Page 76 of The Secret

I needed to slow this down before one of two things happened; I blew in my pants or I ended up fucking her on the table. Neither of which she deserved. I took hold of her face again; easing back so could look at her lust-drunk expression, which was a million times more pronounced than the one I’d witnessed last night. She released my bottom lip with a wet pop that almost had me changing my mind.

I smoothed down the back of her tank top, not ready to let go of her entirely. “That… was even better than last night.”

I meant it; last night had been beyond my imagination. In the time we’d lived together, I’d seen nothing but a kind, sweet, caring, baking, sexy as fuck woman. I’d never expected her to be so fiery and passionate and obstinate too. But our second kiss, feeling the warmth of her skin under my palms as she rocked in my lap while her tongue stroked hungrily against mine, was on the verge of mind-blowing.

“It was.” She looked down at me, wanting to say something but it seemed stuck in her throat.

“Tell me.”

“You really meant it? You don’t want to take this back?”

Not a chance. After that kiss, wild horses couldn’t drag me away.

“I really fucking meant it.” I tugged gently on the bottom of her hair I’d curled around my fingers.

Her smile was as bright as the sunshine streaming through the windows. “Then what are we going to do this weekend?”

I frowned. “About what?”

“This.” She gestured between us. “With your family…” She paused again. “Would you mind if… can we not say anything?”

I gasped with faux shock. “You mean keep us a secret from my interfering and meddling family?”

She gave me a sheepish grin. “Yeah. Is that okay?”

“That’s more than fine.” I cupped her cheek, “I know we have some stuff to figure out, which I want to do before anyone starts weighing in with their own opinions. And you’ve met my sisters and my mother.”

She burst out laughing before turning serious again. “Murray, why did you go for a swim? What did you mean when you said you needed to clear your head? And last night, what did you mean when you said I was your problem?”

My shoulders dropped in a sigh. I’d regretted it the second I’d blurted it out, wishing I could take it back, but I’d been so fucking angry. At her, at Jackson, at the entire situation, when all I wanted to do was take her in my arms and kiss her until she couldn’t stand.

Which I then fucking did.

“I’m sorry I said that.” I began twirling the ends of her thick, silky hair around my fingers, just like I’d always wanted to do. “I didn’t mean it.”

“But why did you say it?” she pressed.

“Kit…” She stared at me while I took a second or five to think how to word this without sounding like a dick, but there was no way around it. I’d promised myself I was never going to lie to her, although I briefly wondered what shade of grey stretching the truth would fall into. I looked at her, waiting patiently for my answer.

“Okay.” My hands started stroking her back again, soothing me. “I work hard, and up until a few months ago, I played hard. You know that Bell is the result of one of those plays. I have an amazing life and I enjoy it. I have more money than I know what to do with, and if I’ve ever wanted something, I take it or find a way to take it. Life is too short otherwise.”

She didn’t say anything, although her expression was one of understandable confusion because she had no idea where I was going with this.

“But things changed when Bell came along, and she became the single most important factor in my amazing life, along with any decision I made. Then you came along, too. And since the second time I laid eyes on you I’ve wanted you, but for the first time ever, I couldn’t do anything about it. You don’t belong to me, you belong to Bell. It was all new to me. I’ve never done this before. I’ve never been patient or had to be patient. Since you moved in, you’ve consumed me, and I’ve found it incredibly hard to handle.”

Her brows drew together. “The second time?”

I curbed my smile. “The day you moved in, I was too tired to see straight.”

She looked at me for a beat before bursting out laughing.

“But,” I continued, “if it makes you feel better, every single person in my family predicted this.”

Her jaw dropped in horror. “Oh my God, they all think something’s happening? Please say no.”

“No.” Which was technically true.

Her hands shot up to cover her face, not believing me. “Jesus. I’m such a cliché.”

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