The lack of emotion in her voice tugged at Connor. “You don’t know that.”
“Are you willing to bet I’m wrong?”
Dom’s arms dropped to his sides and some of the gruffness left his voice as he talked. “Check the open house rentals. A man smart enough to hide and cover his comings and goings won’t go to Berman’s Lodge for a room. He’ll be keeping quiet. Probably paid in cash for an out-of-the-way place. Isn’t going out to dinner, so he’d be buying groceries.”
For a guy who didn’t talk much he suddenly had a lot to say. Connor guessed it had something to do with the lost and broken expression on Maddie’s face. He had to believe Dom wasn’t immune.
“How many houses on Whitaker fit that description?” Maddie asked.
After a few seconds of quiet, Dom handed out his final bit of information. “That’s your problem, not mine.”
Chapter 15
She finally knew she wasn’t alone, that all of her tricks and games and lying to her neighbors to figure out who visited Whitaker and who stayed had failed. She ran right up against her failure. Had it rubbed in her face.
She wasn’t so fucking smart now.
So much for instincts. It took her long enough to gather the information she needed. All those days being led around by the new guy and the useless pretend cop. She hung on to them, flirted with them. Got deeper into trouble and refused to take any responsibility for her actions.
She would learn.
Chapter 16
The day went on for what felt like a week. By the time Maddie dragged her butt back to Connor’s cabin, she wanted to throw off her coat and not think about ferry schedules or people or anything. Except him.
During the last two days she’d thought about him all the time, whether she was stuck in an office away from him or right beside him. His scent. The way the wind blew his straight hair around. The line that appeared between his eyebrows when he got lost in thought.
The unexpected daydreaming started as a minute here or there. Her mind would wander to him or some stray comment he made. Then those minutes grew closer together. The time got longer. Her thoughts veered in a different direction, one that involved being naked.
She’d had chances for easy, hot sex during the last few years of solitude. The kind that wiped out her worries for a few hours but didn’t mean much. It had never really been her thing but it was her only real option when her life imploded. Still, her needs always battled with her fear and being careful won out every single time.
With Connor, all the reasons not to take the next step slipped away. The only valid excuse to maintain separate beds centered on his safety and her worry that she was dragging him to a place he didn’t deserve. Into danger he shouldn’t have to handle. But the excitement in his voice when she made the offer earlier, the way his whole body snapped alert and those beautiful dark eyes stared right into her, said he knew and didn’t care. He understood the risks, maybe not the risk, but he’d made some sort of mental calculation and decided she was worth it. She didn’t get it but she didn’t have the strength or the will to keep him at a distance either.
She heard him clear his throat from across the room. For the first time she realized she stood there, holding her coat, just inches inside the front door.
“One question.”
She tensed, waiting for him to say something that would steer them off course and back into danger talk. “Go ahead.”
“Why are your jackets so big?”
Not expecting that. “What?”
“I’m not a fashion expert but it’s like you’re wearing the wrong size.”
“I am. They came with the house.” As far as explanations went it wasn’t the most rational, but it was the truth.
He smiled. “Excuse me?”
“They were in the closet. Well, in a box in the closet.”
He continued to stare at her, wide-eyed and waiting.
“The jacket I brought with me when I moved here wasn’t warm enough.” She hung the one she was holding on the hook by the door and stepped down into the living area. “At first, I thought there was something wrong with me because I was freezing all the time, even in summer. Then I realized the chill here is different. It whips off the water and blows through you. Never experienced that before.”
“Two years in and you haven’t acclimated?”
Then it dawned on her. She’d been staring into space and the mundane conversation eased her back. He was giving her time and space because that’s who he was.
She’d picked the right man to attack that first night.
“Maybe I’ve been waiting for the right person to come along and warm me up.”
He visibly swallowed. “I want to be clear.”
“I’m listening . . . watching. Ready.” She walked toward the ladder. Rested her hand on it as she kicked off her boots.
“I’m not holding you to anything you said today. Things happened and . . . you know, emotions.”
He was extra cute right now. All windblown with rosy cheeks. The sweater he wore hugged his chest and highlighted his trim waist. She’d seen him in a T-shirt and sweatpants. That’s as close to undressed as he got when she was still downstairs each night. He didn’t strike her as shy. His clothing choices were likely out of deference to her.
Now she wanted to know what he hid under there. “Such as?”
“The flirting, some dirty talk. I’m all for it. But that doesn’t mean we have to—”
“Stop talking and come with me.” She turned and started up the ladder. That put him below her.
Let him look.
She took her time getting up the rungs. Shook her hips a bit and heard him suck in air. The energy pinging around inside of her threatened to knock her off those rungs. Then his hand skimmed along the small of her back, waking up every nerve and every cell. His fingers caressed her spine.
She had no idea how she made it up to the loft without falling. She spied the unmade bed, then turned in time to see him slip up behind her. His footsteps echoed on the hardwood as he moved to stand in front of her.
The urge to touch him overwhelmed her. She gave in, smoothing her palms over his chest while fighting the need to pull that sweater off him. “I’m here with you because I want to be here with you. Got it?”
“If that changes, you tell me?”
Consent had never been sexier. “You’re irresistible.”
His hand closed over hers in a gentle touch. “I’m serious.”
“So am I, and yes. I want you. With me, over me, in me.” She met his gaze without blinking. “Clear enough?”
His breathing ticked up. His chest rose and fell, faster and more labored now. “Very.”
She brushed her fingertips gently over the edge of his new scar. “The stitches are gone.”
“Doc thought about keeping them in a few more days but my manly whining stopped her.”
The way he said it and the thread of amusement in his voice made her smile. “I bet.”
She slipped her hands down that long torso to the bottom edge of his sweater and tugged it over his head. The move pulled on the white tee he wore underneath, dragging it up and treating her to a healthy glimpse of his flat stomach and the dark sprinkling of hair there.
Her fingers moved without any message from her brain. Teasing along his bare skin. Sliding down to rest on the button of his jeans.
One second she stood there and the next, the room whipped around her. She dropped onto the mattress in a sprawl. The comforter bunched beneath her but all she cared about was the six feet of hotness on top of her.
His skin warmed under her hands as she yanked his T-shirt up and over his head. The sight in front of her had her brain clicking off. Shoulders that blocked the light on the ceiling. Skin that looked touched by the sun.
The way his hair fell over his forehead and those intelligent eyes. She lifted up to kiss him, and when their mouths met she wondered why she spent days delaying their second time. Heat bubbled up in
side of her and she wrapped her arms around his neck. She couldn’t get close enough, or touch him enough to satisfy her.
Their hands wandered as the kiss raged on, burning through her and sending her mind spinning. She pressed in closer, put every part of her into showing him how much she wanted this.
They broke apart to the sound of heavy breathing. He rested his forehead against hers. “Has it really been a long time for you?”
Not now. Those words shouted in her head and she almost said them out loud. “This isn’t the time to hunt for personal intel.”
The tip of his tongue traced her bottom lip. “There’s that word again. It makes me feel like I’m in a television show.”
The sensation of his tongue grazing over her skin had her shaking from the inside out. She slipped her leg around his, bringing their bodies together everywhere she could.
“Why are you still talking?” She whispered the question against his lips.
“I have no fucking idea.”
He rolled them until she sprawled over him. The position let him sweep off her sweater until she straddled him, wearing nothing more than her bra and a pair of faded jeans.
“I’m a big fan of this position.” His fingers slipped through her hair and brought her mouth down to his again.
The second before their lips met, he looked at her, not bothering to hide the heat welling inside of him. She saw it in his eyes and the curve of his mouth. It radiated off him. Then she dropped her head and slipped into a blinding kiss. Let it pulse through her.
Those knowing hands slid over her, learning every curve. Fingers touched and caressed. Skimmed over her and landed on her jeans. She expected him to unbutton them but he didn’t. His hand traveled lower, against the seam. She felt the touch through the fabric to her underwear.
That finger moved. Back and forth over her. The layers of clothing didn’t matter. She felt him, every pressure and every push.
Her head dropped forward and her hair brushed against his chest. “Connor.”
“Close your eyes and feel.”
She rested her forehead against his cheek and gave in to the rhythm. Shifted her hips back and forth. The touch was both too much and too little. The friction of the material over her softness had her insides clenching.
On instinct she tried to open her legs even further, give him room. And when the pressure rubbed the cotton against her already sensitive skin, she let out a gasp.
She turned her head until her mouth rested against his chin. The scruff teased her lips. “Please touch me.”
“I am.”
Her breath hiccupped in her throat. She had to drag in air before she could cough out a word. “Inside.”
“Show me.” He pressed his mouth just under her ear. Against that soft patch of skin and all those nerve endings that jumped at the contact.
Energy pounded her. She shifted with her hands moving and mind turning to mush. The slide of the zipper ripped through the room. Then she had her jeans open. Her breath rushed through her. The pumping need had her scrambling for his hands and those knowing fingers.
She plunged his palm into the open space between her zipper and her underwear. “Please.”
That’s all it took. His finger slid under the elastic band of her tiny bikini bottoms. Slid over her, then into her. She tried to gulp in air at the contact but her body refused to obey.
She crushed her body against his, plunging his finger deeper. When that didn’t give her what she needed, she lifted up and pushed down hard again. A second finger joined the first. While she wiggled and shifted on top of him, searching for the perfect amount of pressure, he pushed his fingers in and out.
She heard a humming sound and realized it came from her. That her body craved this from him.
Need spiraled inside of her and every muscle tightened in anticipation. She squeezed against his fingers and pressed her thighs into his sides. Nothing relieved the pressure. It built and heated until she threw her head back and pushed down hard against him.
“Maddie.”
The rough sound of her name on his lips nearly sent her flying over the edge. She opened her eyes, forcing them to focus. A sprinkle of sweat covered his forehead and that sexy crease where his throat met his collarbone.
When he lifted his other hand, she thought he might pull her down for a kiss. When he slipped it into the tight space at the opening of her jeans and rubbed in circles right over that sensitive spot that sent her reeling, she lost it.
The orgasm slammed through her. Her body bucked and her thighs pressed even harder against him. The shaking and pulsing wouldn’t stop. She bit back a scream and kept the chanting of his name in her head.
By the time the waves of pleasure died down, she no longer had any strength. Her muscles gave out and she collapsed on top of him. A heap of hair and heavy breathing.
The soothing caress of his fingers tracing circles on her back made her eyes drift shut. All thoughts of getting up or rolling off him or saying something that made sense left her mind. He’d wrung every ounce of energy out of her.
After a few minutes of silence a few things hit her. A slight chill in the room. The bulge pressing against her stomach.
Yeah, she really wanted to do something about that but she needed a second.
She lifted away from the hand that still rested against her and slid off him. A few kicks and her jeans hit the floor. One roll and she was on her back, staring at the ceiling and listening to their labored breathing die down.
“You are so good at that.” She meant it. He seemed to excel at everything and this proved to be no different.
“Maybe I am a handyman.”
She laughed as she rolled to her side and snuggled against him. “That was a terrible joke.”
“I bet Paul would have liked it.”
They both laughed that time. She had no idea where she found the energy to make the noise. “Give me a second.”
He looked at her. “For?”
He was either the least selfish person on earth or he thought she was the greediest one.
She lifted up with her head resting in her palm and looked at him. His body stretched out on the bed. Those long legs were still packed into those jeans but the rest of him, every impressive inch, was open to her view. “Do you think we’re done?” she asked.
“I’m following your lead.”
“So sexy.”
She lay there for a few more minutes, stunned at the comfortable silence. Brushing her fingers over his bare chest. Trying to ignore how right this felt.
Her hand dipped lower, down the front of his pants. Skimmed over his length and watched as his eyes eased shut. He was hard and ready but still he waited.
Every article she read about him raved about his business sense and his work ethic. They described him as tough and energized and ready to walk out on any deal if he didn’t get what he wanted. She didn’t know how that lined up with the man beside her now, but this was who he had been with her since they met. A little bossy and a bit grumbly, but charming and decent. The kind of man who would walk a dog so a couple could have a booty call.
She smiled at the memory.
Finding a reserve of energy, she climbed back on top of him, careful to cradle his hard length between her thighs. His eyes popped open and he watched her. That gaze took in everything from the way she unhooked her bra to the way she slid it off and dropped it on the floor.
“Your turn.”
When she climbed on top of him the second time, his mind went blank. All he saw was her, and that body and that beautiful face. Miles of bare skin.
The memory of touching her still played in his mind. So wet and ready. The way she trembled and leaned into him. Her hips shifting in time to his hand. She didn’t hold back or play games. She wanted to be touched and begged for it, and he couldn’t remember ever seeing anything as sexy as her open mouth and pink tongue as she came.
He rubbed his hands up and down her soft thighs. “This is a hell of a vi
ew.”
She covered his hands with hers. Trailed them along her lean muscles to the insides of her thighs. She still wore those sexy blue bikini bottoms. They didn’t block his gaze. He could smell her excitement.
She guided his hands higher, up her stomach to cup her breasts. Her body intrigued him. So firm yet so soft.
He held her, brushing his thumbs over her tight nipples. “Beautiful.”
He caressed her until a tiny growl escaped her throat. He was already rock hard, and the sound pushed him right to the edge. The way she shifted on top of him, purposely rubbing against him, tested his control. It faded with every passing second.
Without warning, she leaned down and brushed her lips over his. Deepened the touch, treating him to a scorching kiss that sent his temperature spiking.
“Ride me.” His plea came out as a rough whisper.
“Condom?”
He swore his heart stopped. He dropped his head back into the pillow. “Oh, shit.”
“Amateur.” She winked. “The drawer.”
“What?”
She nodded in the direction of the nightstand. “I bought them yesterday.”
No wonder everyone stared at them at the Lodge. The whole town likely knew about her recent purchases. But he liked her style. “Nice job.”
“Get one.”
Just as he reached over, he felt her move. She shifted and slid, traveled down his body and went to work on his jeans. Shimmied them down his legs.
His breath caught in his throat as he watched her fingers trail over him. Saw her hair cascade against his thighs. The sight held him there. Speechless. And when she slid her mouth over him, took him deep inside after licking along his length, he had to fight not to lose it.
“Maddie.” His fingers slid through her silky hair. He guided his length in and out of her mouth, slowly torturing himself.
When she lifted her head, wetness glistened on her lips. “Now, Connor.”
The sexy growl to her voice got him moving. He threw out an arm and tugged on the drawer knob. The contents thudded as he jerked it closer to him. He sighed with relief when his fingertips touched the condom.
The Secret She Keeps Page 11
