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

“This is so cliché,” Lina said when she opened her door.

“A first date is not a cliché.” I was glad I got the words out because the second I clocked what she was wearing, my power of speech vanished.

Her red lips pursed in a flirty pout. “It is when you’ve already had sex.”

I needed a minute to catch the breath she’d knocked out of me.

She was wearing a short black dress. The sleeves were long, but the skirt showed off so much leg I wanted to back her up and bend her over the first flat surface I could find just to see what color underwear she was wearing. Her fuck-me stilettos had a crocodile pattern that proudly said “man-eater.” She’d gone heavier on the makeup, adding some kind of smoky bronze to her lids that made her eyes look even bigger and more sinful.

She was beautiful. Confident. And vaguely annoyed that I was taking her to dinner instead of bed.

I was the luckiest son of a bitch in the world.

“You shaved,” she said when I remained silent.

I ran my hand over my jaw and grinned. “Thought it would make for a smoother ride.”

Her eyes sparkled wickedly and a pink tinge warmed her cheeks. “I don’t mind it rough,” she reminded me.

“I’ve got the scratches to prove it, Angel,” I teased.

“Why don’t we skip this whole date thing and go straight to testing out that baby-smooth face of yours?” she suggested.

My dick reacted like a puppet with its master at the strings.

“Nice try, baby. But you’re getting the full first date experience.”

“Ugh, fine, but I’d like to point out that society says I’m not supposed to sleep with you on the first date,” she reminded me.

“Since when do you follow the rules?” I teased.

“Only when it suits me.”

Which was exactly why I couldn’t afford to play fair.

I produced the small gift box I’d been hiding behind my back. “Got you something.”

She eyed the box like she might a bomb.

“Go on now. Don’t be scared.”

“Scared?” she scoffed and snatched the box out of my hand.

Her face went soft for a second when she pried open the lid. Then her careful mask slid back into place. She was letting me in, but only in inches, and I wasn’t about to lose any ground.

“I’m not supposed to sleep with you on a first date and you’re definitely not supposed to give me jewelry.”

I’d swung by Xandra’s again to talk to her about the initiative I was rolling out and to drop off a toy deputy badge for Alex.

I glanced down at the earrings nestled inside the box. Delicate gold chains ended in sharp, sparkly sunbursts. “I saw them, and I thought of you. Made by the woman who saved my life, worn by the woman who reminded me it’s worth living.”

The mask slipped away again and I saw nothing but pure female enjoyment. “Well, how am I supposed to say no to that?”

“They’re just earrings, Angel. Not a wedding ring. Besides, a portion of the sales go toward a local autism foundation.”

She took a breath and handed the box back to me. “Why do I get the feeling you’re playing me?” she asked as she removed the hoop from her right ear, then liberated an earring from the box.

She expertly found the hole and secured the earring in place, then did the same with her left ear.

“How do they look?” she asked, giving her head a shake.

“Fucking beautiful.”

I chose a swanky Italian place in Lawlerville. Not because they had the best homemade bread in the tricounty area or because I was hoping to keep the whole “us” thing secret. I just wanted a quiet dinner without any distractions. If I’d taken Lina out in Knockemout, we’d be dealing with a whole town of gossips, and if I’d cooked for her at my place, we wouldn’t have made it past appetizers before I’d gotten her naked.

Unfortunately, this meant I had to bribe Nolan with his own dinner at the bar since the marshal wasn’t willing to take the night off.

But at least he was far enough away from our table that I could pretend he wasn’t there. We’d been given a circular booth tucked away in a quiet corner of the dining room, which meant instead of sitting across from each other, we were next to each other on the bench. Beneath the pristine tablecloth, my thigh was pressed intimately against hers. Her foot was hooked companionably behind my ankle.

“Are you immune to the fact that every man in this restaurant watched you walk in and sit down?” I asked her as she dragged a piece of bread through the plate of olive oil.

She glanced up, a sparkle in those beautiful eyes. “If you’re wondering if I notice attention, I do. If you’re asking if I like it, it depends on the situation. Tonight I didn’t hate it.”

I liked that she didn’t pretend. I was starting to understand her brand of honesty. She didn’t lie or tell the truth. She either opened herself up to you or closed herself off from you. And I was starting to get the difference.

“You’re so goddamn beautiful, sometimes I can’t look directly at you,” I confessed.

The slice of bread tumbled to her plate and landed olive oil side down. “Damn it, Nash. Stop sneaking up on me.”

I smirked and reached for my own slice, surprised when I didn’t feel the familiar twinge in my shoulder. I hadn’t really noticed it at all the night before either. It looked like Lina’s miracles weren’t limited to mental health.

“I thought of something else that I need from you,” she announced.

“Name it.”

“I don’t want to sit on the sidelines while you and the boys have all the fun. I want to be on the team. I want to help find Hugo.”

“Angel, you’ll get your car,” I insisted.

Her eyes narrowed as she picked up her glass and sipped. “I know I’ll get the car. What I want to make sure of is that you get your man. That you don’t have to live with the fear that at any point, Duncan Hugo could wake up one morning and decide today’s the day he’s going to eliminate witnesses.”

I said nothing. Mostly because I was afraid to spook her. Maybe she didn’t realize what she was saying. But I did. She wanted me safe. And she wanted it enough to play on a team to make it happen.

Whether she realized it or not, she cared about me and I wasn’t above exploiting the hell out of that to get what I wanted.

“I already promised to keep you in the loop,” I reminded her.

“And now I want you to promise me more. I’ve planned over two dozen asset retrieval operations,” she continued. “I’ve been on hand to actually execute half of those operations. I’m a pro at working in tandem with law enforcement agencies. And I never quit.”

“You packed a suitcase,” I pointed out.

She pinned me with a look.

“What?” I asked.

“I’m debating.”

“Debating what?”

“Whether to tell you the truth.”

“Don’t waste the energy deciding, Angel. Always tell me the truth.”

“Fine,” she said with a delicate shrug. “I packed a suitcase because it hurt too much to be that close to you when you hated me. I was going to move back to the motel, wait until work could send a replacement, and then I was going to leave town.”

It was like a knife to the gut, knowing how close I’d come to losing her for good. If it weren’t for Naomi and Sloane stopping her, last night wouldn’t have happened. And this conversation wouldn’t be possible. I owed them flowers or maybe a spa gift certificate.

“I’m sorry, Angel,” I said. “I was falling fast and I grabbed on to any excuse I could to break that fall. I’m sorry for making you feel like you couldn’t trust me. I won’t make the same mistake twice.”

Her fringe of lashes was thick and dark against her skin, and when those heavy lids raised and she looked at me, she stole the breath right out of me.

“When you say falling,” she said softly.

“Head over heels, Angel. I’m really regretting taking you out to dinner instead of taking you to bed again.”

Her laugh was husky, and when she leaned in, her breast was soft and tempting against my arm. “Mission accomplished. Now tell me you’ll use me, Nash.”

My fingers tightened on the stem of the wineglass. I knew what she meant, but the double entendre was impossible for my dick to ignore. It was time to take back control.

“First things first. I wanna hear those words coming out of your mouth again once I’m inside you. And I want you to mean them.”

Her lips parted as her breath quickened. “Deal.”

“Second, if you want in, I need you to take every precaution I deem necessary to keep you safe. That’s nonnegotiable,” I said.

“Deal,” she said again.

I gave her a wolfish look. “You know, last time we made a deal, I was inside you.”

“And instead of being naked in bed, we’re out to dinner on our first date. Guess you’ll just have to settle for the high five,” she said smugly.

It was a first date to end all first dates. I knew it in my gut. There was something about Lina Solavita that drew me in, that captivated me. I wanted all her secrets, all her trust. And I wanted her to willingly hand them over to me. Forever.

This wasn’t just an attraction. This was something more.

We talked, we laughed, we flirted, we sampled bites of each other’s entrees. The longer the meal wore on, the closer we inched.

By the time the waiter was describing the desserts, my right hand was on her thigh just below the short hem of her dress. My fingers drew tiny circles on her warm skin.

Lina looked as if she were riveted by his description of the bourbon bread pudding, but beneath the table, my bad girl opened her knees wider for me.

Inviting me, testing me, teasing me.

I wanted to look down. Knew if I did, I’d finally see the color of her underwear and experience a whole new level of torture. However, it was time I delivered a little torture of my own.

She didn’t think I’d do it. But there were a lot of things Angelina Solavita could tempt me into.

As the waiter rhapsodized about the hazelnut cheesecake, I trailed my fingertips all the way to the promised land. Lina jumped and tried to close her knees, but it was too late. I’d found what I was looking for. That damp spot on the silk I’d yet to see. But I could feel it.

Her thighs trembled around my hand.

“What sounds good to you, Angel,” I asked her.

The look she shot me was a beautiful combination of shock and naked desire. “Wh-what?”

“Dessert,” I said, pressing two fingers to that delectable wet spot. “Tell me what you want.”

She blinked twice, then shook her head. The smile she shot the waiter was not her usual man-eater. “Uh, I’d like a piece of the hazelnut cheesecake. To go.”

“And for you, sir?” he asked me.

I used my index and middle fingers to squeeze the lips of her sex together through her thong.

“Just the check.”

With a nod, he disappeared and Lina fisted her hands on the tablecloth.

“Open your legs.” My command was a harsh whisper.

She didn’t hesitate before spreading her thighs.

“Wider,” I commanded. “I want to see.”

She obeyed, sliding her ass to the edge of the cushion, giving me the permission and freedom to play. My cock was rock-hard and begging to be let out.

Red. Her thong was bad-girl red. I slid my fingers under the band that covered her sex.

“Nash,” she whispered, her voice trembling.

I loved the way she said my name when she needed me.

“Think you can play your bad-girl games in a fancy restaurant and I won’t call you out?”

“Well…yeah,” she admitted on a shaky laugh. Under the table, she bucked her hips forward, begging for more pressure.

I wanted to bend her over this table and shove her dress up to her waist.

I circled her slick little bud with the pads of my fingers. “If I take the edge off for you right here, right now, promise me—”

“Anything,” she whimpered, writhing against my hand.

God, I loved the sound of her surrender. It made my dick ache.

I leaned even closer so her breast was plastered against my arm, my lips brushing her ear. “Promise me you’ll still take me as deep as I can get when we get home.”

“Yes,” she hissed instantly. Then she smiled wickedly. “If you can make me come before my dessert gets here, I’ll be sure to return the favor.”

Challenge accepted.

“Spread as wide as you can, Angel.”

She hooked her knee over my thigh to accomplish it, but once she was splayed open, I drove two fingers into her slick, wet channel.

Her low moan made my cock twitch painfully. So I added a third finger.

“Oh Jesus,” she groaned.

“Don’t ride it,” I warned, brushing what looked like an innocent kiss to her shoulder. “Stay still or everyone in this restaurant will know what’s happening under this table.”

She bit her lip and stopped moving.

“That’s my girl,” I whispered and then brushed my thumb over her clit.

“Oh God,” she whimpered.

The telltale quivers that teased my fingers told me everything I needed to know. “You’re ready to come already. Aren’t you, Angelina?”

“It’s your fault,” she hissed. “You in that damn good guy suit. With your damn first date and your damn ‘I saw these and thought of you’ earrings.”

She was rocking subtly against the thrusts of my hand, her thighs straining to stay open. My fingers were coated in her wet. I added just a little more pressure with my thumb and it was like pulling a trigger.

She closed her eyes and I had the privilege of feeling everything inside her locking down hard before releasing. Lina went off like a firework on my fingers, making me feel like a goddamn hero. I kept pumping into her, kept swiping my thumb over that sensitized bud. Her legs shook and she leaned heavily into me as she came and came and came.

I jammed my other palm against my erection, praying I wasn’t as close to blowing as it felt like I was.

“Oh fuck,” Lina said, still panting, still gripping my fingers inside her.

“Your cheesecake and your check,” the waiter said.

“Am I reading this wrong, or are you pissed off?” Lina asked me as I slid behind the wheel of her car.

I’d had to half drag, half carry her to the parking lot because her legs were still shaking from my finger fucking. Thankfully, Nolan had been in the restroom and missed our escape.

“I’m not mad,” I snapped. I still had her wetness on my hand, a fact that wasn’t helping my fucking situation.

“I was only teasing you. I didn’t mean for it to go so far. But damn, hotshot. You continue to surprise me.”

“Baby, the only thing that’s mad right now is my dick at how fucking far we are from home.”

I could feel the pulse of it hammering in my head. How the hell was I supposed to last the thirty-minute drive home?

“Ohhhhhh.” She drew out the word as I shifted into gear and stomped on the accelerator. The car fishtailed as I pulled out of the parking lot and hit the road.

“Shouldn’t we wait for Nolan?” she asked.

My answer was a growl. If I didn’t get some relief soon, I was worried I’d lose my fucking mind. She’d spread so wide for me. Come so hard. In a restaurant full of people. Now I had a zipper tattooed on my shaft.

“I think I can help with that,” she said, releasing her seat belt.

“What are you doing?” I demanded harshly. “Put your seat belt back on.”

“But if I do that, I can’t do this.”

She reached across the console, and when her fingers closed around my belt, I knew I was in serious trouble.

I sucked in a breath as my cock turned to motherfucking granite.

“Angelina,” I warned.

Those nimble fingers had my belt and fly open in seconds. “You’re not going to abide all the laws tonight, are you?” she teased.

“Take off your bra,” I snapped as I eased up on the accelerator.

“I’m not wearing one.” She relayed this information just as she wrapped her hand around my throbbing erection.

“Goddammit!”

“Just keep your eyes on the road, hotshot.”

That was going to be impossible. Especially after I hooked my right hand in the neckline of her dress and yanked it down so I could see those perfect breasts.

With a wicked smile, she lowered her head into my lap. The second those hot lips spread over my crown, I was a goner. That hot tongue, that slick mouth, the way she gripped me in her tight fist. Angelina Solavita was going to deliver a religious experience.

I groaned, long and ragged as she used her mouth and hand on me. Confined by my pants, the seat belt, the steering wheel, I couldn’t do anything but let her work me. The lonely, moonlit highway stretched out before us, but I barely saw it.

My attention was stolen by the hot mouth on my cock.

I shoved a hand under her just to grab a handful of bare breast. Her moan vibrated down my shaft. The back of my head was drilling itself into the seat. My knees pressed outward against the door on one side and the console on the other.

She’d hit the perfect rhythm and I knew I was about to lose my mind and my load. The release was churning dangerously in my balls, causing them to tighten.

“Fuck.”

I wanted to thrust. I wanted to move. But I couldn’t.

Without warning, Lina’s mouth popped off my erection. She peeked up at me with an arched eyebrow and red, wet lips. “Seriously, hotshot? Thirty-five in a fifty-five?”

I grabbed her none too gently by the hair and pushed her back down in my lap. “Shut up and suck, baby.”

The second her mouth hit my dick, I jerked the wheel to the right and pulled over onto the shoulder of the road. It took some maneuvering to downshift around her, but I managed to bring us to a complete stop. Dumping the car into neutral, I pulled the parking brake. The dust was still rising around us when I hit the lever on my seat to recline.

Both of my hands came to her head and I set the pace. She scrambled farther over the console, her tits bouncing in the light of the dash, her mouth never leaving my shaft.

It was building.

I wanted to warn her, but I couldn’t get the words out. I couldn’t even draw in the breath required to form them. In a way, this was how the panic felt. But this was a world away. This was something I’d give up everything for. Lina was someone I’d give up everything for.

On that terrifying thought, I ejaculated hard. It raced up my shaft like fire and burst free into her waiting mouth. I must have shouted. I must have hit the gas pedal because the engine revved into the red line. I was fisting her hair in a too-tight grip, but I couldn’t seem to stop. Not as long as I was coming.

It was endless. Her mouth sucked me off, capturing every spurt of my release as if she couldn’t live without it.

“Baby,” I panted, collapsing back against my seat.

Her mouth stayed fastened to the sensitive tip until I tugged her up. Her hair was a mess. Her eyes were big and glassy. Her full tits swayed hypnotically with each breath she sucked in. Her mouth, that fucking mouth, was swollen and rosy and wet.

I’d never seen anything so beautiful in my entire life.

Hooking her under the arms, I dragged her across the console into my lap and tucked her head into my chest. She curled into me, both of us breathing like we’d just sprinted a mile.

“Jesus, baby. You should have to register that mouth of yours as a weapon,” I said.

She let out a low, sultry laugh. “Consider it payback for making me come in the middle of a restaurant.”

I stroked a hand over her hair. “Don’t know about you, but I’d say this was a pretty successful first date.”

“I wouldn’t say no to a second one.”

I palmed her breast and squeezed. “We’ll order in,” I decided.

It was right about then that I noticed the flashing lights in the rearview mirror.

“Fuck.”