The Confession (34 page)

T
hings were good with Alec. Perfect, even in their imperfection. As the dust settled, we found our rhythm, one with laughter, and good food, and long nights that led to heavily caffeinated mornings. But I was still me, despite how he'd changed my life, and the time came when that old urge returned, and quickly became impossible to ignore.

He'd known it would. He'd even put it in his vows.

If you need to run, I'm coming with you.

I smiled as I thought of that now, and attached the white thigh-high to the new garter strap I'd picked up a week before the wedding. It matched the little baby-doll nightie Amy had given me for my bachelorette party.

I straightened it in the mirror, listening as Alec finished his phone call on the other side of the door.

“No, we're switching everything that direction. That's right. Green Fusion.
Yes
, I promise you the patent was approved.”

I smiled at the passion in his voice. We'd talked this through after Alec had taken over Force Enterprises. The company had been worth almost nothing by the time Maxim Stein was put away, but we didn't need a whole load of money. We needed each other, and with Alec's passion and good business sense, we were going to build something great.

Force Enterprises was switching to green technologies.

I considered giving him a moment to finish the call, but decided against it. I was his wife now. Mrs. Anna Flynn. I could distract him anytime I wanted. And since we only had a few days off before I had to finish the class I was taking to renew my social work license, I was going to make the most of my distractibility rights.

I pushed the door open, and stood in the threshold, hands on my hips.

He was pacing in front of the sliding glass doors wearing jeans and a plain black T-shirt, the sun setting on the long stretch of ocean beyond. We'd reach St. Thomas tomorrow, our current runaway destination. But for tonight, the honeymoon deck of this cruise ship belonged to us.

He'd been in the middle of a sentence, but stopped short when he saw me, mouth gaping.

I smiled. Then did a slow turn to give him a better look.

“Right . . . What?” he said to the person he'd been speaking to. “Look, something just came up. I've got to call you back.”

He hung up the phone. Tossed it on the small nightstand. Then gave me a long, smoldering look that started at my patent leather pumps and stopped just below my shoulders. As always, my pulse fluttered under his gaze, and the need tightened inside my belly.

I twisted the strap of the tiny nightgown around one finger and sauntered toward him.

“My new favorite color is white,” he said. “Definitely white.”

“Yesterday it was pink.” As in, the pink teddy I'd worn on the first night of our trip.

“That was yesterday,” he said, eyes now glued on my backside as I crawled onto the bed and stretched out like a cat. “I'm a complicated man, Anna.”

“I can see that.”

I rolled onto my back, crossing my knees just so he would have to uncross them. His fingers slid up the inside of my ankle.

“Everything go all right with the call?”

His thumb rubbed up the back of my calf as he gently eased open my thighs.

“It did,” he said. “There's still a chance to back out if you don't feel good about it, though.”

“I'm about to feel
real
good about it,” I said, dragging him over me. When he was close, I kissed the tip of his nose. I didn't want him second-guessing this deal he'd worked so hard for.

“It's perfect,” I said. “Force goes green, and the patent proceeds to go CASA. What's not to like?” Alec had made certain that a portion of Trevor Marshall's payment for the Green Fusion patent went straight to a payee, who would later delegate it toward his mental health care. The rest of the funds would be donated to someone who hadn't attempted to kill me.

Alec's mouth found my neck, and nipped a line down to my shoulder. I gasped.

“Good,” Alec repeated as he settled his weight between my legs. His hand rode up the underside of my thigh, stopping just short of my center. “Then on to my next order of business. Punishing you for interrupting my very important meeting.”

“On
my
honeymoon.”

His mouth lowered over my breast, and teased my nipple through the sheer fabric.

“Let me make it up to you,” he said.

And he did. Three times over.

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