Gone (Deadly Secrets #2)(52)

He lowered his mouth and kissed her. Tears streamed down her temples as she wrapped her arms around him and kissed him back. Tears rooted in hope and fear and love.

Whole, broken, fragmented, or shattered, it didn’t matter how he came back to her. She’d take anything she could get. She just wasn’t sure if he had anything more than tonight to give.





CHAPTER TWELVE


Alec rolled to his side in the middle of the night and reached for Raegan, only to find her side of the bed empty.

Pushing up on his elbow, he rubbed the sleep from his eyes and looked around the dark bedroom. “Raegs?”

No sound met his ears, and nothing moved. The adjoining bathroom was dark and quiet as well. A whisper of unease tickled his spine as he climbed out of bed and reached for his pants from the floor. He’d seen the worry in her eyes after they’d made love, knew she was probably overthinking everything right now and trying to figure out where they stood.

His heart skipped a beat as he rose and pulled on his pants. Where did they stand? He didn’t have a clue. Nothing between them had really changed. She still needed to believe Emma was alive, and even with everything they’d uncovered the last few days, he was still pretty sure his father was the one who’d taken their daughter. They hadn’t found any proof that Emma’s disappearance was linked to these cases. Which meant neither of them was ever going to convince the other to change their beliefs, and no matter what happened between them here, at the end of the day they’d be right back where they were three years ago.

Except . . .

Pressure formed beneath his ribs, a pressure that brought his palm up to rub against the spot. Tonight, being with her again, was the first time in a long time anything had felt right. He wasn’t sure he wanted to give that up. Wasn’t sure of anything except that he didn’t want to think about tomorrow yet.

Unable to find his shirt in the dark, he opened the door and moved into the hall. A light shone from the living room, so he headed that way, then drew to a stop when he spotted Raegan at the stove in the kitchen, flipping something in a pan with a spatula, her back angled his way, her sexy body covered by nothing but his black T-shirt.

Heat rolled through his belly as he watched her lift whatever she was cooking to a plate, the T-shirt pulling up to reveal her creamy thighs and long, toned legs. Her auburn hair hung halfway down her back, and her slim arms flexed in the oversized garment with her movements.

God, she was beautiful. More beautiful than she’d been six years ago when they’d met, because her body was curvy and filled out in all the right places now. He knew part of that was because she was older, no longer the twenty-five-year-old who’d been obsessed with working out. But another part knew it was because of her pregnancy, because carrying his child had changed her body from that of a girl to a woman, one he wanted more of right this minute.

Quietly, he crossed the living room and moved into the kitchen, his heart pounding, his blood warming with every step, and slid his arms around her waist from behind.

She startled and turned to look up at him. “Alec. Geez, you scared me.”

“Sorry.” He brushed his nose against her hair, drawing in a deep whiff of her sweet jasmine scent. She even smelled incredible. “That bed is cold without you in it.”

He brushed her hair to the side with his hand, nipped at her throat, then pressed a kiss against the tender spot.

“Oh.” Her body tensed, only to relax back into him, just as he wanted. “Um . . . I was hungry. I tried not to wake you.”

He glanced past her to the grilled cheese sandwich on the plate in front of her. “If you’re hungry, I’m sure I can find something to satisfy you.”

She turned to look up at him, her cheeks shifting to a soft shade of pink, and he knew by her reaction that she’d cued in to what he meant. But instead of smiling, worry rippled in her eyes. A worry he knew was the real reason she’d left him sleeping alone in that bed.

He slid his hands back to her waist, maneuvered her around so her back pressed against the counter, and moved in at her front. “You’re thinking too much again, Raegan.”

A frown pulled at her lips. “One of us needs to.”

“Why?”

“Because this”—she lifted her hands and dropped them on his biceps—“it makes no sense.”

“When did it ever?”

The cute little lines between her eyes deepened, causing him to laugh.

He brushed his lips over the spot, then trailed kisses down the left side of her face until he reached the corner of her mouth. “I don’t want to think about yesterday.” Moving across her jaw, he kissed his way to her throat. “Or tomorrow.”

Her eyes slid closed, and a sigh slipped from her luscious lips.

He pushed her plate out of the way and lifted her to sit up on the counter. “Right now I only want to think about you.”

Surprised, she opened her eyes and gazed down at him.

He stepped between her legs and pushed the edge of his T-shirt up her creamy thighs. “And about how hungry you make me.”

Her eyes glazed over with lust, and she groaned as she leaned down and kissed him, drawing his tongue into her mouth and wrapping her arms around his neck.

Yeah, this was all he wanted to focus on tonight. Just her and him and nothing else. His whole body tightened when he discovered she was naked beneath his shirt. She sucked in a breath when he touched her and kissed him harder. His erection swelled as he teased her. He just wanted to focus on her. Her and the way she made him feel. Everything else could wait.