This one was a slow moving wave that crested and fell as she arched her back and softly collapsed back against the sheet. All the air left her lungs in a whoosh as her body settled on the bed. She felt completely boneless, but her belly tightened when Harrison withdrew his fingers and tasted her.

He was always so raw when it came to sex. The first time he’d done that she’d been embarrassed but she loved that he wanted to taste her. Loved that there was nothing off limits between them.

“I shouldn’t have locked our bedroom door on you no matter how angry I was. I’m sorry, Mara.” The regret etched on his face surprised her. So did his words.

“I don’t blame you.” She deserved more than a locked door.

He slid off the bed and gently cupped one of her calves as he released her ankle. “It was wrong of me. This is your house too and…I’m sorry.”

“I’m the one who put the wall between us.” She could take responsibility because she had to. It didn’t matter what her intentions had been, it was still her fault.

He didn’t respond as he freed the rest of her restraints. She’d assumed he’d keep her that way until he’d climaxed, but he surprised her yet again by lying on his back and tugging her on top of him so that she straddled him.

Still slick with her own juices, she slid her wet slit over his hard length. He clasped her hips tightly in his hands and before she realized what he intended, he lifted her up and pushed deep inside her.

Even when she was on top, he still had to be in control. The thought made her smile as she leaned forward and placed her hands on his chest. The untamed energy and strength humming through him always awed her. Just as it awed her that they’d found each other. She might not have trusted him enough to tell him about her past but it was because of her own issues. Not because of him. Harrison was the perfect man for her. She’d been so terrified that if she laid herself bare to him, he’d reject her. Everyone else had and while it had burned, the thought of Harrison finding her lacking was unbearable. Almost as bad as the thought of anything happening to him.

Lifting up on her knees, she started riding him in a steady rhythm. She cupped her breasts, playing with them as he watched and soon had him panting and shouting her name as he came. Eventually she collapsed on his chest completely sated. His arms wrapped around her, strong and reassuring. The wild beat of his heart slowed until they were in sync and all she wanted to do was lay there forever. Harrison’s hand lazily stroked down her spine, up and down, making her drowsy and relaxed.

“We need to talk about Perdue and the threat he poses,” Harrison spoke softly. “He’s not going away and we need to eliminate him.”

“Can we talk about it in the morning?” That was in a few hours and right now she just wanted to savor this moment and the intimacy of lying naked on him.

He nodded, his chin rubbing against the top of her head.

She wasn’t sure how much time passed, but when she felt his cock harden against her belly again, she didn’t have time to sit up before he had her flat on her back and was pushing into her like a starving man.

While she might be terrified of their future and worried they wouldn’t even have one after her lies, she was going to enjoy this night and wring everything she could out of it. Tomorrow was another day. Maybe there was still a chance for them.

Chapter 9

Neville’s shoes were silent as he hurried down the sidewalk toward the address he’d already scouted out. After uploading Mara’s GPS history he had made notes of all the places she frequented. Using an online mapping system, it had been easy enough to pinpoint what most of the addresses were. Grocery stores, Red Stone Security where she apparently visited multiple times a week, a hair salon, and other normal places for a woman to visit, but the one place she visited almost every day was a house and he hadn’t been able to find out anything about the residential address.

After he’d gotten the GPS chip, he’d stopped by the PI’s office he’d hired and eliminated the guy a few hours ago. It had been a crime of opportunity since he hadn’t expected the man to still be working so late. He’d just planned to ransack the place and destroy any evidence of his business dealings with him. Unfortunately now Neville didn’t have anyone to use for research at the moment. A small setback, but once he’d learned more about who Mara Caldwell was married to, Neville had needed to kill the investigator immediately. He didn’t want anything tied to him and despite having signed a privacy agreement, he knew people talked. Considering one of Mara’s brother-in-laws was a former Miami police officer and investigators sometimes worked with law enforcement, Neville wasn’t taking the chance that anything was linked to him—even if he had used an alias.

He’d driven by the place a couple times now, but with a high privacy wall it was impossible to see what it was used for. It could just be a home, but then why would Mara visit it almost every day? No, there was something going on in that house and he was determined to find out what it was. Anything to use against her. The neighborhood was clearly exclusive, but it wasn’t gated so at least he hadn’t had a problem scouting it out. But he’d decided to park the van he’d bought with a good portion of his cash reserves two streets over just in case there was a neighborhood watch program.

As he hurried to his destination, a flash of headlights behind him made him duck behind a tree. He had about an hour until sunrise so he used the shadows as cover. Peering around the tree, he saw a dark colored four-door sedan slowly driving down the street. It paused in front of the home he wanted to check out, right outside the gates. His heart rate accelerated as he crept to the next tree along the sidewalk. He was only about fifteen yards away.

A low creaking sound rent the air as a metal gate slowly rolled back. He’d seen a keypad earlier, but hadn’t bothered attempting to figure out the code. When the car pulled through the gates, he jumped from his position and sprinted toward the opening. This might be the only chance he got because he didn’t have the tools to scale a giant wall. Not to mention that would increase his risk of being seen.

As the taillights disappeared from view, he peered around the edge where the wall and gate met. The car continued down a long driveway and the enclosed metal gate started to close. Knowing he wouldn’t have another chance like this, Neville made a split-second decision and darted through the quickly narrowing opening.

Once inside, he saw a lot of trees surrounding a three-story home and what appeared to be another privacy gate near the back of the property, but it was difficult to see with only the moon illuminating the property.

The lights in the car flicked off as the car stilled, the sound of the engine shutting off. Neville stayed to the right side of the driveway and crouched low as he half-ran toward the vehicle. He’d decided to go on the offensive. Chances were that whoever was driving the car knew Mara and he was going to find out exactly how.

He’d just reached the back of the vehicle when the trunk popped open. A second later, he heard the driver’s side door open. Crouching low next to the trunk, he waited, his adrenaline pumping, ready for a fight.

Seconds later, a slim woman of average height with dark curly hair wearing loose clothing stepped into sight. Her head jerked back as she noticed him hunkered down. Her mouth opened a fraction and pure panic flickered in her gaze, the sight clear from the glow of the dim trunk light. She took a step back, but he jumped up, fist raised, and slammed it across her jaw.

Though he normally loved it when women struggled, now wasn’t the time. He needed her subdued quickly so he could get her the hell out of here. Taking someone hadn’t been his original plan. He hadn’t had a plan other than to do reconnaissance on this address.

The woman crumpled to the ground. Without pause, he lifted her up and dumped her in the trunk. There were paper bags filled with dried goods but he didn’t bother shoving them out of the way. They weren’t going far and soon enough he’d have her restrained in the back of his van. Then he was going to find out who she was and more importantly how she knew Mara.

Having a human bargaining chip was the best thing he could have hoped for and he planned to use this woman to his complete advantage. In her old life Mara hadn’t been able to turn her back on a woman in need. Though she’d changed her name and her life, he was counting on her having the same pathetic weakness.

* * * * *

The scent of freshly brewed coffee tickled Mara’s nose as she headed into the kitchen. Even though she hadn’t slept more than an hour or so, she still felt surprisingly refreshed. She might not have a clue where her and Harrison’s relationship was headed, but being honest with him had lifted an incredible weight from her chest. It was as if she could breathe freely for the first time in years. They’d also had sex so many times last night that she was slightly sore in the best way possible. When they’d finally drifted off to sleep, he’d pulled her back against his chest and held her tight.

As she stepped inside the kitchen, she hungrily drank in the sight of Harrison leaning against the island. Wearing tailor-made black pants and a crisp white shirt rolled up at the sleeves that showed off his muscular arms, he was talking on his cell phone in clipped tones. When he saw her, he nodded once, the action curt.

She paused for a moment, but then he gave her a ghost of a smile and motioned toward the file he’d laid out as he continued talking. It took her a moment to figure it out, but she realized he was definitely talking to his father. Oh yeah, Richard Caldwell was no doubt pissed now that he’d found out about her background. That man liked to know everything about everyone and with his background in the CIA, he’d be almost as angry as Harrison that she’d lied. Not that she was particularly concerned about her father-in-law’s opinion. She just cared about making things right with Harrison.

Tuning out the conversation, she flipped open the maroon file folder. Inside were pictures of Neville Perdue during his trial. Seeing his handsome face soured her stomach. Tall, blond, muscular and good looking, he could be so charming when he wanted to that it made her sick. The trial hadn’t been that long and while the publicity had been hyped up at first, a celebrity scandal had happened around the same time and overshadowed Perdue’s moment in the spotlight. Something she was sure had pleased him. He’d been so angry when the media ripped his life apart for public consumption.