Forbidden Secrets

by Morgan Kelley

  Were they supposed to play a rousing game of Candy Land?

  He was so out of his element and off his game that it wasn’t funny. When he’d come out after giving Ivy her bath and tucking her in, she was sitting on the couch with the television on as if it was a normal thing.

  Beside her sat some popcorn.

  She’d gone through his cupboards and found some to make. It had heated his blood to think that she was making herself comfortable—almost at home—at his place.

  They watched a movie, made out, had sex, and then went to bed.

  It all seemed so…normal.

  It was hard to believe she was an heiress.

  Really, she was just too normal. In his space, there were no maids, housekeepers, or staff. It was nice.

  Okay, maybe a housekeeper would have been nice. He could use someone to help keep up with the mess.

  Still, as they sat on the couch, cuddled together, Lennox didn’t seem to care that the blanket they used had a pony on it. While it seemed absurd to him, she rolled with it.

  It confused him.

  It made him stumble.

  It made him…

  He began wondering if this woman was the right one to be with in the moment. She fit.

  How?

  He didn’t have a clue.

  Hell!

  He’d been a detective. His big job in life was to figure things out.

  Crimes.

  Murders.

  Gruesome massacres.

  Now he was tripped up over the woman lying next to him.

  What if he was overanalyzing it?

  What if it wasn’t that hard?

  Maybe the obvious was the way to go.

  Lennox wanted an ordinary life, and he wanted an ordinary woman. He wanted her.

  While he wasn’t sure if he was falling in love, he absolutely was in lust with her. There were only a few little parts of his heart left that he was holding back.

  Why?

  One reason.

  Ivy.

  She had to have some say in this. She had to be part of the grand scheme, because she needed her father.

  Hell!

  She needed a mother.

  It wasn’t as if he wanted to be with Lennox to find Ivy a mom, but the thought that they could be a family didn’t exactly horrify him.

  In fact, the complete opposite was true.

  It gave Hart a warm and fuzzy feeling.

  When Ivy spilled macaroni and cheese on Lennox’s pricy clothes, she didn’t get upset. She cleaned herself off and let it go.

  He’d wanted to freak out.

  She simply helped Ivy hold the fork the right way.

  That was precious to him.

  She was patient and kind, even if she never wanted to have kids. Maybe, there was hope in what he was seeing unfold before him.

  Hart had to pray there was.

  He was taking a risk by letting Lennox near his child. He was already attached, but if Ivy became attached, and she opted to walk away, then they’d both hurt.

  While he was willing to die inside, Ivy…she’d suffered enough. The poor girl was motherless and being raised by a hardened cop who didn’t have a clue.

  She was going to need therapy.

  Hart hoped he could afford it.

  When Lennox moved beside him, sliding back into his body, he realized something.

  She was wearing his shirt.

  He was pretty sure she’d been naked when they’d fallen asleep. Leaning up on his elbow, he looked over her body when the bed kept moving but she didn’t.

  That’s when he saw her.

  Ivy.

  She usually crawled into bed with Hart to cuddle, and apparently, she’d done it again while they slept. Only, he didn’t end up holding his child. She was cuddled up to the front of Lennox.

  Her head on her arm.

  Her face was tucked into Lennox’s chest.

  Ivy was sucking on her thumb as Lennox protectively held her.

  His heart skipped.

  He’d never seen anything more beautiful in his life. That moment changed everything.

  When Ivy began wiggling, Lennox ran her hand up and down her back, soothing her. It was automatic.

  It was very motherly.

  The woman he’d let into his home wasn’t only trying to play nice with Ivy, she was genuinely being nice to her. It was as if Ivy mattered to her.

  Wasn’t that what he always wanted?

  Since that helpless little baby arrived on his doorstep, he’d only wanted her to have the easiest life possible to make up for the hardest beginning.

  He now saw the truth.

  Hart wasn’t enough.

  He never would be.

  Ivy needed more, and before him, sleeping in his bed was the answer. It was Lennox Easton.

  It brought tears to his eyes.

  He’d been wrong. Hart had really screwed up. He wasn’t almost in love.

  He was in love all the way.

  Now he need to figure out a way to get Lennox to stay. He needed to find a way to tell her what his heart already knew.

  She was meant to be his.

  More importantly, she was meant to be Ivy’s too.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Saturday Morning

  When Hart woke up, he was alone in bed. It startled him, simply because he recalled waking up beside the two women in his life.

  Yes, he was going to make Lennox his.

  He’d already decided yesterday, but to see her cuddling his daughter…it had been the final push he needed to make it happen.

  Hart knew it wasn’t going to be easy.

  One way or another, he was going to find a way to keep her in their lives. He could feel that need growing in him, and the only way to satiate it was with her.

  She completed him.

  Fate was funny.

  Just a few days ago, he wanted to avoid her like the plague. Now he was pretty sure he couldn’t be happy without her. She was the best thing, next to his child, that he’d ever come across in his life. Like Ivy, she popped into his life and it changed.

  Forever.

  Pulling on his jeans, he opted not to shower. He could smell Lennox’s scent on his body, and he loved it. Hart wanted to breathe in her perfume all day long. It reminded him of their evening together.

  It would fuel his fantasies until they could roll around again—which if he had anything to say about it—it would be soon.

  Heading toward his kitchen, he could hear Lennox and Ivy in there. Quietly, he crept up, wanting to see what they were doing.

  What he saw turned him right on.

  Lennox had made Ivy breakfast. In fact, she was eating with her. It was amusing since it was some fun colored cereal out of a box. As she helped her eat it, Lennox was talking to her about colors.

  It was beautiful.

  In all his life, he’d never seen anything more amazing.

  Lennox was barefoot, wearing only his shirt, and a pair of panties. He could see the pink peeking out as she leaned onto the island in the kitchen.

  He almost wanted to take her right there. Had Ivy still been asleep, he would have.

  “What’s your favorite one?” Lennox asked.

  “Red.”

  “Is this red?” she asked, sliding over the blue one.

  “No,” Ivy said laughing. “That’s blue.”

  “I thought this one was blue,” Lennox offered, sliding a yellow loop toward her.

  “No, that’s yellow.”

  “You’re too smart, Ivy. I guess I need to learn my colors to keep up with you.”

  The little girl laughed. “You pretty.”

  Lennox smiled. “No. You’re pretty.”

  “No. You’re pretty.”

  That made her laugh.

  “Well, thank you. I’ll take that as a compliment since it’s coming from a cutie like you.”

  Ivy munched on some cereal.

  “What’s wrong? You look upset,” Lennox said, having so
me loops.

  “You my mommy?”

  Her heart skipped.

  Jesus!

  This little girl tied her up in knots. “No, baby, I’m not your mommy, but I’ll be your friend. We can paint together.”

  Ivy looked sad.

  Immediately, Lennox picked her up and the little girl cuddled her.

  What wouldn’t she give to be part of this?

  Lennox would sell everything she had and move here. She’d live in the small apartment to feel this much love. She always knew that money meant nothing, but now…here was her proof.

  She was smitten with this little girl.

  While Everhart was the core, she still wanted to be part of Ivy’s life. She had so many things she could teach her.

  And Ivy could return the favor.

  “We should get you dressed. Daddy is getting up soon. I’ll make sure he brings you to see my paintings, and you and I will color the whole room any color you want.”

  “Promise?”

  She wanted to weep.

  “Yes, Ivy, I promise.”

  Hart had heard it all, and it turned him upside down. When Ivy asked her if she was her mommy, he wanted to both cry and laugh. He wished she was her mother too.

  What wouldn’t he give for that?

  He wasn’t enough for Ivy.

  He wasn’t even close and here was the proof. Ivy needed someone to be gentle, sweet, and take the time to tease her about her colors.

  He was rough around the edges, sometimes impatient, and always clueless. The little girl needed more than he could give her. Yes, he loved Ivy more than his next breath, and he was a smart man.

  There were things he couldn’t give her. What he had just watched was one of them. Ivy needed a woman in her life. Ponies and castles only went so far.

  She needed Lennox too.

  They both did.

  Now Hart had to figure out what he could do about it.

  He wanted to be honest and just tell her. Only he wasn’t sure she’d feel the same thing.

  Yes, she’d cuddled Ivy and made her breakfast, but that didn’t mean she wanted the role of mother.

  In fact, could he blame her?

  She’d tied her tubes to avoid it.

  Hart was torn.

  As he watched Lennox help Ivy get dressed in the living room, he knew he wanted this more than anything in his life. He’d searched, sought, and fought to find love, and in the end, it found him.

  It was amazing.

  Here was his soul mate, and she’d found him.

  When the woman began brushing his daughter’s hair, he was totally gone.

  Head over heels.

  There was something so beautiful with that picture. It drove him wild with need. Hart’s body came awake, needing that touch of the only person he would ever find solace in—that woman. When the storm was brutal, he knew Lennox would be the one who calmed it.

  She already was.

  As the familiar cartoon came on, Hart knew Ivy was going to be lost in the characters for the next thirty minutes.

  He knew he needed to act fast.

  As Lennox headed his way, he hid out of sight. As soon as she entered the room, he reached out, grabbed her hand, and pulled her into his arms.

  She gasped just as his mouth found hers.

  Then she melted into the wild, erotic kiss.

  Hart couldn’t breathe as the woman he loved was trapped against his body.

  What he wanted was to have this woman as his. So, until he could get her to stay, he’d try to convince her the only way he knew how.

  With heat.

  With sex.

  With love.

  Turning, he pressed her to the wall, his body rock hard and ready for her. She must have known because he could feel her pulse quicken beneath his fingers.

  With his free hand, he slid it beneath her shirt and into her panties.

  She was wet.

  Lennox coated his fingers, and he knew he wasn’t the only one who wanted what he was offering. This was going to be hot.

  “Right here. Right now,” he muttered, pulling his mouth away from hers to leave bites across her throat.

  He didn’t hesitate to grind his body against hers to prove how much he needed her.

  “Everhart,” she whispered, as he drove her insane. She couldn’t focus, let alone thing straight.

  “I have to have you again. Last night wasn’t enough,” he admitted, as he found her mouth again. “It’ll never be enough, Lennox. I need you.”

  Her heart skipped in her chest at the idea that this man, in all his sweetness, wanted her.

  He wanted Lennox Easton, the mess.

  That made her giddy.

  So much so, that she let her hands roam across his body. He was warm, hard planes of muscle, and she loved it.

  There was something sexy about a strong man against your body to get you heated up.

  Having clandestine sex without getting caught?

  That was even hotter.

  This whole kitchen hookup made her want to rock his world until he couldn’t think straight.

  She had to make him stay.

  When this was all over, Lennox didn’t want this ex-cop to stroll out of her life. He’d brought something to the party that no other man could.

  Love.

  When she stroked him through his jeans, he almost came right there. She wasn’t super gentle, and that proved how much she wanted him.

  Oh, he wanted her too.

  Lennox took a chance. She flicked open his jeans and pulled him free.

  Hart’s heart thundered in his chest.

  “Oh God!” he muttered, as she dropped to her knees before him. When her mouth found him, and he slid into the wet heat, he nearly came again.

  It wasn’t easy.

  Lennox knew exactly how to get him wild.

  Having to watch his dick slide in and out of her mouth…it was a special kind of Hell.

  He never wanted to leave there.

  Damn it all!

  Hart needed this every day.

  He needed her.

  “Harder,” he muttered, wanting that kiss of pain when she bumped him with her teeth. To help her out, his hands slid into the back of her hair, and he guided himself between her lips.

  He now knew what happiness was—not the blowjob but the woman giving it.

  Lennox gave him what he needed.

  Her.

  She could hear his little moans of pleasure, and she found herself getting wetter just listening to his enjoyment.

  Everhart’s legs were shaking. He was fully immersed in the moment. In the process of making him insane, she found a little piece of herself. She loved this moment with him.

  It mattered.

  She could feel it.

  “Lennox,” he hissed as she swallowed him whole. His entire body reacted to the visual. Here she was, on her knees, in his kitchen, and he never wanted her to leave.

  She could have everything he owned if she’d just love him enough to stay.

  “Baby, you have to slow down, or I’m going to,” he began, making sure to lower his voice, “cum.”

  He popped free of her mouth. “Well, we wouldn’t want that to happen…yet,” she whispered.

  Oh, he really could argue that point. He really wanted that to happen, and soon.

  But first…

  Hart wanted something else.

  He pulled her to her feet, turned her around, and bent her over the island in his kitchen. He couldn’t wait any longer. The overwhelming need to bury himself in her was there, and it was driving him to take her.

  It wasn’t the most romantic of places, but he vowed he’d make it up to her later. Tonight, when they were back at her home, he’d take his time, woo her, and then get her to stay.

  “Everhart, hurry!”

  Oh, he could do that.

  Without warning, he tore her panties from her body.

  She gasped.

  Hart didn’t hold back. He kick
ed her legs apart, much like he would have a suspect, and he drove himself into her body as his large hands pinned her at the waist.

  Once inside her, he was at peace. Lennox’s body gripped his, and it nearly did him in.

  Then she moaned.

  It was so loud he had to place his hand over her mouth as he continued driving himself into her. She was wet, hot, slick, and he wanted to bury himself in her body and cum until he had nothing left to give.

  Lennox brought it out in him.

  When he leaned over her, to reach around and stroke her clitoris, he got a whiff of her perfume.

  It made him harder and pushed him closer to the edge.

  Here was this insanely rich woman, bent over his counter, with some ex-cop boning her like a horny teenager.

  It nearly made him laugh.

  How could it not?

  It was simply that crazy. They were an odd couple, and he wouldn’t change it for anything. Blue collar met blue blood, and it was Heaven.

  As he stroked her with his rough fingers, she came.

  Hart had no choice but to pull out, so he didn’t cum with her. As her body quivered against his, Hart wanted to tell her everything that was on his mind.

  He wanted to declare his love.

  He wanted to beg her to stay.

  He wanted her as his wife.

  To him, that was huge. He really never felt the need to get married…until he had Ivy and met her.

  He had to seal the deal.

  Only, they needed a more secluded place because he was going to make love to her for hours afterwards. This was just the tease before the real show began.

  He’d never wanted to bury his dick in another person as much as he wanted Lennox.

  There was something erotic about her that turned his insides to mush and lit every ounce of need in him on fire.

  Hart never wanted off this crazy ride.

  When she’d finally stopped cumming, he turned her around. Her half-open eyes made him wild. She looked so sexy as she was flushed from their wild bout of sex.

  Hart could only think of one thing.

  How he needed to have her his way.

  Lifting her up, his large hands on her hips, he found her even wetter. This was exactly what he wanted.

  Her.

  His counter.

  Her mouth.

  “I have never wanted anyone the way I want you, Lennox,” he whispered, burying his hands in the silky red strands of her hair.