Chapter Six
Declan
Declan had always been an early riser. It came in handy on more than one mission where his life and the lives of his team were on the line. He watched the sunrise from his hotel window while he thought about Lily. She was a strong, stubborn woman. When he’d first laid eyes on her, he’d been convinced there was no way in hell she could handle a man like him: someone with a dark past. Now, he wasn’t so sure. She’d gone toe to toe with him like it was the most natural thing in the world. Lily Quinn was a spitfire and he was looking forward to verbally sparring with her again.
That morning, when he left the hotel, he opted to walk to Lily’s apartment. The exercise would do him good and it would give him time to get his thoughts in order. Along the way, he passed a street vendor selling flowers and stopped to take a look at what the woman had to offer. One particular group of flowers caught his eye. They were lilies but they were in a shade he’d never seen before. The blooms were a deep, crimson red. “What kind of lilies are these?,” he asked the street vendor. “I’ve never seen any in this color before.”
“Those are arabesque lilies.”
“I’ll take a dozen.” The crimson petals reminded him of Lily’s fiery spirit, and something told him she’d appreciate them more than the generic bouquet of roses men seemed to always get as if there weren’t any other flowers out there. He wasn’t a traditional sort of man; he wasn’t getting the traditional flowers.
Declan stood outside Lily’s apartment building and took a moment to admire the brick facade with it’s iron lattice balconies. It took him only a moment to find Lily’s balcony, and he envisioned what she must look like sitting on the wicker sofa with the morning sun kissing her skin and bringing out the gold highlights in her chestnut hair. He hoped to see it in person and see if his imagination did it justice, soon. Really fucking soon.
With a shake of his head, he went inside. It was already warm out and he knew by afternoon it was going to be so humid he wouldn’t want to be out in it. How in the fuck had Lily acclimated to the heat and humidity of Louisiana after growing up in Montana?
Lily
Lily was awake before six a.m. for the first time in a long time. She was anxious, nervous, and excited about Declan coming to her apartment for breakfast. She tried to push the excitement down because she had no business feeling that way about the man. The problem was her wolf disagreed. Her wolf was very happy to think about him. If her wolf had her way they’d do a lot more than think about him. She wondered again if she’d lost her mind by asking him to come to her apartment to talk. Surely they could have gone to Jackson Square and found a quiet spot to talk that early in the day? But no, she’d already invited him here and now she had to get her butt in gear if she hoped to be ready when he arrived.
After a quick shower, she put her hair up in a clip to get it off her neck and went to work in her small kitchen. She’d debated on what to make before deciding to go with some more traditional New Orleans breakfast foods. She made a frittata loaded with ham, onion, peppers, mushrooms, and three cheeses, grillades and cheese grits, and creole cream cheese topped with berries and sprinkled with sugar. By the time she got everything done and had her small two-seater table set, it was just a few minutes before nine.
Lily was putting the finishing touches for their breakfast—coffee with real cream and sugar and a pitcher of orange juice—on the table when there was a knock on her door. She glanced at the time and took a deep breath. Declan was there. She couldn’t put this off even if she was second-guessing herself. Once again she wondered why she’d invited him over for breakfast as she made her way to the door. She must have had a momentary lapse in sanity.
Lily opened the door and couldn’t help but stare for just a moment. Declan stood there in a pair of snug-fitting jeans, a T-shirt that clung to him like a second skin, and a pair of black leather boots. Her gaze traveled down his body and back up to find him smirking at her.
“Like what you see, doll?” There was a wicked grin on his face.
Lily felt flustered. “So you look good; it’s not like you don’t already know it.” She stepped back and motioned him inside. “Come on in; breakfast is already on the table.”
He stepped in and held the bouquet out to her. “Beautiful lilies for an even more beautiful Lily.”
Lily rolled her eyes at the cheesy comment. Still, the flowers were really pretty and unique. “They’re lovely, thank you. I’m a little surprised you didn’t bring me roses.” When she took them from him to go put them in water, their fingers touched, and she felt a jolt of electricity that sent a shiver of need coursing through her. She knew Declan could smell her sudden arousal.
At her comment Declan shrugged. “Roses are too boring, too traditional. Why would I want to be like every other guy out there and bring a beautiful woman something so common? I’d rather be remembered as the man who brought something remarkable with him.”
“These are definitely remarkable. I’ve never seen lilies in this color before.”
“The lady I bought them from called them arabesque lilies. They reminded me of you and your fiery temper.”
Lily rolled her eyes at him again to hide the fact she thought it was actually sweet. “Come on, have a seat. I hope you’re hungry.”
Declan stopped her before she could sit. “Oh, I am, but not necessarily for food,” he growled. He reached up and pulled the clip from her hair, so it could cascade down her shoulders, before he kissed her.
Lily leaned into the kiss for several seconds. The heat and intensity made her toes curl, had things low in her body tightening almost painfully with need, and left her dripping wet. Then logic reared it’s head and she jerked away from him. “Damn it! You can’t keep doing that!” Her voice came out an angry hiss as she backed up several steps to put distance between them.
“That’s where you’re wrong, Lily. I already told you I get what I want, and I want you. It would be different if you weren’t affected at all, but I can smell your arousal. I can see the flush in your cheeks from our kiss, and I’ll bet if I slipped my hand into your panties right now, I’d find you dripping wet. You want me just as much as I want you; you’re just too scared to admit to it. Yet.”
“You are such an arrogant bastard, you know that? I’m not afraid; I already told you I am not available but you’re just like every other arrogant male out there. You ignore anything beyond what you want, and you go after the ones you can’t have just to drop them like yesterday’s garbage the instant you get what you want from them.”
Declan moved so fast she didn’t have time to move out of the way. He pinned her against the kitchen counter and pressed against her. “Let’s get one thing straight, doll. I’ll admit I’m arrogant and I can be a bastard, but you can take me out of that pile you lumped me into because there’s one thing I won’t fucking do and that’s drop you once I have you. And mark my words, Lily, I will have you. It’s only a matter of time before I have you writhing beneath me and begging me to fuck you.”
Lily was startled when she found herself pinned against the counter. She could feel every hard muscle in his toned body pressed against her, and the feel of his arousal against her belly made her feel weak in the knees. In that moment she was glad he was pressed against her because she wasn’t so sure she’d be able to stay standing otherwise. He shook her to the core and weakened her resolve with just a look. She really was stupid for having him come to her apartment to talk instead of meeting him in public somewhere.
Declan
Declan took several deep breaths to calm himself, and his wolf, before he stepped back and took a seat at the table. He watched Lily through hooded eyes. He knew he affected her as strongly as she affected him, and if he was completely honest with himself, he had to admit he admired her loyalty. She wasn’t a woman who gave in to casual lust, and when she was in a committed relationship, she stayed true to that relationship. Those were qualities he admired and wanted in his mate; he just wished she felt that way toward him instead of some human prick who didn’t appreciate what he had.
After a couple of minutes Lily seemed to pull herself together and took the seat opposite Declan. “Right, so, about the Black Water Pard,” she said, deliberately changing the subject. “You’re probably wondering how long I’ve known them and how much of a connection I have with them, given the friendliness between Remy, Gage, and I.” She kept her gaze averted while she poured herself a glass of orange juice.
