Keeping Secrets

by Lisa Eugene

  She was naked. Soft. Warm. So incredibly sexy. My thoughts scattered and my cock instantly hardened. I found her lips, kissing her thoroughly. My emotions were overwhelming, bursting out of me in tiny explosions. She led me to the bed and pushed my jacket from my shoulders while I shed my other garments.

  We came together again, skin against skin, roving hands and lips that couldn’t get enough. I couldn’t touch her enough, couldn’t kiss her enough, and I couldn’t wrap my brain around my desperate need for her. There was an insanity in desiring someone so much.

  The need I had for her was consuming, irrational. She was as necessary as my next breath, as vital. It was not only baffling, but somehow unsettling. It wasn’t a position I liked being in.

  My body was on fire, my cock eager to be inside her again, to draw out our pleasure this time. I caressed her smooth shoulders. My palms drifted down her arms, skated over a trim waist and beautiful, womanly hips. My eyes burned to feast on her. This darkness would definitely not do, but tonight I would respect her wishes.

  “I think we have a problem.” I chuckled.

  “What?” Her lips skimmed across my bare chest, the light touch augmented by the darkness.

  “I think I only have one condom left.”

  I could sense her smiling. “That’s a problem for you, hmm?”

  “Something tells me that with you, I may need several more.”

  “Is that so?”

  “When God doled out those two plates of rhythm, they each came with a side order of horniness.”

  She laughed out loud and the sound landed somewhere in my soul. I decided at that moment that it was undoubtedly my favorite sound in the entire world. Just like that, we were back to being Dex and Stats. Only things were much better. Much, much better.

  “Oh my, rhythm and horniness? That could be a lethal combination.”

  “So I’ve been warned.”

  She laughed again. My groin tightened.

  “I’ll try to take it easy on you,” I replied, “but the problem is, that you’re so fucking sexy.”

  I sealed an open-mouth kiss over her lips, plunging my tongue deep. Taking everything. My cock throbbed, the shaft knocking obnoxiously against her abdomen. Reaching down, she cupped my balls and pulled a sure stroke up my engorged length. I growled as pleasure skipped up my spine, making me sink my teeth into the soft skin where her neck met her shoulder. She gasped and I eased up, soothing her skin with my tongue. I had to remind myself to be careful with her, to go slowly. I didn’t want to overwhelm her our first night together. I loved how she took the initiative, but something told me she didn’t have a lot of sexual experience.

  “Well, we’ll have to test out your God-given talents, then.” She chuckled, pulling me down on the bed.

  I fell on top of her, groaning at the feel of her delicious curves beneath me. Our lovemaking was slow and deliberate, each taking and giving pleasure until we were shaking with it, until the sharp focus of every touch was on our physical joining.

  I trailed a line of kisses down her soft belly and stopped at the heaven between her legs. Sinking my nose into her mound, I inhaled deeply, savored the scent I’d dreamed of. Soft curls tickled my chin and the pungent scent of her arousal filled my lungs. She tensed and grew quiet, like she was holding her breath. My taste buds leaked with my need to savor her, to give her pleasure. I gently eased apart her thighs and she gasped when my lips covered her dewy flesh.

  “Y-you don’t have to,” she whispered.

  “Try and stop me.” I moaned as my tongue learned her shape slowly, swishing through her slit and twirling around the tight bead peeking out.

  Her needy cries filled my head, driving me beyond madness. I lapped my tongue in one smooth line from her ass to her clit, then sucked the thick knot into my mouth, pulsing against it with my tongue. She shrieked, hips bucking against my face, riding it wildly.

  “Dex! God! So good!”

  I pulled back and surrounded her clit with light, whispery twirls, barely touching her. Her breath panted through the darkness in throaty whimpers. I loved the fact that I was the one doing this to her. Delving two fingers into her slick heat, I rotated them slowly.

  “Christ! You’re so fucking wet,” I choked out, listening to the soft, sucking sounds of her pussy trying to drag my fingers deeper. “You’re delicious, Stats.”

  My mouth latched on to her again and I sped up the pace of my thrusts. My scalp stung suddenly and I realized that Alexa had a death grip on my hair. I fucking loved it. I doubled my efforts. The smell of her pussy was heady, the taste a potent aphrodisiac. Her thighs gripped my head. A guttural moan vibrated through the air and she spasmed beautifully against my face.

  Ignoring the agonizing squeeze in my balls, I delivered long, slow licks through her sweetness, listened as her breathing returned to normal, then crawled up her body. We kissed for a period of time, but I was painfully aroused and losing my mind with my need to be inside her. Rolling off the bed, I felt along the floor for my pants, again cursing the darkness. I felt like a damn cat burglar. Finding my wallet, I blindly rolled on the condom then returned to bed.

  Alexa felt amazing in my arms. It was heaven having her nestled beneath me. And as I slid my cock deep inside her, felt her pussy tighten around me and heard my name rush from her lips, I knew there was nowhere else in the world I was meant to be, nowhere else I belonged at that moment, but connected with Alexa. Her arms slid around my shoulders, pulled me down. And I let myself fall.

  Later, I lounged with her in my arms. She’d twisted the sheets around us, between our legs, wrapping us up like mummies. We’d be lucky to find our way out in the morning. She’d chuckled against my chest when I expressed my concerns. The sound of her laugh had me hard again. Damn, this girl seriously did something to me. Cursing in my head, I made another mental note to stock up on condoms.

  A sound woke me. It sounded like someone drowning right next to me. I shot up suddenly, trying to shake away sleep. The bed bounced up and down. The choking, frantic noise grew louder.

  “Stats?” I turned toward the noise, but couldn’t see a thing in the damn dark. “Stats?”

  Getting no response, I sprang from the bed and searched along the wall for a light switch. Finding one by the door, I had to blink several times when the room flooded with light. Alexa was tangled up in the sheets, kicking and thrashing on the bed. The fear and terror twisting her face stunned me, sent a knife through my heart.

  “Stats!” I called, racing back to the bed. “Stats!”

  I got into the middle of the bed and gripped her shoulders, calling her, trying to get her to surface from her nightmare.

  She tried to knock my hands away, screaming, “No! No! Stop!” Her face crumpled in agony. “Stop! You’re hurting me!”

  I loosened my grip, thinking in my alarm I was holding her too tight, but her eyes were squeezed shut. She wasn’t talking to me. She was trapped in a dream, clawing through the labyrinth in her brain.

  “Stats! Wake up!”

  “P-please…stop! Please! It hurts! It hurts! I’ll be good. I’ll be a good girl! Please…stop!”

  What the hell was she dreaming about?

  “Stats, wake up! You’re dreaming. No one is hurting you.”

  “PLEASE! STOP! PLEASE…” she wailed loudly. Tears seeped beneath her closed lids, soaking her thick lashes.

  “Alexa, you’re safe, sweetheart. You’re just dreaming.”

  She shook her head, hair swinging around her head in tangled waves. “No, please, make him stop!”

  “You’re safe, Stats.”

  “Help us. Help Jake…”

  Wherever Alexa was, she was terrified. Who the hell was Jake? Was he the one hurting her? It pained me to see her so distressed. I felt helpless. No matter what I did, it seemed I couldn’t reach her, couldn’t drag her back to me. I sat on the bed and pulled her into my arms, rocking her gently. She sobbed loudly, clutching my naked shoulders. The sheet draped around her body
in a tangled knot. I brushed my palm along her head, cradling it to my chest. I felt a fierce need to protect her, but how did you protect someone from demons in their head?

  Her sobs tapered to soft whimpers and I looked down, surprised to see her eyes wide open. They were foggy, unfocused, brimming with tears. I pulled back, tilting her chin up to me.

  “Hey, you were having a nightmare. You’re safe now, Stats. No one is hurting you. I’m here, baby.”

  She nodded hesitantly, gaze jerking away. She rooted into the comfort of my chest again. I held her warm body close, resting my chin on top of her head. Thank God she’d woken up. I’d been at a loss. She’d been so submerged in her nightmare that I feared it would go on for some time.

  “Are you okay?” I asked when her breathing quieted.

  “Yeah. Th-thank you for waking me.” Her voice was hoarse from screaming.

  I frowned, unable to hold back my questions or douse the unease prickling my skin. “Who’s Jake?”

  She cleared her throat. “He was my patient. Jake Madison. That little boy who died.”

  I tightened my hold on her, understanding the depth of the loss she’d endured. I knew she’d been close to him. “You dream about him?”

  “Sometimes,” she confessed softly, then sniffled. “I still think about him a lot. He was a great kid. It’s just so tragic.”

  “Especially for someone so young.”

  They warned me he wouldn’t make it. The first day I met him, my attending said he wouldn’t make it through the evening. I was so afraid. The whole time I was with him, I expected him to die, but he surprised me. I watched him fight. I watched him win. He was so brave. He was my little hero. Cancer sucks!”

  My body stiffened. I was too choked up to respond.

  “You know what the worst part about his death was?”

  “What?” I croaked.

  “I never said goodbye to him. When I got to the hospital, he’d already died. But I didn’t want to see him. I was too much of a coward. I never got to say goodbye.”

  I remembered the evening of the crash, how frantic she’d been. I remembered my anger over the car. How trivial that all seemed now. A curse sneaked under my breath. “I’m so sorry. I guess it didn’t help that I was being such a dick that evening.”

  She looked up at me, her gaze soft. “It’s not your fault. How were you supposed to know?”

  “Don’t feel bad about not saying goodbye. You were obviously upset about his death and just trying to protect yourself from more pain. That’s why you couldn’t see him. It would be difficult for anyone. I don’t know how that’s being a coward. I don’t see it that way at all.”

  She shrugged, quietly staring down at her hands, at the irregular scars. Something still didn’t seem right to me. She’d been terrified in her dream. Why would a dream about this little boy terrify her? I could understand the sorrow, but not the terrible fear.

  “Is that all that you were dreaming about?”

  “What do you mean?” She kept her gaze down.

  “You were yelling, afraid. You were asking someone to stop hurting you. You were crying and very distraught.”

  She shrugged again. “I don’t remember.”

  Worry crunched my brows together. I wasn’t sure I believed her. “You don’t remember any of it? You were very upset.”

  Finally she looked at me. The corners of her lips curved up, but the smile never fully emerged. She still had that unfocused, haunted look.

  “You know how dreams are. They don’t usually make sense. I was very upset about Jake. Probably expressing how hurt I was over his death.”

  I nodded, but couldn’t shake my continued unease. I shoved my fingers through my hair and glanced at a bedside clock. It was almost four a.m. We’d both had a long night, filled with a plethora of emotions.

  Our lives had changed tonight. I know mine had. I was exhausted. She seemed much better now, but I knew how the aura of a nightmare could linger.

  “You think you can fall back asleep?”

  She nodded, but I could tell she was wide awake.

  I switched off the light, then returned to bed. “Come here.” I reached for her and she tucked the sheet back into its twisted position around us before curling against me.

  “So, let’s play a game.” I smiled into the darkness, suppressing a yawn. “If you could be anything in the universe, what would you be? And you can’t be human.”

  I listened to hushed shadows before she finally responded.

  “A rock. A big, gray boulder. I would be strong and impenetrable…and never get hurt.”

  My muscles flinched. There was something about the vulnerable honesty of that statement that hit home.

  “We’re often stronger than we think we are. Sometimes we have to be. You have incredible drive and determination, Stats. That takes a lot of strength.”

  Her arms tightened around my waist.

  “What would you be?” she asked quietly.

  I yawned loudly. “Moss.”

  She chuckled, obviously baffled. I think I was, too. “Moss?”

  I grinned. “Yeah, that way I get to hang out on top of you.”

  She laughed and the sound floated through the darkness, imbuing it with her special light.

  “And not the soft, slimy green kind, either,” I explained, stifling another yawn. “I’d be that thick, fluffy moss that everyone likes to touch. I’d spend all day humping your rock.”

  I was so tired I was blathering, but Stats was giggling. And I loved that sound, so I kept talking.

  I slept in late the next morning. When I awoke, the shades were up and bright sunlight poured in to the bedroom. Alexa was nowhere in sight, but the strong smell of coffee and the sounds knocking around beyond the door told me she was in the other room. My mind skimmed over the events of the night before. It all seemed surreal, from having incredible sex with Alexa, to her horrible nightmare. I wasn’t sure what to make of it all, but I was glad we’d switched gears on our relationship.

  The door pushed open just as I was sitting upright in bed. Alexa walked in with a huge smile, carrying two coffee mugs. Her eyes were bright and clear, free of shadows. She was covered in an oversized light blue hoodie and matching sweat pants that were hanging off her. Too bad she was already dressed. I would’ve loved to entice her back to bed.

  “Hey there, sleepyhead.” She sat on the edge of the bed and handed me a mug.

  I confiscated both mugs, set them on the nightstand, then pulled her on top of me.

  “Hey there, beautiful.” My lips grazed her jaw before they captured hers for a lengthy kiss. She tasted good. Happy.

  “You okay?” I asked just to make sure.

  She nodded and sank back into the kiss, pushing a groan into my mouth. I flipped us over, fitting my hips between her raised knees. Her fingers drifted down my back and grabbed my naked ass for a firm squeeze. Reflexively, I dug my erection into her sex, wishing again she was naked.

  “You definitely got an extra serving of horniness.” She issued a light laugh.

  “It’s what you do to me.” I nipped her neck and blew a raspberry, laughing as she squirmed beneath me. She was very ticklish. I loved that about her.

  “Your hair smells good,” I drawled, sticking my nose into the thick layers.

  “I washed it earlier in the shower.”

  I growled and inhaled deeply, drawing the floral scent into my lungs. “It smells mountain fresh.” I grinned. “Almost as good as my socks.”

  With a chuckle, I blocked the pillow that came at my head. I caged her wrists above her head and plundered her mouth. Her laughter melted into moans as I nibbled a path down her neck.

  “I’ve been thinking,” I announced, capturing a fat curl with my finger.

  “I’m afraid to ask.” she smiled.

  Kissing her neck, I blew another raspberry, groaning when she writhed and bucked her hips against my groin. “I think we should go on a date.”

  She quirked a brow.
Sunshine brightened the blue of her eyes. They were large behind her glasses. “Don’t you think it’s a little late for that?”

  “No, I mean an official first date.”

  “What do you have in mind?”

  “I’ll surprise you.”

  “I’m not sure I like the sound of that. Tell me.”

  I shook my head stubbornly. “Nope. If you want the info, you’ll have to find a way to get it out of me.”

  I howled when she got in a shot, clobbering me with the pillow.

  “That’s not exactly what I had in mind.” I laughed.

  My stomach grumbled, my thoughts turning to food. “I’m starving. Do you have anything here to eat beside bananas and orange juice?”

  She pursed her lips. “Not really.”

  “Let’s order breakfast.” My stomach grumbled again in approval. She nodded. I hopped off the bed and reached for my jacket, retrieving the phone from the pocket. I could feel the brush of her gaze over my naked body, and couldn’t help smiling at the admiration in her eyes when I turned back to face her. She jerked her gaze away, her cheeks reddening.

  “I saw you looking,” I teased, and chuckled when the shade darkened further. “There’s nothing to be ashamed of, Stats. We should enjoy each other’s bodies.”

  “Yours is gorgeous,” she whispered.

  “So is yours,” I said. From the little I could see of it, I wanted to add, but thought better of it. I’d met few women who were confident in their skin, and I could tell this was an issue for Alexa. It would take time for her to be comfortable naked around me. Hopefully not too much time. I sat on the edge of the bed and ordered breakfast from a restaurant I found online. Alexa’s eyes widened as I kept adding items to my request.

  “I’m a big man.” I winked, clicking off the phone. “I eat a lot. Plus, I need to replenish my energy.” I leaned forward and pecked her lips. “Mind if I take a shower?”

  “Not at all.”

  I passed a palm along my prickly jaw. “Do you have a decent razor I can borrow?”

  “No, but I have a few scalpels I use in the lab. I could surgically remove your stubble.” She laughed wickedly.

  I gave a mock shudder, grinning. “No, thanks. I’ve heard what you’ve done to Poor Peetie.”