Pierce, Nicole L. - Secrets (Siren Publishing Classic)

by Nicole L. Pierce

  He stopped and turned around. “Yes, my dear?”

  What could she say? She’d often cooked for him…he was useless at cooking…but tonight she was going to see Dante, and nothing would interfere with that. “I’ll cook lunch for you Saturday,” she promised.

  His face lit up. “You’re on,” he said, turned and started whistling as he headed down the parking lot.

  Serena felt better. She turned her mind back to Dante as she strode back to her car, anxious to fondle the whip as she drove home to get ready for her date.

  Chapter 12

  As soon as Dante saw her walking down the sidewalk, hefting a sports bag, he grinned and opened the door to the bar. The bouncer was about to take her bag to frisk it, but Dante grabbed it first. “I know what it is. It’s okay,” he said.

  The beefy bouncer gave him a disinterested nod then raised his thumb, indicating the bar.

  Dante took her hand, smiling at her Diana Ross mask, wishing he could rip it off and hold her cheeks for a kiss. “Hi, there,” he said and kissed her the best he could through their masks.

  “Back to the pirate,” she said after they pulled back. She sounded relaxed, jovial, and that filled him with joy.

  “Anything wrong with pirates?” he asked.

  She shook her head, and he pulled her toward the elevators. With his other problems nudging the back of his mind, he wanted to focus the best he could on his lovely lady. Although he never did this at Secrets, he had the urge to get a bit more personal with her. She gave him an opening when she said, “This whip I found in my car looks lovely.” She sounded sarcastic. “How do you have time for this? Don’t you have to work?”

  He turned to her as he pounded the “up” elevator button. “I was Christmas shopping,” he said, feeling a jolt to his cock.

  “This early?” she asked, with coyness.

  “Actually, yes.” It was the truth. “I always Christmas shop early because I love buying things for others. I didn’t have a family for many years so it’s a treat. Of course, when I drove past a sex toy shop…I thought of you. Consider this an early present.”

  “Christmas in July,” she said, still sounding demure. “Well, September, really.”

  The elevator landed, and Dante pulled her inside, his hand dangling over her tit. He tweaked it as the doors shut and the elevator car started to move.

  “I hate Christmas,” Serena said.

  It had come as a shot out of the blue. He stared at her. “Why?”

  The car landed, and they walked out, hand in hand. Serena cleared her throat then said, “I have no family, so I usually spend it alone. My friends invite me over, but I decline. I feel like an outsider.”

  “I see.” Frowning, he put his arm around her until they reached their special room. After they reached it, they stood before the door, and he turned to her and grabbed both her arms. “Nobody should spend Christmas alone, darling. Don’t you have any family at all? Or at least one loving foster family that you think of as family?”

  “Let’s go in.” She pulled away from him and turned toward the door.

  Dante unlocked the door and gently nudged her inside, disturbed. Who was this lady anyhow? She hid so much of her life. Well, he wanted to find out more, and he would. For now he set the gym bag with the whip on the floor then turned to her again. Without any fanfare, he ripped off her dress, pleased to see her butt naked underneath. In the dimly lit room, her skin shone like delicious chocolate that he wanted to eat. “Undress me,” he demanded.

  She did so, almost busting the buttons to his shirt and pulling down his pants in a flash. Their nakedness was so arousing, so right. The air sizzled as he lifted her by her ass cheeks and slid her up his body, stopping when their nipples aligned with each other’s. Then he laid her on the bed, sliding beside her. His hand slipped to her abdomen, feeling her trembling body.

  “I-I don’t want to wait,” she said, in a tortured but controlled voice.

  “Tell me about your family,” he said, no-nonsense.

  She paused, freezing under him, and he could tell he’d surprised her.

  “That’s not part of us,” she finally said.

  “I want to know,” he said, running his hand up to her tits, squeezing them then sliding his hand to her pussy, running his fingers up and down her wet slit. She gasped and her pussy leaked. She smelled of sex. “Dante, please!”

  “Tell me,” he said again, pinching her clit.

  She screamed, which surprised him. Had he hurt her? Her body spasmed over and over again, and she called out, “Oh, please do that again.”

  “Tell me,” he said, and pinched her clit again, harder this time.

  Her scream was louder, her orgasm almost throwing her off the bed. “More, Dante, more!”

  “Then tell me.” He was calm as a clam, but his cock had hardened, standing straight against his belly. Still, he withdrew his hand, staring down at her.

  Through her glasses, behind her mask, he could feel her stormy eyes. “You’re a bastard to use sex to get me to tell.”

  He said nothing, just stared at her.

  When her breathing slowed down, she turned her head away from him, and for a moment he thought he’d lose this round, that she wouldn’t cooperate. “I don’t talk about my family,” she said under her breath. “It’s painful, and I don’t want anybody’s pity.”

  “I can understand that.” He sat up and wrapped his arms around his knees, trying to ignore his hard-on. “From the court records I’ve seen of my own parents’ case, my father tried to smother me while my mother watched in approval. They were in high school and unmarried, and neither wanted me. If my father’s mother hadn’t walked in on us, he would have succeeded. I never saw my family after that, and since I was only three at the time, I only vaguely remember. But I rarely tell anybody for the same reasons as you.”

  She was sitting up now, staring at him with round eyes. “Oh, my god,” she said, a catch in her voice. “That’s terrible. Your grandparents didn’t want custody of you?”

  He laughed. “No, sugar. Both sets of grandparents were dysfunctional and had urged my mom to get an abortion. I don’t know why she didn’t. Maybe just to stick it to them. But nobody in my biological family on either side wanted anything to do with me, so I went to foster care. Then I was such a little monster that I went through ten families before I finally settled with the one who adopted me. They were the only ones willing to stick with me, and I didn’t make it easy.”

  She’d dropped her head. “That’s so sad.”

  He lifted her chin, staring at her with intensity, his heart racing. “Don’t pity me. I just told you so that you’d open up. In the end, I lucked out and have the best family. I’m sorry that the same didn’t happen to you.”

  She jerked her head away from him. “Does it really matter about my family? Or how your life started out? Isn’t that all in the past?”

  “Most of the time. I focus on the present. But you’re still alone at Christmas.”

  He waited for a long time, watching her as she stayed motionless. Finally, she said in a hard voice, “We can’t just fuck and drop this?”

  “No.” Even if his cock exploded, he wouldn’t give her way until he got his.

  She let out a sigh then looked up at him, her eyes tired now. “It’s your typical poverty story.” Her voice reflected fatigue and distaste. “I hate to even think about this, but…My mom got pregnant at fifteen, couldn’t take care of me, and my grandma, who she lived with, had late-stage cancer. Also, we lived in the projects and Social Services didn’t think the family could keep me safe. My mom did fight for me, but then she was diagnosed with AIDS two years later and died shortly after.”

  “And your father?”

  “Who knows? I don’t think my momma knew who he was.”

  Dante nodded, pained, amazed that she could speak in such a nonchalant voice. She must have gone over it in her head enough that she didn’t break down. Yet, for his story, her voice had caught. “T
hat’s bad. I’m sorry,” he said, pulling her against him, stroking her back. “Any brothers or sisters?”

  “Cousins, but I don’t know where they are, and as you learned, I have a very common last name. It wouldn’t be easy to find them, and I don’t have their names anyway. They don’t know me. I was removed from my mom’s care at a few months old.”

  Dante nodded, thinking about his government contacts and maybe finding her cousins. “Then once you were dumped into the system, you went from home to home,” he guessed.

  “Yeah, pretty much. And none of them liked me enough to keep me, so I learned to take care of myself and not depend on anyone. I knew my ticket out of that life was to do well in school. I was smart…it was all I had…so I used it, got a scholarship, and the rest is history. You know where I work. I’m a computer geek.” She tried to sound cheerful now. “I make good money.”

  “That’s a real accomplishment, sugar. You should be proud. And you did make a lot of friends.”

  “I did, but they don’t know the real me, how insecure I am. Cara is the only one who knew me in my early years. I met her when I was with one of my foster families, and we always kept in touch. She’s like the sister I never had, but I still feel funny going to her family for the holidays, so I spend them alone.” He frowned, and in response she smiled. “Dante, really, holidays are a lot of hype. In the end, they’re just another day on the calendar.”

  “That’s your logical, computer geek mind at work,” he said, teasing her now as he massaged both her silken shoulders.

  “I suppose so. It serves me well, keeps me from getting too emotional. I do have a wonderful cat. We spend all of our holidays together, but I don’t celebrate. Mostly I just watch television or do leftover work. I’m used to it.” Now she sounded almost cheerful. “Okay, you made me tell.” She looked at him with heat in her eyes. “Can we get down to business?”

  Dante smiled at her. He couldn’t help it. But deep inside he was devastated for her. He hadn’t known Serena spent her holidays alone, not with all the friends she had. His heart banging against his chest, he pulled her into him, rolling them both to the edge of the bed so she could sit on his lap. Her side scraped against his hard cock, and he moaned. “Have you ever been a pirate’s captive?” he asked, reaching under her mask to fondle her ear.

  She jerked and wiggled as she replied, “No, but it sounds like fun.”

  Chapter 13

  Serena was surprised that their heart-to-heart talk had made her feel so close to Dante. She trusted him more than she’d ever trusted anyone before, although that didn’t make any sense. In reality, she didn’t even know much about him. Still, as he rummaged in the closet, not telling her of his intentions, she didn’t ask him any questions. She knew he wouldn’t hurt her.

  Since when do you trust emotions over logic, Serena?

  Since now.

  He pulled something down then stuck his hands behind his back. As he came toward her, her entire being tingled with pleasure. For some reason, he seemed even taller and broader than before, and his sexy strut thrilled her. When he reached the bed, he pulled out his hands, and she found herself staring at four leather cuffs with pink fluff inside.

  She swallowed hard, her pussy feeling like it was being stuck with pins and needles.

  “Lie down and relax,” he ordered.

  She was already relaxed. She looked up at him with complete trust as he manacled her wrist to the bedpost. By the time she was bound and spread eagle, unable to get out, she was also ready for his touch. Her belly had filled with tension, ready to explode at the right time.

  “Right now, you’re mine,” Dante said, his chin lifting. “I’ll be sorry to ever give you up. Maybe I won’t.”

  His words had surprised her, but she didn’t want to put much stock in them. After all, her friends had told her that men will say anything when they’re hard. “I enjoy you, t-too,” she stammered, aroused.

  He sat on the edge of the bed and pheromones just flew off of him and onto her. He lifted her ass and squeezed it. She shuddered. Setting her down, he climbed over her and wrapped his arms around her, giving her a mind-boggling kiss. He tasted of mints and maybe some wine, but whatever it was, it pleased her. She couldn’t hug him back, and it frustrated her, but it also excited her. He slid down and started licking and nipping at her neck.

  She tried to flail, but couldn’t, and he laughed as he slid down further to her boobs, doing the same to her nipples, one at a time, slow and easy. Her eyes almost popped out of her head as she shuddered, trying to rip herself free of her cuffs, but to no avail.

  He slid down further and nipped at her belly button, and her entire body felt ice then heat as she threw her head back and forth, trying to free herself.

  Finally, he licked his way down to her pussy and wiggled her clit with his tongue. Fireworks exploded inside of her, and she couldn’t even move to sate the powerful sensations. She must have passed out for a moment because the next thing she knew, she was free and in his arms. “Are you all right?” he demanded.

  “Y-yes. What happened?”

  “Damn you, don’t do that again. Are you sure you’re okay?”

  Something was different about him. She tried to figure it out…he sounded familiar because he hadn’t used his Southern accent. “Say something,” she said, intrigued.

  “Something.” She could hear his voice softening…and then she knew. How had she missed it before? But could it really be true? What about the brown eyes? Contacts! Her heart slammed out of rhythm and hard against her chest.

  “Darlin’, you’re scarin’ me,” he said, and he’d remembered his accent this time, more pronounced than ever. “What’s the matter?”

  Her mind wasn’t in the moment. She saw him standing by her car, tall, strong, and cute…but off-limits to her…somebody she’d deliberately held back her feelings for because they were only friends. Should she say anything and end the charade?

  “Baby?”

  “I’m fine, Dante.” No, she didn’t want to find out if she was right. Not yet. If so, she really knew nothing at all about the shy, awkward man she’d known as Jason Wilcox. Damn him! She filled with warmth, liking the idea, but deciding to hold in what she thought she’d figured out. It would give her the ultimate edge when she sprung it on him. And she wouldn’t do it until the time was right…and, of course, she had to be sure.

  Damn, work was going to be hard now! He’d been playing with her for a year. Now it was her turn to play games. She thought about Jason, tall with his always-mussed hair and million-dollar smile. She saw his clear blue eyes that reflected whatever was in his soul, and she looked up at Dante, only able to see his full lips. They were like Jason’s lips. Her revelation had her stunned speechless, yet more excited than ever before in her life on many levels.

  Chapter 14

  When Dante Jennings was certain that Serena was all right, he gently turned her to her stomach and gave her warm, sweaty body his best massage. As he did so, his mind wandered a little. Serena had stared at him a long time. Had she figured him out, his double life? He moved his hands down and slid them to her plump ass, squeezing her cheeks as she sighed. As he continued to rub her soft skin, he drifted into the past and thought about who he was…and why.

  Jason Wilcox had been the name his teenage parents had given him. A few years ago, when he’d contacted his maternal birth grandmother to see if she’d changed towards him, she had told him that he’d been named after Jason in the Friday the Thirteenth movies. She had also discouraged him from ever coming around, stating that both of his parents were seriously messed up and didn’t need him in their lives and that she had “legitimate” grandchildren from her other grown kids now. She made it clear that his paternal grandparents were divorced, both alcoholics, and also had legitimate grandchildren. She’d called him “our bastard that nobody wants to see.”

  So be it.

  Dante hadn’t felt that bad. He’d checked on his birthparents through governm
ent records and had known they were both criminals and drug addicts and that both families were a mess. He wouldn’t try to find them again. He knew there was no hope and felt strangely proud that he hadn’t given in to bad genes.

  Dante Jennings had been born when he’d found out that his Dad and Mom wanted to adopt him. He’d asked his father, also Dante, if he could take his name. Dante Sr. was the person that Dante had, and still did, admire the most, and he wanted to feel a connection to the man…a meaningful connection.

  So Dante Jarrell Jennings had been born, Jason Wilcox had died. But the Jason Wilcox name had been a good one to play as computer geek. So he’d used it, and Serena knew him by that name. Only a few of the higher-ups in his workplace knew his computer job was a cover for his government agent status, but none of his coworker peers did. He was a man with too many secrets. Would Serena actually fall in love with him one day, knowing he was Jason Wilcox and a government spy?

  If she did, he’d give up his espionage to be with her. He’d do anything just to be with her. Now that he was sure she liked sexually dominant men, there was no reason not to…except that if she turned him down it would kill him inside. He had to be sure. He almost wished that Cara had left things alone and not arranged for the two of them to meet at Secrets.

  His mind came back to the present, and he was staring at Serena’s enticing butt. He strummed his fingers over her crack, teasing her. “That ass begs for me,” he said, his cock tightening.

  “Is that what you’re going to do?” she asked, sounding eager.

  He had to keep control. “No,” he said, and he stood up, watching her glance over her shoulder, her Diana Ross mask giving off no expression. God, if only he could see her expression…her sweet and beautiful face…he turned and walked to her gym bag, unzipping it and pulling out the rawhide whip. While she watched, he slapped the tails into his palm and smiled.