Deception (Infidelity #3)(76)
“No!” I said playfully as I pushed against his unmoving chest.
“Really now,” he cooed, “I’m certain I can help you with that need and many more. Maybe we should forget dinner?”
“Food, Mr. Demetri. That was where we were going. Lana’s note said that some of her meals of late have ended up in the trash. This won’t be one of them. Unless you plan to starve me?”
“No. Starving you doesn’t sound like fun. Causing you to cry out my name in sexual frustration… now that sounds promising.”
My tummy did flip-flops as his grin joined the navy swirls within the light blue of his eyes. It wasn’t fair that after a long day he could be so handsome and have the ability to twist my insides with mere words and glances.
“And for the record,” Nox continued, “I do know where your vibrator is. And since you’ve successfully avoided answering my direct questions about the call, I believe our after-dinner activity has been planned. Just wait, Miss Collins, my interrogation technique is very effective.” He tugged me closer. “So much so, that if some of my methods weren’t considered illegal by the Geneva Convention, Homeland Security would certainly use it to learn secret intelligence.”
“I haven’t avoided…” I began in my own defense, ignoring the tantalizing cocktail rushing through my blood, the one created by equal measures of anticipation at his promise and the right amount of trepidation at his threat.
Nox bent toward me and kissed my forehead. His deep voice resonated his new warning. “Princess, don’t make it worse.”
“I’m not. It’s just that—”
He shook his head, our noses touching.
“We could just go for sweet and slow,” I tried. “This morning was… well, amazing seems woefully insufficient.”
Nox smiled at my use of the same words he’d said in Del Mar. “Yes, princess, I agree. But tonight is about learning your secrets, one way or the other. Before this night is over, you’ll be telling me what I want to know or suffering the consequences.” He tugged my hand, pulling me toward the hallway and kitchen. “Sustenance first, sex coma later.”
Trailing a step behind, I bit my lower lip as my mind filled with possibilities and my insides twisted to a pleasurable and painful pitch. If I didn’t think I’d need the nutrition, I’d agree to forgo dinner.
SECRETS WEREN’T SECRETS unless they were hidden away. Those things that we shared openly, that we talked, laughed, and even cried about, couldn’t hurt us because they were out there for the world to see. It was the things that we kept hidden, that we didn’t share, that lurked in the shadows—those held the power to hurt, harm, and even destroy.
Nox and I both had them—secrets we hadn’t shared.
Perhaps it wasn’t that we didn’t want to share. It was that we didn’t know how.
After our meal, Nox went to a drawer in our closet and found my missing vibrator. Apparently, it wasn’t missing at all, but hidden from possible prying eyes.
“I got the impression that you weren’t against voyeurism?” I asked with a smirk.
“Oh, princess, it depends on my mood.” He suggestively lifted one brow. “After I have that sexy body perfectly positioned, do you think I should call Isaac?”
“No,” I answered too quickly.
As Nox surveyed the items in the drawer, I stepped behind him and wrapped my arms around his waist. I didn’t want whatever he had planned filled with confessions. I wanted them out of the way so we could concentrate on other things.
With my cheek against his back, I said, “Jane was my nanny.”
He didn’t turn, but stood taller. By the way his muscles tensed, I knew I had his full attention.
“Did you call her or did she call you?”
“I called her.”
“Why did her call upset you?”
I shrugged against his warmth. “I think it’s because she’s one of the few parts of my childhood I don’t want to forget.”
Nox turned and surrounded me with his arms. “Then don’t.”
He made it sound so simple.
“I love her, as I should love…” I tucked my lips between my teeth, not wanting to cry or ruin the mood he’d been trying to create. “I’m sorry. I wanted to answer your question so we could think about other things.” I tilted my head toward his open drawer. Lengths of black satin lay neatly coiled beside the pink case of my vibrator. There were also candles and an accumulation of other toys we’d only begun to enjoy.
Before Nox, I’d never seen most of the accessories. Warmth filled my cheeks as I considered my new knowledge. Who would have ever thought a flogger could be so erotic?
Nox reached for my chin, holding it between his thumb and index finger and brought my moist eyes to his. “I’ve seen your shadows. I want to help rid your golden eyes of them, to make them clear. Your eyes are stunning when they’re focused and not filled with concerns from your past. I’ve seen them shining with wonder as you sit for hours and read about things that would bore most of the world. They’ve been filled with anticipation as you watch my every move, wondering what I will do next. Those are the eyes I adore. If you talk about the shadows, share them with me, they can’t linger in there anymore.”