Things We Hide from the Light (Knockemout Series, 2)

“Mornin’.” Nash’s voice was a rasp from behind me.

My eyes flew open, and last night, all of it, came flooding back to me in high-definition with surround sound.

Five orgasms.

“You’re gonna stop running and I’m gonna stop fighting this.”

Nash on his knees between my legs. His tongue working miracles.

“I need you.”

Inevitable.

And then circling right back to the five orgasms.

Not just any run-of-the-mill, I-could-have-done-better-with-a-vibrator orgasms. No. Nash Morgan had blown my previous peak sexual experiences out of the water. Hell, out of the stratosphere.

It was like the moment his penis came out, my body was programmed to explode.

Just what the hell was I supposed to do about that?

Oh, and then there was that whole thing about me falling in l—

Yeah, my brain wasn’t even willing to think the word. This couldn’t be real. This had to be some kind of delusion. Maybe the whole town had a radon problem? Or there was some sort of hallucinogen in the water?

A chuckle rumbled in his chest, which was pressed against my naked back. My stupid body thrilled at the sensation.

“I can feel you freakin’ out.”

“I’m not freaking out,” I lied.

“Angel, your body is so tense I might find a diamond with my dick next time,” he said, tracing the edges of my tattoo with a finger.

“There’s not going to be a next time,” I decided, trying to scooch my way to the edge of his bed.

The sheets were rumpled from our sexathon before we’d passed out from dehydration and orgasm supersaturation.

His arm tightened around my belly and he dragged me back against him in a delicious show of strength. I was plotting defensive maneuvers when he nuzzled his face against my hair and sighed. “I was right.”

I paused my plotting. “About what?”

“Best way to wake up in the morning by far.”

I went limp.

Great. After a night of Nash the Sex God, now I had to deal with Nash the Sweetheart. I didn’t have the weaponry to defend myself against either, let alone both.

“You can’t keep me here,” I warned him, stretching my leg straight until my foot found the edge of the mattress. “Eventually someone will come looking for one of us, and I’ll be forced to tell them that you held me captive.”

A heavy, hairy leg slid over mine. He hooked my ankle with his heel and dragged it backward.

In another second, I was on my back and an amused Nash Morgan was ranging himself over me. His hips pinned mine to the mattress with the aid of what I identified as his usual impressive morning wood. “Angel, any man who walked in and saw you lookin’ like you look wouldn’t blame me.”

My escape plan fell out of my head.

Those blue eyes were sleepy and satisfied. His hair was tousled. The fresh bruises on his face tarnished his all-American good guy handsomeness, giving him an even sexier rakish appeal. There was a self-satisfied smirk playing on the lips that had turned me into a writhing puddle of need.

Without thinking, I traced my fingers over his pecs where a dusting of light hair tickled me. God, I loved chest hair.

Those two garish pink welts stood out against the rest of his smooth skin, reminding me that the man on top of me was nothing short of a hero. He had such a beautiful body.

“What’s going on in that head of yours, beautiful?” he asked.

“How’s your shoulder?” I asked. “I wasn’t careful last night.”

“Shoulder’s fine,” he said. “I wasn’t careful with you either.”

I grinned against my will. No, he hadn’t handled me like I was a delicate flower in danger of being trampled. I hadn’t felt like a glass figurine. He had used me. Hard. And I’d freaking loved it.

“I guess I didn’t mind it.”

Nash slid down my body and placed a light kiss to each of the trio of surgical scars surrounding my breast. It was painfully sweet. My toes curled against the hair on his legs.

“Tell me what you need,” he said, just before using his mouth to tease my nipple.

“Coffee. A huge breakfast. Some ibuprofen.”

His head came up and those blue eyes were serious now. “Tell me what you need to feel safe with this. With us.”

If I hadn’t already lo—liked him, I would have fallen hard just for that. No one had ever asked me that question before. I wasn’t sure I had an answer.

“I…don’t know.”

“I’ll tell you what I need,” he offered.

“What?”

Nash slid off me onto his side and propped his head in his hand. The fingers of the other trailed over my breasts and stomach. His swollen cock rested against my hip, scrambling my brain.

“I need to know that you’re okay with what happened last night and that you want it to happen again.”

“Done and done. Wow. That was easy. Now about that coffee…”

“I need to know that you’re in this with me for however long it lasts,” he continued. “That you’re willing to admit there’s something between us that adds up to a hell of a lot more than just chemistry.”

“Pretty sure we experienced a very chemical reaction last night,” I reminded him.

He trailed those talented fingers up my neck, through my hair, combing it back from my face. “I need more pieces of you. As many as you’re willing to give. And I need you to talk to me, honestly. Even if you think I’m not going to like what you have to say.”

I shifted uncomfortably. “Nash, we don’t know where this is going or what the future holds.”

“Angel, I’m just happy to be back among the living. I’m more concerned with enjoying right now than worrying about tomorrow. But I need us to be on the same page.”

It wasn’t a big ask.

I brushed my fingertip over the scar on his shoulder. “This sounds like you’re trying to turn this into a relationship.”

His smile was like the first peek of the rising sun. “Baby, we’re already in one whether you like it or not.”

“I’ve never done the relationship thing. At least, not as an adult.”

“And I never had sex in a public library before. First time for everything.”

I contemplated my options, and for once, telling the truth seemed like the straightest path to what I wanted.

I needed Nash to understand what he was getting himself into. To recognize the pitfalls that lay ahead.

“I live alone and I like it. I hate sharing the remote. I like not having to consult with someone else before ordering dinner. I don’t want to have to move the seat of my car every time I drive. The idea of passing my decisions through an ‘us’ filter leaves me feeling vaguely nauseated. I love my parents but their constant need to check up on me drives me insane, and that problem could become yours if this goes anywhere. I like to splurge on clothes and bags and shoes, and I’m unwilling to justify that. I get up early and I work a lot. I don’t want to have to change that to accommodate someone else.”

Nash waited a beat. “Okay then. The only TV I watch is the occasional football game. The remote can be yours the rest of the time. I don’t mind cooking, but if you tell me you want takeout burgers, I’ll get you takeout burgers. I promise to always move your seat back to the original position after I drive. I wouldn’t mind having some nosy parents worry about me for a change. I like the way you dress just fine so I’ve got no problems with your shopping habits. Long as you let me spoil you once in a while. As for the schedule thing, I think you’re just reachin’ because, Angel, I’m a cop. Enough said. And when it comes to making decisions together, I need a say in your personal safety. I expect you to want a say in mine. Any decisions that affect us together, we make together.”

He was saying all the right things and it was scaring the shit out of me. “I travel a lot for work,” I reminded him.

“And I might spend Christmas morning on the scene of an accident. Baby, give us a chance to deal with it. At least agree to this for the time being. We can revisit it after I’ve got Hugo in a cage.”

He really wanted this. And I was downright shocked to realize I did too. I was definitely getting this town’s water tested.

“There’s one more thing,” I said.

“Name it.”

“I need to know what you, Knox, Nolan, and Lucian have been up to since our talk with Grim.”

He didn’t hesitate. “We’ve been hashin’ out a plan to flush out Hugo.”

I sat up. “What kind of plan?”

“The kind of plan that uses me as bait.”

“What?”

I was up on my knees, ready to do battle, when Nash struck, tackling me back to the mattress. His hands held my shoulders down. His hips pinned mine to the bed. And his erection notched into the exact right place. Like a key fitting into a lock.

We both went still.

My mind may have been in fight mode, but my body was ready for orgasm number six.

He grinned down at me. “Know this makes me sound like an asshole, but I don’t mind you worryin’ about me.”

I tried to heave him off me, but my flailing only succeeded in inserting the first two teasing inches of his cock inside me. I stopped fighting and tried to focus on the problem at hand and not how much I wanted the rest of his inches.

“Nash! You were worried about me doing surveillance but you expect me to be fine with you acting as bait to a man who tried to kill you?”

“I’d be disappointed if you were fine with it. And I’d like to point out, you got yourself abducted while doing surveillance.”

I bared my teeth at him. “If you think I won’t fight with you while your dick is in me, you’re about to be sorely mistaken.”

“Let’s try something new,” he suggested. “Instead of fightin’ and stormin’ off and pretendin’ we both don’t exist, let’s hash it out right now.”

My thighs were starting to shake from their grip on his hips. At this point, I didn’t know if I was trying to keep him from sliding further in or preventing him from pulling out. “Fine. Talk.”

“If Hugo is feeding intel to the FBI to help build their case against his father, there’s a damn good chance they’re gonna feel pretty friendly toward him. Maybe friendly enough to offer up immunity. But I’m a loose end to him no matter what. So are Naomi and Waylay. Right now, he’s just waiting for the feds to make their move. But sooner or later, he’s gonna have to snip those loose ends.”

“And you want him to try sooner?”

“That’s right. And I want him focused on me.”

“You think if he makes another attempt on you, his deal—if he has one—will fall through.”

“That’s the idea.”

I swear I was listening, but my body was multitasking. I was getting wetter by the second and my inner walls kept rippling around the tip of his penis.

Nash’s eyes closed and he groaned low. “Angel, if you wanna keep talking, you’re gonna have to stop beggin’ for more.”

To be petty, I contracted the muscles of my sex as hard as I could. “How are you going to force his hand?”

He gritted his teeth. “Shit, sweetheart. I’d tell you anything just to feel you grip my cock like that.”

“Then tell me,” I demanded.

“I’m gonna get my memory back.”

I went still under him, understanding and appreciation dawning. “You’re going to fake it.”

“That’s the plan,” he said, nuzzling my breast. “We done talking?”

I slid my hands down his back and sunk my nails into that perfect ass of his. “Not yet. Spill the details.”

His eyes were half-shut, his stubbled jaw clenched. “We’re gonna spread the word that my memory is back and that we’ve got a lead on the suspect’s whereabouts.”

My pulse quickened. He was bearing down against my thighs. I wasn’t going to be able to hold out much longer. Especially since I didn’t want to.

“What precautions are you taking?”

“Angelina, I came inside you three times last night. So zero.”

I pinched his ass. “I meant what are you doing to make sure Duncan Hugo doesn’t get a second shot at you?”

He was starting to sweat. And there was a heat blazing in those denim-blue eyes. “Still workin’ on that.”

“I want in.”

“What?” he gritted out.

My thighs quivered and he sank another inch into me.

I was on fire. My vision was starting to blur. I wanted all of him. Needed all of him. But I needed this first. “I want to be in the loop.”

“Do you want in the loop because you want to find that damn car or because you’re worried about me?”

“Both,” I admitted.

“Good enough for me. I’ll keep you in the loop. Deal?” he said.

“Deal,” I repeated and let my knees fall open to the sides.

He sank the rest of the way into me, filling me with a long, low groan.

I was deliciously sore from last night. But that didn’t stop it from feeling so damn good.

“When are you going to let me be on top?” I demanded as he pulled almost all the way out and then surged back in.

“When I know for sure watching your perfect tits bounce in front of my face won’t make me go off before I get you off. I’m out of practice.”

There was nothing out of practice about the way he drove that cock into me.

“Practice makes perfect,” I said, shoving him onto his side.

He rolled, taking me along for the ride until I was straddling him, impaled on him, my knees in the sheets, my hands on his shoulders.

His gaze locked on my breasts. His erection pulsed once inside me and his fingers dug into my hips. “Yeah. Not gonna last like this. Unless you take it real slow.”

I leaned down, brushing my nipples against that glorious chest hair. “That’s not gonna happen.” I nipped at his lower lip and started to ride.

“Jesus. Fuck. Damn it,” he cursed, bucking under me.

But even with me on top, he still managed to wrestle back control. His hands gripped my hips as he set a new pace. He pistoned his hips up and yanked me down to meet his thrusts. Hard. Fast. My heart was in my throat, every muscle in my body poised for the orgasm that was building.

I grabbed the headboard and held on for dear life as Nash bucked into me, hitting that secret spot with brutal accuracy over and over again. The flutters started, my inner muscles curling in on themselves, dragging over that thick, hot shaft.

“So fucking tight,” he muttered against my breast. “Have to fight my way in every damn time.”

“Nash.” It was a broken whimper as my walls clamped down on him as he thrust home.

“Give it up, baby. Give it to me.” The cords on his neck stood out. His jaw was locked, nostrils flaring as he fought his way through my orgasm.

I couldn’t breathe, couldn’t see. I couldn’t do anything but feel.

I needed to win. Needed to take him over the edge. With the echoes of my own release still trembling through my core, I bore down on him.

“Damn it, Angelina,” he snarled.

Sweat slicked my skin and his. His eyes were wild as my thighs gripped him harder, his fingers digging into my hips. He knew what I was doing and let me have my way. I rode hard, making my muscles burn. Then suddenly Nash curled into a sit-up, and with a look of agonized ecstasy, he went rigid under me.

I felt him come, felt the first hot spurt of his orgasm deep within me. It was endless. Inevitable. Perfect.

We both collapsed, my head resting on his shoulder, his fingers now gentle as they stroked my hair.

This wasn’t what I’d been looking for. This wasn’t what I’d thought I’d needed. But the body didn’t lie. I wasn’t capable of feeling this kind of connection to a man if there wasn’t something essential, elemental there to build on.

“Let’s have all our fights like this,” Nash panted.

“Neither one of us will be able to walk after a week,” I predicted.

“Thank you,” he said after a long beat of silence.

“For what?” I asked, shifting to look up at him.

“For taking a chance on me. For being with me now. We can worry about after later.”

“After?” I repeated, stroking my hand over his chest.

“Do we have a deal?” he prodded.

The man was still inside me.

“Fine. Deal.”

“High-five?” he offered, grinning.