by Lexi Blake
His woman.
He slid the plug in. “That’s it. Relax for me. It’s not so bad.”
It wasn’t bad at all. Now that he’d managed to coax it inside her, she wasn’t sure what she’d been afraid of. She felt full. “I don’t hate it.”
“I’m glad to hear that because you’re going to wear it for a while. Clench it, love. You need to concentrate to keep it inside. I’ve got to clean up. I want you to lie on the bed and wait for me. I’m not even close to being done with you yet.”
She wasn’t close to being done either.
* * * *
Owen washed his hands and looked at himself in the mirror.
Fuck, he didn’t recognize himself, and it had nothing to do with what had happened to his memory. He’d looked at himself in the bloody mirror every day. He saw an attractive man who couldn’t quite connect to anyone around him.
Not tonight. Tonight, all he could see was a man who hungered. The man in the mirror hungered for something and it wasn’t his next glass of Scotch.
It felt good. It felt fucking perfect. She was everything he could want in a woman.
He was lying to her at every single turn.
He dried his hands. It didn’t matter. She never had to know. He could handle this and handle her. He didn’t have to give her up.
He wouldn’t give her up. She was the one good thing that had come out of his pain. He wasn’t about to let her go now no matter what Ezra said.
It was okay. He still had time with her.
Time to steal more of her privacy. Time to lie to her.
She didn’t deserve any of this.
He opened the door and every single bit of guilt fled because she was lying on the bed, her head tilted off the edge, her gorgeous body draped over the comforter. He had to smile because she was in an awkward position. Sexy, but awkward. It was like she’d tried to center herself on the bed and gotten it wrong. She lay across the bed, but not like she would to sleep. She was parallel to the headboard and her head was slightly off the mattress.
His cock twitched in his jeans and he knew it didn’t matter what he’d done before or what he would do after. All that mattered was this moment and this woman. It didn’t matter that he didn’t deserve her, that he’d lied and cheated to have her. She’d given herself to him and he was going to keep her no matter what.
He stood there for a moment, his eyes taking in every inch of that golden skin. Her tits were perfect. Round and tipped, with ripe pink berries. His palm itched to touch them, to feel that silk under his skin.
“I kept the plug, but that was pretty much hell on earth, Owen. It doesn’t want to stay in,” she complained. “I had to roll on the bed and I ended up like this. Can you grab my ankles and pull me down so my head isn’t falling off the mattress?”
But he could see the possibilities of her position. She was laid out for his enjoyment. He unbuttoned the fly of his jeans and shoved them off his hips, kicking them to the side. He wouldn’t need clothes for the rest of the night, either. He was going to spend every second of it skin to skin with her.
Doing disgusting, perverted, glorious things with her. “I like you exactly where you are.”
It struck him that he hadn’t felt her mouth on his cock. He’d been too eager to get inside her, but he could certainly make up for it now.
Her hair fell in golden brown waves. “You like it? I’m not sure how…” She bit her bottom lip. “You want me to suck you, don’t you? You want to shove your cock into my mouth and play with my breasts at the same time. That’s why you like it.”
It was a good thing that she could read his intentions. He couldn’t keep her like that forever. She would get woozy, but he could enjoy her for a few moments. “I like it because you’re laid out like a feast for me. Are you going to do it, love? Are you going to suck my cock?”
“Yes, Owen. I’ve been dying to.” Her legs slid against one another, like she couldn’t help but move.
He crossed the space between them. The bed was at the perfect height. It brought her luscious mouth in line with his cock. “Open for me.”
She did as he’d commanded, and he felt the first long lick of her tongue on the underside of his dick. It was enough to make his eyes roll to the back of his head. The position wasn’t one he’d been in before, doubted she had either, but she took to it with enthusiasm.
Her tongue rolled over him. It was a tight fit. Her mouth was small, but she managed to work his dick with sweet enthusiasm. He fucked in and out of her mouth, loving the way her teeth scraped against him. Yeah, he didn’t mind that tiny bite of pain. There was something primal about having her like this. It wasn’t normal or natural, and yet she was giving him everything he desired.
Maybe it was normal and natural to go wherever he wanted as long as he was with her. Topping Becca felt right. He did have something to give her. If he hadn’t insisted, she would be in a lab at Huisman working away instead of spread out with a cock halfway down her throat. She would forget that her body needed attention too.
And protection. Something was happening and she had no idea what was coming for her. He would protect her when it all went down. He would stand in front of her and take anything that came her way.
Maybe then she would forgive him.
He let the thought go and reached for her breasts. The position she was in left her whole body open to him. His playground. He cupped her breasts, feeling the nipples against his palms. She continued to work his dick, moaning around him when he tweaked those pretty nipples. He rolled them between his thumbs and forefingers, pinching lightly. Every groan he elicited from her rolled over his cock.
He felt her hands run along the outside of his thighs and he reached for her pussy. He wasn’t about to come in her mouth. He wanted inside her pussy too much, but she could get another orgasm out of this. She was so hot, and that plug would make her even tighter than normal. He wouldn’t last long. It was imperative to give this woman every second of pleasure he could. He needed to get her addicted to the pleasure he could give her and then maybe they would have a shot at coming out of this together.
Her nails rasped against his thighs when he touched her clit. It was swollen, her pussy soaking wet with her previous orgasm. He could give them to her all night long.
So responsive. She shuddered underneath him as he started to work her clit.
“Give me another one,” he commanded.
She squirmed beneath him, her hips catching the rhythm of his hand.
Her mouth sucked at him hard and he wasn’t sure how long he could hold out. She felt past good. The sensation was brilliant, like nothing he’d felt before, likely because there was emotion behind this. He’d fucked before. As soon as he’d physically been able, he’d started looking for partners, but those had been nothing but pure sex. This was more. This was what Jax talked about. This was why his brother couldn’t keep his hands off River, why he shoved his wife onto a kitchen island and had his way with her. Not because he needed sex. Because he needed her.
Becca’s body went stiff and he could feel her arousal coating his fingers. She moaned, the sound purring across his dick as she came again.
He pulled out because his cock was pulsing, ready to go off. He looked down and groaned as he saw her swollen lips and heavily lidded eyes. Sex. She was the picture of sex, of a woman who was well taken care of.
It was okay to take care of himself now. Owen tore open the condom and rolled it on. He stalked around the bed. It was okay that it was small now. Oh, when he had to curl himself around her to sleep…well, he would be okay with it then, too. He reached out and gripped her ankles, pulling her toward him. A gasp came from her throat, but she was utterly submissive as he spread her legs. He was too far gone to properly enjoy the sight. Nothing mattered except getting inside her.
He thrust in hard. She was tight but also incredibly wet and ready for him. The plug. God, the plug was a hard drag against his cock.
“I feel so full.” Her v
oice came out on a dreamy sigh.
He could fill her up. He could do it every damn night of his life. “You feel like heaven.”
He pressed up into her, loving how her eyes widened when he joined them fully. He was as deep as he could go, his balls rubbing against her. Damn but this was where he always wanted to be now. The world fell away when he was with her. He could be the Owen he wanted to be, not the one who’d fucked up in the past or the one who couldn’t seem to find a future, but Becca’s Owen. He could be the man who took care of her, who protected and sheltered her.
He set a brutal pace, his heart pounding in time with his cock. It was too good to last. She tightened around him and called out his name, and it sent him right over the edge.
He poured himself into her, fucking up inside her again and again until he had nothing left.
He fell on top of her, giving her his full weight. Her arms came around him.
Sometimes she was the one who sheltered him. That felt good, too.
“Owen, I lost the plug,” she whispered in his ear. “That’s okay, right? I couldn’t clench when you were doing all that stuff to me.”
Oh, he was okay with it.
He kissed her neck. “It just means we start all over again, love.”
Starting over seemed like a perfect thing to do.
Chapter Fourteen
“Why the hell is there a massive castle in the middle of Toronto?” Owen asked, glancing around the balcony at the grounds below. It was another gloriously beautiful day, with powder blue skies and fluffy white clouds that made a stunning contrast to the vivid green of the gardens below.
And the ultra-modern buildings all around them. He would have expected this gothic mansion in the middle of London, but not here.
Becca stared out at the fountain and the large trees. “It was built by Sir Henry Pellatt before World War I. He was the financier who brought electricity to the city.”
She said the words but there was a distance to her tone. He hated that.
He moved in, putting his hands on her shoulders. “If you’re nervous about this, we can leave right now. I promise we can figure out who sent that note to you without having to face him or her down.”
He wasn’t particularly happy about this mission of hers, but he’d seen the stubborn gleam in her eyes when she’d asked him to go with her. The fact that she’d asked him and not simply gone off on her own had made him reluctant to argue with her.
Still, he wished they were here to do nothing more than take the place in like the tourists milling all around them.
“I think this place is cool. I’ve been here all morning, and you should go down to the stables. They were the first thing Pellatt built, and during World War II, they were used to conceal Canada’s research for sonar devices that could detect U-boats,” a voice only he could hear said.
He touched his earpiece, the one he’d concealed even from Becca, and wished Robert wasn’t listening in. It was one more betrayal, but he couldn’t help it this time. If this was some kind of trap Levi Green had set, he couldn’t be here without backup. Becca hadn’t questioned the small device in his left ear, so he was fairly certain she hadn’t noticed it.
“Well, I’ve seen nothing of any interest,” a deeper voice said. Sasha was here as well. They’d decided Becca wouldn’t recognize him when he wasn’t wearing his janitorial uniform. He was walking the grounds with a camera. Sasha would be the one on the third floor when the time came.
“I have to do this.” Becca had turned and stared up at him.
It was hard having two completely separate conversations going on. Becca had zero idea he had another one going on in his ear, and she would likely be pissed as hell at him for bringing in his crew. He focused on her as Sasha and Robert argued in his ear about how interesting this place was. “You don’t. I told you I’ll handle this.”
“If this is a whistle-blower, then I need to be strong enough to face whoever it is,” she said resolutely.
They’d had this argument over breakfast. She had a theory that whoever had anonymously left the note requesting her meeting here was some kind of whistle-blower who’d discovered something nefarious going on at Huisman. There was definitely something going on, but he wasn’t at all sure they were dealing with a person of good intent. “Why not simply come into your office and tell you what they need to say? Why all the subterfuge?”
She glanced down at her watch. She’d been doing it all morning. Only ten minutes to go. He’d convinced her they shouldn’t simply stand around at the meet-up spot.
“Because whoever this is, he or she is afraid,” Becca replied. “It’s the only explanation.”
He could come up with another couple of explanations, none of them good. “They posed it as a riddle. A person who was scared wouldn’t want to confuse you.”
She waved off the argument. “It’s a little dramatic, but it was easy enough to figure out. A million dollars is missing, Owen. What if someone from one of the other teams is siphoning money off my accounts and hoping I wouldn’t notice? I do have one of the biggest budgets at Huisman, and I’m not known for being that great about keeping up with spending.”
“Because you’re a brilliant brat and people throw money at you all the time.” He’d definitely learned that about her. She was one of the single most sought after researchers in the world. He’d seen all the events she turned down, the numerous speaking engagements and offers to host her at various universities and hospitals around the world.
“The money isn’t important.”
“You can say that because you’ve always had it,” he replied, his stomach clenching at the sensation of being hungry. It wasn’t so much a visual memory that stroked across his brain but rather a feeling of pure guilt that came from knowing his mum was hungry while he and his sister were eating. He could feel himself pushing a plate toward her, trying to get her to take his portion because he would get food at school.
“Are you okay?” Her hands were suddenly on either side of his cheek. “You went pale.”
Something was definitely happening in his brain. The sensations came more and more often, that feeling of déjà vu that had started to make up his memory. Or rather replace it. He couldn’t trust it.
“I’m fine,” he replied. “And we’re going to have to work to help you pay closer attention to detail so this can’t ever happen to you again. Phoebe told me she’ll have something for us by the end of next week. She thinks she can figure out where the money went. She might not be able to give us a definitive who, but she’ll point us to where we should look.” Another lie. He was piling them on. He’d lied to her about work just this morning, saying it was his day off. He didn’t bother to tell her she was his work. “And that’s an excellent reason we don’t need to be here.”
A stubborn look hit her face, and he knew he wasn’t going to win this. “I want to look this person in the face and let them know I’m here to help. I’m not afraid. If someone thinks they can get away with this by stealing from my funds, I have to handle it. I’m already going to have to deal with Paul, and that’s not going to be a fun conversation.”
Yes, he was interested in Paul Huisman. Huisman had met with Levi Green. Green had disappeared after that first day, but that didn’t mean he was gone. Showing up in front of the Huisman building felt like an announcement of intent to him. The question was what was his intent. The fact that they hadn’t managed to find Green again meant the game was definitely afoot.
He really hated Levi Green.
“This would be an excellent time to feel out her relationship with Huisman,” Robert pointed out, his voice coming through loud and clear over the earpiece.
It was a reminder that he hadn’t done that before now. He should have pressed her for information over the last couple of days, but he’d been too busy making her scream out his name to gather useful intel. He slid his hand into hers as they started to walk back into the majestic house. “Do you think he could have anything at al
l to do with this?”
“Why would he?” Her arm rubbed against his as she walked close to him. “He’s rich all on his own. The Huisman family is incredibly wealthy. He lives in this massive house, and here in the city that means something.”
“For some people there is never enough money,” Sasha said. “By the way, I’m in position. You’ve got five minutes to the meet. I’m in a good place. She can’t see me, but I should be able to hear, and that means you should as well.”
It was good to know they were ready. He wasn’t. He wasn’t at all ready to step back and let her walk into this without him right at her side. “Does he like you?”
“I wouldn’t say like,” she admitted. “I think he respects me. At least my research. He’s always picking at me about how I run the team. He thinks I’m sloppy about admin duties, but then we all know he’s right.”
It wouldn’t matter if she could do what she said she would, but it was something a man like Huisman might use if he wanted to get rid of her. “Would you consider yourself rivals?”
“We don’t work on the same things.” She followed him as they rounded the corner and found the stairs that led up to the third floor.
“I thought you both were neurologists.”
“We are, but we’re working on different things.” She frowned as she moved up the stairs. “Okay, so it’s pretty close when you think about it. We’re working on the same group of diseases, but our approaches are different, if that makes sense. Our focuses are different. He thinks he can solve the problem purely with drug therapy. There’s a reason we keep our projects separate but we share a lot of the same funding. I use occupational therapies as well because the human body is an amazing thing. Especially the brain. Often if you give it the right stimulation it can heal itself.”
“Was he upset when you were put at the head of the department?”
“Yes, but we both know why they did it. The Huisman name is already on the foundation doors. They wanted my name to help bring in donors,” she explained. “I get the foundation a lot of attention.”
