10 Ways to Steal Your Lover

by Dee Tenorio

  Kane jumped to his feet. “Don’t even think about finishing that sentence, Colonel.”

  The older man still had his mouth open, as if he were thinking about pushing just that little bit further.

  “You can say whatever you want about me. Cal me whatever you want for moving in on your daughter the second I had the chance, but I won’t sit here and let you hurl insults at her because of it. She didn’t do anything wrong except wake up with the wrong husband. Marrying me was a choice she didn’t even know she made. What we do about that choice is our business. Father or not, you don’t get to judge her for following her heart. No one does.”

  Not wanting to be drawn into any more discussion about it, Kane turned and took up Craig’s position by the big glass window. It was actually a pretty good spot.

  Nice view, some separation from the group, but he could still hear everything going on behind him. Like the furious whispers going back and forth between Dinah and The Colonel. By the sound of it, Dinah was digging into her husband pretty good. Good for her.

  But that still left him here, staring out into a city he didn’t really know, clinging to a marriage born of confusion. No, worse than that, a stolen marriage. With a stolen bride. If he held onto it, onto her, he’d be stealing only heartache.

  “Enough. You listen to me, son. You’re crazy if you think this will work.” The Colonel insisted suddenly, his tone snide. “I know my daughter. This is just one more of her reckless stunts. She thinks she’s doing the right thing or the best thing or whatever she wants to call getting her own way, but all that ever happens is that she gets hurt. Other people get hurt. And nothing good ever comes of it. Following her heart? You can’t possibly expect her to trust a decision this big to something like that.”

  Kane gave the man the respect of turning to face him. “Of course I do, sir. It’s the only reason I’d want her to.”

  “It’s a bullshit reason!” McGavin was up again, looking like he was working himself into a good, old-fashioned rage. “The girl has no discipline whatsoever. She’s incapable of making the smart choice even when you paint an arrow on the goddamn ground. If she had her way, she’d wander her way through her life like a gypsy, making no decisions at all and never doing anything that makes any difference to anyone. Her heart, young man, is stupid.”

  “Then so is mine,” Kane answered, not caring how fierce he sounded. “Because I love her. I love her heart and her soul and her ability to find joy and wonder in things I never even looked at. Never had the courage to reach for. She is everything I have ever wanted to be, exactly the way she is and if you can’t understand that she’s the most incredible person you have ever known, Colonel, then maybe you don’t deserve to be her father.”

  “Kane?” Delilah’s voice, soft and stunned, almost echoed in the silent room.

  He turned, catching the stricken expression on her face before it smoothed and her eyes turned cold. Craig stood right behind her, his brows furrowed and his hands in his pockets.

  No question they’d heard some part of that exchange, but how much was anyone’s guess.

  Worse, now all eyes were on her, some pitying, some apologetic, and one still belligerent.

  “I think it’s time all of you went back to your hotels,” Delilah said quietly.

  “If you think we’re going to let you just—” The Colonel blustered.

  Delilah cut him off with a raised hand. “I’m well aware that I’ve embarrassed you, Dad. That I’ve always embarrassed you. I’m sorry that I never knew where I belonged or what I was meant to do with my life. But I’m not sorry that I never stopped searching for either of those things. If you can’t be proud of that, then there’s nothing I can say that will make you feel better about any of this. So you’d better go, before you say something else you should regret but probably never will.”

  A flush rose at the top of the Colonel’s cheeks, but he didn’t answer her. He simply stood, reached for his wife’s hand and pulled her to her feet. Dinah extricated herself from his grip as soon as she was up. Delilah reached for her mother’s hand, but suddenly Dinah’s arms were around her, whispering something in her daughter’s ear before kissing her cheek and rushing to leave in front of her husband. Jesse held the door open for the two McGavins with as close to a look of bashfulness on his face as Kane had ever seen.

  Rainbow finally stood with a sigh, pulling Delilah into a far more natural embrace. “Your father’s a pretentious asshole, honey. He always has been, you know that.

  Plus, he’s never taken not getting his way very well. But one thing no one has ever been able to argue is how much he loves you. Why do you think he blew his top like this? Mr. Dignified only ever loses his temper when it comes to you. His idea of showing how he feels just happens to be making all your decisions and deciding all your emotions.” She pressed a hard kiss to Delilah’s forehead. “The best thing he ever gave you was a will of solid steel, even if it took this long for you to find it. You’ll find your way on your own now, I guarantee it.”

  Pulling away from Delilah, Rainbow’s surprisingly sharp gaze fixed on Kane. She reached for a handshake and oddly enough, he gave it to her. Her grip was strong and firm. “It takes a brave man to stand up to my son-in-law. But it takes a good one to say what you said. Never stop being either one of those things, Kane. No matter what happens. It’s why she loves you.”

  His eyes widened but Rainbow was apparently ready to move on. She stepped back, looking to Craig, then over to Jesse. “Well, boys, there’s a frail old woman over here needing an escort to the elevator. Hop to.”

  Craig shook his head and stepped forward, bringing him right next to Kane. They stared at each other, for the first time in twenty years, awkwardness setting them apart.

  The knot in his gut that Kane had thought gone returned two-fold and ten times as sharp. How could he explain any of this? Craig was his best, most loyal friend and he’d returned that loyalty with betrayal of the worst kind. Worse, he couldn’t bring himself to regret a second of loving Delilah. Being with her, even for just a day, had filed the emptiness in him the way nothing else ever had. Talking to her, holding her, just knowing she was with him… A man didn’t find that kind of satisfaction often. If ever.

  It was painful honesty to know that, even for Craig, he couldn’t give her up.

  Taking a page from Rainbow, he thrust out his hand. His jaw was tight, his teeth clenched so hard they ached, but he met Craig’s gaze and hoped his friend would understand. Prayed.

  Craig didn’t look away, his own face shadowed with a haggard sadness…but not anger. It wasn’t enough for Kane to let go of the breath trapped in his lungs, but he did stretch out his hand to shake.

  The corner of Craig’s mouth curled and he rolled his eyes before reaching for Kane’s nape and pulling him into a rough embrace. “Asshole,” Craig grumbled.

  Maybe it wasn’t manly, but Kane held him tight anyway. “Never meant to hurt you, man.”

  “I know,” Craig replied, letting go with a cough. “It’ll be okay.”

  No. It’s okay. No. Don’t worry about it. But Kane realized he could believe this far more than anything else Craig might have said.

  “Delilah will explain. But I understand, man. Just the way it goes, sometimes. At least with you I’ll know she’s happy.” Craig popped him in the shoulder almost hard enough to hurt before turning to Rainbow and offering his arm. A clear escape, Kane knew, but he didn’t blame his friend. Not at all.

  Never one to miss a beat, Rainbow beamed up at him and looped her arm over his. “I never realized quite how tall you were, Craig. Big strong guy like you can really give a woman ideas.”

  Craig coughed out a laugh and led her to the door where Jesse waited. Just before they all left the room, Delilah called out to Jesse, who waited with his dark brows raised.

  “Don’t think for a minute I won’t be getting even for this,” his almost-wife warned sweetly.

  “For what?” Jesse tried one of his patented
innocent grins.

  “Just keep in mind that my father is one of the best military strategists of his time. I know how to set up an attack you’ll never see coming.” She wiggled her fingers at him with evil delight.

  For just a second, Jesse paled. He looked to Kane. “You sure you want to stay?”

  Kane looked at Delilah and all the longing, all the need, he’d ever felt for her threatened to swamp him. She looked back, her eyes clear and happy. They probably wouldn’t stay like that. Once everyone was gone, once it was just the two of them, she would probably feel the indecision creeping up on her again, like it had all day.

  Most of the time he’d known her, actually. If she could ever manage to trust in herself, she might learn to trust in him. Trust in them.

  The odds of that happening today weren’t so good. Soon enough, she would wonder if she should have left with her parents. With Craig. She was only staying until they figured out what to do with the dubious legality of their certificate. Until that was settled, the choice of their future was in his hands. It would kill him, but he knew if she changed her mind about staying, he wouldn’t stop her. He’d have to let her go, like he did everyone else in his life.

  Just the thought of it made him ill.

  And yet, he nodded his head at his friend, holding his breath until Jesse stopped staring at him with those back eyes, seeing too much and saying nothing, just like always. For a man who made his living singing, he communicated best with silence. He knew good and well that things weren’t settled, but he was smart enough to accept Kane’s choice and go. The door snicked shut, leaving them alone with too much to say and no way for him to choke the words out.

  No, that wasn’t true.

  The truth was, he didn’t have any words left.

  “I have to take care of something upstairs for a few minutes,” he muttered, heading for the steps before she said something he’d regret.

  Unfortunately, his thoughts weren’t any better alone in the bedroom. Since they’d had a Do Not Disturb on the door to the suite, housekeeping hadn’t come in to make the bed. The sheet and the duvet were still in disarray, thrown haphazardly over the bottom end. Seemed a good enough place to sit and depress the shit out of himself.

  Before he dropped, groaning with weariness he hadn’t felt even ten minutes before, he reached into his back pocket to pull out the envelope with the license.

  Keeping his movements slow and careful, he looked down at the parchment paper. So strange to think he could hold a dream in his hands. Could touch it and cherish it.

  But that was his mistake.

  Because this wasn’t the dream.

  It was a trap.

  Not for him, but for her. She’d honor the commitment to him because he was asking it of her. If he signed this, all but telling her his choice was more important than hers, he’d be no different than anyone else who thought they had the right to choose anything for her. He couldn’t bear to be that. Many other things—stubborn, determined, probably too quiet and definitely too rough —but never that.

  What sealed his determination was the plain fact that when Delilah came to him, he wanted her to be sure that she loved him. That she wanted him.

  Anything less just wasn’t good enough.

  Before he could talk himself out of it—and because he knew he could never do it with her watching—he gave the paper a fast, near silent rip. Turning the pieces, he ripped them again. It felt like he’d tore out his heart, but it had to be done. Now he just had to figure out how to tell Delilah.

  “Kane?”

  He looked up, shoving the pieces under the pile of blankets behind him like the evidence of a crime instead of the useless piece of paper that it was.

  She stood there in the doorway, her fingers twisting the end of her sweater. She watched him, concern etching a line between her brows and pulling down the corners of her mouth. “Are you okay?”

  He nodded, but he couldn’t help looking away. Lying really wasn’t his best skill.

  She must not have believed him because she walked into the bedroom, already rambling. “I’m so sorry about my Dad. The things he said to you…” She plopped down next to him, her soft warmth pressed against his side as she fit her elbows to her knees and cupped her face between her hands. “I’m not making excuses for him, but when he hits critical mass like that, it’s never good. He’s a blusterer, especially when he’s worried about something personal. Give him a rogue missile and he’s a rock. Show him a baby with a fever and he falls to pieces. I’m not really sure why, but it’s the way he is.”

  “Probably depends on whose baby it is,” Kane managed to push through his straining vocal cords.

  “Probably.” She smiled at him. “Anyway, I’m sorry about what he said. Sorry you had to deal with him when he was like this.”

  “You don’t have to apologize for him.” Especially since her father had hurled most of his outrage at her.

  “I know, but someone should.”

  “Then it shouldn’t be you.” He knew his voice had dropped to a rough tone he didn’t often use around her, but he couldn’t change it. “Your father is a grown man, let him make up for his own mistakes.”

  “What about my mistakes?”

  Like their wedding? No, even if she was right, he couldn’t bear to hear her say so. Without thinking about it, he reached for her, grasping her nape and her shoulder, pulling her into him. He claimed her mouth, opening her to his kiss and wordlessly demanded from more her. Just one more time, he needed what only she could give to him.

  Hands in her hair now, Kane angled her head so he could delve deep into her kiss. Her nails slid against his own scalp, her hunger as ravenous as his. Gasoline on a raging fire, as far as Kane was concerned. The future was uncertain and daunting, but this moment, this, the magic he felt between them, was something he understood wholeheartedly. No guilt. No confusion. Only need. Desire. Love.

  He could love her. Once more, he could love her.

  Then he’d have to let her go.

  Chapter Eleven

  Her body had melted into his the moment their mouths met. When he pulled her close, she came to him without a trace of trepidation. She simply gave of herself and he, selfish bastard that he was, took.

  His hunger ravenous, he ran his hands over her, tugging urgently on the button of her jeans even as he pushed her on her back. Her hands tangled with his to get it undone, shoving at the denim until it slid over her hips. Unable to wait, he rolled her unto her belly, licking and sucking over the slope of her spine while his hands shucked the jeans from her hips all the way down to her knees. It was only when the silk grazed his lips that he was able to stop.

  She wore the thong.

  On his knees now, Kane stopped to stare at the sight in front of him. Delilah knelt on top of the stark white sheet, facing away from him, pulling her shirt off and revealing the pink satin bra clinging to her tanned skin like a tenacious lover. That taut, round ass of hers swayed with her struggle to stay upright while undressing.

  He would have appreciated that view on its own, would have savored it even, if his mind wasn’t now set on keeping her bent exactly like this, but with her thighs spread so he could have complete access to every fold and valley of her pussy. He wanted her right there, bathed in sunlight, open while he licked and stroked and sucked the pale pink flesh until she came, screaming his name. Again.

  She’d surprised him by wearing the underwear he’d requested. all day long, she’d been wrapped in satin. Like a present. A wedding present. For him.

  His cock throbbed at the thought.

  Which was kind of funny, considering he didn’t think he could complete a thought with the uptilted globes of her ass waving in front of his face, her sex cupped lovingly by silk growing wetter before his eyes. For him.

  Abandoning the jeans on her ankles, he reached with both hands to run his thumbs over the firm swells, parting her cheeks to see the thin string travel over her most secret spaces all the way up to
the triangle right at the lowest part of her spine. His thumbs caressed, earning a moan from her and her hips curved up at him again.

  Oh yes, he was going to have to taste absolutely every inch of her now. Mercilessly.

  Her small shriek at the first touch of his tongue to the bottom curve of her ass had him smiling. He got a much bigger one when he added his teeth. In a bizarre dance of escape combined with desperation to get him to bite her harder, Delilah pushed against his mouth and somehow managed to wriggle her face into the mattress to muffle her own sounds. Not liking that at all, Kane switched to the other side, sucking hard enough to make her buck back up. Ragged breaths and little sighs created a symphony just for him as he nipped and tasted, savoring the taste of her skin, the quiver of her thighs, the musky scent of her arousal.

  He slipped his fingers beneath the edge of her thong, stroking the slick folds slowly. Petal soft, the wet heat was too much temptation and he slid his finger along the edges of her opening. A sweeping touch had her writhing and whimpering his name. Unable to refuse her, he pressed his open mouth over the silk, using just his lips to find the hard pebble of her clit. Her entire body shuddered at that.

  Good.

  He sank his middle finger into her, stirring her moisture against the walls clamping around him. Desperate for a taste now, he sucked at her through the panties, pulling hard, then letting the little nub go, over and over again while she wriggled in front of him. Another finger joined the first, pumping into her hot folds and pushing her further toward frustration.

  “Kane, God, please.”

  How was he supposed to say no to that? Yanking her pants off her ankles, he pushed her knees wide and fit himself completely between them. One last stroke of his fingers inside her and he pulled them out to drag the panties over to the side. Then he was free to drink her down.

  No sooner did he start sucking her clit than she came, shaking and gasping, flooding his mouth with sweetness. Long, lapping licks kept her at a state of near delirium, right where he loved her. Following the rich, heady droplets, he stroked her opening as he had before, only this time with his tongue. Every swipe delved deeper, until he was licking deep within and she was grasping the back of his head, almost back to another peak.