote for things. My father started this with his own hands. I, at least, wanted to keep it running.”

“It’s admirable. Most people would just take their cut and not worry much about where it came from.”

“I’m not most people.”

I looked at her. “No, you are not.”

She smiled, as she glanced out the window as the city faded behind us. I stepped on the accelerator, eager to get to the airport so that we could begin our trip.

“Where are we going?”

“To let loose,” I replied. “You cleared your week, right?”

“Yeah, but you only said to dress comfortably and bring my passport without packing.”

I could tell she was nervous again.

“Do you trust me?” I asked.

“Yes.”

“Good. You’re taking a calculated risk, and that’s when the fun starts,” I replied, as I drove towards the private plane.

“What about clothes?”

“We’ll buy some when we get there. First lesson, Coraline, don’t think about it, just enjoy it,” I said, as we came to a stop on the tarmac.

The pilot and our flight attendant stood waiting for us.

“When I said fun, I meant dancing and stuffing our faces with all kinds of different foods,” she whispered, as she stared at the plane.

“We’re going to do those things, just not in Illinois.”

“Welcome aboard, Mr. Callahan,” the pilot said.

“Take care of us, Oliver.”

“Of course.” He followed us inside as we took our seats.

Coraline’s eyes glanced over every inch of the jet, from the polished wooden tables, to the tan leather chairs, to the television that hung up two seats behind me.

“There’s a bedroom in there if you get…tired.”

I waited for her eyes to drift back to me.

“How long are we going to be in the air?

“Not long. Do you want to run before he closes the doors?” I really hoped she didn’t.

She grinned. “Would you let me?”

“Would you want to?”

“Mr. Callahan.” The flight attendant drew my attention away from her, much to my annoyance. “Would you like anything once we’re in the air?”

I thought for a second, my eyes drifting to Coraline as she took off her coat.

“Yes, two large cups of coffee, but fill them up only midway.”

“Seriously?” Coraline laughed.

“We never finished our first round, might as well now.”

“You don’t do anything halfway, do you, Mr. Callahan?” She looked me over carefully.

“When I’m pursuing something I want, I go all out. Life’s too short not to.”

“And you want me?” It was like she was still trying to make sure, and every time she asked, my conviction became stronger.

“Yes.” I wanted her, and for now, that was all that mattered to me.

“You’re being reckless, Mr. Callahan,” she whispered as we started to taxi down the runaway. She gripped the ends of her seat, but she didn’t look away from me. “When you whisk a girl away for a week-long date, she might not let you go.”

“That’s the plan. I’m looking forward to exploring the world with you. It’s going to be just Declan plus Coraline.”

“Now I’m excited.” She smiled, and thanked the flight attendant as we were handed our cups of coffee.

I couldn’t wipe the grin off my face as I watched her. I had racked my brain trying to think of things we could do. Things she would like, but that didn’t involve being around too many people, while still getting my other jobs done. As much as Liam bitched, he had actually offered to handle everything back home for me, including keeping an eye on Otis, until I got back. God knew when I would seriously be interested in anyone again. She wasn’t around me for the money—she was significantly well-off on her own. She wasn’t looking for fame or dying for my attention. She was sweet—she said thank you to everyone around her at least twice, and on top of it all, she was beautiful and intelligent. If she were Irish, I would have already had brought her home to Sedric. We had a rule in our family. Everyone had to be married by their thirtieth birthdays. Because of our lives, it was just easier to marry one of our people…and yet I was here.

“Are you okay?” she asked, as she placed her hand on mine.

I stared at her for a moment, my mind completely blank.

Why the hell am I acting like this?

“I’m fine. You should rest now, so you aren’t tried.”

She made a face and I wanted to laugh at how cute she looked.

“What?”

“I snore and I’d rather you not witness that.”

“Do you snore like a cat or drunk trucker?”

“We can’t all be perfect,” she muttered, not really answering the question as she drank her coffee.

“I’m the furthest thing from perfect.” I was a drug dealer, a murderer, and anything else the family needed me to be. My mind screamed that she wouldn’t understand, but I kept on pushing forward anyway.

CORALINE

“Welcome to Mexico. Cancun specifically,” Declan said as he held my hand. We stepped out into the heat and I could smell the ocean on the breeze.

I couldn’t stop smiling. “Cancun?”

“Yep. Now, let’s get started,” he said, as he walked down the stairs with me.

A black Range Rover with tinted windows awaited us, and a Mexican man held the back door open, but Declan shook his head as he took the keys and spoke in Spanish to him. Declan’s Spanish was so fast and fluent that the little Spanish I remembered from high school was all but useless. The man nodded at whatever he said and pulled out his cellphone.

“Ready?” he asked.

I stared into his green eyes for a second. I wanted to know what he’d said in Spanish, but I decided not to ask. I nodded my head, and allowed him to open the door for me. When he sat down, the driver outside the window nodded to him and gave him a thumbs up. Declan started the engine and we drove away from the jet.

When we got to the main road, it was crowded but I could still make out two cars, one came in front and the other behind us.

“Security?” I asked looking to him.

He smirked. “You’re a smart one, Ms. Wilson.”

“I thought it was just Declan plus Coraline? They’re making it kind of obvious that we’re not just two ordinary people.”

“We’re two rich foreigners, it’s better when it’s obvious,
Coraline
. They will bother our security while we enjoy ourselves.”

I shifted in my seat as I looked out at the city. No matter where I looked, I could see the pure blue water and white sandy beaches that were dotted with street vendors who were selling everything from bathing suits to ice cream. We passed a fountain where people both young and old danced as water shot up around them. It was paradise.

“Now that we’re here, are you going to tell me what we are going to do?” I whispered, unable to shift my eyes away from the view.

“If I tell you, you might chicken out.”

“Hey!” I glanced back at him and he was staring me so intensely I fought the urge to look away.

“Hey, what?” he asked, placing his hand on mine. I liked how his fingers gripped onto me.

“I’m a lot braver than I look.”

“I’m glad.” He focused on the road in front of him.

We drove on in a comfortable silence, while his thumb rubbed circles on the back of my hand. It felt like he was either trying to calm me or comfort me, and I didn’t know why until we pulled into the Sky House. Speechless, I turned to him.

“You’re braver than you look, remember?” He smiled as he unbuckled my seatbelt.

Not that brave.
I was frozen by the time he opened the door for me.

“Trust me.”

I didn’t really have a choice.

I followed him out.

“Welcome to the Sky House!” That was all I understood from the male and female instructors who met us outside.

“Look up,” Declan said, and I could feel every inch of his hard chest behind me. Listening, I looked up just as three tiny people came floating—or tumbling down.

“Second lesson: fun and danger are sometimes synonymous,” he whispered, his hands on my shoulders. “I’ll be behind you the entire time.”

“Let’s do it,” I replied, even though my heart felt as if it were trying to escape through my chest and my ears were ringing as the blood rushed to my head.

I didn’t fight when they ushered us in, strapped our gear onto us, and led us to the small plane, with a rectangular-shaped hole on the side. Climbing inside, Declan turned me around so that I could face him. He brushed my hair back and handed me a hair tie. It took me a second to pull it into a ponytail.

“Good?” I asked him.

“Not yet.” He lifted my chin up and kissed me softly. Leaning forward, I kissed him back, and all too soon he pulled away.

“Just in case we don’t make it,” he said with a large grin on his face.

I smacked his shoulder as I scowled. “We’re going to make it! I won’t allow otherwise.”

“I’m glad to know. You have no reason to be nervous. Now turn around.”

When I turned around, he strapped me onto him. Putting on my goggles, I gasped when I felt his hands brush up against my breasts as he pulled the latch down.

“You okay?” he questioned, as he secured the belt that wrapped around my waist.

I nodded, and held on as the plane took off.

I glanced down once as we leveled out to what I could only assume was the dizzying height we were meant to jump from, and I turned my head away. “You should have kissed me way more passionately for a goodbye.”

He didn’t reply, but I could feel him laughing behind me.

“You guys ready?” the pilot in front of us asked.

“No.”

“Yes,” Declan said, and we moved closer to the door. “On the count of five.”

I closed my eyes and counted, “1…2…3…”

“Now!” He jumped forward, pushing me out of the plane and taking me with him.

“DECLAN!” I screamed as I felt the rush of wind all around us. But I wasn’t brave enough to open my eyes.

Oh my God. Oh my God.

“Open your eyes, Coraline!”

“No!”

“Coraline!”

I peeked out and as I saw the blue water, and the shoreline hundreds of feet below us, my eyes opened wider.

“Oh my God!” I screamed and then I laughed.

I wasn’t really sure how loud I was screaming or if it bothered him, but I couldn’t stop, not because I was scared, but because it felt exhilarating! I never wanted it to end and when we got closer to the ground and he pulled the chute, I was a little disappointed but that took nothing away from how I was feeling. Declan landed us perfectly. His feet touched the ground right before mine did.

The moment I could, I turned around and jumped into his arms, kissing his lips as hard as I could. He arms snaked around me as he lifted me off the ground. Opening my mouth for him, his tongue brushed against my own.

If it weren’t for our desperate need for air, I would’ve never let go.

“Thank you,” I said through deep breaths. How I had managed to not have a heart attack was beyond me.

“Are you living yet?” he whispered no more than an inch from my face.

“I can die happy.”

He frowned at that. “No, you can’t. I have too much to show you.”

In one day, Declan Callahan had expanded my world more than I had ever thought possible. I felt like I was alive, every one of my senses were now fully awakened. He’d made me brave enough to jump.

And now that I had, there was no going back.

DECLAN

I stood on the porch outside our two-bedroom villa overlooking the beach. I’d made sure to have not only clothes brought up for her, but also a personal maid just in case she needed anything while we were here. Glancing down at my hands, I smiled at the memory of her in my arms; how she’d kissed me, how I’d kissed her. She was the only woman I had
dated
since I was a teenager. I didn’t kiss women. Allowing them to kiss my body, fine. Fuck them, yes. But I never felt the need to make it any more personal than it had to be. Maybe it was because I had seen how my parents kissed each other as a child. It meant something and I didn’t want to waste it, I didn’t want it to be meaningless. Liam thought I was insane, but we all had our lines. He never said a woman’s name in bed. Neal, before Olivia, never took a woman to any place other than a restaurant on Fifty-Sixth Street. Not once had I ever been tempted to go over my line, and yet from the first moment I met her, I wondered how her lips would feel on mine. And now that I knew, I still wanted more.

You’re losing it, Declan.

“Declan?”

Turning around, I froze. She stood there dressed in plunge-neck white dress with a thigh-high slit. Which meant I could see her perfectly long legs and smooth thighs, along with the curve of her breasts. She was trying to kill me.

“Shoes or no shoes?” She lifted the heels beside her.

I shook my head. There was no way I was letting anyone else see her tonight.

“Dinner is waiting for us on the beach” I said softly, as I walked towards her. “You look…beyond words, Coraline.”

She smiled, crossing one foot over the other as she brushed her hair behind her ears. “Thank you. You don’t look half bad yourself.”

“Shall we?” I offered her my arm.

Linking arms, I led her towards the stairs, and out of the house. The beach would have been pitch-black, had it not been for the row of lanterns that lit the path and led right to the table in the center. A waiter stood waiting for us and as we approached, he pulled her chair out and seated her.

“Wow,” she whispered, glancing up at the stars above us.

“You like?”