A Little Harmless Secret

by Melissa Schroeder

  Slowly he pulled almost all the way out of her, then slid back in again. Damn. He didn’t increase his pace. He wanted her with him. He wanted all her inner muscles moving over his cock as she came.

  Each time he thrust into her, he sunk deeper…then deeper. She matched him in rhythm, raising her hips off the counter. Her moans rose in volume as both of them drew closer and closer to completion.

  When he thought he couldn’t hold back any longer, he took her mouth in a hot, wet, long kiss. Then, with his lips still on hers, he said, “Come with me, Ali.”

  He thrust once more and surrendered. She was there with him, chanting his name over and over as they both gave into pleasure.

  * * * *

  Long moments later, Ali became aware of her surroundings. She shifted. She was laying on something very hard and cold. She opened her eyes.

  Good God, she made love on the kitchen island. She wasn’t inhibited, but…she still had her sundress on and Devon was still dressed. She was lying on top of the counter as Devon lay on top of her. He was still standing, but he was snuggled up to her chest.

  “Devon.”

  “Hmm?” He didn’t say anything else, but he did nibble on her neck. The small action had her head spinning. What the bloody hell was the man doing to her?”

  “We’re on the kitchen island.”

  He nibbled his way up to her earlobe. “Yeah we are.”

  “And the doors are open and we’re unprotected.”

  It took him a second. He gave her lobe one last nip then straightened away. When he looked down at her, he was smiling. But after a few seconds, his smile faded.

  “What?”

  He shook his head. “I like you like this.”

  “Ravished on your kitchen island?”

  “I like you here. I like you with me. Better, I like myself when I’m with you.”

  She found it hard to breathe. She had never had a man talk to her like that before. On the job, her assignments tried everything to seduce, capture her. Most of the men she’d come in contact with had been accustomed to big gestures. Simple words…honest words. Those were rare, but Devon had no problem with that.

  She sat up and kissed him. “I like the way I am with you too.”

  His mouth curved up on one side. Bloody hell, she loved this man. It wasn’t something she wanted right now, but in the depths of her mind, she knew she needed it. Needed him. For more than protection.

  And that scared the bloody hell out of her.

  “What?”

  She shook her head and tried to kiss him, but he stopped her.

  “Honesty.”

  She sighed. He was demanding it. Worse, she wanted to give it to him. In all her life, she had been honest with only two people. Her father and her daughter. Now, this man who had changed the course of her life, given her the one thing that made her complete, wanted something from her.

  “I’m a wee bit overwhelmed by you. By my feelings.”

  His smile was lopsided. “That makes two of us, love.”

  She nodded.

  He stepped back from her and locked the doors, set the alarm and before she could jump down from the counter, he picked her up.

  “Wait, Devon, I’m too heavy.”

  “Why do women always say that? You barely weigh anything.”

  He carried her up the stairs and into his bedroom. She hadn’t been in there before, but she had peeked in. It had the best view out of all the rooms, with a lanai off the other side of the massive king sized bed. The bay sparkled in the moonlight. The colors were bold and masculine, rich with greens and dark browns. She thought he would head to the bed, but he bypassed it and headed to the bathroom. He set her on the counter there, then stripped out of his clothes.

  God, he was gorgeous. If anything, he’d improved his physique the last few years and he’d matured. There was a smattering of hair on his chest and a thin trail down his abs.

  His cock was hard again, curving up against his stomach. She couldn’t resist. She slipped her hand over the long length of his penis. It jerked against her hand.

  “You keep doing that, I’m not going to last that long.”

  She looked at him. “Is that a fact?”

  He nodded. “Besides, I want you naked first, then I want you in that shower,” he said, motioning with his head behind him.

  There was enormous Egyptian shower behind him, with a long ledge against the back wall of it. There were two showerheads.

  He pulled off her dress, tossing it aside with little notice from either of them. Cool air washed over her heated flesh.

  “Damn.”

  His gaze focused on her breasts. Brushing the backs of his fingers over one nipple, he sighed.

  “I like all that sexy lace you wore before but this…” He didn’t finish his sentence. Instead, he leaned down and took the nipple into his mouth. He sucked it into his mouth with such force she moaned. It hurt a bit, but the pleasure out did the pain he had caused. He pinched and teased the other nipple as he grazed his teeth over the one he already had in his mouth.

  Soon she couldn’t take it anymore. Alicia pushed on his shoulders and he relented. He stepped back, opened the shower, turning on both of the heads, then scooped her up off the counter. Before stepping in, he doubled back and opened a drawer to grab a condom. He set her in the shower and shut the door behind them. The water was lukewarm but she didn’t care. He set the condom on the soap dish, turned and backed her against the wall. The kiss he gave her was wanton and delicious. Again and again, he thrust his tongue into her mouth. It was a blatant assault on her senses and she loved it. But she was sick of being taken. She wanted to be a participant.

  Alicia pressed her hands on his shoulders and after one last, long suck on his tongue, she pushed him back away from her. Without a word, she slid down to her knees in front of him. His cock dripped with water and droplets of precum wet the bulbous head.

  Wrapping one hand around him, she stroked his cock, teasing the head with a swipe of her thumb. A quick drawn in breath was the only response he had to it. She looked up as she continued to move her hand over his hardened flesh. He was watching her hand, then his gaze moved to hers. She leaned forward and took just the head of his cock into her mouth. The sweet/salty taste of his cum danced over her taste buds. She wanted to make him lose control and pour himself into her mouth and throat.

  With that in mind, she ramped up her attack. She took him fully in her mouth, as his hands settled on the back of her head. He fucked her face, pushing his cock so far back into her mouth she almost gagged. With delight, she slid her tongue over his hardened flesh. She slipped her hands around to his rear and pressed against him. He was groaning and she thought for sure he would come, but he pulled away with a curse.

  She blinked trying to get her focus back. When he reached over to grab the condom his hands were shaking. He fumbled with the wrapper but he got it open and slipped it on. Then, he pulled her up to her feet. The shower spun around her as he reversed their positions.

  “Bend over,” he ordered.

  She turned around to tell him she didn’t like his tone, but he smacked her on her ass. The sound of wet flesh against his palm filled the room. That should have outraged her, but the sting filtered out over her rear end. He smacked her again, this time a little harder. The pleasure/pain shot straight to her pussy this time. Bloody hell.

  “Don’t fuck with me right now.” The threat in his voice scared and aroused her. She bent over and rested her weight on her hands on the ledge.

  He took her by the hips and entered her from behind. It was hard, fast, and she couldn’t seem to keep up. Apparently, Devon didn’t care. Again and again he entered her, so hard she almost fell over a few times. He let loose a frustrated growl and turned them around. He was still inside of her as he pressed her against the glass of the shower. She put her hands on the glass to steady herself.

  Devon slid his hands around to her breasts, his fingers digging into her delicate flesh. I
t hurt, but she didn’t care. All she cared about was coming. Thrust after thrust, he pushed her closer.

  “Fuck,” Devon said. He continued to slam against her. She was beyond any kind of rational thought at that point.

  One moment she was dying for relief and in the next, her orgasm exploded within her. Relief danced over her nerve endings as she bucked and convulsed. It was as if she had broken through some kind of barrier. Before she was done with the first, she fell into another even more powerful orgasm. This one shattered her. She broke apart in a million little pieces of delight as she screamed so loud the echo of her voice hurt her ears.

  “Oh, yeah, fuck, that’s it,” Devon muttered as he continued to thrust in and out of her.

  But he wasn’t done. He changed his angle and continued on. He pushed her over the edge so many times; she lost all sense of time. Finally, when she felt she would dissolve if she had another release, she had one more. With a shout, he followed her, pumping into her.

  He fell back and sat on the ledge, pulling her with him. He set his head against her back. She couldn’t even think, couldn’t come up with words, so she leaned back against him and just let the water cascade over both of them.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  Alicia woke when she felt Devon’s lips moving over her back. His tongue darted out over her flesh every now and then. She smiled.

  “Well, that’s a nice way to wake up,” she murmured. And it was. She had never laid about in bed with a lover in this way. There was no deception, no one listening. It was just them. Just like the night they met. Was that why she found him so special? She’d never shared a private moment before Vegas and this was even more precious. Now, they knew where both of them were coming from and there was no lying.

  It was if she had been virgin when she went to bed with him.

  “I have all kinds of interesting ways to wake you up.”

  His voice was gruff and deep, filled with arousal.

  She looked behind her. He was on his hands and knees on the bed. His hair was a mess and there was a day’s growth on his chin. How was it fair that men could look a mess and still be attractive?

  “What are you thinking?”

  She smiled and turned back around. “I’m wondering who you’ve been practicing these moves on.”

  There was a beat of silence and he stilled, then he started moving his mouth over her back again.

  “I did not practice on anyone.”

  “So, you’ve been celibate since our night?” she asked, actually amused by the banter.

  If she wasn’t trying to gain some kind of information from a man, she didn’t know how to flirt. And, being fair, she couldn’t judge him for what he did in their years apart.

  “I’m sure this is the first time you’ve had sex in four years,” he said, a bit of sarcasm lacing his words.

  She sighed as he started to use his hands along with his mouth. The kitchen counter had been hard on her back.

  “It is.”

  Without warning, he flipped her over onto her back. Then, he loomed over her.

  “What do you mean?”

  She slipped her hands up over his shoulders. “It’s not like I had a lot of time to cruise bars.”

  And truthfully, she didn’t know the first thing about dating. Her first time had been on a mission, the whole thing recorded.

  His eyes narrowed. “You have to have a string of lovers.”

  She frowned. “No. I had targets.”

  Something she couldn’t discern moved over his expression. “So, it’s been four years?”

  She nodded and felt a shiver of fear and arousal intertwine as it moved through her blood. The dangerous look on his face should scare her, but there was a part of her that found it thrilling. All that attention, focused on her.

  “I guess we have to make up for some lost time.”

  And with that, he kissed his way down her body, grazing his teeth over her flesh. She pushed her present worries out of her mind as she gave herself over to his expert touch.

  * * * *

  “I’m starving,” Devon said. Ali giggled. Actually giggled. He never thought he would hear such a sound come from the woman. It made him so fucking out happy to hear. “I’m not joking.”

  “It’s not my fault we didn’t eat dinner,” she said, sitting up and, unfortunately, pulling the sheet up. “You’re the one who said he could live on sex.”

  He chuckled when he remembered his announcement earlier that day. “I’ll give you that.”

  She smiled down at him and in that minute, he knew he was lost to her. Her hair was a tangled mass of curls dripping over her shoulders, her lips were swollen from his kisses, and she had that kind of glow from a good healthy bout of passion.

  Shit. He was falling in love with her. Not knee deep, either. He was head first, going under for the third time in love with her. He had to have been in love with her a little that night four years ago, but this was something more.

  Her smile dimmed. “What?”

  Devon used to be better at hiding his feelings. But something about Ali always tugged at his emotions, pulling them out into the open. He wanted to tell her everything, but he couldn’t. They needed time to process, to come to terms with what they were dealing with—and there was a little girl involved.

  So, instead, he decided to keep it light. “You know you’re kind of ugly, right?”

  She laughed. “Is that so?”

  He nodded. “You kind of smell too.”

  She shook her head. “I know when I’m not wanted.”

  Turning, she started to crawl out of bed, but he grabbed her again, tumbling them over the sheets. He pressed her body into the mattress with his.

  “Where do you think you’re going?” he asked.

  “I thought maybe I would find some food.”

  He sighed as he felt his body respond to her, but he knew she was right. They needed food. He gave her a quick kiss then rolled off her and the bed. He grabbed a t-shirt and tossed it to her.

  “Thank you,” she said so primly he laughed. “What?”

  “Nothing. You are a contradiction in terms. So ladylike and proper now, but I think I have scratches on my back.”

  Her face flushed and he thought back to what Kaheaku said…and her own confessions. The idea that she had never really dated boggled his mind. This was a new experience for her. And he was the one to give it to her.

  He grabbed a pair of boxers and stepped into them. “Let’s go see what we can find.”

  He held his hand out as an invitation. She stared at it as if it was a foreign entity. It took her only a moment longer to respond. She stood and took his hand. It wasn’t a huge step, but a significant one. He raised their joined hands to his mouth and kissed her knuckles without taking his gaze from hers.

  Then, he led her downstairs.

  * * * *

  When Alicia polished off her bowl of ice cream, she licked the spoon dry.

  “I don’t think I’ve ever been this hungry, except for the last trimester I was pregnant with Bridget.”

  “You were on your own?” he asked.

  “Yes. I didn’t have anyone I could call on, so I decided to play the role of single mother.”

  “And you were one.”

  Alicia looked up at him and saw the genuine interest in his gaze. She nodded. “It was scary. I had gone to South Africa to have her.”

  He frowned. “Why there?”

  “My mother’s family had some land there and it wasn’t really tied to us. I have a fake identity I could use. I’m pretty damned good with the accent.”

  “And no one knew about it?”

  She shook her head. “Although about three months after having Bridget, I had to move. I had a few inquiries from someone about who I was. I didn’t stick around to find out who it was.”

  “Smart.”

  She tried not to get so happy about his approval. “I am my father’s daughter.”

  “So, you looked for me?”
he asked. “When you felt you had to run from South Africa?”

  “Not then. I’d become paranoid. But when I found out I was pregnant, I did look for you. It’s a good thing I didn’t find you or I would have never moved back to the states.”

  “Why?”

  “I thought you had something to do with my father’s death. I wasn’t about to let you within ten feet of Bridget.”

  “And you didn’t think I should know about her?”

  She sighed as the emotions from those days washed over her. The panic, the fear…the horror that she was alone in the world.

  “I didn’t know. I wasn’t in my right mind. Pregnancy…it zaps your brain cells. Losing my father shattered me, then knowing I had this little being to protect…I started to understand why my father was so fanatical about my safety. And I had a few close calls while I was pregnant. I tried to hang around Paris, but I barely made it out of there alive.”

  “And still you didn’t come find me.”

  “If I had known this is who you were, I would have tracked your fertile ass down and demanded you help.”

  His lips twitched. “Fertile ass?”

  “Yes. Bloody hell, I was on the pill and we used a condom. Ending up pregnant was kind of beyond anything statistics could predict. But, not knowing what the hell was going on, I couldn’t chance it. Having the attack at my own house…that was over the top. It was the one place I knew we were always safe.”

  His frown darkened. “And the bastard knew it. Which means they knew you.”

  She nodded. “I know I can’t do anything to make up for the time you lost with Bridget, but I just want you to understand that I had no choice. I didn’t know where to turn and I couldn’t trust anyone’s information.”

  “What about Kaheaku?”

  “Sean?”

  He nodded.

  “I didn’t think of him. No, that’s not true. I did think of him, but I had no way of contacting him. When he started working in private contracting, he wasn’t the easiest to find. Add to that the threat…I just couldn’t involve him. I had a very real fear that anyone connected to me would end up in danger. Sean would be pissed to know that I was trying to protect him, but I had to.”