Down and Out(19)

“But—”
“No buts.”
My mouth snaps shut as I silently fume. I’m not his problem or responsibility, and I hate that he’s turning me into his burden. “I asked you for a job, not for you to be my knight in shining armor. You can’t save me, Declan.”
He sets his fork down, the muscle along his jaw working. “Sorry, but I’m not a dick. I can’t just sit by and watch you come to work every day, knowing you sleep in that f*cking tin box you call a car. I’m sorry, but I just can’t do it.” He shakes his head, agitated, as his knee bobs up and down. “I’m trying to do the right thing here, all right? Just tell me what that is, and I’ll f*cking do it.”
My breath leaves me and a sliver of some unknown emotion tries to weasel itself into the vacated space in my chest. “Why?”
His fist slams against the table. “Why not?” He hangs his head as his fingers run through his hair. When he looks back up at me, his expression’s weary. “Don’t fight me on this. Just take it, please. For my ego and my sanity, just take it.”
The wall around my heart has been a part of me since I was old enough to know disappointment. No one’s ever been inside it, but I feel Declan’s words chipping away at the cold, harsh exterior, leaving me panicked.
I’m afraid Declan Whitmore could make the whole thing come tumbling down if I’m not careful.
“Fine,” I say, setting my fork down. “But if you’re not gonna take my money, then at least let me do something else for you.”
He cocks a brow, his eyes flicking down my body.
I fist my napkin and throw it at him. “No, you perv! I meant like cooking and cleaning.”
Clearing his throat, he bends down and picks my napkin off the floor. “Good, ’cause I wouldn’t have taken you up on that offer either.”
My eyebrows shoot up in an incredulous expression. “Oh, really? Because your hard-on fifteen minutes ago says otherwise.”
Declan tosses my napkin onto his empty plate and stands. “Trust me, when we go down that path—and something tells me we will go down that path—it’s not gonna be out of some obligation you feel towards me.” He puts one hand on the table and the other on the back of my chair, leaning down to murmur in my ear, “It’ll be because you can’t go another second without having me inside you. And when that second comes, I promise you, Kitten, I will make you beg for it.”
His breath brushes the shell of my ear, and I swallow, closing my eyes to keep them from rolling back into my head. It should be illegal for words that sinful to come out of someone so hot. It’s not fair to my central nervous system.
While I’m trying to think of a witty comeback, his phone rings, and I use the opportunity to slip away while I still have functional brain cells.

The water pouring out of the showerhead is ice cold. I hadn’t meant to stay in here so long, but this is the first honest-to-God shower I’ve had in days. I might’ve overindulged a little bit. . .
I turn off the water and slide the shower curtain aside as someone knocks twice in quick succession. A deep voice says, “Hide your schlong, bro, I’m comin’ in.”
I have just enough time to grab the shower curtain and yank it over me before the door swings open and I lock eyes with a very surprised stranger.
“You’re not Declan,” he says dumbly.
Water drips down me, and I shiver from the cold air he’s letting in. “No shit.”
Swallowing, his eyes roam down. “You know that’s see-through, right?”
I look down and see my tits mashed against the clear plastic, as well as the top mound of my lady bits. Everyone within a five mile radius probably hears my shriek for him to GTFO.
My heart is still racing as he backs out and closes the door.
Who the hell is that?
I almost slip on the tile as I scurry over to the door, dripping water everywhere in my haste to lock the damn thing. Declan’s been gone for hours now, so I hadn’t bothered with it.
Grabbing my towel off the rack, I wrap it around me. Muted voices drift down the hallway from the living room. Please, God, tell me Declan’s back, because I so do not want to be alone with some strange guy who walked in on me naked.
I unlock the door and crack it open, seeing Declan and the guy leaving through the open front door. They’re deep in conversation about something I can’t quite hear.
And they’re clearly not leaving, leaving, otherwise they would’ve closed the door behind them, so I hurry across the hallway to Declan’s room before they come back. Shivering in the cold air, I dig through my laundry basket of clean clothes and get dressed as fast as I can.
Is that his roommate, or something? Declan hadn’t mentioned having one, but who else would just walk into someone’s apartment like that?
I soak up as much excess water from my hair as I can, then tie it into a low ponytail. I’d check my reflection in the mirror above the dresser, but I already know what I’d see: pink cheeks and a flustered face. My heart’s in my throat as I walk down the hallway, hearing their conversation drift out from the kitchen.
“Since when do you want to hang out with me?” Declan asks.
There’s a beat of silence before a deep voice answers, “Since our dad’s dying and our family’s gone to shit.”
His words make me pause just out of their sight. My chest constricts at what I now realize are his brother’s words. I frown at the unwelcome feeling welling inside me at his plight. Since when do I care what happens to other people? I’m a cold, heartless bitch, remember?