Claimed - a Portwright Book

Chapter Eleven: Declan

I could barely keep my fucking hands off her, let alone my eyes. The whole night, I'd been watching her, my focus only pulled when Callum demanded my attention.

He and Nate had left after they'd eaten most of the pizza and Nate had offered to take Alice home. After looking between Sophie and me quite pointedly, Alice went with them. Callum had given me a totally unnecessary look behind her back as the left, but I doubted he was getting anything close to what he wanted that night. Not from the girl he wanted it from anyway.

I woke up the next morning and found Sophie sitting cross-legged on the coffee table, already dressed in a slouched long-sleeved shirt and shorts, and holding a cup of coffee. She picked up another from next to her and held it out to me.

"Do you have plans today?" she asked, sipping her coffee. Her glasses fogged up from the steam and she blinked in annoyance.

I smiled and sat up. "I've got some things to do this evening, but otherwise, no. Why? We don't usually make plans like this, love."

She grinned. "No, but we're also been very slack and haven't done anything about your tails for Sunday."

I groaned. "This Sunday's Christmas Eve. Right, well, what do I need to do?"

Her amused grin became a smirk. I really didn't need her aggravating my morning glory. "Well, I'm taking you to the mother's favourite tailor and we're going to get you fitted."

"Fitted at yer mother's favourite tailor? That sounds expensive, love."

She rolled her eyes. "Uh huh, and who am I?"

I smiled ruefully. "Yeah, all right then. When do ye want to go?"

"Soon as you're ready." Her head tipped to the side. "You know you can do more than keep your clothes in that bedroom..."

I shrugged. "I'm fine on the couch, love."

She looked at me disbelievingly. "It's been over two weeks, Declan," I wish she wouldn't say my name like that; it made my heart shift and my pants even tighter, "I know you haven't actually moved in, but you can sleep in a bed."

I kissed her forehead as I got up. "I'm fine, love. I'll go shower and change."

I headed upstairs and tried not to think of all the reasons I was still sleeping on the couch when it was obvious to everyone that I'd be sleeping here every night she'd let me.

Tell the truth, I wasn't sleeping in any bed in the house unless it was hers. And yeah, that presented somewhat of an issue didn't it considering I was meant to be keeping my hands to myself. But I couldn't help it. She'd said herself, we'd known each other all of two and a half weeks, but it was more than my head telling me she was mine.

It was dangerous and we were heading for a fucking train wreck.

But my heart seemed only to beat to tell me this girl was mine. She was more than mine. She was made for me and I was made for her. I saw the way she looked at me and everything in me responded in kind.

I'd never been a sappy wanker, I'd never thought about love, and I couldn't believe I was in love with her after less than three weeks. But I wanted her. And I didn't just want her in bed. And I certainly didn't have any plans to leave her.

But CúMhartain wasn't the kind of guy a girl like her brought home and showed off to her parents. That Andrew guy she went to school with was probably the perfect sort of poncy wanker a girl like her brought home. But I wasn't that guy.

And that was only one of the many reasons why I should keep my hands off her.

We didn't belong in each other's worlds no matter how we were bonded. The time would come eventually when it was time for her to settle down and there was no way in hell I was the settling down kind, even for Sophie. We'd had one passing conversation about children and I'd let her in a little on my own fucking splendid childhood and what I thought about love, relationships and kids. So she'd settle down with someone she belonged with and I'd become nothing more than her guard dog, hopefully a fond memory, but nothing more.