We finally made it to Dreamland. The smell of fresh-baked cookies makes my mouth water. Our three-row golf cart flies across the brick pavers, easily navigating the empty streets. We pass by smiling employees, decked out princesses and princes, and shops prepping for another busy day in the park.
My excitement only grows as we near the massive princess castle in the middle of it all.
Declan places a palm on my bouncing thigh. “Are you okay?”
I grin. “Just excited.”
His forehead wrinkles as he frowns.
“When was the last time you visited the park?” Zahra turns her body so she can look back at us.
My smile falls. “We’ve traveled here once for business.”
“You’ve been to Dreamland one time, and it was for business?” Her face is one of absolute horror.
Declan’s hand on my thigh tightens in a silent look at me gesture, but I don’t. I don’t want to see the pity on his face.
I consider lying but think better of it. “My mom didn’t have enough money to get us tickets. With flights, hotel, and admission fees, you could buy a month’s worth of groceries for the same price as a trip here.”
“What does your mom do?”
“She’s an art teacher.”
Zahra grasps onto Rowan’s arm. “We need to offer teacher discounts. And children of teacher discounts. And discounts for adults who have never been to Dreamland as a child.”
He shoots her a look. “At that rate, we won’t make any money.”
“There are grown adults out there who have never been to Dreamland, Rowan. Now is not the time to be stingy.”
He looks over at Declan for help, but Declan is solely looking at me.
“I didn’t realize you had never been here before.”
I shrug. “You never asked.”
The hand on my thigh squeezes harder. I shift my gaze toward Declan, and the look on his face sends a shiver down my back.
“Would you like to check out the park?”
“For work?”
“No. For fun.”
The idea makes me laugh. “You hate this place.”
“I’m willing to pretend that I don’t for a day.”
“What about prepping for our walkthrough with Yakura?”
“The park will still be here tomorrow. We can talk business then.”
Heat spreads through my chest. I wrap my arms around his neck and give him a squeeze. “I’d love that.”
Declan speaks up to the rest of the group. “Plans have changed.”
Zahra squeals with delight, and like that, our day is completely altered because Declan declared it so.
All for me.
Zahra is the best tour guide ever. Turns out she has been a part of Dreamland since she was a child, so she knows everything about the place. With her knowledge and Rowan’s ability to help us skip any lines, there is nothing stopping us from exploring the whole park in a day. Well, nothing but me. I try my hardest to keep focused, but I am distracted every few feet by the different flower and plant displays. The array of colors captures my attention, and I can’t help stopping each time to check out the perfectly designed topiaries of different Dreamland characters.
Declan looms over me like a shadow, assessing my every move.
I turn toward him with heated cheeks. “What?”
“I should have known you would care more about the plants than the rides.”
“Because look at this! It’s art!” I throw an arm up at the sculpture of Iggy the Alien, Brady Kane’s iconic first character. The entire thing is made up of trimmed green leaves and a ball of wire.
“Art?” His voice has a hint of amusement despite his blank face.
Zahra bounces over to us. “You know, if you’re interested, we could take you to check out the horticulture department.”
My eyes widen. “Really?”
She smiles. “Sure. It would be no big deal.”
“Oh my God. I’d love that!”
“With the way you keep taking photos and gawking at their plants, they’ll probably feel like rock stars.”
“That’s because they are rock stars.”
She pulls out her phone and taps away at the screen. “Do you have any free time tomorrow? The head of the department is going to be there and would be happy to show you around. They might be a little busier than usual because they’re prepping for the Flower Festival, but they’d love to show you the behind-the-scenes action.”
I gasp. “The head of the department wants to show me around?”
Her chest shakes from withheld laughter. “Yes. Said so himself.” She flips her phone so I can see the text chain with my own eyes.
Declan clears his throat.
Shit. This isn’t a personal vacation, remember? Today is already enough of a deviation from the protocol. The last thing Declan needs is me becoming distracted by things that aren’t important right now. I can come back and visit Dreamland whenever, but we only have one shot to convince Yakura to work with us. Plants can wait.
I shake my head. “Uhm. Actually, tomorrow doesn’t work for me. Tell him I’m sorry and maybe next time I can make room in my schedule for a visit.”
Her smile falls. “Oh. No worries.”
Declan tugs on my elbow. “Why are you saying no?”
“Because we have our walkthrough to prepare for. Yakura will be here in a couple of days and we need to be ready for anything he might throw at us.”
“It’s not going to be anything different from what you’ve seen today.”
I frown. “But we’re a team.”
“I’m sure I can survive a few hours without you while you go check out some plants.”
“Please. During work, you can’t go thirty minutes without finding some reason to stop by my desk.”
“I like giving you verbal instructions.”
“Why?”
“Do I need a better reason than I like watching the way your eyes light up with defiance?”
“You’re such a liar.”
His right eye twitches. “I did some research on how people with learning differences like yours do best with verbal and written instruction.”
My knees tremble. “Anything else you learned?”
His arm wraps around my waist, which is probably best seeing as my legs are about two confessions away from giving out.
“Voice notes or phone calls work best.”
I laugh despite the tight ball of emotion forming in my throat. “Here I was thinking you just hated texting.”
His lips lift the slightest bit at the corners. “I do hate texting. Don’t trick yourself into thinking it had anything to do with you.”
“Shut up.” I laugh as I give his chest a shove.
His arms don’t budge, although his lips curve up into a smile. “Zahra, you can go ahead and schedule tomorrow’s activities. It might be hard for her, but Iris can survive a day without me.”
I stick out my tongue. “Please. I don’t think you’ve spent a whole workday without me for three years.”
His voice drops as his dark eyes capture mine in a trance. “And I don’t plan on doing so anytime soon.”
I snuggle against Declan’s chest as he throws the comforter over our entwined bodies. I’m grateful he takes initiative because my muscles are aching after going around the entire park twice.
I trace mindless patterns on his chest. “Thank you for today.”
“You don’t need to thank me every time I do something nice.”
“I read somewhere that reinforcing good behavior increases the likelihood of it happening again.”
“There are better ways to reinforce good behavior.” His raspy voice turns my insides into bubbling lava.
“As tempting as sex sounds right now, I don’t think I can move a single muscle.”
“I’ll do all the work.”
“Who knew you were so proactive?”
“They say practice makes perfect, so I’m trying to fit in all the lessons I can get.”
I laugh so hard, I’m afraid I might pee if I don’t stop. “You don’t need any more practice. Trust me.” For someone who has avoided women for God knows how long, Declan sure knows what he’s doing in the bedroom. Or office. Or shower. Pretty much anywhere that has a surface to fuck against is no longer safe.
“My ego thanks you, but I’m talking about practicing for a baby, not sex.”
My eyes widen. We haven’t talked about condoms ever since our conversation a couple of weeks ago when Declan walked out on me in the middle of our argument. Neither one of us has dared to broach the subject, so we haven’t stopped using them.
“Are you suggesting…” My voice trails off. I can’t even get the words out.
“I’m ready whenever you are to get started on your little soccer team.”
“Who said anything about a soccer team?”
“You did.”
“What? When?”
“If I’m not mistaken, I believe you said you wanted a whole minivan of kids.”
I’m not sure I’m even breathing as I speak up. “But we only agreed to one child.”
“Plans change.”
“You didn’t even want one child. How do you expect me to believe you want a whole soccer team now?”
“I do because it would make you happy.”
“That’s not why people should have children. They’re a lifelong commitment—”
He presses his lips against mine to shut me up. “Exactly.”
“But—”
He kisses me again, and my body melts into the mattress.
“We could have one kid or five, so long as you only have them with me. I’ll give you the minivan life, solely if you want it.”
“What if I’m not ready? What if this is all too much all at once and I can’t handle a new relationship and a new baby?”
His throat bobs. “Then we wait.”
“Even if it means holding off on you becoming CEO?”
“Even then.”
I’m hit with a wave of emotion so strong, my eyes glisten. A single tear slips down my face before landing on the pillow beneath me. Never in a million years did I expect to hear those words come out of his mouth.
He kisses me until my lips tingle and my legs tremble around his waist. Our clothes land in a pile on the floor next. When he reaches for a condom on the dresser, I cover his hand with mine and shake my head.
“Are you sure?” He looks down at me with a pinched expression.
I nod, afraid to speak. He groans as he kisses me, this time with enough heat to set my lips on fire. His movements are unhurried as he touches my body like it’s the very first time.
I feel cherished as his lips kiss a path from my mouth to my chest. He draws my nipple into his mouth, teasing the tip with his tongue. I jolt from the zing that shoots down my spine. His throat vibrates against my skin as he laughs, but his amusement disappears as his mouth returns to torturing my breast. He moves on to the other, focusing all his attention on pushing me to insanity.
I rub against him, trying to seek relief. Pressure builds inside of me from just him sucking, licking, and nipping at my breasts, but I’m not able to find my release.
I groan from frustration and pull on his hair.
“Someone’s impatient.”
“Someone’s about to finish this themselves if you don’t keep moving.”
His laugh fills me with a different kind of warmth than the one bubbling in my lower belly. He crawls down the bed, making a mess of our sheets as he spreads my legs wide. Our gazes stay locked as he sinks his tongue inside of me. My back arches, but his hand holds me flat against the bed as he fucks me with his tongue.
Will it always feel this good?
His chuckle sends another vibration up my body, and I realize I must have said it aloud.
“Only with you.” His fingers tease me, working in unison with his tongue as he draws my pleasure from me with each thrust. His thumb rubs against my clit, and I groan as my orgasm hits me.
Declan doesn’t stop until I lay helplessly on the bed, splayed out and waiting for him.
“You’re beautiful.” He crawls over me and cups my face. His hands shove my legs apart even wider, giving him room to settle between them.
“I could spend the rest of forever with you and it still wouldn’t be enough time to finish everything I have planned for us.”
“That’s a lot of plans.”
“Let’s start with this one first.”
I shiver as he lines his cock up at my entrance. He drags the tip back and forth, collecting my arousal with each swipe. His shuddery breath fills me with pride.
I wrap my legs around him, encouraging him to continue.
“Are you sure about this?” His voice is hesitant.
“Only if you are.”
“I don’t deserve you. Never have and never will, so long as I live.”
“You are worthy of good things.”
Our eyes don’t leave one another as his cock fills me inch by inch. We both shake as he seats himself inside of me, and his eyes screw shut as he takes a deep breath.
“Fuck,” he speaks between gritted teeth.
Fuck is right. I’m afraid he might not move again, but he seems to get better control over himself and starts to pump in and out.
With each snap of his hips, I climb higher. His movements are crazed. Uncontrolled. Primal in a way I’ve never experienced before. My head spins from all the sensations happening at once. A feeling of weightlessness takes over me, and it feels like I am having an out-of-body experience.
Declan seems to be right there with me. His eyes are pitch black as he drives into my body like he owns it, leaving bruises where his hands hold me in the right position for his pleasure. It makes me feel used in the best kind of way.
He angles me just right so his cock slides against the spot that has me gasping for air. His thumb finds my clit again, and it only takes a few slow circles to have me explode from ecstasy.
He fucks me through my orgasm until I’m writhing underneath him again. When he finally reaches his climax, he releases a groan I feel straight to my clit. His hips don’t stop moving as he comes inside of me. He drops down on his elbows, careful not to crush me as he kisses me once before laying his forehead against mine.
Neither one of us wants to move and break the moment. So we stay there until he is forced to pull out, and part of his release spills out.
“Shit.” He seems starstruck as he swipes some of his cum and uses it as a lubricant against my clit.
I sigh as a tingle shoots all the way down to my toes.
“That has to be the sexiest sound I’ve ever heard.” His husky voice does something powerful to my libido.
I thought he would be done with me already, but he keeps touching me until I’m desperately reaching for him again.
The second time he enters me, his movements are slow, sweet. Loving. He apologizes for his earlier brutality with soft kisses and a reverent touch. I’ve never felt so loved in my life, and it has everything to do with the way he looks at me as he fucks me this time around.
He kisses my neck, shoulders, breasts, forehead. Not even my soul is left untouched as he whispers foreign words in my ear. I have no idea what they mean, but the way he says them sends goosebumps across my skin.
“Daisuki1.” His deep thrust makes me gasp.
“Szeretlek2.” He presses his lips against my forehead. My pulse flutters at the gesture, sending a rush of pleasure all the way to my toes.
Our gazes connect. The way I shiver has nothing to do with his touch and everything to do with the way he looks at me.
I might not be able to recite foreign words like him, but I understand tone and body language, and whatever he says makes my heart feel so full, it might burst.
You’re falling for him.
For the first time ever, I’m not afraid of love. If this is what it feels like, I’m willing to try, consequences be damned.
