Regret (Shattered Secrets Book 1)

by Bella J.

  “Holy fuck,” he muttered, burying his face in her neck.

  “Harder, Ace. I need you harder, faster.”

  He pulled out, groaning in agony as he slipped out of her heat. “Turn around.” With his hands on her hips he jerked her around, bending her over the table, rubbing his cock down her ass until he reached her entrance.

  Without warning, she reared back and took him inside her. With a grunt he clawed his fingers into the skin of her hips, falling down on her back as pleasure seared the inside of his veins.

  “You’re fucking insane, you know that, woman?”

  “Shut up and fuck me.”

  Matching his every thrust, Scarlet pushed back as he moved forward. The sound of their skin slapping together filled the room, both of them glistening with sweat, arousal pooling between their bodies.

  “Fuck!” He wrapped one arm around her knee and pulled it up, placing it on the table, wanting more access, needing to go deeper. Hunter’s spine was tingling, his cock aching, and his mind spiraling out of control. The pressure was already building deep inside his groin, warning him that he was dangerously close to the edge.

  But Scarlet suddenly jerked up and pushed him back hard, letting him slip out of her. She climbed over the table on her knees and off the other side. There she stood, four feet away from him, with a smug grin on her face.

  Was she fucking suicidal? He was at the point where if he didn’t get that release, he would break something. His body was no longer in control. He was no longer in control.

  “Don’t play games with me, Scarlet.”

  “You want me, Ace? Come get me.”

  “Playing cat and mouse will only get you fucked even harder, Scar.”

  “Is that a promise?”

  “It’s a fucking vow.” Lord help him, but he wanted to claim her, fuck her, collar her, cage her…keep her.

  She sprinted to the living room, and he had no choice but to chase after her. This game she was playing might have been real fucked up if he didn’t love playing it so damn much.

  Just as he was about to reach her, Scarlet sat down on the couch in all her naked glory and palmed her own breasts. Her hands barely covered her large tits. “I bet you’re about to burst at the seams, aren’t you, Ace?”

  “Oh, you have no idea.” He stalked closer, her eyes fully on his bobbing cock standing proud and ready to fuck. When he stopped right between her legs, she sat up straight, staring right at his tattoo.

  “Regret, huh?” She glanced up at him with hooded eyes, and he fisted his hand in her hair.

  He raised a brow. “Torment?” Yeah, he noticed the letters tattooed on her side. The dog tags too. It was hot as fuck.

  “What a fucked up couple we would make, huh, Ace?”

  Her hands came up behind him, and palmed his ass, rubbing down the side of his thighs, sending chills straight through his body. Her touch was soft yet demanding. Rough yet titillating.

  Whether she was strong or he was just distracted by her touch, he didn’t know. But before he knew what happened he was on his back on the couch and she was straddling him.

  “Now it’s my turn to fuck you.”

  Taking him in her hand, she lifted herself and guided him inside her. “Jesus fucking Christ.” He closed his eyes as his head fell deeper into the couch. The sensation was just too much, and he cursed under his breath. He couldn’t remember the last time he allowed a woman to be on top, to fuck him.

  Those beautiful, curvy hips of hers started to move and he was sure he was seeing fucking stars, her body rocking him into a fucking frenzy.

  Gripping her hips, pushing his fingers deep into her flesh, he guided her, wanting more, wanting it faster—harder.

  With her palms flat on his chest, she rode him. Fucked him. Possessed him. Right then nothing mattered but pleasure. The world could have come to an end around them, and they still wouldn’t have been able to stop.

  Her nails clawed into the skin of his chest as she continued her relentless rhythm on top of him. He was so damn close, he could feel the pressure start to build up in his spine, slowly moving down his body, slamming against his balls. But he couldn’t lose it now. It was like the battle of the fucking Titans between the two of them, and he’d be dammed if he lost.

  Jerking up and grabbing her hair in his fist all happened in one swift move. He pulled her to the side by her hair, and they rolled off the couch with him landing on top of her. A breath escaped her lungs as she landed with a thud on the ground, but he ignored it. He just kept on moving, pushing inside her over and over again, thrusting his cock deeper and deeper. Her tits bounced up and down from the force of his pounding, and it was the sexiest thing he had ever seen.

  “Stop,” she whispered, but he was too far gone to hear what she was saying.

  “Stop!” she said louder. “Ace, stop!”

  He stopped, both of them breathing heavily, sweat trickling down the side of his face.

  “What’s wrong?” He sat up a little. But the minute he did, she pushed him to the side and down to the floor while she straddled him again.

  That damn sexy, wicked smile was on her face once again as she stared down at him. “I need to be on top.”

  “What the fuck is wrong with you?” He grabbed a hold of her hips.

  “I control this—us. Not you.”

  He was about to curse, groan, and scream all at the same time when she flexed her hips, turning to the side. And then he cried out, pleasure shooting to every corner of his body. What the fuck did she just do?

  Again she moved her hips to the other side, clenching him tightly inside her, like her pussy was able to tighten its grip around his cock.

  “Fuck!” It felt so damn good it was almost painful.

  “That’s right, Ace. Your pleasure is mine to give, not the other way around. I take my own pleasure. No one gives it to me.” And then she started to really move, hard and fast, riding him with everything she had—taking, no, ripping, her pleasure from him.

  He couldn’t fight anymore. There was no way he’d be able to take back the control.

  When he saw her throw her head back, closing her eyes as she moaned, he let go.

  Adrenaline, ecstasy, pleasure all rolled into one motherfucker of an explosion and crashed against every corner of his body. The way she clenched tighter and tighter, her moans turning into screams of pleasure, only made it so much more intense.

  Everything was lost. His entire body was shaking, and so was hers. His mind went blank while his muscles tensed, and then he came violently, the pleasure rocking him to the core.

  Was it his imagination or did he just have the most intense orgasm of his entire fucking life?

  “Fuck, Ace.” She fell forward, her head on his chest, her warm breath skidding across his skin.

  “Yeah…fuck.”

  He could hardly speak. The thoughts inside his mind didn’t make sense. Was he even thinking anything other than, What the fuck just happened?

  Countless women. He had screwed more women than he could count. But this? Never had he ever experienced something as intense, as soul shatteringly powerful as he had with Scarlet. It was fucking insane.

  After a few minutes of just lying there, listening to each other trying to catch their breath, bodies numb and limp with lingering satisfaction, Scarlet sat up and looked at him.

  “So, what was that number one rule of yours, Ace?”

  Shit.

  Chapter 20

  Something was up. By the way he had paled after she asked that question it was clear she had asked the right thing at the wrong damn time. She still wanted the answer though.

  She slanted her head to the side. “So?”

  Hunter shifted, grabbed her hips, and pulled her off, placing her on the floor next to him. She watched as he got up and grabbed the CK underwear she bought him, pulling it on. It fit perfectly, and she smiled, admiring how good his ass looked in the black underwear.

  He turned to face her, his perfect body
glistening with sweat. “I probably should have told you my rule before we—”

  “Before we fucked each other senseless?”

  “Yeah.” He rubbed the back of his neck, his blond hair one sexy hot mess around his face. Seeing him looking so damn uncomfortable was quite amusing.

  She sat up, not the least bit shy of still being naked. “What’s the rule, Ace?”

  First he glanced to the left, then to the right, and over her head out the window, staring at the ocean.

  What the fuck is up with him?

  “Hunter?”

  “I only have sex with a woman once,” he blurted out, and an uncomfortable silence settled over them.

  “You only screw a woman once?”

  “Yes. Just once. There’s no second time.”

  Well, that sure as hell explained a lot.

  Just looking at the tattoos on his body told her that he had some shitty things he probably had to deal with on a daily basis. And knowing that he only screwed a woman once made her wonder who the girl was who’d fucked him up so badly he was afraid to commit to anything more than that first fuck. Not that she was one to point fingers. God knew she had her fair share of shit to deal with. But now she wondered what was hidden beneath all those layers of muscle and attitude.

  Hunter grabbed a white robe she had bought and tossed it over to her.

  “So let me get this straight.” She caught the robe and pulled it on. “You’ve never screwed the same woman twice?”

  “Not for the last seven years, no.”

  “Why?”

  “That’s none of your business.” He brushed past her.

  “Wow.” She rolled her eyes as she stared after him. “Are you always such a joy to be around after sex?”

  “You must have gotten me on a good day.”

  “Ha-ha, smart-ass. I see what you did there.” She searched the bags from her little shopping spree. “No wonder you only want to screw the same woman once. None of them want to screw you again with that shitty attitude of yours.” And then she found the bottle of Jack she was looking for. “Aha. Knew I had you tucked in somewhere.”

  When she looked over at Hunter, she noticed he was watching her hold the bottle like it was the Holy Grail. She narrowed her eyes. “I can only put so much shitty alcohol in this body, okay? I’m used to the good stuff.”

  He snorted.

  “Hey.” She held up a finger. “None of that. Now make yourself useful and get us some glasses. I’ll wait on the deck.”

  She had wanted to get into the pool on the deck ever since they arrived. Now was her chance to drink some good whiskey while enjoying the perfect view of the ocean.

  “Why don’t you go up to the Jacuzzi?”

  “What? It’s the middle of the damn summer. Plus, I turn into a prawn when I’m put in too hot water.”

  He narrowed his eyes. “You’re weird.”

  “So I’ve been told numerous times.” She opened the sliding door and stepped onto the deck. “Now, if you don’t bring those glasses, I’ll be drinking out of the bottle soon.”

  She placed the bottle on the side of the pool and took off the robe before stepping into the cool water. It was soothing to her body. Hunter sure as hell gave it to her rough and hard, exactly the way she liked it. She was achy all over, but the good kind of ache. The satisfied kind of ache.

  Because of her past, and the fact that she was constantly running for her life, Scarlet hadn’t had a lot of lovers. The few men she did sleep with were nothing more than one-night stands—kind of like the rule Hunter had, only it wasn’t a set rule for her. That was just the way it was. She had no other choice. But one thing was for sure, none of them came close to Hunter.

  He totally pushed the envelope, giving her much more than she bargained for. Just by looking at him she knew he would be a fucking devil in bed, but she didn’t know exactly how bad. Good bad. Awesome bad. Fucking mind blowing bad.

  The moment she slapped him, she’d taken one hell of a chance. Hunter was a control freak, the dominant type. And when she hit him across the face, she knew it could go either way. Lucky for her, it went exactly the way she wanted it to. He embraced it, the pain, the fury, the lust. The way his eyes darkened, the way his cock pulsed in her hand after her palm connected with his face, he relished everything she gave him. After that, the heat between them got ramped up to a scorching level. Just thinking about the bone numbing, spine tingling, stars seeing climax that ripped through her body while he was inside her had her all turned on again.

  “Why are you naked in the pool?”

  She looked up at Hunter towering over her from behind. “I forgot to buy swimwear.”

  “Yet you bought six bags of lingerie and you don’t even wear underwear.”

  “Shut up and pour me some whiskey.”

  He shot her a half smile and poured their drinks. Scarlet stared out over the ocean admiring the view. The sun had set and the moon was casting the most beautiful shimmer over the ripples of the water. Scenes like this could make one easily forget about all the evil in the world, all the pain and turmoil. To watch the waves softly crash on to the sand, and see lovers walk hand in hand on the beach made it seem like everything was right in the world.

  “He probably comes here often.”

  “Who?” Hunter placed her glass next to her.

  “Adam. With a house like this, he’s probably here every damn weekend.”

  There was a rustle behind her and Hunter got into the pool—naked. She shot him a questioning look.

  He shrugged. “Why should you have all the fun?”

  “If I remember correctly, you had a hell of a lot of fun yourself, Batman.”

  “I didn’t hear you moan. Oh yes, you did moan. Fucking loud. I think the neighbors are smoking a cigarette right now.”

  For the first time in years, Scarlet felt her cheeks flush. Dear God, she was blushing. Since when did she fucking blush? Hopefully, he didn’t notice.

  “Oh my God, Scar? Are you blushing?”

  Goddammit.

  She reached for her cheek. “I told you I turn into a prawn when I’m hot.”

  “It’s not hot.”

  “Well, aren’t you Mr. Fucking Observant?”

  Hunter snickered next to her, and she couldn’t help but smile herself. Oh God, were they having a moment? It felt like they were having a moment.

  After emptying his glass, Hunter placed it on the side of the pool. “And the answer to your question is no. Adam doesn’t come here often.”

  “What? Why?”

  “That man has more money and dick than brains. His life is just one big fuck-fest filled with women and bourbon.”

  “Lucky man.”

  “Do you know how many times I’ve had to save his ass from murderous husbands and obsessed women? That man whore is probably my biggest damn client.”

  Scarlet laughed. “At least his oversexed life is easy money for you, then.”

  “True.”

  Silence settled over them, but it wasn’t the uncomfortable type. The crashing of the waves echoed through the night, the soft breeze rustling through the leaves of the surrounding trees. It felt so serene. So peaceful. She couldn’t remember when last she felt so…relaxed.

  “Hunter, how did you find me?”

  “Nope. A good PI never outs his informants.”

  Scarlet peered at him, and he smiled.

  “I will tell you, though,” he started, “it wasn’t fucking easy finding you. It took me a long time to get a trail on your ass. How did you do it?”

  “Do what?”

  “Manage to disappear off the damn radar. Apparently, Brent hired a few PIs to find you, but no one ever could.”

  Scarlet stared at the tumbler in her hand. “Until you, that is.”

  “Yeah. Until me. Seriously, though, how did you do it?”

  She shrugged. “I didn’t do much really. I got a few fake IDs, colored my hair, and made sure I didn’t stay at the same place too long.”
>
  Hunter stared at her, dumbfounded. “That’s it?”

  “Yup. Guess I’m lucky that way.” She shot him a sly grin.

  “Ah-huh.”

  More silence settled around them, causing Scarlet to shift a little. Especially since it seemed like they were suddenly sitting very close to each other. Did he move? Did she move? Did both of them move while they had that moment?

  Hunter cleared his throat. “So you’re okay with the whole not screwing the same woman twice thing?”

  She turned to him and frowned. “Sure. Everyone has their thing, and not eating from the same apple tree twice is yours. Although,” she grinned at him, “the second apple could be much sweeter.”

  “I doubt that.”

  She took a sip of her whiskey and relished in the smooth taste. “So what’s the plan, Ace? You gonna hide me out here forever?”

  Hunter poured himself another glass. “Well, you said Brent was adopted, so I’m going to call in a favor tomorrow morning and try to find out who this guy really is. His background. But, Scar,” he turned to face her, “I know you’re not telling me everything. If there is anything that I need to know in order for me to help you, you’ve gotta tell me.”

  “I already told you—”

  “Yeah, I know. All I need to know. But somehow, I doubt that.”

  He stared at her with his emerald green eyes, and she swallowed hard. It felt like he was staring straight through her, searching for her secrets, rummaging through her soul to find out what she was hiding. The way his eyes searched hers was like he was trying to piece together a puzzle, trying to get the bigger picture.

  What would he think of her if he knew the truth? Would he think her weak, or pity her? God, she hoped not. She wasn’t weak, and she sure as hell didn’t need anyone’s pity. She just wanted to be left alone, to be able to live freely without looking over her shoulder like a damn criminal.