I stared at him, my mouth hung open. “Pregnant? No! Daniel, fuck, is that why you asked me to stay? You thought I was pregnant?”
“I don’t know, do I? You’ve been in there a lot, and well, I was worried.” He looked a bit miffed now.
“I’m fine, Daniel, just working out some frustration.” I decided to go for honest and open. Okay, it would tease him at the same time, but it was still honest, right?
Anger spread over his face, frustration, and I could see the toll this had taken on him. There were dark circles under his eyes and, for the first time ever, I saw that he hadn’t shaved in a while. Even his clothes looked a bit loose and wrinkled, as if he’d lost weight and his clothes no longer fit. Daniel was not a messy man, he was always shaved, his hair cut, and his clothes were cared for. This was a different man, a man that hadn’t been taking care of himself.
“Alayna, please. Don’t do this to me again.” The anger softened, into defeat, and that nearly dropped me to my knees. “I can’t take it.”
His eyes revealed just how much turmoil he was in, and I felt tears prick my eyes. I’d done that to him. His head must be spinning. One minute I was on him like white on rice, the next I screamed at him to leave me alone, and not long after it was back to the white on rice thing. He must feel tormented!
“Fuck. Look, Daniel, I’m sorry. I’m here trying to play the temptress to win you back, and all you’re trying to do is get on with your life.” I straightened up and looked him in the eye. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s not just you, Alayna. It’s not just your fault.” He sighed and plowed his hands through his hair, frustration clearly visible. “I thought I could do this, but I don’t know if I can. I sit here with my door closed all the time, not so I won’t see you, but because I can’t stop thinking about you. I’m going to jerk my cock off my body if I don’t stop. I don’t think I can keep this up, I really don’t think I can.”
My heart clenched harder than my pussy did, but both reacted to his words. I went to him and knelt in front of him. That’s when I saw the real impact. He looked tired, defeated, and hopeless.
“Do you want me back, Daniel? If I said I can’t do this anymore, that I can’t live without you, would you come back to me?” I felt a new clench in my chest as the thought that he might say no entered my brain. He could always do that, tell me to leave and never come back.
His fingers trailed along my jaw, and he studied me closely, without a word.
I waited, my breath held until I was afraid I’d pass out. A tear slid from my eye, but he caught it before it went far.
“I want you back more than anything in this world, Alayna. Anything.”
“Then take me home, Daniel. Please.” There were no promises made, or demands, just an acceptance that we could not live without each other. We made it as far as the couch he’d had moved to his office from the breakroom, naked, our clothes strewn through the office.
In the fading light I watched him move, fascinated with the ripples of hard muscles over silky skin.
Daniel looked up at me, his eyes pierced into mine and he moved finally, on his knees, to settle his head just at the top of my stomach.
“I kind of liked it when I thought you might be pregnant.” He shocked me with that.
“Really?” I had never thought he wanted kids, he’d never said.
“I did. I’d like to see you pregnant with my babies. I’d love it if you had my child, I always have.” His fingers stroked at the flatness of my stomach, as if to say it was a pity he hadn’t put his baby in me already.
“Oh.” I was at a loss for word. “Maybe one day.”
“Good.”
He loved me then, he made me his again, his crystal blue eyes dark with his arousal. They were so dark now they looked almost black.
“Later I’ll be gentle, Alayna. Later, I’ll turn you inside out, but right now, I just need to come in you. I need you to be mine again.” Daniel’s words came out roughly, his body on the verge of release as he slid into me.
“We have all the time in the world, Daniel.” I didn’t mind, because I knew the moment he let go, I would too.
Daniel worked himself into me, tight and fast, a pace for his own good, but it still made me gasp. Daniel groaned, a painful sound that ended as a cry of pleasure as he gave one final thrust and took us both over the edge.
“Mine.” He growled as he shook above me, and I knew he was right.
15
We laughed as we put our clothes back on and planned dinner. We had to stop several times for kisses and promises of things to come. I was happy, complete, and I wanted to tell him why I’d asked him to take me back.
“Daniel, I want to tell you something.” I wanted to tell him I loved him and stopped as we started to leave the office.
“And what is so important, munchkin?” He’d pushed open the door to his office to get his jacket and keys, but he stopped and stared into the space instead. I moved up behind him to see what had caught his attention.
She was gorgeous, and I knew who she was before she even said a word. Those amused black eyes, the arch to her eyebrows, they said all I needed to know.
“Hello Alayna, I’m Antanasia, Daniel’s wife. I thought I’d come in and help Daniel out a bit, now that everyone’s gone home and left him here alone. He’s been absolutely heartbroken since you ended the affair, and well, I can’t stand to see him so miserable. I see that’s no longer an issue.” She pinned me to the spot with her dark gaze and revealing words. She knew about us? I shot a glance at Daniel but looked back at her. She was dangerous. Her aura screamed it at me. “I have one tiny little question, and I think you owe me that much, don’t you?”
“I have a question myself; you knew about this the entire time?” The words came from behind clenched teeth. All of that heartache, the guilt, was for nothing? She knew about me the whole time? And Daniel had never said a word?
“Of course, I knew, dearie.” She paused and all I could do was nod my head, fury burned through me, and behind it came humiliation. “Don’t you think it’s time you stopped playing around? There’s a solution here, and, well, I think you’ll both like it.”
The woman’s words were spoken with amusement and no malice, though I had a growing suspicion about her. I stared at her and felt a tingle of apprehension. Something was off here.
“I suggest you two give me the opportunity to speak, maybe over dinner?” Her gaze still had me pinned to the floor and all I could think was, whatever you want, lady, just don’t kill me.
“Well, shall we head to dinner?” She asked as she came to stand in front of me.
What did she have in mind for dinner? Me? My tongue was too thick to form the words just yet. She’d obviously known about me the entire time, and this affair had never been a secret at all. I wanted to be angry, I wanted to let fury make me fling out words I might regret, but there was something about her that soothed me, yet put me on edge at the same time.
“Oh, um. Sure.” I nodded my head finally, my tongue freed from its position in perdition where it could not move. She was beautiful, intoxicating and deadly.
“Good, let’s go, shall we?” Antanasia came up to me and smiled down at me. She was a few inches taller than me, but that might be the fuck-me-heels she wore. Her finger traced down my jaw as she studied me with a sweet, inviting smile. “Come along, my dear. I’m not going to hurt you, I promise. Daniel wouldn’t like that at all. Besides, you’re too tempting for that, anyway, aren’t you my dear?”
My teeth clamped down in a brittle smile, one that made my face ache, and my feet decided they’d done enough walking for this lifetime, thank you very much. She put me on edge, and I’d just realized why. It had nothing to do with who she was, but what. She was a vampire.
“Please, my love, it’s alright. You’re safe, I promise.” Daniel ushered me out of the office, and into a car that was far more luxurious than anything I could imagine.
“Daniel, darling, where shall we eat? I’ll arrang
e a table, so we won’t be disturbed.” Antanasia’s hand brushed against my breast as she leaned over to him. She gave him a smile when he answered with my favorite place and moved back.
I felt a shiver as the back of her pale hand skimmed my nipples but remained calm between them with my hands folded in my lap. Awareness surged through me, and my brain started a whole new imaginary scenario. One where the blond with midnight eyes, and the allure of her vampire charms, was between my thighs…
Down girl!
I knew there were vampires in New Orleans, hiding amongst the fringe of society, but I’d never met one. We weren’t the enemies all of the legends made us out to be, but I knew she was far more dangerous than I was, even in my wolf shape. She truly was a vamp, in every sense of the word. No wonder Daniel was with her.
Stop it, I told myself. He loves you, that’s all that matters. I observed them over dinner, and noted how they barely looked at each other, much less spoke to each other. This wasn’t a marriage made in heaven, and she certainly didn’t feel threatened by me. If anything, she seemed amused.
My nerves grew tight as our empty plates were taken away, and Antanasia turned to me with a smile.
“Right then, little seductress. You’re a lot more than I thought you were going to be. A lot more.” Antanasia said with speculation in her eyes.
Fuck, she knew what I was then. “I think you have a secret to tell, don’t you? But first, let’s put this beautiful woman out of her misery shall we, Daniel? She knows what I am, so there’s no need to hold back.”
Antanasia was looking directly at Daniel when she spoke, her eyes filled with glee. I felt bad for Daniel as her words sank in, and he looked at me with confusion. “What do you mean, you know what she is.”
“Only that your enticing little nightingale is actually a wolf in human clothing, my dear.” Antanasia was amused, and her lips quirked at the sides.
“Pardon?” He asked, his eyes round and back on me.
“I’m a shifter, she’s a vampire, let’s call the whole thing off.” I muttered. I wasn’t sure about any of this.
“Oh, calm down, Alayna, it’s going to be fine, sweetie.” She squeezed my hand with her surprisingly warm one and gave me a wink. “Now, Alayna, Daniel is a free man that can do as he pleases, so long as it isn’t going to bring our names into the papers or cause a stir, so to speak. I’ve lived my own life for quite a few years now, haven’t I, Daniel?”
“Pardon?” I repeated Daniel’s question, and looked over at him.
“We have what some might call an open marriage, Alayna.” He hadn’t said much the whole night, but I wanted more than that.
“Excuse me?” I asked, my mind still blank. That didn’t make any sense, but then, she had said she knew about me.
“We aren’t exclusive to each other. We sleep with other people.” Daniel said, his face still confused, and maybe even bewildered. “You’re a werewolf?”
“If you like, I prefer shifter. It’s not so scary.” I looked him in the eye, the moment surreal. We were talking about it as if I’d said I was a dentist, not a mythical creature.
“That makes sense.”
“How so?” I shot back, wondering if that was a slight.
“Oh, nothing, baby, just that other women haven’t been able to break Antanasia’s hold on me. It would take someone truly special to do that. I knew you were, but I didn’t know how much.”
“Oh.” I said calmly, my hackles relaxed. This was all just weird, and I couldn’t really take it all in. Daniel’s wife knew about me because they had an open marriage, and she was a vampire. I think that’s all of it.
“We’ve been married for ten years. We were married when Daniel was 24, and I, well, I was 24 plus a couple of centuries, if I remember right. He’s my human companion, and for a long time he was my lover. He gave me a human life to live, for a little while, and next year we’ll divorce, I’ll make him a vampire if he chooses, and move on to someone else. It’s hard to live in a world of cameras and satellites, without someone asking why you don’t age, you know?”
“I supposed it is.” I stuttered, taking another sip of wine. I wouldn’t age as slowly as she did, but my lifetime would outlast a human. I looked over at Daniel and wondered what he’d be like as a vampire. He would outlive me, if he took that offer.
“And you live separate lives, Antanasia?”
“Well, I have more than he has. I’ve had several lovers over the years, but Daniel has never found anyone that took his interest away from me or his work. Until you came along, that is. You are very special to Daniel and I was about to ask to meet you, when you broke it off. I saw how much it hurt him and made him talk to me about you. Daniel cares about you, and I sense you care about him. We have to do something about that.”
“Wait a minute!” I demanded with a raised eyebrow. “You talked about me?”
“Of course, we did, we’re friends more than lovers now, anyway, aren’t we Daniel?” Antanasia reached a loving hand out to Daniel and he took it without hesitation.
“She’s right of course. I still love her, I still desire her, to be frank, Alayna, but she has her life and I have mine.”
This was very fucking weird. I sat back in my chair and looked at them. What the hell were they about to spring on me.
“Alright, you knew about me.” I turned to Daniel with a side comment. “You could have told me that and saved me weeks of grief, you know? As for you, you wanted us to get back together. You said you have a solution, what’s that solution?”
“You become our partner.” Antanasia’s said with a grin.
“Our?” Did this beautiful, but slightly terrifying woman just say that?
“Yes, our. Most of my lovers are women, you see. You’re quite attractive, and I can even see why Daniel is fixated. You’re quite the little stunner, Alayna.” She gave me a rather sexy wink that made my jaw drop. “You were lonely at night, without Daniel there, and, well, I think I know the solution to that. Come live with us, be our partner, and we can all find happiness, perhaps?”
I could only stare at her as my brain went into orbit. Oh dear.
16
I was trying my best to keep my brain from exploding. I gulped down the last of my wine and looked at Antanasia with her beautiful eyes, full lips, and that fucking killer body. Like I said, she was gorgeous. Refined, mannered, obviously wealthy, all the things I was not.
“You want me to be Daniel’s lover, and yours? That’s what you’re saying? I’m not hearing this wrong, am I?”
“That’s exactly right, my lovely. I believe that will solve all of our problems. For a little while, anyway.” She gave me a smile that I couldn’t look away from. How was I supposed to turn her down?
I couldn’t believe she was making the offer, and to be honest, I thought she only did it for Daniel.
“I, well…” I paused, but words had left my head. Some more trailed in after a moment where they stared at me, expectantly. “I don’t think you should drink my blood. It might be poison to you if the legends are right.”
I turned scarlet as soon as I’d said it, what a stupid thing to say.
“Actually, it’s an aphrodisiac to vampires, Alayna.” I gulped at the seduction in her words, the promise in her eyes.
“Daniel?” I looked to him for an answer. He had to agree to it too, here, now, when it mattered.
“I can’t say I haven’t fantasized about it, Alayna.” His voice was just as seductive, and his eyes caught mine. So many possibilities there.
“If you want to think about this…” his words trailed off and I looked at his wife. Her black eyes watched me intently. Daniel might offer me time, but she wanted an answer now.
I ran my tongue over my lips, the heat in my mouth stole the moisture from them and two pair of eyes watched the pink tip with hunger. I bit my lip as they watched, and their eyes came up to mine. I’d made a decision.
“No, I don’t think I need time, at all. It’s a very generous
offer. One I’d like to explore more.”
“Good, we’ll pick up your car then.” Antanasia already had her phone in her hand, ready to call the driver.
“Oh, you mean tonight?” Was I ready for this so suddenly? I looked at her, the pale, clear skin that bore not a trace of makeup and her plump lips. Lips made for kisses and seduction.
“If you don’t want to start this tonight, Alayna, we can always wait. I would like to spend more time with you, whatever we do. I want to know that woman that captured Daniel’s attention so completely.” Antanasia tilted her head and the honesty of her words was in her eyes.
Damn, she’s hot, very hot. I felt my temperature start to rise as she looked at me, and her hand crept out to brush over mine. I felt my heart jump and begin to race in my chest.
“No, I’m good with whatever you want, Antanasia.”
Before I could even say wait a minute, I need to think, we were back in the car and I was settled in next to Antanasia. I could smell her scent, something exotic and tropical, and wondered if it was stronger at her cleavage.
I sat back in the luxurious seat, rested my head against the soft leather, and just inhaled her scent. It was as intoxicating as she was.
“What are you thinking about?” The words were Antanasia’s; Daniel was hidden in the darkness on the other side of the limo.
For a moment I could remember the words of my long-ago lover, the Spanish that would flow from her when I was between her thighs. I’d missed the silky feel of a woman’s body, though I hadn’t realized it when I was so caught up in the way Daniel felt. I wanted to touch Antanasia in that same way, though she frightened and excited me at the same time.
“Cat got your tongue?” Antanasia asked against my ear. I turned my head to look at her and saw that even her eyebrows were beautiful.
“No, I was just trying to decide what we should do with the rest of the night.” My words trailed off as her fingers pushed between my thighs and skimmed the sensitive flesh.
“I know what we should do.” Antanasia’s voice was certain as her lips came down to mine. Her right hand bunched in my blouse to pull me closer while her left hand travelled higher between my tightly squeezed thighs.
Secrets Page 8
