A Little Harmless Secret (15 page)

He shook his head. “Point taken.”

“She made a mistake with you. She should have just taken you down. The woman is lethal with her hands. A lot of people don’t know that, but she is. She is almost always armed. Her father taught her well. And if she wanted to get information out of you right off, she could have interrogated you and gotten what she wanted. Instead, she ended up sleeping with you. Worse, she let you slip away.”

“She was using me.”

“You don’t know much about the spy business, so I’ll let you in on a little secret. A honey trap is a long kind of job. It’s one way to gain the trust of the subject. Sometimes, it takes weeks to work. That was not what she should have been doing.”

He shrugged. “She made a mistake.”

“Yes and if there is one person who knows how to work strategy, it would be Alicia. She should have known not to do that. She had one night…you don’t go through with sex if you have them cornered. She had you cornered. Just know this, Stryker, you hurt her, I’ll make sure they can’t identify your remains.”

“Is that a threat?”

The smile Kaheaku gave him had nothing to do with humor. “I don’t issue threats, Stryker. I do offer promises, however.”

“Understood.”

“Do you know what your intentions are?”

“My main intention is to keep her and my child safe.”

“I guess I can’t ask you about after, because at the moment, there are too many variables.”

He knew he could let it lie at that, but Devon decided to clear the air completely.

“Know this, I plan on making sure that both Ali and Bridget are safe but after, I do not plan on disappearing. Whether Ali likes it or not, I am sticking around for the next few decades.”

* * * *

Alicia found herself at loose ends. With Bridget gone, she didn’t know what to do with herself. She had been honest with Devon. Since bringing Bridget home from the hospital, Alicia had never spent a night apart from her. She had been gone for less than half a day and she had talked to her daughter four times, and Dee had sent her at least a dozen pictures of the girls playing.

She walked down the stairs. Her life had changed so much over the years, but now she realized how much her own identity was wrapped up in her child. It wasn’t something that bothered her, and she didn’t regret it one bit.

Still, she was going to have to learn how to deal with being alone at some point. She heard the tapping of keys and realized that Devon was at work. She didn’t really want to bother him.

Now, that’s a lie, Ali girl.

She sighed as her father’s voice filtered through her brain. If there was one person who knew her, it had been her father. And sadly, there things that she hid from him. Alicia wanted something. She wanted to ask Devon questions, but she was afraid of the answers. Right now she seemed to be missing the courage to face them.

I trained you better than that.

“Oh, bugger off.”

The tapping stopped and she realized she had said the words out loud. She truly was losing her head.

“Ali?” Devon said from his office.

She stepped away from the direction of the office, but the floor creaked beneath her feet.

She heard his chair move, so she decided to face the music. When she stepped into the office, she was stunned at the size of it.

“This house keeps surprising me.”

“What do you mean?”

“I didn’t expect such a huge house.”

“Hawaii isn’t known for them, but the builder had a lot of money. Then, the recession hit so I got this at a steal. Granted, most Hawaii real estate is going up, but this guy was at the end of his financial rope.”

He watched her as she walked around the room. “Is there something you needed?”

She shook her head looking at the pictures. Nothing too old, but lots of them with Dee and her family, then some with Evan and other people.

“You have a nice network of friends.”

He said nothing and she turned around. “Friends?” he asked.

She shrugged. “I never had that many because we lived all over the world. Well, until my cousin moved in with us.”

“Why did he do that?”

“She. Her parents died. We were her only family, so father and mum took her in. She’s a couple years older than I am.”

He said nothing, just kept watching her. Guarded. He guarded all his thoughts around her. It irritated her even though she did the same thing.

“What about college?” he asked.

She shrugged. “I didn’t go.”

“Well, I didn’t either.”

“Father said I would be bored and he was probably right.” Although, she had wanted to go. She had wanted the fun that Millicent was having. Parties, boys, learning for the first time outside of her father’s instruction.

“I guess I should let you get back to work.”

He shook his head. “I’m done for now. I was taking care of some emails. I also put your name in a database search engine I have. I want to see if anyone has been looking for you.”

“There’s someone, that’s for sure.”

He nodded. “But I mean still. If they search for you here, it would set off some alarm bells. Right now, they think you’re in Washington. Or at least on the mainland.”

She nodded but couldn’t think of anything to say.

“Why don’t you tell me why you’re wandering around the house?”

“I don’t know what to do.”

“You don’t let her stay over many nights?”

“Since we came from the hospital.”

He opened his mouth, then it snapped shut. “Didn’t your cousin…”

She shook her head. “When I say no one knew where I was, I was serious. My cousin has no idea where we are. That was for her protection as well as ours.”

“Tell you what. Why don’t we get some wine and go watch the sunset?”

It sounded romantic and very tempting.

“You don’t have to entertain me, Devon.”

His lips curved and when he spoke his voice dipped an octave lower. “Good, then you can entertain me.”

He stood and stretched. His back made cracking noises. “Damn, I sat there too long. I could definitely do with some wine.”

He walked passed her and grabbed her hand as he did. She had no choice but to follow him. And he was right. Relaxation might just bring her head back to where it needed to be.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Devon walked beside Ali and tried to remember the last time he’d been this nervous. It was probably high school. No, it had been the night when he first met her. So odd that this woman, one he should never trust and definitely should avoid, was the woman who pulled at him. Even his first love couldn’t compare. Nothing did, and that scared the hell out of him.

“You don’t live here all the time, so where else do you live?” she asked.

“I have a flat in London.”

He sensed her glance. Devon was glad when she didn’t ask him about that. He didn’t want to explain why he kept a flat there. Part of it was work, but it would be just as easy to rent some place or stay at a hotel. He had pegged her for someone from Great Britain. That had driven him to get a flat there. And now that he was thinking it, he was even more embarrassed. He had told himself at the beginning she had nothing to do with it, but now, with her here, he knew she did. It was kind of pathetic that he had gotten a flat with just the hope of running into her one day.

“I also keep that place in Vegas.”

“Doesn’t it get on your nerves?”

He felt his lips curve. “At times.”

“Then why do you stay?”

“It’s familiar and I like the anonymity of it.”

She didn’t respond, but he sensed that she didn’t like his answer. He was lying of course, but he couldn’t tell her the real reason he stayed in Vegas. Several times, he’d thought of moving back to the East coast, or making the permanent shift to Hawaii. He found himself unable to move away. The reason was walking beside him.

He had hoped one day she would return. He hadn’t realized it until he saw her in Seattle, but he hadn’t moved away because he hoped she would just appear again. He’d wanted to walk out to the bench that gave the best views of the sunset, but he decided to stay closer to the house.

“This house is fabulous.”

“I like it. I was going to buy a condo, but I found this. The owner was very motivated to sell.”

She sipped her wine and looked out across his lawn. “I particularly like the cannons.”

He chuckled. “Yeah, like almost everything else, they came with the house.”

She nodded and said nothing else. He wanted to demand to know what she was thinking. The truth was that the only person he knew more guarded than Ali was himself. He rarely let people into his inner circle easily. Hell, right now only a handful of people knew where he lived most of the time. And that would be cut in half if he didn’t have contact with Dee.

“You think too much.”

He turned to her. “Have you heard of the saying of the pot calling the kettle black?”

She chuckled. “Touché.”

Then nothing.

It was an awkward silence. At least for him. He had so many questions he didn’t even know where to start. He needed those answers to be happy, but there was something holding him back. Maybe he was a little too afraid of what she would say.

He needed answers. No, he needed to touch. The last few days had been stressful to say the least, but this had nothing to do with blowing off steam. From the moment he’d met her, Ali had gotten under his skin. He studied her. She was almost five years older, but it hardly showed. He liked the darker hair. It brought out those amazing eyes of hers. Her skin was just as luminous as before and—he sniffed—she smelled the same.

“Did you just smell me?”

He realized he had done just that and quite loudly. He could come up with something smart to say…if there was any blood left in his brain. It was rushing toward his groin. His cock strained against the zipper of his shorts.

She was smiling at him and he knew she had him. Right then, he would give everything he owned to touch her.

“Yes. I used to wake up in the middle of the night thinking I could smell you there.”

She stopped smiling. The air between them seemed to grow hotter and thicker. Her tongue darted out over her fuller, bottom lip. Her eyes darkened, dilated.

His cock hardened, pushing hard again. As his body heated, his heart doubled in speed.

“It wasn’t as bad as the memory of tasting you. Do you know what makes me think of slipping my tongue into your hot, wet pussy?”

Ali shook her head slowly.

“Nothing because the truth is, nothing compares to it. I’ve been to some of the most celebrated bakeries in France…in the world. Nothing tasted so fucking good.”

He closed his eyes and hummed. He hadn’t been lying. He could taste her there, still. The flavor of her arousal danced over his taste buds even today.

When he opened his eyes, she was still staring at him. The pulse in her neck was erratic and fast.

“It is like pure sin wrapped in sugar.”

She sucked in a breath and her face flushed. He knew just how sensual she was, but the fact that she blushed because of his description was an aphrodisiac. It pushed him to tease her more.

“Are your nipples hard, Ali?”

Devon didn’t wait for an answer. He leaned forward and pressed his mouth against hers. As he did, he grazed the tip of one of her nipples with the backs of his fingers. Ali shivered and opened her mouth.

Now, he wanted her. He rose and pulled her to her feet, taking her empty glass and set it on the counter. She stopped him and he wanted to growl.

“Maybe we shouldn’t be doing this.”

“Maybe?” he asked, pulled her closer and kissing her again. She opened her mouth immediately, her tongue tangling with his.

“Yes. Things go wrong when we get together,” she said against his mouth.

“Oh, no. Things go very, very right.”

She moaned as he sucked on her tongue.

“Devon.”

He pressed his groin against her. He was hard and getting harder by the moment. He wanted her…no needed her. It was just like that night years earlier. Something hot and dark moved through him, urging him to take her right there.

He pulled back then lifted her up on the counter.

“Devon?”

He ignored her. Instead, he pulled her panties off and leaned down. The scent of her arousal filled his senses. He placed a hand on each of her thighs and pushed them apart. The moment he set his mouth against her pussy, he was in heaven. Hot, intoxicating and amazingly like the night so many years earlier, he found himself lost in her. Her exotic taste danced over his taste buds as he slipped his tongue up and over her clit. Without warning she screamed his name, bucking against his mouth. He lapped at her juices, enjoying the way she pressed her hands against the back of his head. She leaned back, widened her legs and rode herself against his mouth to another orgasm.

He pulled back, stood and cursed. Then he spotted his wallet on the counter behind her. He fumbled with it, dropping it twice before he finally got the condom out. She was clawing at his pants, undoing them for him. He thanked the gods that he decided to go commando.

Ali tried to rush him by trying to grab the condom out of his hands. He batted them way and she growled. He slipped it down his cock, but she was attempting to help him. Her small touches almost had him coming right there. Devon slapped at her hands.

“Oy.”

He looked up at her and laughed at the irritated expression on her face. That, along with the British slang, was so uncharacteristic he couldn’t help but laugh more.

“I’m glad I amuse you,” she said, annoyance threading her voice even as arousal deepened it.

“Oh, it’s more than that, Ali. You make me so fucking happy.”

The disgruntled expression dissolved into something more vulnerable. It wrapped around his heart and squeezed so fucking hard he almost passed out. That tough layer she presented to the world was peeling back, bit by bit. It was at that moment, he remember why he fell for her. Remembered the way she had looked at him that night. It made him feel invincible…and it had made him think he had found the one woman who would understand him. In this one instant, he knew this was Ali, bare and undecorated with the years of training. Nothing artificial, nothing to hide her true feelings. This was the woman he wanted, the woman he would kill for.