The Devil She Knows (18 page)

Willow walked farther into the garden. Slowly, she turned to take it all in. The soft tinkle of the pond in the far corner. The stone bench. The rosebushes climbing up a trellis.

Finally, she turned to him, a beautiful smile on her face. And he realized exactly what had been missing...her. Heart and soul.

She was surrounded by color and the new flowers he’d planted. Autumn crocus, calla lilies, some asters. Most of the flowers wouldn’t last much longer, but while he was here, he’d needed to see them. To see the place as it had once been.

If he was honest with himself, by restoring the garden of his memories he’d been saying goodbye. When the Sweetheart Consortium job was finished there’d be no reason to hang on to the house anymore. No reason to stay.

A sharp pain lanced through his temple and he closed his eyes, willing it away.

“I thought you might like to sit out here for a little while. Just breathe.”

Willow, polished, contained and utterly sophisticated stood in the center of his domain. She should have looked out of place. But she didn’t. She was perfect. Just like the milky-white tubes of the calla lilies off to her left, she held heat and color deep in the center of her soul, only sharing the secret with a very lucky few.

She cocked her head to the side and considered him for several moments. Flicking her feet, she let her designer heels fall haphazardly to the ground. She didn’t even watch where they landed, just flexed her toes, letting them crush down into the dirt.

The look of utter bliss on her face was erotic as hell. She stood in the middle of his sanctuary, his fallen angel, perfect, hugely tempting and slightly disheveled.

Crooking her finger at him, she lured him forward. “Show me.”

He took several steps toward her. How could he not?

“What?” What did she want to see? How she could drive him to his knees with nothing more than a glimpse of the passion in her eyes? How much he wanted her?

“Whatever you want. I want to watch you work. Show me what you do.”

That was not what he expected. “You’re going to get dirty.”

“If you haven’t figured out that doesn’t bother me then there’s no hope for you.”

“Just making sure.”

Gesturing her over to a corner of the garden he’d cleared for some new flowers, he showed her how to prep the soil, pop the small root ball from the waiting pot and transfer the plant to its new home. She dug right in, quickly picking up the mindless rhythm.

They worked side by side for a while. He enjoyed watching her muscles relax and the tension she’d been carrying like a constant companion ease. The silence that stretched between them took the edge off the ever-present need. Dev was surprised to realize that sitting there with her in the quiet twilight was effortless. While he’d meant to give her a space full of much-needed peace, he’d also managed to give it to himself.

Or maybe she’d done that.

Dropping back onto his heels, Dev watched Willow. At least he’d convinced her to go inside and change out of her dress and into something more appropriate. Her long, slender fingers were dusted with dirt. Clumps of it clung to her jeans-clad thighs. The muscles in her arms and back bunched and strained. Her teeth ground together as she fought a particularly stubborn weed that didn’t want to let go of its hold.

It finally popped out. The sudden loss of resistance sent her toppling over onto her rear. Not even the surprise of that could diminish the light of triumph in her eyes. She’d won.

Dev couldn’t help but laugh at the vision she made, sprawled on her butt in the grass.

Until a mangled clump of dirt smacked him right in the chest.

“You think that’s funny?”

“Absolutely not,” he said, trying to bite the inside of his cheek and get control of his reaction.

The effort was wasted, though, since he had no intention of letting her projectile go unchallenged.

Stalking toward her, he scooped up a handful of loose potting soil he’d mounded beside the flower bed. Willow wasn’t stupid. She knew what was coming and wasn’t willing to sit still and take it. She scrambled to her feet, poised to dart away.

But he was faster.

Snatching her around the waist, Dev pulled her close. His mouth nuzzled the spot just behind her ear. Her body responded immediately, relaxing against him.

And then he struck, tugging at the neck of her shirt so he could let the moist dirt trickle down her back. She gasped and squirmed, but he held her tight.

She was driving him crazy. What had started as retaliation quickly backfired on him. The moment he’d touched her he was a goner and the more she rubbed in all the right places...

Wrapping his hand around her jaw, Dev pulled her mouth to his. The moment his lips found hers she stopped struggling to get away from him and started trying to get closer. Her response was immediate and made something primitive swell deep inside him.

His arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her back snug against his chest. He cradled her neck, holding her so he could take the kiss deeper. She sighed and melted into him.

He half expected her to protest when he moved to pull her shirt off over her head, but she didn’t. The fences were high and no one would see them here in the privacy of his backyard. But that wouldn’t prevent the neighbors from hearing, if they were outside.

She didn’t stop him. Instead, she helped him, pulling frantically at the confines of her bra and tossing it away. She barely gave him time to appreciate the tantalizing effect of the see-through mesh and lace before it was gone.

“Have I told you how much I love your underwear?”

Her mouth curved. He felt more than saw her smile. “Not enough to leave it in one piece.”

His hands found warm, willing flesh. One hand splayed across the tight expanse of her tummy, pressing her against the bulge straining his fly. The other found the tight buds of her nipples. They thrust against his palm when he dragged his hand over her. Her back arched, seeking more even as her taut derriere ground against him, making him breathless with wanting her.

Suddenly, he needed to see her, all of her, here, where he found his own sense of peace and comfort. He wanted to drag rose petals across her body so that she could feel how soft they were and he could smell and taste them on her skin.

Darkness was falling. Gloomy shadows twisted around them. The only sound was their mingled gasps as they drove each other insane with need.

When Willow pulled away from him, Dev expected her to grab his hand and lead him inside to the first flat surface. Instead, she walked several paces farther into the dusk. Keeping her eyes firmly locked with his, she reached for the fly of her jeans and tugged.

The gentle rasp of metal teeth letting go sounded as loud as a sonic boom in his ears. When she rolled her hips, dropping the denim to the ground he understood just what kind of appeal Eve must have had in the Garden of Eden. Willow was surrounded by the lush green and deep brown, making her skin glow in the pale light.

Slowly, she reached for her hair, letting it tumble down to her shoulders. It brushed against the peaks of her breasts, making his mouth water for the taste of her again.

In one quick burst of motion he was in front of her, his hands filled with as much as he could take. He hadn’t even formed the thought to move before they were twined together again.

Her hands tugged at his clothes, pulling his shirt from his shoulders and dropping his jeans to the ground. Somehow they found their way down to the soft layer of grass at their feet.

The scent of jasmine mixed with something wholly Willow. Somewhere in the frenzy, Dev found that elusive moment of tranquility. He brushed the hair back from her face and stared deep into her bright eyes. She didn’t say anything. She didn’t have to, he could see her clearly, maybe more clearly than anyone else ever had.

She was a mix of so many things, passion and distrust, reluctance and hope, ambition and creativity. She let him in, stripping away every barrier she had. And he was grateful for the gift.

Dev reached between their entwined bodies and found the hot warmth of her sex. He delved deep inside and relished the way her eyelids fluttered with the pleasure of his touch, but she wouldn’t break the connection.

She let him see exactly what he was doing to her, hiding nothing.

Her body arched against his, searching. His own hips pumped against her belly, hard with a need only she could soothe. Her fingers tangled in the hair at his nape, tugging him backward so she could run the wicked edge of her tongue down his throat.

He growled deeply, the vibration of it echoing back to him through her hum of appreciation.

Grasping her leg, Dev hooked her knee around his arm and pushed her hips open wide. She was pink and swollen and perfect, and he couldn’t deny himself any longer.

Driving deep, he slid home in one smooth stroke. Willow sighed as if her greatest wish had just been granted. The tight walls of her sex gripped him, urging him to give her more.

They rocked together, finding a rhythm that stole their breath. Dev’s entire world narrowed to the woman beneath him. Her eyes were wild with desire, the answering need building steadily inside him.

He could feel the first quivers of her release, and still he drove them both harder, wanting to pull the last smidgen of pleasure from the moment. She bucked beneath him, meeting him thrust for thrust. And then her mouth was buried in his shoulder, her teeth gripping him as his skin absorbed her muffled scream.

And it was all he could take. The tingling started at the back of his thighs and rushed up to his spine, exploding out in the best orgasm he’d ever had. It ripped through him, stealing every sense from him but the feel of Willow wrapped tight around him.

His arms quivered as he tried to keep himself from crushing her completely, but Willow didn’t seem to care. Her arms and legs were wrapped around him, holding him to her so that he could let go.

When he finally opened his eyes it was to find her watching him closely, a huge, satisfied smile stretching her swollen lips.

* * *

O
VER THE NEXT
couple of days they fell into a comfortable routine. Willow spent at least twelve hours holed up in her studio. Macey handled the boutique and rescheduled all appointments. The military bride had been fabulous, telling Willow that she’d love whatever dress she designed.

Even the country star had been less of a headache than Willow had anticipated. And the fact that she’d been sweet and very concerned actually made Willow want to do everything in her power to give the singer the dress of her dreams.

She’d called in anyone in town who could sew, and while letting go of the creative process was a little difficult, it was the only way they were going to repair the damage.

And Willow was determined to fix this.

Long after it had gone dark and the rest of her team had left, Dev would materialize in the doorway to her studio. Inevitably, he brought food and would coerce her into taking a break.

She slept little. What time she did take away from the studio was spent in Dev’s arms. There was no question; she was burning the candle at both ends, but she couldn’t stop. A pressure was building deep inside, a jittery awareness that left her feeling constantly on edge.

As if she was waiting for the other shoe to drop.

And maybe she was. The blog post, photograph, stalking and damage to her business were personal. And since no one had a clue who was doing any of it, she was just waiting for something worse to happen.

Dev had been nothing but supportive, silently there for her whenever she’d needed him. Which actually only made her more uneasy. It was seductive, having him to lean on.

But he wouldn’t always be there. Eventually he was going to have to return to the life he had outside Sweetheart, the one he’d been living for the past ten years. He had a business to run, friends, colleagues and employees who depended on him.

As much as she was enjoying this vacation from reality, it couldn’t last. Dev had wormed his way into her bed, her life and, unfortunately, her soul. And while part of her wanted to paint little hearts around the situation—she had grown up in Sweetheart after all—she was smart enough to stop herself.

Devlin Warwick was going to leave her devastated—again—and there wasn’t much she could do to stop it. At least, not now. It was too late.

But she wasn’t ready to give him up, even if she knew she should. She hadn’t felt this alive in a very long time. So she was walking on the wild side, knowing full well that eventually she’d have to pay the price for dancing with the devil.

There was no way for her to know just how high the cost would be.

It was late, well past midnight. She’d convinced Dev to go home without her after they’d shared the burgers he’d brought from the diner. She was so close to finishing the country star’s dress that she’d wanted to plow through.

Unfortunately, the relief she felt staring at the finished product was short-lived.

A loud knock sounded on the studio door, making her jump. After everything that had happened, she’d taken to locking it.

Before she could ask who the heck was on the other side at this time of night, Hope’s voice called through the barrier. “Willow, let us in.”

“Us?” she asked, already crossing to flip the lock.

Pulling open the door, she stared at her friends crowded around—Hope, Lexi and Tatum. The grim expressions on their faces had her heart flip-flopping inside her chest.

“What’s wrong?”

No one answered her. Instead, the three of them crossed to her worktable, cleared off the crystals, scraps and lace she hadn’t had time to tidy up, and placed a laptop on the surface, opening it.

She glanced at each of them, searching for some clue as to what was coming, but there wasn’t one.

Colors blinked to life. Words formed. And Willow’s world fell apart.

Devlin Warwick Commits Adultery Again
screamed at her in bold, black letters, taking up half the screen. Willow’s stomach rolled and bile rose up her throat. But she kept reading.