by BETH KERY
He was a mystery to her, and yet she was such an integral part of his enigma. Or at least Addie was.
She thought of what he’d said regarding Sidney’s concerns for him. Sidney thought Dylan should have forged his life outside the long dark shadows of the Durands’ tragic past. What if Dylan had gone away after he’d finished college and never returned to his history at the Durand Estate? Surely Alice wouldn’t be standing there right now. But if by some miracle the truth about Addie Durand and the lies that constructed Alice’s life miraculously came to light, what would it be like if Dylan wasn’t there, holding her, reassuring her . . . touching her.
The thought chilled her to the bone. She drew off her robe. Even if he didn’t want to make love after their emotional talk, she wasn’t wearing pajamas underneath. Since they’d started having sex, she’d never once spent the night in anything but her own skin. She tossed the robe at the foot of the bed and climbed under the soft, luxurious sheets and comforter.
“He thinks that I’ve chosen to remain eclipsed by the tragedies that happened when I was a teenage boy. He is of the opinion that I’ve chosen a life of guilt and oppression instead of freedom to choose my life’s path.”
She shivered with cold and snuggled deeper in the covers. What if there was more than just a hint of truth to Sidney’s concerns? What did it mean to Alice?
Her anxious thoughts scattered at the sound of the bathroom door opening. She watched as he walked toward the bed, her heart sinking a little when she saw he wore a pair of thin black lounge pants that hung low on his narrow hips and left little to the imagination. He was coming to bed dressed—partially anyway. His cut, powerful torso was stunningly bare.
Their conversation tonight had been heavy and stressful. She was being shallow and needy by thinking about sex at a moment like this. It was just that . . . she did need him. In so many ways. Sex had always been the most natural and comfortable way to express her inexplicably strong need for him.
He walked to the opposite side of the bed. She kept herself from rolling over to face him, ashamed of her desire. Repressed air made her lungs burn. He shut out the light, and she felt the mattress give beneath his weight. He scooted toward her. A ragged sigh left her throat when she felt his arms go around her. Clamping her eyes tight, she curled into him, her back against his chest, his groin pressing to the lower curve of her ass. For several taut moments, they didn’t move or speak. Alice’s throat felt so tight, she wasn’t sure she could.
“What am I going to do?”
She gasped, half in shock she’d said the desperate words out loud. The question had been repeating in her brain over and over, but she hadn’t planned to utter it. Dylan rubbed her upper arm in a slow, soothing gesture.
“You’re going to keep moving forward, one day at a time. One hour. One minute, if need be. We both are. You go for the genetic testing on Saturday. That’s another step in the process. Maybe next week, if you’re interested, you could start to look at Alan’s will and the details of his estate, get a grip on how he planned for Addie’s potential return. I could have someone from the legal department come over and guide you through the trust, if you like. It’s an airtight but complex document. Alice?” he prompted when she didn’t respond.
“I don’t know,” she said brokenly. “It feels too soon for that.”
It’ll always feel like it’s too soon. It always feels like it’s too much. I have to move forward, despite all of that.
“I think what I’d like to start with for now is reviewing more of Durand’s annual reports and getting a firm handle on the company’s history and structure,” she said. “That’d feel a little less . . . personal.”
“If you think it’d help.” He kissed the side of her neck. She felt him inhale with his nose pressed against her skin.
“Dylan?”
He made a deep humming noise.
“I’m not sure I’m as convinced as you are that someone hired Stout and Cunningham. But given that you believe it, do you really think that whoever it was could still be around? Is that why you’re so protective of me?”
“Yes. And yes,” he said against her neck.
“But even if that were true, they couldn’t possibly know that I was . . . you know. Addie.”
“Listen to me,” he said abruptly close to her ear. His voice was quiet, but she recognized that steely tone. “I don’t have the full picture. There are parts missing. I’ve been over and over Alan’s original will and his current will and trust document. I can’t figure out a monetary motive—then or now. The truth about your identity will eventually come out when you’re ready. We have to prepare for it in the next few weeks. In the meantime, I’m still trying to figure out who would have had a motive for kidnapping and killing Addie. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t a potential threat out there. It was only twenty years ago. Twenty years. If someone wanted you dead once, there’s good reason to assume they’d want it again. If that person was once associated with Cunningham, there’s no reason Cunningham couldn’t have told him what he told me. There’s no telling who Cunningham dribbled the truth out to at the end of his life. It’s not like he considered me special. I merely served a purpose to inflate his ego. Talking to me was a diversion from the boredom of prison life. Who else visited him? Did he confess to another prisoner? I’m not just being paranoid, Alice. If you take anything away from tonight, please let it be that.”
She turned, stunned by his intensity.
“Okay. I’m sorry. It’s just . . . Alice Reed’s life is a lot simpler than Addie’s,” she said shakily, guilt sweeping through her at the memory of how she’d constantly needled and defied him in regard to his protective measures. It was easier to do, before she’d taken her first steps on the long journey of accepting she was Addie Durand.
He exhaled and pressed his forehead against hers. “I know. I understand. Will you please promise not to try to avoid Sal and Josh while you’re down at the camp?”
“Yes,” she whispered.
He kissed her mouth, deep and sweet, and she felt him stir against her backside. “It’s been a rough night. Go to sleep,” he whispered hoarsely after a moment.
“But . . .”
“Go to sleep,” he repeated. She turned her cheek into the pillow, her mind and body awhirl.
“Alice?”
“Yes?”
“I can only imagine how hard this is for you. I’m proud of you.”
“Thanks.”
She closed her eyes. Her world still felt off-kilter, but repeating Dylan’s words again and again in her head kept her steady.
SHE awoke in a split second, the sensation of Dylan’s full, flagrant erection pressing against her bare bottom yanking her quickly and completely from the realm of sleep. The room was dark. His mouth moved against her neck, hot and voracious. He bit gently on her earlobe, his front teeth scraping her sensitive skin. She shivered in pleasure. The bedside light suddenly switched on to a dim setting.
“I want to see you,” he muttered roughly, pulling his arm back. He spoke near her ear, amplifying her shivers. “You’re too much of a temptation. I waited for most of the night, but I have to have you before you go. I’m that selfish.”
She moaned as he pressed his lips to her pulse and lowered.
“Then I’m just as selfish,” she whispered. “Because I wanted this from the second you came to bed.”
“I was being sensitive.”
“You can be sensitive and horny at once, can’t you?”
She felt his breath puff against her skin and heard his gruff bark of laughter. “We really need to communicate better.”
She turned in his arms. His mouth rained kisses on her chest, making her nipples tighten. She dug her fingers into his thick hair and urged him to her breasts. He made a rough sound in his throat and rolled partially onto her, pinning her down to the mattress. He sucked a nipple into his mouth, laving it with his tongue. Her clit pinched in arousal. She tangled her fingers deeper into his ha
ir and arched her back, offering herself to him, crying out in pleasure.
“Stop twisting around,” he growled amusedly. He molded both of her breasts in his hands, applying a slight downward pressure, keeping her steady for his onslaught. He slipped her other nipple into his mouth and drew on her. His obvious rabid hunger fueled her own arousal. She abandoned herself to the need mounting inside her. It felt so hot and delicious, the wet tug on her nipple and his rubbing tongue making her clit ache. She wanted his tongue there between her thighs, slippery and firm, licking her clit until she was in a frenzy of need. Just the thought of it made her hurt. She slid a hand between her thighs, finding the cleft between her labia warm and moist. For a moment, she rubbed herself while he squeezed her breasts gently and sucked first one nipple, and then the other.
His hand gripped her forearm. He ran it down until his fingertips found her first two fingers pressing against her clit. She paused in playing with herself, thinking he’d stop her. Dylan liked to be the one to be in control of her pleasure. She loved that about him. But instead of halting her, he lowered his hand and plunged his middle finger inside her. Alice moaned and rubbed her clit harder.
He lifted his head slightly, his lips making a sucking sound as her breast popped out of his mouth. He lashed the sensitized crest with the tip of tongue.
“Let’s communicate now,” he said gruffly after a moment, his lips feathering over her wet nipple. “Tell me what you want.”
“Your mouth on me,” she said, the truth too sharp to keep inside her for long.
“Well, I want my cock in your mouth, so we’re going to have to compromise,” he said, a dark thread of humor in his tone. He moved quickly, withdrawing his finger, sitting up, and spinning onto his hands and knees, his head toward the foot of the bed. Alice watched as he straddled her and positioned himself over her, his groin hovering over her face. She shifted her pillow and her head, aligning herself, and reached for him eagerly.
He didn’t immediately lower between her thighs. Instead, he watched her. Feeling his gaze on her while she stared at his cock tenting the front of his pajama bottoms excited her. She started to lower his waistband.
“There’s a fly. Pull it through,” he instructed her gruffly.
She found the opening in the pajamas and plunged her hand in, fisting his shaft. He felt warm and hard and so good. She jacked him a few times, her fingers lingering of the bulbous, smooth head.
“God, I love your cock.”
“It returns the sentiment completely.” He roughly pulled her hand out of his fly.
“Hey—”
“You’re not moving fast enough. I want your mouth on me. Now,” he grated out. He maneuvered his naked cock through the hole and bunched the fabric around his balls. It stuck out at a right angle from his body, looking both intimidating and exciting. He cupped his erection from below. “Open your mouth.”
Arousal tore through her at his harsh demand. She loved it when his control began to fray. She parted her lips, saliva gathering on her tongue. He lowered his hips, guiding his cock into her waiting mouth. His cockhead pierced her, forcing her lips to stretch. She clamped him hard. He moaned and pushed the shaft onto her tongue.
“Suck, baby. Suck that cock.”
She did, for all she was worth, her mouth and lips aching at the effort. She was so hungry for him, she lifted her head.
“Put your head back on the pillow,” he demanded. “I’m going to come to you. Stay still.”
He pulsed his hips, pushing his cock several inches in and out of her mouth. Now that he was fixed in her, he put his hand back on the bed, steadying himself. He continued to watch her as he fucked her mouth shallowly, his tight focus driving her mad with excitement. He pulsed his hips faster, although he refrained from going deep. She sucked so hard, her cheeks hollowed out.
“Such a hot little mouth. Do you like having it fucked?” he asked, his voice thick with arousal.
She moaned her assent, her mouth too full of turgid, thrusting cock to do anything else.
“Use your hand for the bottom,” he said tersely. She gripped the lower part of his shaft and pumped him in unison with his thrusting hips. “God, that’s good,” he groaned roughly. “Spread your thighs, Alice.”
She opened her legs wider on the mattress. He used his fingers to part her labia, and then his tongue slid into the cleft. She’d anticipated the moment so acutely, but nevertheless an electrical shock of pleasure went through her at his first touch. His mouth covered her, his lips applying a firm pressure on her outer sex. He applied a slight suction, his tongue stabbing and pressing against her clit, sliding and rubbing. She screamed, his plunging cock stifling her anguished bliss.
Everything blended in her brain, the sensation of his thrusting cock, his male taste, her own exquisite pleasure. The moment enfolded her. It insulated her from the harsh realities she was learning about herself, it protected her from her grief.
She took him deeper, because his pleasure was hers, the pulse in his cock matching the hammering in her ears, his harsh groans the voice of her ecstasy. They were one in those moments, a single, throbbing nerve.
He twisted his face slightly as he applied suction, the small, taut gesture sending her over the edge. He flexed his hips back, sliding his cock out of her mouth. Climax blasted through her. The scream that had been trapped in her throat was liberated. He continued to eat her with greedy focus while she came, laving her clit hard with his stiffened tongue.
She blinked her eyes open dazedly a moment later, her shudders waning. He’d turned and was crouching over her, his head facing hers. He was naked now, the warm glow of the bedside lamp gilding his skin. His arm muscles bulged as he held himself off her. His pelvis dipped downward. She gasped as he entered her. Instinctively, she bent her knees and lifted her feet off the bed, opening her body to better fit his heavy arousal. He snarled as he slid in her to the hilt, his facial muscles tight with pleasure.
He began to move, taking her with thorough, deep strokes, their stares locked. She read something in his gleaming eyes that made her desperate. She dug her fingertips into his dense shoulder muscles, straining to keep pace with him.
“If you were feeling like you didn’t belong anywhere earlier when we talked, you can stop right now,” he bit out. Her face tightened with emotion. How was he always able to read her mind? She gripped him tight as he rocked her harder, their bodies crashing together now, the crescendo reaching its peak. He thrust deep, grinding his pelvis against her outer sex. She moaned shakily at the sensation of swelling inside her. “Because you belong here. You’re mine, Alice. And I’m yours,” he said, his eyes fierce.
God, she wanted to believe him.
She felt his cock lurch. As he began to climax, his eyelids clamped shut. He groaned harshly and thrust while he poured himself into her. It moved her indescribably, to witness such a strong, sure man surrender himself so completely.
TWELVE
The next day was Saturday, and her duties at Camp Durand were finished by three o’clock. Dylan was taking her to the hospital at four for the genetic testing. She knew they wouldn’t get the results for over a month, but she was still more nervous about the blood draw than she was letting on. As usual, she suspected Dylan was aware of her anxiety. They planned to meet at three thirty in the woods that bordered the castle like they had the previous Saturday. Dylan had asked Sal to watch over her for the first part of the trip. Then Dylan would watch her progress through the open field.
But instead, something happened to her that had never yet occurred while she was working at Camp Durand, something that seemed to signify the fact that Addie’s and Alice’s worlds were indeed moving closer together.
She and Dave were gathering their equipment after archery practice. It was a few minutes before three. The kids had already gone ahead to the cabin to meet up with the weekend supervisor and head over to the beach. Alice was searching for stray arrows at the edge of the field.
“You good?
” Dave called to her from a distance. He pointed to the path. “There’s something I need to take care of before the kids take off.”
“Yeah, go,” Alice yelled. “You have most of the stuff anyway,” she said, referring to the fact that he carried the bulk of the archery equipment in two nylon sacks slung over his shoulders. She waved at his departing figure and scanned the edge of the field. In the distant woods, she noticed movement. A figure emerged from the tree line.
She remained still, wariness growing in her as Sal Rigo approached. What had made her bodyguard leave the shadows and seek her out?
“What is it?” she asked when Rigo was close enough for her to see the way the sun turned his graying blond crew cut into a pale silvery gold.
“Mr. Fall has asked that I take you all the way up to the castle.”
“Why?” Alice demanded. “We weren’t supposed to meet for another half hour.”
“He didn’t say why, I’m sorry.”
It must be important, for Dylan to break protocol like this.
“If you’ll follow me?” Rigo asked, his manner stiff and formal. “We’ll stick to the woods as much as we can.”
She fell into step beside him. They entered the woods a moment later, taking a worn foot trail Alice had never noticed before. It struck her that Rigo and Peterson, her two assigned guards, must really know these woods and grounds like the back of their hands if they did surveillance in them.
“This must be weird for you,” Alice said as they crossed under the canopy of the trees.
“What?” Rigo asked, turning his chin over his shoulder to see her. The path wasn’t large enough for them to walk side by side.
