Page 3 of The Secrets We Share

“Did you watch the cameras?”

“Haven’t had time. But I cleared the house. There were only two of them. They looked like your father’s men, but I sent photos off to James to see if he knew who they were. I’ll feed them through my system when we get back.”

“Get back? You want to stay here even though they know where we are?” Surprise laces my voice.

“No. But we have time to go back and pack up before we hit the road. Now tell me what happened?”

I tell him everything, though it’s not much of a story to tell. There was no altercation. They never found me. Our escape plan worked like a dream until I was in the woods with ill-prepared footwear.

“And in all that time, you couldn’t have at least hit answer on my call so I could hear you breathing?” The fire in his eyes has dulled to a smolder.

“You have my location and could see me moving along with Cinder.” I try to soothe him further.

“Sweetness, that could have meant a whole slew of things. It’s not the same as hearing you.”

I drop my chin, knowing he’s right. But I was too worried about getting caught by one of the men. “There just wasn’t time. I’m sorry.” I pop up on my toes and bring my lips to his softly. It was just supposed to be an apology, a token of my sincerity. But he wants more.

TWO

HARKIN

US AGAINST THE WORLD - Chris Grey

Her cold lips land on mine, and my body responds automatically. She’s the air I breathe, day in and day out. Without her—my thought stops there, unable to even bear the idea. Losing Alina was one thing. I thought her death killed me, but all it did was tear down the man she knew to rebuild someone better in his wake. For Keira, it would mean an all-out war before I climbed my body into the coffin next to hers. There is no me without her.

Pulling her closer, I fuse her front with mine, breaking our kiss and sinking my nose into the hollow of her neck, drawing in her scent. I needed to feel her skin against mine, erase the last hour of our lives. She’s lucky I was almost back when the alert from the security system hit my phone. She’s right. The first thing I did was pull up both of their locations and watch to see where they were. By then, their dots were off in the woods, assuring me she’d gotten out of the cabin and was likely heading for our meeting spot.

When I pulled down the drive, not bothering to hide my arrival, one man was coming around the side of the cabin. He yelled something in Italian before raising his gun in my direction, but his friend came clambering out the front door, stealing his attention for a second too long.

My gun popped off, hitting him square in the chest. His stocky body hit the snow with no sound at all. The saving grace of being high in the mountains, we didn’t have neighbors to worry about. And even if we did, a gunshot wouldn’t be something to think twice about up here.

His friend got off a couple of shots, pinging their car instead of mine or me. When I slid behind their SUV, dropping to the ground and onto my back, my next bullet took out his kneecap. He fell forward, tumbling down the front stairs. One quick double tap to the head silenced the scuffle. The time in the mountains training with Keira not only perfected my aim, but erased any hesitation about killing someone.

Her hands push under my shirt and up my chest, cooling my skin. She needs me as much as I want her. I can feel it in her desperate touch. See it in her heady gaze.

“Strip, little one.”

“It’s freezing in here,” she protests.

My eyebrows raise, my lips tipping at the corner. We’ve come a long way with her submission, but my girl holds firm to her obstinance. She wouldn’t be her if she didn’t.

“Don’t make me repeat myself.”

I step back, giving her space to toe off her mud-covered runners. Her fingers grip the hem of her skintight running shirt before slowly peeling it over her head. Her sports bra follows, exposing supple breasts on full display to jostle as she shoves her leggings down her hips and to the floor.

She shifts back and forth as goosebumps rise along her skin. Her dusty rose nipples peak, growing stiff from the cold air. I groan in appreciation at the sight.

Wrapping my hands around her waist, I lift and set her ass on the table. “Lean back, sweetness.”

Her elbows drop with a thud. She looks like a feast set out just for me, and I’m a man starved. Dropping to my knees before her, she throws her legs over my shoulders, whining as the anticipation of what’s to come takes hold in her mind.

My tongue glides across the sensitive flesh of her inner thigh, stopping at the apex just before her sex. I drop a kiss and repeat the assault on the opposite leg, this time biting down and licking away the sharp sting.

“Harkin, please,” she begs so sweetly, the only time she’s genuinely pliant for me.

“Mm, you should have answered the phone,” I remind her.

She lets out a frustrated huff and rocks her hips toward my face.

---