High Passion

CHAPTER 14

Devon wondered if he was the one going crazy. They’d fumbled through drying off, tumbling onto the bed in a nearly exhausted heap, and pulled the quilts up before passing out.

After their work that day a nap wasn’t out of place, but waking up beside a naked Alisha made emotions rise he really didn’t want to deal with.

He shouldn’t allow himself, but he couldn’t stop staring. Her hair was spread over his pillows, her fingers curled around his biceps as if she were trapping him in place. Their legs were tangled together enough that if he wanted to leave she’d probably wake up, and he couldn’t bear that.

In the distance a cell phone rang, and Alisha’s lashes fluttered as she woke. “Shit. That’s mine.”

Devon stroked away a strand of hair that had fallen across her face. “Mine isn’t going off, so it’s not a call-out, although they’d be crazy to try to get us out twice in one day anyway. Whoever it is will leave a message. You can call them back.”

She took a deep breath and stretched, rubbing lazily against him. “I can’t think of anyone important who’d be calling me.”

Her smile faded as a shadow crossed her eyes.

“What?” he asked.

She shook her head. “Nothing. Well, something, but at the same time nothing important. Not really.”

Devon laughed, stroking his fingers down her body and enjoying how she arched into his touch. “That was complete and utter gibberish. Why don’t you try again?”

She caught his hand and pulled it off where he’d gotten stuck on her breast. “I might have used your name in vain the other night. The phone call reminded me.”

“Oh, really?” He leaned on an elbow. “Did you out me to the fashion police? Sign off your excessive drink tab in my name at the Rose and Crown like Xavier tried?”

She wrinkled her nose. “I might have told someone you were my boyfriend.”

Oh, really? His mind raced as he escaped her hold and returned to teasing her skin. “Now, the other night. That limits who you might have said such a thing to. Couldn’t be any of the crew, because we’d have been teased mercilessly this morning otherwise.”

Alisha waited, a touch of something in her eyes that wasn’t quite fear but also wasn’t the bold woman he’d seen on the side of the mountain this morning.

Insight hit. “Ahhh, night as in your not-hot date with Vincent the Vampire?”

She snorted. “He doesn’t sparkle.”

“I was thinking more of the classic bloodsuckers. Wears fancy duds, has no sense of humour.” Devon sat all the way up and pulled her into his arms. “Was there a reason you needed to use my name like holy oil to fend him off?”

She wrapped her fingers around his biceps. “He was being more aggressive than I wanted. I thought if I told him I was otherwise occupied, he’d get the hint and leave me alone.”

Devon nodded. “Did it work?”

She grimaced. “Sort of.”

“How can discouraging a guy work ��sort of’?” Then Lana leapt to mind, and Devon made a face of his own. “Wait, no, I get it. People are idiots.”

“Word.” She slipped from his arms and rotated on the mattress, flipping her hair over her shoulders. She was bare from the waist up, and he was going to get all distracted in a minute, so he had to make this fast.

“I totally forgive you, and I’d be honoured to be your boyfriend. Especially if it requires a lot more fucking your brains out.”

“So classy.” She grinned. “And definitely.”

“Also, I might have thrown you under the same bus,” he confessed.

Alisha blinked in surprise. “You said you had a boyfriend?” He stared at her for a second before she broke, her deadpan delivery falling apart as she crawled across the bed to straddle his thighs. “Well, in light of the fucking and whatall that’s going on, I suppose we can use the dirty, dirty titles of boyfriend and girlfriend. Who did you out us to?”

“My sister.”

She clapped a hand over his mouth. “You did not.”

He nodded.

She rolled her eyes. “What made you think that was a good idea?”

“She was taunting me. You don’t understand Thanksgiving at my parents’,” Devon insisted when Alisha let his mouth free. “It’s like Grand Central Station, only everyone milling around is related to me, and they all have short people in tow. The only positive is since I’m the only one who doesn’t live in town, they don’t make me cook.”

“Which is probably good.”

She wasn’t frowning anymore, and that was good as well. “Yeah, well, it’s not because they’re being generous. Instead they make me bring liquor to accompany the meal, and my dad’s got some high-flying idea to try all these expensive wines before he kicks the bucket. Guess who gets stuck buying those babies, since I’m not cooking or kid-herding?”

“How does you having a girlfriend mean you get to attend without bottles in your hand?” Her eyes widened. “Oh, Devon, no.”

He followed her as she scrambled off the mattress and headed toward the door. “We just have to show up, make polite conversation, and eat until we’re stuffed enough to satisfy my mother, and then we can escape. It’s not that scary.” He paused. Considered. “Okay, it is scary, but you’re brave. You can face down your fears and help me face mine.”

She dug through her bag by the front door to pull out a pair of sweatpants. When she stood, he made sure he was looking her in the eye, and not at the more delectable bits that he really hadn’t had enough of yet.

Alisha shook her head. “You are something crazy.”

“Hey, you did it, too.”

She pulled on a T-shirt without putting on a bra first, a move he completely approved of. “I didn’t invite you to join Vincent and me for a family dinner, though, did I?”

“If I had to, I would go.” Devon nodded seriously.

She crossed her arms, her expression breaking into a smirk as she eyed him up and down. “I’m sure you would. Are you planning on staying naked all evening? We could pretend you’re my slave boy or something if that helps you stay in character.”

He didn’t give a rip that he was standing in the front hallway naked. Devon stepped in closer and pulled her to him, her soft cotton clothing heating between their bodies. “Tell me you’ll save my life.”

She caught him around the waist. “How can I turn down that adorable smile? And I did do it to you first, so you’re forgiven.”

He kissed her briefly before breaking away to get dressed. “I’ll be back in a minute.”

She pulled her phone out to check her messages, a frown returning to cloud her expression.

It was crazy, the temptation to invite her to stay. He never let anyone stay overnight. Rarely had anyone into the house for that matter. For all his playboy reputation he had a rather sedate love life, a fact that no one believed, of course.

He hurried into the living room and found her curled up on the couch with a family photo album, the one sister number two had sent him after his parents’ fortieth anniversary party. He lifted her legs and sat, lowering her limbs into his lap and tugging the album so he could see it as well.

“You went to this party in June, right?” Alisha asked. “Oh, wow, do you ever look like your father.”

“All my brothers do.”

She leaned forward. “How long has he had to use the wheelchair?”

For a second, the pain that never quite went away froze his vocal cords. Devon jerked himself under control and focused on the facts. Then on distraction. “Over fifteen years. Didn’t you meet him? He and my mom came to our grad for Banff Search and Rescue—oh, wait, you didn’t stick around for the party.”

This time she was the one who paused, just for a second. “No.”

Nothing more. No offer of why she’d vanished, no mention of why her family hadn’t come to celebrate with her. He probably wouldn’t have even noticed her hesitation if he hadn’t been so keen on changing the topic.

Devon chose to ignore her lack of sharing and go back to safer topics regarding his family.

He didn’t forget, however. He knew what he was avoiding talking about. It was far easier to focus on her and what she was hiding. The entire time he pointed out his siblings and the multiple offspring that crowded the pages of the album, he was thinking about her and her family. Google had finally coughed up a name and a business. Adding Vincent to the other information he’d skimmed from the Lifeline office had led him straight to Bailey Enterprises.

Only it didn’t make sense, her lack of connection to her family. His family was a pain at times. There was no doubt he had his hot buttons when it came to them, but his frustrations didn’t stop him from spending time with them.

Something big had to be wrong that Alisha didn’t want to be known as the heiress to one of Canada’s top ten companies.

He was torn between curiosity and minding his own business. She’d kept her background out of the spotlight for four years. She’d never ducked out of the sight of cameras, but all the focus had been on Lifeline, not her family status. He liked that.

Alisha put the book down on the coffee table and twisted to wrap her arms around him. “Well, they look lovely. I’ll be glad to go with you and knock them off the hunt. But we could probably spring for a couple bottles of wine, now that Marcus gave us a salary increase. As long as your dad isn’t too crazy with his requests.”

Devon stroked his palms along her strong arms. “We can do that. And you let me know if you need help with Vincent, okay?”

She nodded. Paused. There was an awfully awkward question that had to be asked. “Are we actually seeing each other, or are we just getting the fucking out of our system? I wouldn’t worry about labeling it except for, well, we need to know what to tell . . .”

Thankfully Devon caught on right away. “The team, right?”

She nodded.

It was his turn to pause. “I’m not sure how to answer. I mean, I like you, and I think we’re hot together, and I don’t have objections to the team knowing we’ve hooked up, but . . .” Devon caught her by the chin. “Being blunt, I’m not looking for forever. If you think this will end with us in a family portrait surrounded by a swarm of kids like in the photo album, I’m telling you now, no. I don’t want a family.”

Jeez. “That was blunt.”

He sighed. “Yeah, the silver-tongued playboy scores again with his incredibly seductive words. This is the part when you run screaming from the room.”

“Or sneak off and wish you a nice life because my biological clock is ticking and I can’t waste any time on a guy who’s not interested in making babies and settling down?”

Devon’s wary expression lightened. “Are they handing out scripts nowadays? Because I swear I heard that exact line from someone once.”

Alisha rolled her eyes. “Devon, thanks for being honest, but now you tell me. Do I act like the type of woman who’s waiting for my knight in shining armour to snatch me up and impregnate me so I can be fulfilled?”

“Not at all. Not that there’s anything wrong with that,” Devon sighed. “I’m happy for my siblings, but damn, if they project onto me one more time the glory that is parenthood, I swear I’m going to scream.”

Alisha could understand the sentiment. “I don’t want kids. Not now, maybe not ever, so no, I’m not expecting this thing between us to lead to the maternity ward. God, getting pregnant right now would be horrid for so many reasons I can’t even begin to articulate.”

His utter relief made her laugh.

Devon nuzzled her neck. “How about we play it by ear when it comes to the team—although be prepared to be razzed like crazy.”

“I figured that.”

“And while we’re fooling around? I expect you to only see me.”

“Ditto.” Alisha kissed him, the slow tease of his lips moving over hers making her shiver in anticipation. “I assume you can do only one woman at a time.”

“Please.” Devon rolled his eyes. “I have no idea how I’ll survive without multiple partners on a daily basis, but if you insist.”

He determinedly worked his way down her jaw to her ear. Her neck. Alisha had to think hard about the other thing she needed to ask. “So, not to change the subject or anything, but are we good in terms of my freak-out the other day?”

The slick of his arms down her back to adjust her position brought her directly over his groin, intimate parts lining up nicely. “I think the fear factor in the cavern was explainable, and you’ve proven that simply being in a watery situation wasn’t the issue. I have no worries and, as far as I’m concerned, it never happened.”

She’d figured they’d moved on, but to actually have him confirm it was a relief. “Thank you.”

“You did the job today,” he pointed out. “The only exception would be the next time we have to go underground. I’d keep a heads-up. Make sense?”

“Totally.” Alisha placed her hands on his shoulders and dug her fingertips into his muscles. “I’m in complete agreement, because there are no guarantees. Who knows what triggered the attack? Maybe I was too tired, or stressed from something else.”

“Or maybe the thought of a river rushing at us in the dark with no way out of its path was enough to freak anyone out.” Devon caught her by the hips and slid her over his hard length. “I was traumatized by the whole ordeal. You need to help me forget.”

The solid length of his cock under her gave a hint what kind of distraction he was looking for. “Were you traumatized? Poor fellow.”

He reached into his pocket, pulled out a condom, and held it in the air.

Alisha laughed. “Maybe we should do something about your fear of the dark.”

She clicked off the table lamp and turned the room black.

What followed was an exercise in sensory deprivation and sexual overload. With the lights gone, there was nothing other than the pale moonlight sneaking in the windows. The small house was tucked far enough onto the back lane that there were no streetlights. No cars whipping past on a regular basis to add illumination. The faint lights from his music system. The digital clock on the microwave. That was it.

What they lacked in sight was more than made up with tactile pleasure. She tugged his shirt free, and he lifted it over his head, and suddenly she had more sexy territory to explore than she could cover in a reasonable amount of time. Stroking the cuts of his six-pack made him moan. Sliding her palms up his chest made her respond the same way, her sigh definitely on the happy side. Then it was her turn to remove her top, his hands cupping her breasts instantly, his thumbs unerringly discovering her nipples.

“How do you do that in the dark?” she asked, the final word turning into a gasp as he tweaked harder.

“They’re like homing beacons.” He kissed her, slow and thorough as he teased, the pinches and tugs on her breasts escalating in pressure, then easing off until she couldn’t stand it. She rose to her knees, her hands buried in his hair. Even without lights she could guide him to where she needed him most.

“Bossy.” His warm lips pressed against her nipple, his tongue slipping out to tease her.

“You know you want to take a big bite,” she insisted.

Devon sucked her nipple into his mouth and she gasped, pleasure shooting through her hard enough to shake her legs. One side. The other, his hands supporting as he lifted her to his mouth and greedily brought her to the point that she was writhing.

He tugged her sweats off her ass, switching his hands to fisting her flesh. Hard squeezes, softer circles—all the while his tongue lashed her skin until she desperately needed him inside.

“Please, Devon. More.”

Both of them scrambled in their urge to get naked. When she would have resettled into his lap, she found herself being firmly placed into a new position. “Hands on the back of the couch,” he ordered.

When she grasped the fabric he slipped from under her, muscles sliding against her briefly as he wiggled off the couch and ended with his head between her spread thighs. There was a pause, the sound of the condom being opened.

Only he was in no position to be using it anytime soon. “Devon?”

“Oh man, you are wet. So fucking sexy.” Devon breathed deep, and cupped her ass again, holding her so she couldn’t retreat. He kissed the inside of her thigh, then licked his way up to the crease between leg and torso. She laughed and wiggled, but he held her steady. “There’s no escape,” he warned.

His mouth covered her sex, and she moaned. Pleasure roared through her, a tingle of tight ecstasy centered where he touched her before spreading in waves. Devon slipped a finger into her sex and stroked lightly. Not enough to send her over, but in connection with his tongue, more than enough to make her breathing hitch.

Then he switched his attention and ran his fingertips along her crease. When he stopped to tease the small, sensitive skin of her anus, she shivered.

“Yes?” he whispered against her sex. “Okay?”

She nodded, then forced herself to speak since he couldn’t see it. “It’s not my usual thing, but I don’t mind. Oh . . .”

He’d sucked her clit, rapidly teasing the heated bundle of nerves. At the same time he pressed his finger in to the first knuckle. A tiny intrusion that seemed so much more.

“Oh, my God.”

He did it again. And again, until she was quivering over him. When he finally slid his finger all the way in she tipped, the dual assault launching her past the point of no return.

She wasn’t done shaking, her body still clutching around empty air as he stole from under her and heat pressed against her back, their bodies skin on skin.

“Ready?” Devon teased his cock between her labia, rubbing the sensitive nub of her clit and making her shake.

“My brain isn’t working.”

He dragged a hand down her back, his fingertips tracing delicately on either side of her spine as he adjusted his hips, the head of his shaft slipping into her. “Don’t think, feel.”

He thrust, spearing her on his cock, and soon feeling was all she had left.

Their rattled breathing was loud in the room at first, punctuated by the strangely erotic wet sounds as he plunged in deep, their hips slapping together. He grasped her tightly as he worked her over, her breasts swinging as he took her. Their bodies once again pinned together as he shortened his strokes and leaned over. Chest to back, skin rubbing, the slick of perspiration sliding them together perfectly.

Nothing was left but the sensation of touch. Being touched. Inside, and out. He surrounded her, filled her, and Alisha soaked it in. Relished it. Accepted the nearly punishing assault.

Impossibly, hovering again on the edge of release.

Devon snapped his hips forward and groaned. “So good. So tight around me.”

Alisha gripped the back of the couch harder, the smooth leather under her fingers compressing as she braced herself. She leaned into his thrusts to increase the force.

Devon slipped a hand over her stomach and covered her clit with his fingertips, pressing lightly, then firmer as she panted her agreement.

“Yes. Yes, oh there. There.”

She squeezed her eyes shut so hard, stars floated past as she spiraled out of control and took him with her. Devon shouted her name, their hips sealed tight, his cock jolting inside her as her sex tightened around the rigid length.

Her arms quivered and he laughed, pulling her upright for a moment, twirling them both and collapsing onto the couch with her in his lap, his cock still embedded in her body.

The aftershocks continued for a long time, each one dragging a moan from her lips as he slowly gentled her, teasing his fingers over her clit, his other hand stroking up her body to caress her breasts, her neck.

He turned her head to the side and took her lips again. Breathless, openmouthed kisses followed as they gasped in an attempt to refill their lungs. Unwilling to stop in spite of their need for air.

Alisha finally broke away, resting her head on his shoulder as she stared into the darkness. “I’m seeing stars.”

Devon chuckled. “I left the stars a few hundred miles back. I’m into the outer reaches of the galaxy already.”

He reached out and she covered her eyes as the light came on. She wasn’t sure if it was because she was feeling shy, or because she didn’t want him to see that she was feeling slightly vulnerable after letting go so hard.

He kissed her temple again, then helped her upright. His cock slipped from her. “Back in a minute,” he whispered.

Devon went to deal with the condom, his butt cheeks flexing nicely in the faint light as he strode from the room. Alisha grabbed her clothes from the ground and pulled them on. Found her bag, slipped on her shoes.

She glanced up to discover Devon standing nearby, his broad shoulder leaning against the wall. He’d pulled on boxers, which did nothing to hide the rest of his incredible muscles. The magnificent ridges and taut muscles she’d just had under her fingers.

Her sigh was most definitely a happy one.

Devon’s grin widened. “I like that sound. You heading out?”

Alisha nodded. “I should take my stuff, and myself, home. That was awesome, though.”

She stepped in closer and raised her lips.

He kissed her as he smoothed her hair from her face, his touch gentle. When she pulled back, he winked. “Anytime.”

He grabbed her bag and walked with her to her car, his nearly naked body highlighted in the faint outdoor lights.

“You’re insane. Barefoot outside in October?”

Devon leaned into the open window, his stomach muscles teasing her as they contracted into a perfect six-pack. “Barefoot nothing. I like to strip naked and dance sky-clad, but that one you’ll have to wait a little longer to see.”

He winked again, then turned and made his way to the front door. Halfway there he paused, lifted his arms, and twirled, and she laughed out loud.

Okay, this new version of Devon she was slowly getting to know was a whole lot more fun than the old one.