Page 34 of Declan
I almost blew everything up with that sweater. I’m supposed to be earning her trust. And as fucked up as this plan of Colton’s is, I need to make the most of it. I’ve never had this much one-on-one time with Cara, and now that I’m not worried we’re about to freeze to death or drive off the fucking road, I can appreciate it.
But when she walked out of the bathroom in...that. God. I nearly swallowed my tongue. Cara, in her lace and leather, in her death-defying shoes, is hell on wheels and sexy as fuck.
But Cara, in a tiny scrap of satin, feet bare, is a fucking dream. My dream. She’s been starring in them for years, and holy shit, she’s better than I ever hoped.
I should have just handed the fucking sweater to her, but nope, I had to push it. When she turned, and I was faced with that creamy back and glorious ass, nothing could have kept me from going to her. There’s something so seductive about a woman giving you her back. It shows a level of trust, of vulnerability that I don’t think I’ve ever been given.
I shouldn’t have pushed it, though. She’s alone in a hotel room with me. Is she even okay with that? I didn’t ask her because I was too fucking relieved to have a room, I didn’t question it. But there’s one fucking bed, and suddenly an intimacy she wasn’t prepared for is being pushed on her.
I’m going to be a fucking gentleman if it kills me, though. Starting with offering to sleep on the fucking floor.
I rush through my shower, eager to get back to her. I’m still buzzing from the drive, but I bet she’s exhausted. I don’t want to put off this conversation.
I’m mentally patting myself on the back for my amazing plan as I pull on a pair of sleep shorts. I second guess myself, but decide throwing a t-shirt on is my best play. Going out there bare-chested, even though I’m finally proud of my body, seems a bit creepy.
A billow of steam escapes when I open the door. I lock on her immediately.
She’s curled in the bed, back against the headboard, covers pulled up to her shoulders. Her eyes are swollen and red. “You were crying?”
“Brilliant deduction, Dec,” she mumbles, eyes on the awful blue floral bedspread. I’m off balance. I don’t know how to handle sad Cara. Or any sad woman. If it were my brother looking like that, I’d go over and slap him on the back. Ask him what the fuck was wrong. That doesn’t seem like the right approach here. But fuck if I know what I should do.
“Did something happen? You talked to Ransom?”
“Yeah,” she says, her voice a dull monotone.
“Can I…help?”
She laughs bitterly. “I don’t think you can, Declan. We’re in this fucked up situation thanks to your brothers. They manipulated everything to get the two of us alone.” She clamps her mouth shut, glaring at me. “Do you know how scary this could be? Aside from the fact that we could have been in big fucking trouble in that snowstorm, I’m a woman alone in a hotel room with a man I really don’t know anything about. But they didn’t consider that. They didn’t think about how I might feel. They just manipulated and maneuvered.”
I flinch at the ice in her words and the idea of her being unsafe with me. I would never fucking hurt her. How the hell did we go from touching ten minutes ago, to this?
“What am I missing?”
“Ransom was in on it. He kept me busy all day, so I’d miss them leaving early.”
“Oh.” Shit. The whole world is upside down. No way would Ransom normally do something like this. What the fuck was he thinking?
“What does that say about me? Am I really that disposable?” Her eyes are welling with tears again. I want to go over there, take her in my arms, and explain to her how vital she truly is. Not just to Ransom, but to me. But I can almost see the giant fuck off bubble she’s sitting in.
“No fucking way would anyone say that about you. You are not disposable, Cara. Get that thought out of your head. They love you, you know that.”
She laughs a far-from-happy sound. “Sure they do. So much, they didn’t think twice about fucking with my life and putting me in danger.”
“They fucked with both our lives, Cara. It’s shitty of them, for sure. But their hearts were in the right place.”
Her gaze sharpens on mine, hints of the terrifying Cara from work appearing in her eyes. “The right place. Gotcha. They were doing what they thought was best...for you.”
I open my mouth to defend myself, but I’m not sure I can. My brothers know what a fucking loser I am when it comes to Cara. It’s not at all outside the realm of possibility they pulled this crap to give me a chance to fix the shit sandwich I made for myself. Colton may have planned this because he wants everybody to be in love, but Ransom didn’t help for the same reason. As much as he might love all my brother’s women, he’s a lot more cynical —about love and everything else— when it comes right down to it.
“They think I have no game. That I can’t talk around you and that without their help, I won’t be able to repair this.” Might as well just spill my guts. I doubt any of this is a surprise to her. “They have no faith in my ability to fix this between us. It’s all about me.”
She smiles sadly. “That’s the problem, though, isn’t it? It’s all about you. They didn’t once consider how I might feel as a woman, stranded alone with a man, a near stranger.”
“Wait, a fucking minute. I’m not a stranger. You know me, Cara. You’ve known me for years. There’s no fucking way I’d do anything to hurt you. You have to know that.” Too late, I realize how stupid my words are. Because I did hurt her. Maybe not physically, but I did hurt her with my stupid jealousy and shitty actions. Her shake of the head shows me she’s aware of that, just as much as I am.
“I don’t know you, Declan,” she whispers. “Not at all.”
She could kick me in the balls, and it would hurt less than this. “Do you honestly believe you’re not safe with me? Because if you do, then I’ve fucked this up worse than I ever imagined.”
