Declan pulled back the covers and settled in his king-size bed alone. He found that he longed for the day when Ella would cuddle beside him. It was damn near killing him to take things slow. She made it pure torture to do the right thing. He had almost stroked out tonight when she asked him if he was into spankings or tying her up. WTF! He had been constantly trying to shift his c**k around during the movie without her noticing. It was hard enough to be that close to her without ripping her clothes off. It went to almost impossible when she wiggled her little bottom and draped herself all over him to watch her damn movie.
He had never met a woman who was full of so many contradictions. He knew from their conversations at the office that she wasn’t an uptight prude, but truthfully, he wasn’t prepared for who Ella was emerging to be. Come on, who would have thought that the church girl was an action-movie junkie? She wasn’t just pretending to be to impress him either. She had quoted line after line from Lethal Weapon tonight, before it even happened on screen. After that, she had talked with great affection about the next movies in the series and how they tied in with the first one. He had a bad feeling that if Mel Gibson ever visited Myrtle Beach, he would be dumped like yesterday’s news.
It was getting harder and harder, both literally and figuratively to walk away from her door after a goodnight kiss. My God, she was enthusiastic. He was still trying to figure out how she had managed to wrap her legs around his waist tonight without his help. One minute he had been starting to pull away and the next minute her legs were around him and his c**k was nestled against her crotch. That had ensured another five minutes of near torture as he tried desperately to talk himself out of ripping her panties off and taking her right there where all her neighbors could see. Clearly what Ella lacked in experience, she more than made up for in enthusiasm. She had tried to urge him inside of her apartment for some privacy, but he knew if he crossed that threshold, there was nothing stopping him from finally taking her.
The lines were getting blurred with her. He had made no promises in the beginning and now after only a few dates, even he was thinking crazy shit. He was a soldier, for God’s sake, where was his control? He had exercised it his whole life, even before the military, so why was it deserting him now? Maybe it had just been too long between women. He could go out now and take care of it. There had been no talk of exclusivity. But he knew in his heart that Ella would be destroyed if she found out that he had slept with another woman and even he wasn’t that big of a bastard. He had lain in a damn wet ditch in Afghanistan for hours without making a move. Surely, he had the willpower to keep his dick in his pants for another few weeks until Ella was ready. With that thought, he resorted to doing something he hadn’t in quite some time . . . he took matters into his own hands while thinking about the woman who was slowly driving him out of his mind.
Chapter Nine
Ella wondered not for the first time, why she had called this lunch meeting. After another couple of weeks of never getting Declan off her doorstep and into her apartment at the end of the evening, she was beginning to think there was something wrong with her. She had to bite the bullet, and went straight to Suzy for advice. Unfortunately, Suzy was busy and told her to get everyone together for lunch. So instead of just one person looking at her as if she were a failure, she had four people. Claire, having no idea that they were lunching to specifically discuss Ella’s love life, had invited along the new girl. Even though Ella liked her, she really didn’t want to discuss something so personal in front of Emma. So Ella had attempted to keep the spotlight off of herself until Suzy asked, “Are we going to get to this problem of yours before I’m old, gray, and wearing polyester?”
“That’s pretty much it. We see each other most every evening, but other than kissing and stuff, nothing else ever happens.” Then looking down to hide her embarrassment, she mumbled, “I even tried the leg thing that you suggested.”
Suzy looked reluctantly impressed. “You wrapped your legs around his waist and he still didn’t lose control? Man, that pushes Gray over the edge in no time flat.” Claire and Beth were both nodding their heads in agreement. “Okay, so there is no way that you could put that move on a man and not have him realize that you are willing so it must be something else. What are you wearing on these dates?”
“Well . . . just the usual. Some kind of dress or pantsuit.”
“Not the kind of dress you’re wearing today, right?”
Ella looked down at her sundress and said, “Yeah, just like the ones I usually wear.”
“Ah-ha,” Suzy shouted. “Ladies, we have a winner!”
Emma looked around the group of women in surprise. “Are all of your lunches like this?”
Claire patted her on the shoulder laughing, “No, they’re usually worse, especially if you’re the one with the problem.”
Beth nodded her head. “Yep, I was in the hot seat not long ago. I’m glad that everyone lets the pregnant woman off easy now. When I was going through my crying phase, I think I traumatized my sister for life. I can barely get a good insult out of her now.”
Emma smiled as Beth rubbed her stomach affectionately. “How far along are you?”