Page 62 of Harmless Secrets

She frowned. “No. I had targets.”

Something she couldn’t discern moved over his expression. “So, it’s been four years?”

She nodded and felt a shiver of fear and arousal intertwine as it moved through her blood. The dangerous look on his face should scare her, but there was a part of her that found it thrilling. All that attention, focused on her.

“I guess we have to make up for some lost time.”

And with that, he kissed his way down her body, grazing his teeth over her flesh. She pushed her present worries out of her mind as she gave herself over to his expert touch.

“I’m starving,” Devon said. Ali giggled. Actually giggled. He never thought he would hear such a sound come from the woman. It made him so fucking out happy to hear. “I’m not joking.”

“It’s not my fault we didn’t eat dinner,” she said, sitting up and, unfortunately, pulling the sheet up. “You’re the one who said he could live on sex.”

He chuckled when he remembered his announcement earlier that day. “I’ll give you that.”

She smiled down at him and in that minute, he knew he was lost to her. Her hair was a tangled mass of curls dripping over her shoulders, her lips were swollen from his kisses, and she had that kind of glow from a good healthy bout of passion.

Shit. He was falling in love with her. Not knee deep, either. He was head first, going under for the third time in love with her. He had to have been in love with her a little that night four years ago, but this was something more.

Her smile dimmed. “What?”

Devon used to be better at hiding his feelings. But something about Ali always tugged at his emotions, pulling them out into the open. He wanted to tell her everything, but he couldn’t. They needed time to process, to come to terms with what they were dealing with—and there was a little girl involved.

So, instead, he decided to keep it light. “You know you’re kind of ugly, right?”

She laughed. “Is that so?”

He nodded. “You kind of smell too.”

She shook her head. “I know when I’m not wanted.”

Turning, she started to crawl out of bed, but he grabbed her again, tumbling them over the sheets. He pressed her body into the mattress with his.

“Where do you think you’re going?” he asked.

“I thought maybe I would find some food.”

He sighed as he felt his body respond to her, but he knew she was right. They needed food. He gave her a quick kiss then rolled off her and the bed. He grabbed a t-shirt and tossed it to her.

“Thank you,” she said so primly he laughed. “What?”

“Nothing. You are a contradiction in terms. So ladylike and proper now, but I think I have scratches on my back.”

Her face flushed and he thought back to what Kaheaku said…and her own confessions. The idea that she had never really dated boggled his mind. This was a new experience for her. And he was the one to give it to her.

He grabbed a pair of boxers and stepped into them. “Let’s go see what we can find.”

He held his hand out as an invitation. She stared at it as if it was a foreign entity. It took her only a moment longer to respond. She stood and took his hand. It wasn’t a huge step, but a significant one. He raised their joined hands to his mouth and kissed her knuckles without taking his gaze from hers.

Then, he led her downstairs.

When Alicia polished off her bowl of ice cream, she licked the spoon dry.

“I don’t think I’ve ever been this hungry, except for the last trimester I was pregnant with Bridget.”

“You were on your own?” he asked.

“Yes. I didn’t have anyone I could call on, so I decided to play the role of single mother.”

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