No Stranger to Scandal

by Rachel Bailey

  He swallowed hard and she watched the progress of his Adam’s apple, up then down. “This can only be a one-time deal.”

  She slid the first button of his shirt through the buttonhole. “Sure.” She wasn’t thinking ahead; she was too busy being smack-dab in the middle of the moment, so if he thought she’d put up an argument about some future possibility, he was wrong.

  His hands were motionless on her hips, but his fingers dug in, his heart thumping so hard she could feel it through his shirt. “No one can know.”

  “I won’t breathe a word.” She released a second and third button. A fourth. A whorl of dark hair peeked through the opening she’d made, teasing her. Daring her.

  “And,” he rasped, “we both promise not to use it against the other if things get sticky with the investigation.”

  She paused a beat and met his gaze. “We wouldn’t do that.”

  His dark brows drew together until they almost met. “You don’t know I wouldn’t use it to my advantage.”

  “I know.” Hayden Black was a man made of honor. And heat. The burning imprints of his hands held her hips in place beside him on the sofa, much too far away. Why didn’t he pull her closer?

  “Agreed?” His voice was tight, his gaze locked intently on her.

  “Agreed,” she said, barely caring what she agreed to, as long as it led to more of his bone-melting kisses.

  He pulled her against him and his mouth met hers, giving all that heat to her at last. Her throat hummed with a sound of sheer pleasure and she twined her arms around his neck, unwilling to give him the chance to break away again. She’d wanted him in this exact position for days, and the reality was living up to every single fantasy. The hunger. The solid muscle under her hands, the taste of his lips. Sizzling energy rushed through her veins, melting her from within.

  When they broke apart for air, there was a flare of satisfaction in his eyes, and it sent a shiver skating across her skin.

  “Lucy,” he said, his voice almost reverential, yet thick with need. “I’ve wanted you so badly, I thought I’d go crazy with it.”

  She smiled, glad she wasn’t the only one who’d been stuck in that place of torment. “I haven’t been able to think straight since I met you.”

  Groaning, he pulled her onto his lap and she wrapped around him, knees on either side of his thighs, pressing as close as she could with layers of fabric between them. She found the thick ridge of his need and pressed into him even more.

  Swiftly, he undid her buttons and peeled her top back, kissing the tops of her shoulders as he exposed them and sliding the fabric down her arms before wadding it into a ball and throwing it across the room.

  “Your skin is like cream,” he said against the curve of her neck. “Smooth and delectable.”

  In one fluid move, he unhooked her bra and threw it in the direction of her top. The cool air nipped at her naked breasts, but the simmering intensity in his eyes more than compensated. Hot fingers trailing her collarbone slipped lower, and his mouth followed them down. She arched back, her mind full of him; nothing could penetrate her thoughts but Hayden and his exquisite torture of her senses. When his lips closed over the peak of her breast, she speared her fingers across his scalp, loving the slide of his hair over the sensitive skin between her fingers. Loving what his mouth was doing even more.

  One of his large palms encircled her breast, squeezing ever so gently, and her eyes drifted closed to absorb the full effect of the magic he was wreaking.

  “They’re some impressive skills you have there,” she said on a ragged breath.

  “All driven by desperate need for you,” he growled.

  His shirt was hanging open, yet concealing far too much of him. She pushed the open sides over his shoulders and down his arms until he flicked the shirt off completely. With a ragged moan, she spread her hand over the planes of his chest, reveling in the feel of crisp dark hair under her fingertips, greedy for as much of him as she could touch. She scraped her teeth across his biceps, feeling his shudder as it ripped through his body. It was too much, but not enough.

  His hand snaked down between their bodies and released her trouser button and zipper, and when his fingers slid over the exposed satin, she bucked her hips to meet them. She’d never been this crazed with desire before. Being with Hayden was beyond her wildest dreams.

  He twisted and laid her back onto the sofa, the fabric smooth and luxurious against her bare skin, and he loomed over her, breathing heavily. Time slowed as she took in the sight of him, of the masculine beauty that was all hers tonight. She’d never forget the way he looked in this moment, the way he’d made her feel. A ripple seemed to run through the air and she knew this was a memory that would last her entire life—a defining moment, a turning point. Nothing would ever be the same again. Nothing.

  “Hayden,” she whispered, and suddenly the world started again as he leaned down to capture her lips, kissing her deeply, hungrily, sliding his tongue against hers. She wrapped her legs around his waist and arched up into him, savoring the feel of his body pressed against her. He ground into her and every cell in her body came alive with an electric current, vibrating and sparking.

  Then Hayden stilled and heaved in a breath. “That bottomless bag of yours has got to have condoms.”

  Delicious sensation came to a screeching halt and she blinked up at him. Protection? “No,” she said slowly, mentally running through the contents of her bag. “You don’t have any?”

  He swore under his breath and wrenched himself away. “No idea, but I’m hoping like crazy.” He ditched his jeans and strode to the bathroom, disappearing through the door, leaving Lucy to run through the options. One of them could sprint to the drugstore. A possibility, but it was a long time to be separated in their current state. She glanced at the lights of the city twinkling through the window across the room—she didn’t want to leave this suite alone for anything less than a fire. They could both make a mad dash to her place—she had some condoms in a drawer. No, Josh was asleep, they couldn’t leave. They could ring the concierge and see if he kept a supply—

  Hayden reappeared—fully sheathed—with a predator’s grin and prowled across the room. She managed to ditch her trousers and panties by the time he reached her, anticipation singing through her entire body.

  “Thank goodness,” she said as he climbed back on the sofa and covered her with all that heat. “I was making contingency plans and they were getting more ridiculous by the second.”

  “I look forward to hearing about those plans,” he said, nipping at her earlobe. “Later.”

  “Much later,” she said. “I have other plans for our mouths right now.”

  Never slow on the uptake, Hayden kissed her, nipping, sucking, stroking until her head swam and she was writhing underneath him.

  “Now,” she begged. “Please, now.”

  After drawing out the moment for several more agonizing seconds, he captured her gaze and slid into her in one smooth, deep stroke. The world swirled around her and came alive. She came alive. She tightened her grip on his waist with her legs, holding him there, savoring the sensation. Then, despite her hold, he began to move, and she was lost to the dance of their bodies, helpless to do anything but match his rhythm and give in to the sensations.

  She soared higher than the stars, and Hayden’s voice at her ear telling her she was beautiful, that she felt incredible, sent her higher still. The rhythm they created together was pure magic; her body was sparkling with bright, pulsing energy. His deep murmurs at her ear became more intense, edgier, pushing her to the brink, and she dug her fingers into his back, holding on, wanting the moment to last. His thrusts became faster, more urgent, and a wave of pleasure rose within her, too big to be contained, and she cried out his name as it burst in an explosion of color and light and intensity, dimly aware that Hayden followed her soon after.

  * * *

  Hayden stared at the ceiling from his position on the sofa, Lucy wedged beside him, his stoma
ch slowly hollowing out. That had to be the stupidest thing he’d ever done, which was saying something, because he’d done a lot of stupid things in his life.

  Making love to Lucy had been earth-shattering, yes. Bone-melting, definitely—he might not be able to stand again for a week. But still stupid.

  What exactly were those rules beforehand meant to achieve, other than to give him a false sense of security and permission to sleep with her? He liked Lucy—maybe too much—but she was still lying to cover for her stepfather, and had pretty much admitted she’d do anything to save Graham Boyle.

  Hayden had no doubt Lucy had genuinely wanted him tonight—the need in her eyes had been a thing of beauty. But would she use what had happened between them against him to protect Boyle, if she felt she had no other choice? His gut clenched tighter. He’d like to think not, but obviously his judgment was seriously impaired when it came to her.

  Even if she wasn’t lying to protect her stepfather, she was ten years younger, for Pete’s sake. He’d been twenty-two once, with all the fun and experimentation that entailed. But he was thirty-two now, with a son. Lucy and he were in completely different places in their lives. He winced and called himself a few more versions of idiot.

  The wisest move was probably to step down from the investigation and hand it over to someone else in his company. He now had a conflict of interest. But he was so close to finding the key to this case, and a new investigator would take time to get up to speed. That time could be the difference in catching Boyle and letting him slip through a hole in the net. No, as long as he kept his distance from Lucy now and didn’t let it affect his integrity as an investigator, then staying on was the best thing for the case.

  Lucy stirred beside him and leaned up on one elbow, a drowsily satisfied smile on her face. “Under different circumstances—” she said, and he cut her off.

  “Under different circumstances it still would have been a one-time deal.” He said it as gently as he could—despite it being the truth, it wasn’t the best etiquette to reject a woman right after making love to her.

  Undeterred, Lucy tilted her head to the side. “I thought it went well. Granted, it might have been better had we made it to the bed, and things did get a little carried away toward the end there, but you have to admit that parts of it were glorious.”

  His skin shivered with the memory of how good it had been. “Lucy, all of it was glorious.” He cupped the side of her face in his palm. “There wasn’t a millisecond that wasn’t glorious.”

  She laid a hand over his as he stroked her cheek, confusion in her hazel eyes. “But you wouldn’t want me again if things were different.”

  Wouldn’t want her? “Oh, sweetheart, I’d have to be dead not to want you again.” He withdrew his hand, feeling the loss of her warm skin. “But my life is a mess. I’m all Josh has now—he deserves a parent who’s focused on him. And any attention I have free needs to be on my business. I’ve let things slide a little since becoming a single father, so this investigation is important to my career. I just don’t have time to experiment with relationships.”

  One dark blond eyebrow jumped up. “I haven’t asked you for forever.”

  “I know.” He scrubbed a hand through his hair and tried to regroup—he was making a mess of this, as well. “I’m sorry. This is my fault—I should never have let it happen.”

  “There were two of us on this sofa, Hayden,” she said with a touch of impatience and sat up.

  “But one of us thinks being sensible is overrated,” he pointed out. “I thought so, too, at your age. Which is why I needed to be the one who was thinking about consequences tonight.”

  She stilled and her eyes turned to ice. “That won’t be a problem again.” She stood and began collecting her clothes.

  He thumped his head back on the armrest—hard. He’d basically called her a child. Could he have created a bigger disaster of the night if he’d tried? “Lucy—”

  “No, you’re right,” she said as she threw on her blouse, then stepped into her trousers. “We were irresponsible. It won’t happen again.”

  She was at the door before he’d gathered enough wits—or pants—to respond. He strode across the room, still buttoning his jeans, and laid a palm on the door above her head, shutting it. She leaned her forehead against the door, her fingers still gripping the handle.

  “Lucy, I’ve botched this.” Understatement of the year, but his brain still wasn’t working at full capacity after the best sex he could remember.

  She didn’t lift her head. “Yes.”

  “No, don’t spare my feelings,” he said wryly.

  A soft, reluctant laugh floated up from where her face was hidden against the door, followed by a sigh. “What do you want me to say, Hayden? You wanted it to be a one-time deal. Well, I’m on my way out the door, with no intention of allowing a repeat. You got your wish. So why are you stopping me?”

  “I want things to be right between us. I don’t want you to leave now with things this screwed up.” He was normally good at smoothing things over with people, at allaying their concerns. It was a skill that came in handy during investigations. Yet after crossing boundaries he’d set for himself and sleeping with Lucy Royall, he’d managed to insult her. Things had now veered outside his area of expertise. His temples throbbed. In truth, things had left his area of expertise some time ago.

  He looked down at her blond head leaning against the white door and cursed himself. He liked Lucy and he’d never forgive himself if he let her walk out of here hurt.

  “You said you’d help with the investigation,” he said slowly. “That won’t happen if you walk out that door now.”

  She tucked her hair behind her ears then turned to look up at him with a wobbly smile. “Things are fine between us.”

  Cupping her shoulders to steady them both, he peered into her eyes, seeking evidence that she was telling the truth. “You’re sure?”

  She shot him a rueful look. “One hundred percent.”

  “Prove it.” He stepped back, letting her go if she wanted, hoping like all hell she didn’t. If she slipped through that door, she’d take all the warmth from the room with her.

  She didn’t leave, instead eyeing him warily. “How do you suppose I prove it?”

  “Have a normal conversation with me. You have to give evidence to Congress tomorrow—you need to be in top form for that. We should discuss it.”

  “Thanks for the offer, but I’ll be all right. I’ll stick to the truth and we won’t have any trouble,” she said, repeating his words from their first meeting with a small smile.

  He let out a relieved breath. “That’s always a good policy.”

  “Will you be there?”

  “At the back of the room, so you probably won’t see me. I’ll give you a call in the afternoon.”

  “Talk to you then,” she said, and this time when she opened the door and slipped out, he let her go despite the pressure in his chest.

  * * *

  Lucy stepped into a cab and gave the driver the address of the ANS offices. She’d just finished giving evidence to the congressional hearing and was exhausted and needed a muffin, preferably chocolate chip, but Graham would be waiting to hear how it went. She sat back in the seat and leaned her head back, the questions they’d asked and her answers rolling around in her head.

  One question in particular kept repeating.

  “Have you heard the name Nancy Marlin?”

  She’d said no, but the name kept coming back into her mind, as if there was a memory just out of reach. She closed her eyes, let out a long breath and tried to clear her mind of everything except the name.

  It hovered, she could almost see it...then she plucked it from her memory. Her eyes popped open and she grabbed her cell, dialing Hayden’s number on instinct.

  “You did well,” he said when he picked up.

  She almost smiled at the warm approval in his voice but stopped herself in time—the time had come for emotional distance
from Hayden Black. It should have been a priority last night—no, from day one—but it was even more important since they’d made love. Sleeping with him while she was working on Graham’s exposé had been a monumental mistake. It was likely that Hayden would find the person behind the phone hacking before Graham set an air date on the exposé, but if Hayden found out in the meantime that she’d worked on it even after they made love, he’d have a right to feel betrayed. He’d find the culprit in time, she had no doubt. And in the meantime, emotional distance was the key. She set her shoulders.

  “Where are you now?” she asked as she checked out the window for her own location.

  “In the corridor outside Senator Tate’s office.”

  “I’ve remembered something else.”

  His voice immediately changed, became 100-percent business. “I’ll meet you at my hotel in fifteen.”

  She pictured his hotel room as it had been last night—strewn with their clothes, their naked bodies sprawled on the sofa. The blood in her veins began to heat. Then she remembered how she’d left and her blood went ice-cold. Maybe she shouldn’t have called him now.

  “Lucy?”

  No, she’d done the right thing to call. Hayden was the investigator for Congress—the exact person she should tell. They just had to meet somewhere private that wasn’t his hotel.

  “My place has muffins, let’s meet there,” she said.

  “My hotel. I’ll pick up muffins on the way,” he said and disconnected.

  * * *

  When Hayden arrived at his suite, Lucy was already there, looking as she had on the screen when he’d watched her give evidence—conservative mint-green dress, her hair scraped back and pinned at the nape of her neck. And now, as then when he’d seen her, his pulse galloped along like a wild horse with no intention of being tamed.

  He tossed her a paper bag that was fragrant with the scent of freshly baked muffins, and unlocked the door. “As promised.”

  “You’re a prince among men, Hayden Black.”

  He threw his keys and wallet on a side table and turned to find her already making headway with the first muffin. She seemed comfortable enough given the nature of their meeting, and it filled him with relief. After the way things had ended last night, he’d feared she might not return his calls, or agree to see him with anything short of a subpoena. But thankfully things appeared to be okay between them, if a little awkward. Now all he had to do was not cross any lines with her again. Never let his guard down.