“Food will be brought by Mason and Abby only. No unauthorized visitors will be allowed inside. There’ll be another agent…here he is right now.” Alex Mylonas stepped onto the patio behind Mason. “Alex will be helping me keep you safe. He’s a former detective with the Chicago Police Department, so you don’t want to piss him off.” Alex nodded in greeting to the assembled group. “Security will be tight at the studio, as well. Anyone who gets inside will be vetted by us and there will be no exceptions.”
They asked a few more questions and then the meeting broke up.
Abby pulled Dan aside. “I want to file a complaint.”
Dan’s brows dipped. “File a complaint? With whom?”
“I don’t know, Logan or Luke. I feel like you’re overlooking my ability to handle security.”
“First of all, Abby, you are not a COBRA Securities agent. You have to pass rigorous physical and mental tests before you can be a part of our team.” She started to speak but he held up a hand. “I know you are working out now so you can take the test but you haven’t yet, so there is no discussion.”
“But I’m wasted here. Mason can handle it. I should be more involved.”
“It was my understanding that Mason was the one who was hired for this job. You’re only here because of his request to include you.”
Abby’s lips pursed and her face turned beet red. “That’s just because he had the contact.”
“You want more honesty? From what I’ve witnessed, Mason is the only one doing this job. Where were you when the dead animal was found in the bed? Why weren’t you inside the house?” Now her ears were as red as her face. “Look, I’m not judging you. You want to flaunt an affair in front of you husband, that’s your choice. But when the time comes to review your application and I’m asked how you handled this job—and I will be asked—I will not lie. Based on what you’ve shown me here, I wouldn’t recommend you.”
“You bastard. I can do this job just as well as you can. Maybe I’ll file a sexual discrimination suit against you.”
“My, aren’t you litigious?”
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
“Look it up. Meanwhile, if you ever insinuate that I came on to you again, I’ll be the one filing suit against you.”
“I never…”
“There were witnesses.”
“That little bitch, Kaitlyn.”
Dan pointed a finger. “Don’t you ever call her that again. And she wasn’t the one who told me. We’re done here.”
He walked away before Abby could deny what she’d said. Kaitlyn hadn’t told him. Ronald had. He’d been fuming and planned on confronting Abby about it. Then he worried Kaitlyn might actually believe it but Ronald assured him that she didn’t. He respected and truly liked Mason. And he would never hit on a married woman. Period. There was only one woman he wanted to hit on and he was headed to her now.
#
Kait left the rest of the happier but still subdued group and headed to the bedroom she shared with Dan. She couldn’t believe the show would go on. She’d been prepared to hear Kendall say it’d been cancelled. Truthfully, she had mixed feelings. She still wanted to be a part of the show and hoped to win, but it didn’t seem right to go on without Shandee.
She’d been leery of Ralph Priddy from the beginning but she had no idea he’d become so focused on her. And apparently it wasn’t out of love or lust. You didn’t poison and maim and murder out of romantic feelings. For some reason, he wanted to harm her and those around her. Now that he was dead, they may never know why.
She gasped and spun around as the door opened. Dan’s brow lifted at her reaction. Now that he knew François was just a friend, she had no resistance left. Before, she could hide behind that safe wall, but it’d been shattered. She stared as he prowled closer, unable to move. She wanted this, wanted him her whole life. But unlike the other times when they would get together and then split, this felt different. It was as if not only the wall surrounding her heart was gone, but the one around his as well.
When he pulled her into his arms, she went easily, gratefully. Tears gathered, not only from Shandee’s death, but from being right where she wanted to be.
Dan tilted her chin with a finger. His brows knit when he noticed the tears and he wiped the one that slipped down with a thumb. Then he bent down and kissed her. It was sweet and tender and she melted into him. With a groan, he lifted her without breaking contact and carried her to bed.
Gentle was nice sometimes. It made her feel cherished. But she didn’t want his tenderness tonight. She wanted his passion. When he followed her down, she shoved him over and then climbed on top. His brows lifted in surprise but she didn’t give him time to ask questions. She pinned his arms above his head and attacked his lips. They were soft and firm and she devoured them. Licking, nipping, sucking. His groan encouraged her as she trailed kisses across his cheek, the beard stubble tickling her lips. She pulled back to lift his shirt. When he tried to help, she scolded him. “No. Lie still. I’m doing this.” He looked like he wanted to argue. “Promise?” He reluctantly nodded his acquiescence.
As soon as she tossed it over her head, she stared in awed appreciation. Her fingers reverently traced the hard bumps and ridges. She loved his new body, couldn’t stop running her hands over his washboard abs.
“Kait, honey, you’re gonna have to stop that or I’m going to break my promise.”
She ignored him to trail her fingers up his muscled chest to glide over the swells of his biceps. It was a strange sensation…this was her Dan and yet it wasn’t. She’d just have to learn all of the nooks and crannies of his new physique. She couldn’t wait. On the next pass down his chest, her mouth followed. His muscles tensed and he groaned. She smiled, loving that she could elicit such a response from him. When she reached the waistband of his jeans, she trailed her tongue along the edge. She could feel him pulsing through the denim. Sitting back on her heels, she unsnapped the button and carefully slid the zipper down. She glanced at his face to see his eyes closed, his jaw clenched as tight as his fists. She returned to the task and slid her fingers in the band of his boxer briefs to tug them off at the same time. He sprang free, huge and throbbing. She’d get to that muscle in a moment, first, she wanted to run her hands down his quads and feel…
“That’s it.”
It was the only warning she got before her world flipped upside down.
#
Dan growled the words before he scooped Kaitlyn up and tossed her to her back. He followed her down and kissed her, really kissed her like he’d wanted to since forever. He was holding nothing back. He poured every bit of his feelings for her into the mating of lips and tongues and teeth.
Big Dan was angry and he was demanding entrance to her sweet body but he ignored him. He was good at doing that around her. Big Dan always wanted inside her.
She shimmied her lower body against him and he bit back a moan. She broke the kiss, breathing heavily. “Big Dan’s getting a little insistent, isn’t he?”
He looked into her amused eyes and they both burst into laughter. He dropped on top of her, thinking how sex with any other woman had never been like this…filled with both passion and laughter.
She reached down and stroked him and the laughter stopped. “We were young and foolish, weren’t we?”
He kissed her because he had to. “Young, yes. Foolish, nah.” They’d been hormone-driven teens, fooling around and becoming increasingly bolder with each other. She’d grown up with three older brothers, so she was no stranger to the male body. But she’d been intrigued at what happened when she touched him. She started calling that body part that craved her touch Little Dan but then she decided there was no way she could call it little when it so clearly wasn’t. With a laugh, she started calling him Big Dan and that’s how he’d forever think of it. Even when he was with other women, it was Kaitlyn’s nickname that came to mind.
“I guess you haven’t called him that in a long time, have y
ou?” she asked, stroking him.
He ran the back of his hand down her smooth cheek. “He’ll always be Big Dan, to me.” Then he framed her face with both hands and kissed her. This was it. This was what was missing from his life. Kaitlyn.
#
Kait was so happy she and Dan had made up this year in time for the senior prom. They’d been in one of their nuclear fights during their junior year, so he took Alisha Milner instead. Kait stayed home. Alisha bragged to everyone that she and Dan had done the dirty. Kait had been heartbroken. Although they’d done plenty of kissing and lots of touching, they’d never slept together and they’d been with each other most of their lives. She wanted Dan to be her first and she wanted to be his. It wasn’t until later that summer that she learned Alisha had lied.
They were together now and Kait picked out a blue dress that she knew brought out her eyes. It was Dan’s favorite color. She didn’t wear a dress very often or worry with makeup and her hair. But she took extra time, wanting to impress him. They hadn’t been to a dance together since homecoming last year.
She was ready a half hour early, nerves causing butterflies to flutter in her belly. When she heard a car pull into the driveway, she took a deep breath.
The doorbell rang and she ran to open it. Dan stood on the porch looking so handsome, she almost forgot to breathe. They both stared at each other until he finally cleared his throat and told her how beautiful she looked.
“You look beautiful, too.”
He narrowed his eyes. “Guys aren’t beautiful. We’re handsome. Or rugged. Or manly.”
“Okay, I stand corrected. You look handsome, rugged, manly.”
A wide smile split his face, transforming him to the devastating category. He held out a box. “This is for you.”
She accepted the corsage and slipped it on her wrist. Dan escorted her to his car and settled her inside before he rounded the hood, jumped inside and drove away. They talked about plans for the summer and before she knew it, they were at the school. They found a parking spot and entered the gym decorated in balloons and streamers and twinkling lights.
The night was perfect. They danced, they chatted with friends. Unlike the last dance they attended together, Luke wasn’t around to chaperone. When it was over, a group of her friends were heading to a hotel room to drink alcohol that someone’s older brother purchased. She politely declined, having other plans for the evening. Grant was in the Navy and Ben was away at school, so it was just her and Luke living in the home where they grew up. Luke had to go out of state for a case and wouldn’t be back until morning, so she had the house to herself. When Dan pulled into her driveway she gathered her courage. “When does Trudy expect you home?”
He gave a crooked smile. “She doesn’t. She’s good about not smothering me.”
“Come inside with me?”
Dan looked from her to her house. “Where’s Luke?”
“Working on a case that took him out of the state until tomorrow.”
“Are you sure?”
“Very.”
“I’ll park at home and come over.”
When Dan returned, he knocked on the door.
“It’s open,” she called out.
Her nerves were strung so tight she thought she might burst. She’d left a trail of her clothes for him to follow. Now she was spread out on her bed completely naked.
“Kait—” Dan stepped inside her room holding her dress and undergarments. They fell from his hands. “Holy shit.”
“Why don’t you and Big Dan join me?” Her voice sounded remarkably calm even though she was trembling inside.
Dan wasted no time undressing and then he covered her body with his. The first time had been quick and a little painful but the second time was longer and the pain had been replaced with passion. They made love four more times during the night.
After the sixth time, she was both energized and exhausted. “I love you, Dan,” she murmured as they drifted to sleep. A door slammed, jarring them awake.
“Kaitlyn?”
Kait bolted upright, her hair in a wild tangle. “Oh no, that’s Luke.”
“He’ll kill me,” Dan fretted, jumping out of bed and pulling on his rumpled clothes. “He’ll shoot me dead.”
“Shh. Hide in the closet.” He ran for the door. “Wait. Take my clothes with you.” He gathered her dress and undergarments as she pulled on a nightgown and then jumped back under the covers just as a knock sounded on the door.
“Kait? Are you awake?”
“No.” She pulled a pillow over her head.
Luke chuckled and tugged the pillow away. “How was the dance?”
“Good.”
“Good? That’s all? Did Bradley behave himself?”
She blinked sleepily at him. “Of course. Why, did you think you’d find him in my bedroom or something?” Her brother was a top-notch detective so he didn’t miss a beat. His gaze swept the room. “I’d better not or I’ll personally remove his head from his body.”
“You would not. His brother is your best friend.”
“But you’re my baby sister and if any man even thinks of touching you, I’ll end him.”
Kait chuckled and hugged him.
“Get dressed and I’ll take you out for breakfast.” He rose and scanned the room again. “We can even stop and see if Bradley wants to go with us.”
“No.” Oops. Her denial came a little too quickly. “I mean, he said he had errands to run this morning, so I’m sure he’s not home.”
Luke studied her and she did her best to look angelic. He shook his head and strode out of the room. Kait released a deep breath and scurried to the closet.
“He’s going to end me.”
“No he’s not. But he’s taking me to breakfast, as you heard. You can sneak out once we’re gone.” She grabbed some clothes and turned to leave but he clutched her hand, halting her.
“Last night was…”
“Amazing,” she finished.
He nodded and then pulled her to him for a kiss. Kait sank into it, wanting to stay in his arms forever. She finally pulled away, flashed him a smile and left the room.
#
Dan felt like he had that first time with Kaitlyn. No finesse, his patience gone. His only goal was getting inside her as quickly as possible. He rose up and stripped off her clothes with an urgency born of need. When she was gloriously naked, he took a minute to appreciate her beauty. He wanted to take up painting so he could paint her like this to remember her always. Or maybe photography.
“Take a picture, it’ll last longer.”
Always reading his mind. He reached for his cell phone. “I think I will.”
“Daniel John Bradley,” she shrieked and knocked him flat to the bed. “You will not take naked pictures of me. My gosh, if that leaked to the internet, I’d die. After I killed you, of course.”
“Of course,” he repeated, his face smooshed in the pillow. “And I’d never post it online. It’d be for my personal enjoyment.”
“Pervert,” she laughed.
Her naked front was plastered to his naked back and while it felt so damn good, it wasn’t the best position for what he had in mind. “I think we’re doing it wrong,” he quipped.
“Doing what…” She realized what he meant and she burst out in laughter. He used her distraction to toss her off and leap on top of her. Now they were aligned perfectly. All laughter stopped when he lowered himself against her and they were skin to skin.
“DJ,” she whispered.
He brushed a strand of hair from her face. “What, honey?”
“I love you.”
Dan stared at her awed by the fact that this beautiful, intelligent, amazing woman loved him. She’d told him that many times before and he’d even said it back, but they’d been young. They were adults now and he was tired of hiding his feelings, pretending he didn’t care. Dating countless women trying to exorcise her from his brain. It didn’t work. Nothing worked. She was imprinted on his hear
t and that would never go away.
“I love you, too,” he whispered before the dam burst and he kissed her with all the passion he felt. He managed to stroke and touch her but for the most part, foreplay was out of question. He needed her too much. He fumbled for a condom and rolled it on. He grasped her hands and linked their fingers, staring into her eyes as he slowly entered her. He stopped. “No, keep your eyes open,” he insisted when hers drifted closed. Her lids fluttered, the blue deep and mesmerizing.
“Hurry, DJ.”
“We’ve got time,” he insisted. The rest of their lives if he had anything to say about it. He pushed the rest of the way inside and they both groaned. It felt like coming home. He always felt like he was drifting, from his aunt’s house, to his brother’s. Never his own. This was his. This was home. He began moving and soon they were lost in the dance.
#
The feelings in Kaitlyn couldn’t be contained. This was Dan. Her Dan. The love of her life. They moved together perfectly, their bodies recognizing and remembering each other. He’d been the one to teach her, or rather, they’d taught each other. They had no idea if they were doing it right that first time, but it was still the most amazing experience of her life…until now. Then she couldn’t think at all. It felt as if she was splintering apart, shattering into thousands of tiny pieces. She was lost in the sensation, in the burst of colors. The feelings were so intense, she wasn’t sure she was still breathing. When the aftershocks finally calmed and she could form a rational thought, she blinked her eyes open. Dan had collapsed against her. Their sweat-slicked bodies were fused together from head to toe and everywhere in between. She didn’t want to move ever. She did manage to run her hands up and down his back because she just had to.
“Think you finally managed to kill me,” he mumbled against her neck.
She smiled. “What a way to go.”
He lifted up and stared into her eyes. “I’m so damn sorry, Kaitlyn.”
Her brows drew together. “For what? In case you didn’t realize it, you just rocked my world.”
“Oh, I think the whole house realized that.” He smirked.
Her eyes widened. “I did not scream. Did I scream?” She closed her eyes. “Oh God, how will I face everyone.”
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