Under His Skin

by Stacey O'Neale

  The wooden stairs creaked with each of his brisk steps—he would be here any second. Her hands shook as she returned to the fridge to get a few avocados to make some fresh guacamole.

  “Need any help with that?” Kaden asked.

  Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him standing close to the door holding chips and a twelve-pack of her favorite beer, Michelob Ultra Lime Cactus. “No, it’s no problem.”

  “Are you sure?” There was something sexy and dark about his voice. It was almost as gritty as it had been during their make-out session. Her sex pulsed in response.

  Annabelle felt his stare but refused to make eye contact. The embarrassment from the night before was still too fresh in her mind. Instead of addressing the real issue, she took her frustrations out on the avocados, smashing them as if her life depended on it. “Yeah, go ahead and turn on the television. I’ll be over in a few minutes.”

  As he passed by her on the way to the fridge, he grazed her arm with his. Warmth marked the spot of the impact. “You look like you just got started,” he said, holding the fridge door open. She took a quick peek to see what he was doing. He reached inside, collecting an onion, a jalapeño pepper, and a Roma tomato. As he placed them on the counter right next to where she was mushing the avocados in a mixing bowl, he said, “I know you’re the professional, but I don’t mind helping out.”

  Putting down the masher, she ended her assault on the vegetable. “I’m fine, really.”

  “Okay, I’ll go turn on the TV.” He grabbed two beers from the twelve-pack and made his way into her living room.

  She jumped when the television switched on. Her nerves were apparently firing in rapid succession.

  The football commentators were making their picks for the game. Of course, every one of them thought the Baltimore Ravens would lose. They were playing against their hated rivals—the Pittsburgh Steelers—at their home stadium. These were typically the best games of the season, but Annabelle wasn’t interested. She was too focused on what had happened with Kaden. She didn’t know what she was supposed to say to him. Should she pretend nothing happened or treat it like a mistake, as he had? Neither option felt good, so she focused on the food.

  The rest of the ingredients were cut up in minutes. After she mixed everything together, the guacamole was ready to eat. She opened the bag of pita chips he’d brought, pouring them onto a serving tray with the dip in the middle. Perfect. The chips rattled as she carried the tray over. Kaden wasted no time. He reached for the dip even before she set it down on her end table.

  “Tastes good,” he said, crunching on a mouthful of chips.

  “Thanks,” she replied, making eye contact for the first time. As he watched the opening kickoff, she took him in from a side view. He wore a purple Ravens cap turned backward, a tight black T-shirt, and dark jeans. The man could wear overalls and a straw hat and still be intoxicating.

  On her way back to the kitchen, she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror.

  Crap.

  She wore a tiny white tank top with no bra, Hello Kitty lounge pants, and her hair tied up in a messy bun on top of her head. No makeup—again—of course. “I’ll be right back,” she said, more panicked than she intended.

  “What’s the problem?”

  There was no excuse she could come up with, so she admitted the truth. “I’m a mess. I need to go get ready.”

  “To watch the game? Keep what you have on. I like the pj’s,” he said, patting the sofa cushion next to him. “Come sit down and relax. This is your home. You should be comfortable in it.”

  The clothes were a small part of the problem. The bigger issue was the weird tension between them. “All right,” she said, sitting down next to him. Hugging a pillow in her lap, she tried to focus on the game. This shouldn’t have been hard—she loved football. But things were different now. Kaden had an open beer waiting for her. Alcohol hadn’t helped her yesterday, but she needed to relax if she was going to get through this.

  She took several big gulps.

  The games went on all afternoon. The Ravens won, which was exciting. Little by little, she was able to calm down. Around four o’clock, he had food delivered. After she ate two pieces of veggie pizza and drank one more beer, things started to feel normal again. Maybe she really should just let it go.

  Around six, she started cleaning up.

  “I can help,” he said, bringing in the empty dip dishes and setting them in the sink. He turned on the water, preparing to wash them.

  She bumped him out of the way with her hip. “It’s not polite to ask a guest to clean up.”

  “Since when am I a guest?” he asked, putting his arm around her shoulders. “When did we get so formal?”

  His touch brought back all the sensations from the night before. Her body responded, aching to get even closer to him. “I didn’t mean for you to take it that way.”

  “Is this about last night?” he asked, his voice softer in tone. “I thought we agreed to go back to normal?”

  How could they? There were too many unanswered questions.

  “We did,” she replied, turning to face him. “But nothing you said last night made any sense.” The words spilled out.

  Thank you, alcohol.

  He released her, taking a few steps away. “I told you as much as I could.”

  As much as he could? “It’s so obvious something is bothering you. Why can’t you be honest with me?”

  “I’m asking you to trust me. This is not just about you and me.”

  “Of course it is, Kaden,” she said, frustrated by his inability to give her a straight answer. “We kissed…a lot. But it was more than that, and you know it.”

  His body stiffened.

  “We were into it until you ran off. And when I tried to get an explanation from you, all I get is trust me.”

  “I—”

  “I wasn’t finished.” Anger tinged her words—she couldn’t help it.

  He held his hands up as if he were surrendering.

  She continued. “Do you realize we’ve been friends for almost a year? In all that time, you’ve told me nothing about your childhood or your parents or your life before you moved here. Don’t you think that’s odd?”

  “No,” he said, waving his hand as if he were dismissing her concerns. “I prefer to live in the now.”

  “Okay then, let’s discuss it now,” Annabelle challenged.

  He crossed his arms. “Discuss what?”

  “You.” If there wasn’t any background information online, she would get it from the source. “Tell me all about your life before you came to Germantown.”

  He raised an eyebrow. “That’s a lot of time. Care to narrow it down a little?”

  “Tell me about your childhood. Where did you grow up?”

  “In Virginia,” he answered.

  Of course he offered no details in his response. “Do your parents live there?”

  He reached behind her and turned off the water. “No, they’re deceased.”

  No wonder he didn’t want to talk about it. It made her chest ache that she might’ve upset him. “I’m sorry.”

  “It’s okay.” He shrugged. “It’s been ten years. I made my peace with it a long time ago.”

  She decided she’d better move away from the topic. “Tell me about the last five years. How did you end up in Germantown?”

  He didn’t make eye contact with her as he answered her questions. Instead, he fiddled with a few crumbs on her kitchen table. “Hayden had a job offer from the CIA, so we moved here for him.”

  Alarm bells shot off. Kaden had told her Hayden worked for the FBI, not the CIA. Had she just caught him in a lie? But why would he lie about Hayden’s job? “Don’t you mean the FBI?”

  He froze. “Right, the FBI. I don’t know why I said that.” He let out an awkward chuckle.

  Crap. There really was something wrong. He’d hesitated, which meant he was lying. “Are you in some kind of trouble?”

  Cha
pter Ten

  A cold chill of warning raced up Kaden’s spine. They were about to enter into risky territory. “Why would you ask me that?”

  “I Googled you today,” she blurted out.

  “You what?” He couldn’t believe Annabelle would actually research him on the internet. It was out of character for her, which probably meant Hilary had something to do with it.

  Her cheeks reddened as if she were embarrassed. “I only searched your name, but found nothing. And by nothing, I mean there wasn’t a single entry with your name on it.”

  She’d backed him into a corner, and he couldn’t see a way out. But could he really blame her? He’d gone out of his way to be as mysterious as possible. Keeping her away from his past had kept her safe but also left too many unanswered questions. “I wish you hadn’t done that.”

  “I wish I hadn’t, either. It made me feel dirty. I’m not someone who likes to snoop in other people’s business. But I can’t shake the feeling that you’re keeping something from me.”

  His palms started to sweat. “I can’t tell you.”

  “Yes, you can,” she said, putting her hand on his bicep. “No matter what you say, I won’t judge you.”

  All the rules he’d set up ran through his mind like a checklist. He had been so careful over all these months. But somehow, in a matter of days, he had managed to unravel everything he had worked so hard to build. “I won’t put you in danger.”

  Her eyes widened with fear. “Okay, you’re starting to freak me out. You definitely have to tell me now.” She let go of his bicep, wrapping her arms around her midsection.

  Great. He’d scared her. Now he had no choice. He had to give her something or he’d risk losing her altogether. “We’re in the witness protection program. I can’t tell you why, but we didn’t do anything illegal.” It wasn’t a lie. He had just left out a few minor details—like the fact that he was an alien.

  Her shoulders dropped as if all the tension had been released. “I feel like such an idiot. When we couldn’t find any information about you, all kinds of ideas floated in my head. I should’ve known better.”

  He raised an eyebrow. “We?”

  “Oh,” she said, biting her lip. “Hilary helped me.”

  No surprise there. Hilary didn’t seem to have any boundaries. “I figured.”

  “I’m really sorry. I know I’ve overstepped.”

  Her eyes got glassy, as if she were about to cry. Great! The last thing he wanted was for her to feel bad. It was his fault. He was the one hiding things from her. “I understand why you’re curious. I haven’t been forthcoming with much about me or my family, but maybe now you can understand why I can’t let this”—he waved his hand between them—“happen.”

  “Does that mean you want there to be something between us?” she asked, emerald green eyes staring up at him.

  Without thinking, he glanced down at her white tank top. The damn thing was so thin he could make out the outline of her pert nipples. His cock hardened in response. God, how could he resist this woman? “What good would it do to answer your question? It doesn’t change my situation. If anything, it will only make it more difficult for both of us.”

  “I think ignoring how we feel would be worse.”

  He lowered his head. “I won’t—”

  She placed two fingers softly over his lips. “I get it. You’re afraid I’ll be in danger. But it’s not your decision, is it? I can choose for myself, and I choose you.”

  He should’ve pushed her away. But she chose him. He couldn’t get the words out of his head. Even when he told her it was dangerous, she still wanted to take the chance. If there was a hell, he was going to rot in it. Throwing aside all logic and common sense, he softly placed his hand around her wrist, kissing her fingertips. She closed her eyes as a soft moan whispered through her lips.

  Heart pounding, he lowered her hand and kissed her lips. She wrapped her arms around his neck.

  Every nerve ending in his body crackled with need. Their tongues collided, teasing and twisting together. She moaned again. As she coiled her fingers into his hair, his hat fell to the ground. There was no way for him to ignore the urges, the way his body ached. The force was too strong. It was as if he was being magnetically pulled toward her.

  The call box buzzed, startling them. Kaden let out a low growl. Someone had terrible timing. He pulled back, releasing her from his hold.

  “Ignore it,” she said, lips red and swollen from his kisses.

  The buzzer went off three more times. She stepped backward and said, “For their sake, it better be important, like the-building-is-on-fire important.” He couldn’t help laughing a little. As she continued to grumble about the intrusion, she went over to the call box and pressed the answer button. “Can I help you?”

  No one responded.

  “Hello?”

  Nothing, but the buzzer went off two more times. Now he’d had enough. “It’s probably some kids playing around,” he said, bending to pick up his hat. “I’ll go downstairs and check it out.”

  Kaden slipped his hat back on. Going down the stairs was difficult, since it looked like he had an orange emergency cone tucked into his jeans. As Cam had predicted, he couldn’t resist Annabelle. He had been so proud of himself all afternoon, managing to hold back. It was slow torture watching her run around her apartment braless, in a flimsy tank top. Her low-hanging pajama bottoms showed off her tiny waistline and the curve of her hips. It was enough to make any man beg for mercy.

  But even he couldn’t ignore the way her nipples perked up as she jumped up and down, cheering for their favorite team. With each jiggle, his heart rate had sped up.

  She had him teetering on the edge of insanity by the time she started asking questions, but that was no excuse.

  The rules with the FBI were clear. She was still in danger. His family was in danger. All because he had no self-control.

  Dammit, why didn’t he listen to his brothers? These emotions—heightened by their growing bond—had his head spinning. He let out an aggravated sigh, which sounded more like a growl.

  When he reached the bakery entrance door, he peered out the window. No one was standing there. The empty streets were barely lit under the night sky. He moved toward the alarm system and then realized it wasn’t turned on. Annabelle had a habit of forgetting to set it. He had talked to her many times about the safety of a woman living alone.

  He unlocked the door and stepped outside. The wind had picked up, dropping the temperature at least another ten degrees. He stuck his hands in his pockets as he walked down the block, checking to see if any kids were hiding close by. Giving up after he reached the corner of her street, he returned inside. This time, he set the alarm behind him.

  Annabelle was waiting at the top of the steps. “Did you see him?” she asked, eyes wilder than when he left her.

  “Who?” He asked, eyebrows furrowed.

  “There was a man standing across the street. It seemed like he was looking up at me, but he stood under a tree. I couldn’t see his face.”

  Kaden didn’t like the sound of that. “I didn’t see anyone.”

  She rubbed the back of her neck. “Maybe it was just my imagination. I’ve been getting prank calls at the bakery, and I guess I drew my own silly conclusions.”

  “You never told me you were getting calls. What did they say?”

  “Nothing.” She shrugged. “Just a bunch of heavy breathing. I wouldn’t worry about it.”

  Not worry about her? As if that’s possible. “You need to be more cautious.”

  Her eyes narrowed. “I am cautious.”

  “Really? The alarm system was off again. That’s the third time in the last two weeks.”

  She put her hands on her hips. “I don’t need a lecture. I promise I’ll be more careful.”

  His cell phone rang—the damn Star Wars theme. Hilary had thought it would be really funny to change his ringtone the last time they all went out drinking together. He hadn’t fig
ured out how to change it back. Every time he heard it, he imagined he might enjoy strangling the little blonde just a little bit.

  “Hello?”

  “You need to come home,” Hayden said sternly.

  “Why?” he asked, irritated by yet another interruption.

  “We have guests.”

  “Who?” He wasn’t expecting anyone.

  “The FBI.”

  Hell. In all the months he and his brothers had lived in Germantown, the feds had never come to their home. “Give me fifteen minutes,” he replied. Pressing the end button, he slid the phone back into his pocket. “I’m sorry to have to leave. I know we’ve left things unfinished, but I have to go.”

  “Why?” she asked, frowning. He couldn’t help being slightly pleased that she was unhappy to see him leave.

  “Problems at home,” he answered, trying to come off as nonchalant so she wouldn’t be concerned.

  “Is everything okay?”

  His attempt to keep her from worrying had failed. “It will be,” he said, planting a soft kiss on her cheek. “I’ll call you later.”

  “You’d better.” There was a subtle seduction in her tone.

  It ignited his desire once more. Screw it. At this point, one more indiscretion wouldn’t make a difference. Cupping his hand around the back of her neck, he pulled her into a crushing kiss. His movements were more forceful this time. As his tongue plunged into her mouth, his free hand firmly squeezed her ass. Her squeal confirmed all he needed to know.

  Once he was sure he’d made his point, he released her. She stood completely still, startled. Her swollen lips were partially open, and her eyes had filled with need for him. And he wanted to fulfill that need. His body urged him on. But before he let his colossal judgment failure reach an epic level of stupidity, he rushed back down the stairs. He refused to turn around, to say another word before he left.