Glow (Glimmer and Glow #2)(57)
“I don’t know,” she said brokenly. “It feels too soon for that.”
It’ll always feel like it’s too soon. It always feels like it’s too much. I have to move forward, despite all of that.
“I think what I’d like to start with for now is reviewing more of Durand’s annual reports and getting a firm handle on the company’s history and structure,” she said. “That’d feel a little less . . . personal.”
“If you think it’d help.” He kissed the side of her neck. She felt him inhale with his nose pressed against her skin.
“Dylan?”
He made a deep humming noise.
“I’m not sure I’m as convinced as you are that someone hired Stout and Cunningham. But given that you believe it, do you really think that whoever it was could still be around? Is that why you’re so protective of me?”
“Yes. And yes,” he said against her neck.
“But even if that were true, they couldn’t possibly know that I was . . . you know. Addie.”
“Listen to me,” he said abruptly close to her ear. His voice was quiet, but she recognized that steely tone. “I don’t have the full picture. There are parts missing. I’ve been over and over Alan’s original will and his current will and trust document. I can’t figure out a monetary motive—then or now. The truth about your identity will eventually come out when you’re ready. We have to prepare for it in the next few weeks. In the meantime, I’m still trying to figure out who would have had a motive for kidnapping and killing Addie. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t a potential threat out there. It was only twenty years ago. Twenty years. If someone wanted you dead once, there’s good reason to assume they’d want it again. If that person was once associated with Cunningham, there’s no reason Cunningham couldn’t have told him what he told me. There’s no telling who Cunningham dribbled the truth out to at the end of his life. It’s not like he considered me special. I merely served a purpose to inflate his ego. Talking to me was a diversion from the boredom of prison life. Who else visited him? Did he confess to another prisoner? I’m not just being paranoid, Alice. If you take anything away from tonight, please let it be that.”
She turned, stunned by his intensity.
“Okay. I’m sorry. It’s just . . . Alice Reed’s life is a lot simpler than Addie’s,” she said shakily, guilt sweeping through her at the memory of how she’d constantly needled and defied him in regard to his protective measures. It was easier to do, before she’d taken her first steps on the long journey of accepting she was Addie Durand.
He exhaled and pressed his forehead against hers. “I know. I understand. Will you please promise not to try to avoid Sal and Josh while you’re down at the camp?”
“Yes,” she whispered.
He kissed her mouth, deep and sweet, and she felt him stir against her backside. “It’s been a rough night. Go to sleep,” he whispered hoarsely after a moment.
“But . . .”
“Go to sleep,” he repeated. She turned her cheek into the pillow, her mind and body awhirl.
“Alice?”
“Yes?”
“I can only imagine how hard this is for you. I’m proud of you.”
“Thanks.”
She closed her eyes. Her world still felt off-kilter, but repeating Dylan’s words again and again in her head kept her steady.
*
SHE awoke in a split second, the sensation of Dylan’s full, flagrant erection pressing against her bare bottom yanking her quickly and completely from the realm of sleep. The room was dark. His mouth moved against her neck, hot and voracious. He bit gently on her earlobe, his front teeth scraping her sensitive skin. She shivered in pleasure. The bedside light suddenly switched on to a dim setting.
“I want to see you,” he muttered roughly, pulling his arm back. He spoke near her ear, amplifying her shivers. “You’re too much of a temptation. I waited for most of the night, but I have to have you before you go. I’m that selfish.”
She moaned as he pressed his lips to her pulse and lowered.
“Then I’m just as selfish,” she whispered. “Because I wanted this from the second you came to bed.”
“I was being sensitive.”
“You can be sensitive and horny at once, can’t you?”
She felt his breath puff against her skin and heard his gruff bark of laughter. “We really need to communicate better.”
She turned in his arms. His mouth rained kisses on her chest, making her nipples tighten. She dug her fingers into his thick hair and urged him to her breasts. He made a rough sound in his throat and rolled partially onto her, pinning her down to the mattress. He sucked a nipple into his mouth, laving it with his tongue. Her clit pinched in arousal. She tangled her fingers deeper into his hair and arched her back, offering herself to him, crying out in pleasure.
“Stop twisting around,” he growled amusedly. He molded both of her breasts in his hands, applying a slight downward pressure, keeping her steady for his onslaught. He slipped her other nipple into his mouth and drew on her. His obvious rabid hunger fueled her own arousal. She abandoned herself to the need mounting inside her. It felt so hot and delicious, the wet tug on her nipple and his rubbing tongue making her clit ache. She wanted his tongue there between her thighs, slippery and firm, licking her clit until she was in a frenzy of need. Just the thought of it made her hurt. She slid a hand between her thighs, finding the cleft between her labia warm and moist. For a moment, she rubbed herself while he squeezed her breasts gently and sucked first one nipple, and then the other.