Page 14 of The Sound of Secrets

Win’s hand skimmed across the top of my chest, then dropped so that he was caressing one of my wet breasts. My nipples immediately hardened as he rolled one between his scarred fingertips.

“Already on it. He surfaced while you were in Europe, trying to see your mother. The visit alarmed her caregivers and my brother. Rocco has been monitoring him, but there was no indication he planned to see Winnie this weekend. I agree his performance today had a purpose other than crashing her party.” His teeth nipped at the side of my neck, and his free hand slid down my belly and stopped right below my belly button. “Make a choice, Harvey. Are we going to keep discussing your dad, or are we going to fuck? Your rule. We can’t do both.”

I sighed as his fingers disappeared between my legs. His touch was light but deliberate. His fingers trailed heat behind them, and my body contracted in response. I lifted an arm to curl around his head and tilted my head back for a kiss. I was more than over speaking about my deadbeat dad. I spent a lifetime trying to protect my mother from him. Having Win as an extra hurdle Paul Harvey would have to get over if he wanted to keep screwing with the people I loved made me breathe easier.

Win’s fingers tauntingly skipped my clit. Instead, they circled my entrance and playfully inched inward. The touch tickled and made the area between my legs quiver. My knees fell loose, and my breathing turned rapid as he deepened the kiss and his tongue flicked against mine. He was a domineering kisser. He used his mouth to command mine into a wanton response. If his teeth were hungry, he kissed me until mine were desperate to bite back. If his tongue was coaxing, he kissed me until mine surrendered. If his lips were powerful and punishing, mine were pliant. All I could do was follow him down the rabbit hole.

When his fingers finally dipped deeper into my eager opening, I pulled away from the devouring kiss and gasped. The heel of Win’s palm pressed heavily on my aching slit and my entire body wanted to vibrate with pleasure. He chuckled from behind me and reached out to adjust the showerhead so it wasn’t right in my face. With the stream pointed down where we were connected, my nerves felt like they were electrified. I had to brace a hand against the slick wall, as well as Win’s chest, when his fingers started to pump in and out of me. Riding his hand, my knees turned to water, and I almost fell because of the wet tile in the walk-in shower. Win held me up and chuckled against the curve of my shoulder, where his teeth tugged at my skin. My pulse thundered erratically, and my heartbeat sounded like a marching band practicing inside my skull.

From behind, the press of Win’s steely erection against my ass grew increasingly insistent. The hard length rubbed wantonly in the cleft I didn’t think toomuch about. The sensation caused me to gasp and wiggle. It wasn’t clear if my instinct was to move away or search out even more of the foreign and forbidden feeling. I grabbed his wrist to guide his hand more fully between my legs. He went back to playfully teasing me, but my blood was too hot to handle the flirty foreplay. He obediently shifted his hold, so that his thumb could circle my clit while his other hand tightened on my breast. He rolled my nipple in the center of his palm while his hips started to grind his cock against my backside.

I was stimulated in all directions, which caused my mind to swim away from reality. I was caught in a bright bubble of lust. I never wanted it to pop. It seemed like my desire and satisfaction were the only things that mattered to the man holding me, which made my heart twist painfully. To be everything to a man who held the world in the palm of his hand was a heady and powerful feeling. There was no other rush that matched it.

Our breathing was harsh and echoed in the tight space. Win turned us so that I was facing the wall opposite the door. The water shut off as my head fell forward to rest on the tile. His body moved against mine as his fingers continued to play my most sensitive spots like they were a priceless instrument. I felt his lips land on the back of my neck and his dick move with more force against my ass. I moaned his name and shivered when his teeth bit down hard enough to sting.

I warned him I was going to come if he kept flicking his thumb on my clit. He growled and shifted his hold on me so that my hips were arched toward him. He told me to put my hands on the wall, as he situated himselfbehind me. When he straightened his knees, his cock drove deep inside of me with enough force and suddenness I couldn’t help but yelp. My breath caught, and I had to close my eyes to anchor myself and not get swept away by the overwhelming feeling of being taken and owned.

I was growing quite fond of the hidden savage Win kept under wraps. It was a part of him I convinced myself no one else got to see. This Win was all mine, and I wasn’t keen on sharing him with another living soul.

“You feel so fucking good, Channing.” One of his hands lifted to rest at the base of my throat, and the other darted back between my legs. The spot was soaked. It had nothing to do with being in the shower. My body simply reacted to him with no shame or decorum. There was no pretending. I wanted him as badly as he repeatedly claimed to want me.

“I do feel good.” The words were strangled but held a hint of humor. “Because of you.” Win knew exactly who I was. There was zero pretense between the two of us. I never felt like I had to be someone better when I was with him. I didn’t feel like I had to earn my keep, or else he would find someone more suitable. Whatever the complicated emotions Win Halliday arose within me, they had nothing to do with trying to find my place in his world. He made it clear he would make space when I was ready to stand by him. Or behind him. Or even in front of him. The position didn’t matter. I did.

“If you give me a chance, I’ll make you feel better than good. I’ll be the best you’ve ever had.”

A laugh slipped out. “You already are.” How could he believe anything different?

My words unleashed a new level of hunger within him, and he started to fuck me faster. Our wet skin rubbed together and the sounds we made filled the steamy bathroom.

His hips moved faster, and his fingers used more force. My palms slipped against the tile, so I pushed back against him. The hand near my throat tightened its hold and my pussy pulsed in response. I wasn’t going to last much longer. Sex with Win always felt fast and furious, regardless of how long he was inside of me. It was like taking drugs. A little went a long way, and it was scary how quickly I got addicted.

I moaned long and loud when my body shuddered through a powerful climax. Once everything went soft and pliant, Win’s hips crashed into my ass in a wild rhythm as he chased down his release. He was rough, but still made sure I kept my balance and didn’t face-plant onto the ground. He lasted several minutes beyond what I thought I could handle. Every touch and movement felt exaggerated and overwhelming. When he finally came, we were both ready to collapse in a heap of noodle-like limbs.

Win held my limp body and reached out to crank the shower back on. The warm water immediately hit my thighs and washed away any evidence we’d just been debauched and unhinged like horny teenagers a moment ago. I hummed in appreciation as Win’s palms coasted over my skin.

I had my eyes closed and my head tilted back when his deep, muted voice reverberated against the expensive surroundings. “Your parents’ marriage isn’t the onlymarriage you need to address, Harvey.” He sighed when I stiffened in front of him. “A big part of me is saying not to push because you might run again. But I need to know what you want from me. I need to know how long I’m allowed to keep you.” He kissed the top of my head and gave me a back hug that felt full of desperation. “I’m doing my best to convince you to stay because I don’t know how to let you go.”

I patted the back of his damaged hands. This conversation was long overdue, but I still had no clue what to say to him.

“I’ve experienced a near perfect marriage, and one that was outright awful. Neither one was hard to leave.” I tried to keep my tone light and reassuring. “Nothing is easy about what we have, Chester.” Staying might be the right thing to do forus.But I didn’t know what the best thing formewas. Loving and being in love with Win still seemed like an impossibility, even if he went to great lengths to prove otherwise.

Win rested his chin on the top of my head. His voice was wistful when he muttered, “I can’t promise perfection, and I’m a Halliday. Awful moments here and there are a given. The only guarantee I can give is that I will work every single day to make sure you never regret being married to me. I’ll be the type of husband you need, so I can learn how to be the husband you want.”

I turned around so I could hug him back. He turned the water off and we stood in silence for an extended moment. When I pulled back, I told him, “The problem is, I don’t know that I want to be the wife you want and need, Win.” I’d tried and failed the matrimony game. I didn’tthink my heart could rebound if Win and I crashed and burned. Everything about him was a colossal risk, and I doubted my bravery in taking such a massive leap. There weren’t a lot of examples of couples going the distance in my life. I pulled back so I could meet his gaze. “Can it be enough that I don’t want to be anywhere else right now?”

It was the best I could do.

Win swore and eventually relented. I could tell he wasn’t ready to give up the fight but didn’t want to cross the clear boundary I just laid down.

We got out of the shower and he wrapped me up in a fluffy white towel. While the fabric was over my head and my face was covered, he asked, “How come we’ve never talked about your previous marriages? Your second husband is still in your life, and you have a friendly relationship with him. What about your first husband?”

I stiffened and pulled the towel closer to my body. I always felt like I needed an extra layer of protection when talking about the biggest mistake I’d ever made. And considering I once dated a guy for six months who was dumb as a box of rocks just because he looked like Tom Hardy, that was saying something about how shitty my first marriage had been.

“My first husband isn’t worth mentioning. I don’t mean that in a bitter ex-wife way. He’s a horrible person. He was much older than me. The relationship was toxic from the start. In hindsight, I can see I found a substitute to fill in the gap my father left in my life, but my choice was even worse than the original. I hope I never see him again for as long as…” I trailed off, my eyes widening in sudden realization under the cover of the towel. I scrambled tofree myself, my heart rate quickening and my breathing jagged. I looked at Win and then at myself in the mirror. I could see horror in my eyes and concern on his handsome face. “Ky looks just like my ex-husband, Parker. I haven’t thought about him in so long. No wonder I couldn’t place why he looks so familiar.”

Win frowned as he moved to the sink to brush his teeth. “Is the similarity that uncanny?”

I gulped as my fingers started to wring together with anxiety. “Ky looks identical to the pictures of Parker as a teenager. Ky said you smoothed things over for his mom when he got in trouble. Did you see anything about his father?”

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