Playing in SECRET (Corrigan & Co. Book 9) (4 page)

“Thank you,” I tell
him when we’re in the car.

“For what?”

“Spending so much
time with my friends. It was really great of you to do that.”

“I liked it. I like
them
.”

And I like him. A lot.
Maybe even more than I did all those years ago. He’s really funny,
and sincere, and yeah…I’m in way over my head on this mission.
And before it’s even really begun.

I know I shouldn’t,
but I let him walk me to my door. When he leans down to kiss me, I am
very aware that leaning into him is wrong. And when his mouth is
still on mine as we enter the apartment, I’m afraid I’ll be
second-guessing my choices tomorrow. I don’t stop him, though.
Tomorrow hasn’t come yet, and I’m loving every slide of his
tongue against mine.

When his mouth moves to
my throat, and his hands slide inside the top I’m wearing, I arch
into him. It feels so good, too good. I don’t want it to stop, and
that’s when I realize that it has to. I
have
to stop this—him—if I have any chance of surviving him this time
around.

“Blake, stop,” I
say pushing against his chest.

He immediately moves
away from me, his eyes still hot and hungry. “Sorry. I’m sorry. I
shouldn’t have…God, I’m so sorry.”

“What are you sorry
for?” I ask, needing the answer, but dreading it, too. If he says
he’s sorry for kissing me, I may just die right here on the spot.

He searches my eyes
before answering. “You think I’m sorry that I kissed you. I am,
but not because I did it. I’ve wanted to kiss you all night. I’m
just sorry I took it further than you were ready for tonight.”

“I liked it too
much.” No, I
loved
it.

“One day, I’ll
convince you that liking it isn’t a problem. For tonight, I’ll
just ask if I can sit here a moment.”

I reach out, and move
his hair back from his forehead. “Of course.” I try to run my
fingers through his hair some more, but he grabs my wrist, stopping
me.

“Please don’t. I
can’t walk right now, and if you keep touching me, I may never be
able to again.”

I look down, and see
him straining against the front of his pants. I never checked out his
package as a teenager. His ass? Oh, hell yeah. But I wouldn’t have
known what to do with his cock. Now I would. I
do
,
and I can’t help but lick my lips as I stare.

“Not helping,
Audrey.”

“You’ve been
staring at my tits all night. I should be allowed a few minutes of
staring at what you’re packing.”

“You had your tits on
display. You wanted us all to look.”

“True. You’re not
exactly hiding what you’ve got right now, either.”

“You did that.
You
.”

“I know. You just sit
here and think about…oh, I don’t know…maybe the shower I’m
about to take,” I tell him with a laugh, as I walk towards my
bedroom. I strip off my shirt, and smirk at him over my shoulder.
“Just let yourself out once you can.”

“You’re going to
kill me.”

I don’t answer,
because it’s a distinct possibility. If he’s just messing with me
again, I probably will kill him. Or at least hurt him a little. I
hope he’s not playing me this time, because I really want that
cock, and he’s going to have to prove himself a little more before
I allow myself to have it.

Blake

There’s nothing like
cock-blocking yourself, and that’s exactly what I did last night.
Well, truthfully, it was “teenage me” stopping “adult me”
from getting the action, but it’s still my fault. Those few minutes
of Heaven I had with Audrey were better than full nights I’ve spent
with other women, and we didn’t even fuck. I mean I hand fucked
myself once I got back to my place, and honestly, I came harder just
thinking about Audrey than I have with the other women I’ve let
into my bed for the last year.

Right now, I’ve got
to be professional. An employer, and a dad. My daughter trumps my
blue balls all day, every day, and she’s the reason Audrey’s
pulling up my driveway. I take another drink of the ice water I
poured myself when the guard at the gate called up, and will my
Johnson to behave. At least while Jeanne’s around.

“Audrey’s here,
Dad.”

“I know,” I say,
turning to my girl with a smile.

“Well, come on. We
have to meet her at the door.”

“Wanda will do that.”

I watch as her face
falls, and my stomach drops along with it. “She’s my friend. I
wanted to open the door for her.”

I hear the unspoken
words, even if she doesn’t say them. She’s never had a friend
over. At least not one who came here just for her. Kids whose parents
wanted something from me or Misha came to see her, but Audrey is the
first one to come here just for Jeanne. Even if it’s a job, she’s
not here for anyone but Jeanne.

“Let’s try and
catch her,” I say.

We make it to the door
just as my house manager, Wanda, starts to open it. “No.” Jeanne
yells, running forward to push it closed. Right in Audrey’s face.

Jeanne realizes what
she just did, and looks stricken. I want to tell her it’s okay, but
it’s not. I mean, damn. My kid just slammed the door in Audrey’s
face. While I’m still at a loss, the doorbell rings. Jeanne looks
at me, and I shrug.

She nods and opens the
door. “Hi, Audrey.”

“Hey, Jeanne. Did you
finish your book?
Powerless
,
right?”

“Yeah. It was
awesome. I can’t believe you remembered.”

“Of course I
remembered. We’re friends, right?”

“I’m sorry I closed
the door on you,” Jeanne tells her, looking down. My daughter is so
painfully shy that she says and does things that make her seem
younger than she is. While I don’t want her to grow up too fast, I
hope for the day that she can be comfortable in her own skin to act
her age.

“It’s okay. I was
excited to see you, too.”

“Do you want to see
the house?”

“Sure.”

I watch as my shy,
sweet daughter takes Audrey’s hand and leads her towards her wing
of the house. They’re talking and laughing, and I’m at a loss for
words. I’ve never seen Jeanne so relaxed with someone she’s just
met.

“I like her,” Wanda
tells me.

“Yeah, me too.”

“Does she like you,
though?” she asks, because she knows the truth about why Audrey’s
here.

“I think so, but she
doesn’t want to. I was pretty brutal to her when we were in high
school.”

Her eyes narrow. “Misha
too?”

“Yeah.”

“Why am I not
surprised? The most intelligent thing I’ve ever seen you do is
leave that witch.”

“She’s Jeanne’s
mother. I wouldn’t have her if it wasn’t for Misha.”

“And she doesn’t
want her. Unless it’s to try and win you back. That girl deserves
better.”

“You’ll get no
argument from me.”

“Then get your behind
up those stairs and join the tour. Because ‘better’ is in this
house right now.”

She doesn’t need to
scold me twice. I’m up the stairs, and searching for them in
seconds. This damn house is too big. Misha and my agent said I needed
it to maintain my star image. Especially since I insisted on being
here in La Jolla instead of L.A. No one needs all of this room,
though. It’s pretentious, and unnecessary, and I really need to
look at downsizing.

I finally find them in
my wing of the house. Audrey is standing inside of my office, looking
into my bedroom. I don’t see Jeanne, so I’m guessing she’s
already inside. I smirk a little as I walk up behind Audrey. The
joke’s on me when she spins suddenly, pinning me with a glare.

“Trying to sneak up
on me?”

“I was just going to
tell you that there’s no reason for you to be out here,” I say,
holding up my hands.

“I’m not going in
your bedroom.”

“Well, since you’re
sleeping in there, that’s going to make things a little difficult
for you.”

“What? I’m not
sleeping in there.”

“Other than Wanda, my
staff changes. I hire college students, and day labor for most of the
upkeep here. I can’t let them all know this is fake.”

“I didn’t agree to
sleeping with you.”

“My bed is really
big, if you haven’t noticed. We can each take a side.”

“You know what they
say about men who need big beds. Overcompensating much?”

“You’re welcome to
find out anytime you want.”

“I’m not going to
be another notch for you. I’m better than that.”

I back her up until
she’s up against the wall, and place my hands on either side of
her. “You shouldn’t believe everything you read. Yes, I have an
image. One I hate, but part of being famous is playing the game. And
that’s just what it is, a game. I haven’t slept with even a third
of the women I’ve been photographed with, and I’ve never brought
a woman here. Misha was in that room, but never on that bed. Jesse
and I burned the damn bed we slept on one night when I got drunk.
Then I redecorated. Other than Wanda and Jeanne, no other women have
been in there since then.”

“I like her—Jeanne,
I mean.”

“What’s not to
like? I mean, other than closing the door on you earlier.”

“She can’t help it.
Treating me badly is in her genes. She probably had a voodoo doll of
me instead of a Barbie when she was younger.”

I can’t help it. I
lean in and take her lips. She stays still for a few seconds, and
then she grabs my hair, pulling me closer to her. I move my hands to
her back, holding her close as we kiss like we’ve been doing it for
years, instead of just two days. I already know that she likes when I
nibble on her bottom lip, and she knows I like it when she pulls my
hair. It’s never been like this with anyone else, Misha included.

“Audrey…oh!”

I immediately step back
from Audrey and smile at Jeanne. “Hi, honey.”

“I didn’t mean to
interrupt.”

“You didn’t. Are
you ready to show me the rest of the house?” Audrey asks, letting
her know she’s more important than me. I really, really want to be
important to Audrey, but I also appreciate her putting Jeanne first,
and trying to ease her embarrassment at finding us kissing.

“Are you sure? You
can hang out with my dad if you want.”

“Your dad’s not
going anywhere. I can hang out with him later. Right now, I want to
finish my tour with you.”

“Okay. We should go
look at the pool, and stuff.”

“Lead the way.”

I watch them walk away,
and can’t help but smile. Both at Audrey wanting to spend time with
Jeanne, and also because she said we could hang out later. Now I just
need to think up something for us to do that will blow her away. The
date to end all dates. Time for Google.

* * *

Audrey

“You like my dad,
huh?”

“I’m not sure.”

“You were kissing
him.”

“I was, but kissing
isn’t the same as liking.”

“Did he really stand
you up for your prom?”

“I’m not sure we
should talk about this.”

“Boys don’t look at
me.”

“’Boys’ or a
specific boy?”

“One boy,” she says
with a sigh. “I asked him to dance with me at our last school
dance. He did, but I know he thinks I’m too nerdy for him.”

“Boys can be stupid.
Luckily, men are starting to realize that nerdy girls are hot.”

“Really?”

“Yes, really. You met
Ainsley the other day. Her fiancé is Zack Taylor, who’s one of the
hottest football players you’ll ever meet. Our friend, Isa, is a
certified genius, and she’s with Jake, who every woman in Virginia
wants. Then there’s Darcy. She’s a hardcore gamer, and her guy,
Brayden, gave up his kingdom to be with her.”

“And then there’s
you.”

“No one’s given up
a crown for me, but yes, I do get a good amount of attention. The men
I date have to be as interested in my brain as my body, or they’re
gone really fast.”

“Are all of your
friends nerds? Is that a spy requirement?”

“No,” I tell her
with a laugh. “I have glamorous friends, and kick-ass friends, too.
We’re all different, and that’s what makes us such a great team.
We all complement each other’s strengths, and help each other out
with our weaknesses.”

“Is my dad one of
your weaknesses?”

“I’m afraid that he
is.”

“I think he
appreciates your brain now.”

I decide that I need to
give her at least a little bit of the truth. “I’m not going to
give you the details about what your dad—and mom—did to me in
high school. I will tell you that he was the first boy I was ever in
love with, and he hurt me very badly. I want to trust the man that he
is now, but a part of me just can’t.”

“I think I may love
Roger. I’ve never said that out loud, but I think you’ll
understand.”

My heart cracks just a
little for her. “I do understand,” I tell her, putting my arm
around her.

“I don’t want to
change who I am, but I want him to realize that there’s more to me
than my brain.”

“Definitely don’t
change, but if you want, I can ask my friend Stella to come out here,
and take you shopping. You dress fashionably, but I’m not sure it’s
‘you.’ Stella will know exactly what clothes will make you more
comfortable.”

“She’d do that?”

“Sure. I’ll call
her now.”

“Thank you.”

Stella readily agrees
to fly out right away. She loves having a new person to dress, and
with her boyfriend Kace on tour with his band Storyside, she also
needs a distraction. We all told her to go with him, that we’d take
on extra missions for her, and her assistant Kevin could handle
buying us new clothes if we needed them, but she didn’t want to
shirk her duties. Helping Jeanne will give her something to focus on
that’s not a certain hot young singer who would fly home in a
second if she said she needed him.