Hide and Seek

by Desiree Holt

  Dragging his hands away from her face, he slid them beneath the flimsy long-sleeved T-shirt she wore and eased them up to cup her breasts. He squeezed the warm mounds that nestled in his palms. When he brushed his thumbs against her nipples, already stiffened peaks, she gasped, the movement sucking his tongue even deeper into her mouth. She pressed herself into his touch, a soft, sexy moan rumbling up from her throat.

  Devon wriggled against him, tugging his T-shirt up so she could reach his bare skin and run her hands up and down his back. She eased her hands around to his chest, gliding them over the curls of chest hair and scraping her fingers over his nipples. Electricity shot straight to his groin and made him bite down on her tongue, drawing another gasp from her.

  He broke the kiss at last, desperate to see her naked. He wanted to yank the T-shirt over her head, but he cursed himself for going at her like a starving idiot. With as much care as possible he eased the shirt over her head and tossed the garment to the side. He stared—just stared—at the perfection of her, the creamy skin and the plump breasts with nipples now a dark rose. He skated his hands over every visible inch, finally giving in to the temptation to dip his head and pull one distended nipple into his mouth and suck on it, hard.

  The groan that bubbled from Devon’s throat was surely one of the most erotic sounds he’d ever heard and only served to increase his rising need.

  Slow. Go slow. Don’t rush things.

  Knowing this might be his one and only chance with her, that when reality returned she might even pretend it never happened, he was determined to make every second a memorable one, for both of them.

  Devon was doing her own exploring, yanking on his T-shirt to signal him to get rid of it, then outlining every inch of his back and chest with her slender fingers. When she brushed the tips of her fingers over his flat nipples, he had to grit his teeth not to moan aloud or beg her to do more. This was for her, he told himself. Just for her.

  Liar!

  When he’d given the other nipple an equal amount of attention, he adjusted her position and leaned her back against the cushions. His conscience tried to tell him he should give her one last chance to change her mind, but he’d shoved that conscience into a dark hole the moment his mouth touched hers.

  Only once before in his life had a woman had him as rattled with desire as Devon Cole. Or shaken his emotions so instantly. He’d never expected it to happen again and the fact that it did shocked him. Maybe this time…

  Maybe this time.

  His fingers were clumsy as he tugged the flimsy sleep pants down over the nicely rounded cheeks of her ass, her strong thighs, and the rest of her slender legs, before flinging them impatiently out of his way. His gaze locked on the tiny triangle of purple that barely covered her mound. Reaching down, he traced her slit through the fabric with the tip of his finger.

  Devon moaned and opened her thighs more.

  “Okay. We’re not doing this on a couch like a couple of horny teenagers.”

  He swept her up in his arms and strode toward the bedrooms, then paused in the hallway as if uncertain which room to enter. Then, being the selfish bastard that he was, he decided on his, where her scent would linger on his sheets. At least he’d have that much of her.

  He placed her gently on the bed, sucking in his breath when she opened her thighs wide again in obvious invitation. In seconds he was there, kneeling between her legs.

  “That’s it.” He barely recognized his voice it was so thick with hunger and need. “Like that. Let me touch you. Feel you. Taste you.”

  He was stunned to see his hand shake as he reached out to touch her. He stroked her slit through the fabric, feeling the tiny purple scrap wet with her juices. Needing to see every inch of her flesh, he grasped the lace-edged top and tugged it down her body, then tossed it to the floor. Easing her around so her legs hung over the edge of the bed, he knelt between her thighs, draped those same legs over his shoulders, and opened her labia with his thumbs.

  Holy shit!

  What little control he hung on to was rapidly eroding. Her pussy was gorgeous, pretty and pink and glistening with her juices. Her clit had darkened and just begged for his touch. He used his tongue to follow the same place his fingers had, licking her from top to bottom, then swirling his tongue around her hard nub. She gasped and arched up to him, her thighs squeezing his head as she tried to close them.

  But he was relentless. Holding her open while he lapped and licked and sucked and finally thrust his tongue inside her hot, waiting flesh. Her inner muscles clutched at him as he stroked his tongue in and out, the fingers of one hand toying with her clit, squeezing and tugging and pinching.

  “Oh!” she cried, thrusting herself at him again. “Oh, oh, oh.”

  Her little cries only drove his need higher as he worked her with his mouth and hands. Then, with an arch of her body, her heels digging into his back, she came with an explosive force, pouring into his mouth, hips jerking, muscles tightening, her inner walls grabbing his tongue over and over again.

  Finally the cries faded, the shudders eased, and she lay there, panting, eyes open looking at him and glazed with sensual heat. She did that little swipe across her lip with her tongue, nearly sending him into orbit, and her lips curved in a tiny smile. Without saying a word, he rose to his feet, stripped off his jeans and boxer briefs, grabbed the ever-ready condom from his wallet, and rolled it on, his hands less than steady.

  Devon pushed herself upright and turned to arrange herself on the bed for him but he shook his head. He simply turned her over and pulled her to her knees. He waited for her to object, but the only sound he heard was the increased tempo of her breathing.

  He took one long look at her body and gave in to temptation. Lowering his head, he placed kisses on both cheeks of her ass. She trembled at his touch, a delicious little shiver, so he did it again. Then, unable to hold back any longer, he spread her labia with his thumbs and slowly eased his cock inside her.

  Holy fucking shit!

  He had to clench his jaw to control himself. She was so hot and wet and tight it stole his breath. He took a moment to get himself under control. He wanted to give her more pleasure before he took his own satisfaction.

  “Okay?” he murmured, bending over her and licking the edge of her ear.

  She nodded.

  Her inner walls were already clenching around him, straining at his self-control.

  He moved slowly, wanting to make sure he didn’t rush her. That she was again completely ready for him. But oh, hell, that hot wet sheath just burned him with its heat. In and out, back and forth, he set up a steady rhythm, increasing the pace in small increments. Feeling his body racing to the finish line, he reached around her to find her clit. Pinching it between finger and thumb he tugged and rubbed, working her harder and harder as he stroked into her with increasing speed and force.

  He thought he’d have a heart attack before he was certain she was ready again but then, there she was, right with him, exploding around him, her hot inner muscles clutching him and milking him. They spasmed together, again and again, bodies shaking with such force he wasn’t even sure they’d survive the storm.

  And then, at last, the shudders eased and slowed, his heartbeat dropped down to something below heart attack level, and he could pull a decent breath into his lungs. When he was sure Devon was okay, he eased from her body, turned her, and stretched her out on the bed.

  “I’ll be right back.” His voice was so hoarse he almost didn’t recognize it. Damn! Had he ever had sex that cataclysmic in his life? He had a sinking feeling Devon Cole was about to become a drug he was addicted to. Could he really chance it again? What if he failed yet another woman?

  He disposed of the condom and hurried back to the bed. She was lying exactly as he’d left her. He eased his body in next to her and pulled her up against him.

  He tucked her head beneat
h his chin and molded her body to his, his now soft cock nestled in the crevice of her ass.

  “Logan?” Her voice was so soft he almost didn’t hear it. He hated that it was filled with uncertainty. What had he done here?

  “It’s okay, Devon. I think we both needed something.”

  I certainly needed it, and a lot more. I am in such a pile of shit here.

  “I don’t want you to think—”

  He touched two fingers to her lips. “It’s okay. It was good, Devon. Very good. Let’s hold on to that.”

  Now what, asshole?

  For the first time in years he really wanted something. Every emotion he’d buried so deep all these years came screeching to the forefront. He’d made a promise to himself never to do this again. To keep his emotion locked away. He’d been a Force Recon Marine, for God’s sake, who locked himself up tighter than a drum. He was protecting himself as much as anything else.

  But the door had been opened and he wasn’t sure if every bit of self-control he had, every bit of discipline, could slam it shut. Because one thing he knew for sure. As hard as it would be to keep his hands to himself from here on out, it would be a fucking damn sight harder to walk away from this woman. Fate was giving him another chance and this time he’d get it right. Avery would probably cut off his balls, but he’d figure out how to deal with it.

  He kissed her temple. “Let’s take a short nap before we hit the decks today.”

  “Logan?”

  Damn. That shaky little voice was killing him.

  “Uh-huh?”

  “This, um, wasn’t a, you know—” She seemed to be struggling with the words. “It wasn’t a, you know, pity fuck, was it?”

  Every muscle in his body tensed as shock raced through him. What the hell?

  “Devon, listen to me. Whatever I feel for you…felt for you… Pity doesn’t have a damn thing to do with it. Keeping my hands to myself after this is going to be damn fucking hard.”

  A soft little breath eased from her and her body relaxed.

  “Good. Because I think it’s the best I’ve ever had.”

  He was still replaying those words in his brain when he felt her body relax as she dropped into sleep.

  Well, buddy boy, he told himself. You’ve gone and done it now. Thank God she hadn’t told him it was all a mistake. What the hell was he planning to do about it? How did he plan to keep his hands to himself after this?

  But hard as he thought, even as he drifted off to sleep, no answer presented itself.

  Chapter 7

  They were drinking coffee and eating the breakfast Logan had whipped up for them. Devon was unendingly grateful that he loved to cook, and did it well, because it wasn’t one of her better skills. Simple foods and lots of takeout was her motto. But this morning he fixed omelets, bacon, and toast, all perfectly prepared.

  “If anyone had told me I’d have a bodyguard who doubled as a premier chef, I’d have told them they were lying,” she teased, swallowing the last bite of omelet.

  He winked. “Just one of my many talents.”

  She certainly knew what some of the others were. She still felt the most incredible glow from their lovemaking. She only wished she knew what was going on in his mind. For her, making love with him had been epic. Cataclysmic, even. What was it for him? That look she’d seen in his eyes in unguarded moments…What was that all about? And the way he held her and kissed her afterward. There was more here than just sex. Or was it the artificial situation they were in that made everything seem larger than life?

  She was glad he’d been already up and out of the bedroom when she awoke. She’d had no idea how she’d face him or how to act with him, sure he thought she was excessively needy. God! The way she’d fallen into bed with him, parking all her inhibitions at the door. She’d never been that way with any of her other lovers, few as they’d been. Of course, she thought, as she bit off a piece of the thick sandwich, maybe that was why none of them lasted. And why she hadn’t cared.

  Except for the last one. That had nearly been a train wreck and she still wasn’t sure who was to blame. She just knew she’d made a vow to stay away from men for a good long while. Yet here she was, so intimate with Logan it made her tremble.

  She could still feel Logan’s mouth on her body, his lips and teeth on her clit and on her nipples, his very educated tongue as it drove her up and over into the maelstrom of a powerful release. His thick shaft filling her, taking her in a way that sent every one of her nerve endings into overdrive. The memory of it sent a hot flush through her body and she shivered.

  She didn’t know all that much about it, but she was pretty sure most bodyguards didn’t become intimate with their charges. There was something deep here. She’d never believed all those stories about people meeting and their chemistry was hot enough to light up the sky. Not until Logan walked into her life. So now what? What did he expect? What did this mean to him?

  Drive yourself crazy much, Devon?

  “Devon?” Logan’s voice cut into her reverie. “You okay there?”

  She looked up, afraid she was blushing. From the look in his eyes she was sure he knew exactly what she was thinking.

  Crap!

  She gave herself a mental shake. “More than.”

  She picked up her tablet that she’d brought into the kitchen with her, thinking to distract herself. She wanted to check her e-mail while they ate, but first she wanted a look at The Bay Bulletin, Arrowhead Bay’s daily online newspaper. Every Wednesday a print edition came out for those still addicted to paper, but for a newspaper on a shoestring budget this worked very well. She looked at the front page and groaned.

  “Damn. I could have figured this.”

  Logan put down his mug. “What’s the problem?”

  “I’m front-page news in Arrowhead Bay.” She handed the tablet over to him. “I guess I’m a local celebrity.”

  “Local woman accosted on highway,” he read. “You could have figured that. Not much else going on around here.”

  “No kidding. Marybeth Hughes who runs the paper scrapes up every last detail of anything she gets a smell of. And this is big time for her. I’ll bet she was a big gossip in school.”

  When Logan finished reading, he looked over at her. “They’ve got a big article on your dad’s disappearance and the boat fire, too. This might make people more alert as far as strangers around here are concerned.”

  Devon lifted an eyebrow. “You’re kidding, right? Snowbird season will be starting soon. Strangers will be swarming everywhere, all the time.”

  “One good thing.” He tapped his finger on the screen. “There’s a description of our two friends from the highway based on what you told Sheri. If the jerks happen to see that, maybe they’ll change their minds about hanging around. They won’t want to chance being recognized.”

  Logan finished his coffee and handed the tablet back to her. “Enough. Put this away until later. I think we should head down to the marina. I want to see what’s going on today and look around. And I also think we should check out Lady Hannah. We couldn’t take a look at her yesterday, as crazy as things were. I’ll call Avery on the way and see if our agent she planted there picked anything up.”

  “Okay.” She swallowed. “I’m almost afraid to see what we find out.”

  “Whatever it is,” he said, “it’s better than not knowing anything.”

  “Okay. You’re right.”

  “Listen.” He leaned forward. “I don’t want you to—”

  “Stop.” She said the word louder than she intended. She didn’t want to hear his apology or his explanation of the rules regarding bodyguards, if that was what he was getting ready to say. So she’d misread him. Big surprise. “It’s okay. You don’t have to say a word. We can just forget the whole thing, okay?”

  She popped the last bite of toast into her mouth, c
oncentrating on it as if it were the most important thing in her life. She waited for him to say something. Anything. But he just sat there, silent, drinking his coffee, watching her. Finally he set his mug down.

  “No. We’re not forgetting anything.” His mysterious eyes studied her. “First, I need you to know that I never do this. Ever. I have a code where clients are concerned.” He delivered the words with a hard edge.

  Devon didn’t think that was news. She was pretty damn sure Logan Malik didn’t make a habit of this, yet here they were. She wanted to think this was special, that he hadn’t just felt sorry for her because of her unfortunate circumstances. That look in his eyes, the way he touched her…

  No, she could be practical about it and let him off the hook, if that was what he wanted. She just wished…

  “Of course. I understand.” She wet her lips. “So it’s forgotten. Okay?” She’d figure out how to make herself forget it.

  “You’re misreading me, Devon. I don’t want to forget it.” He focused on her, his eyes boring into her. “And correct me if I’m wrong, but I don’t think you do, either. Right?”

  Devon looked across the table at him. That same pain she’d seen for a fleeting moment was back in his eyes, but there was something else with it, too. Something she couldn’t define.

  “No.” She said the word in a quiet voice.

  “So please don’t jump to conclusions.” And there was that look again, pain blunted by intense desire and hunger. “I want—” He stopped. “I think—” Another pause. “Later we’re going to have some wine and talk.”

  “You don’t have to make excuses to me,” she insisted. “It’s all right.”

  “No, it isn’t, and no excuses. When I say we’re going to talk, I mean it. And then we’ll see where this takes us. There are things I need to tell you.” He blew out a breath. “But later. Just understand there’s no forgetting. At all.”