Dark Deceptions (31 page)

“Tom and his people were really thorough.”

“I don’t think I really realized how much I hurt you the night we fought. But even after that—knowing how upset you were—I
guess I thought we were still a team, at least professionally. So when I woke up in that hospital and Tom told me you were
gone, I couldn’t believe it. No matter how angry you were, I found it impossible to buy into the idea that you’d just leave
me there to die.”

“But Tom was very persuasive.”

“Yes.” Nash nodded, remembering how Tom had talked him down with just the right amount of remorse and support. “He was.”

“But I didn’t leave you. At least not in that building. And maybe not at all if things hadn’t played out the way they did.”

“You mean if Tom hadn’t manipulated our lives?”

“Something like that.” She nodded, her face reflecting his anguish. Years gone that they could never get back. “Look, I know
this is partly Tom’s fault, but I was the one who made the decision to keep the secret. So I understand if you’re angry with
me.”

“Frankly, I’m not sure what I feel. Anger, sure. And betrayal. But I can also see why you made the decisions you made. It’s
my fault, too. If only I’d listened that night in Vienna, maybe all of this would have played out differently.”

“You can ‘what if’ yourself to death, Nash. Believe me, I know.”

He nodded, wishing there were a way to skip past this part. The hurt. The anger. But it was all there, building inside him,
threatening to swamp him like a river cresting after a storm. Instead, he decided to focus on something else. “So tell me
this. If you hadn’t wound up here with me, would you have ever told Adam the truth?”

“Yes. When he was old enough to hear the whole story. Up until now, I thought I was protecting him. A little boy isn’t capable
of understanding why his mommy is in hiding. It’s better that he believe his world is the real one, not a charade his mother’s
Company made up to protect her.”

“And if something had happened to you?” he asked, frowning at the thought of Adam being left on his own.

“I made arrangements with an attorney. I figured with client confidentiality, I’d be okay as long as I didn’t tell him too
much. So I told him an abbreviated version of the story, and set it up so that on the event of my death, if Adam was old enough,
he’d be told the truth about his father—about you. And if not, then the attorney was directed to find you and explain the
situation.”

“And when all hell broke loose, and Adam was kidnapped? You didn’t think of coming to me then?”

“I thought I could handle it on my own.”

“Some things never change.”

“Look, I did the best I could given the circumstances. You can’t imagine what it was like to find Adam gone, and to know in
my heart that it was my fault, my past that put my son in danger.” She pushed off the bed, her eyes flashing with anger. “You
may think I’m horrible for keeping my secret, but I’m a good mother. And I love my son.” She rummaged through her duffel,
throwing things next to him on the bed as she searched. “Here,” she said finally, producing an envelope. “I carry this with
me, always. Just in case. It’s a notarized letter, identifying you as Adam’s father. You have to believe I never meant for
this to be a secret. It just played out that way.”

She tossed the envelope on the bed and walked over to the window, arms crossed, shoulders rigid.

He reached for it, but froze as his eyes fell on the rest of the stuff she’d discarded on the bed. Teetering on top of the
pile of T-shirts and sundries was a black lacquer box. He reached out to touch it, some part of his mind expecting it to disappear.

“You kept this?” he asked as he cradled the little box, memories surfacing. Krakow. The market. One of the happiest days he’d
ever spent.

She turned, her face softening when she saw the puzzle box, tears slipping down her face. Without a word, she reached over
to take it from his hands. Then, moving her fingers in practiced motions, she released the catch and the lid sprang open.

Inside were the petals of a rose.

His rose. The one he’d given her so many years ago.

He reached out to touch the faded bloom, then lifted his eyes to hers. “Why?” he whispered. “Why did you keep it all these
years?”

“Because I still love you.”

T
he minute the words slipped out Annie wanted to take them back. He’d caught her off guard, her heart speaking before her brain
had the chance to censor the thought. “Oh, God, Nash, I didn’t mean to…” she started, then stopped. “I’m sorry. I’ve dumped
so much on you and now I…”

“Hey,” he said, closing the distance between them, wiping her tears away with his thumbs. “You know I care about you, too.”

She nodded, not trusting herself to speak. It wasn’t exactly a declaration of love, but surely it counted for something.

“Annie, I know this is hard for you. But you’ve got to understand that it’s a lot for me to deal with, too. You’ve just told
me I have a son.”

“I don’t expect anything from you, Nash. I just wanted you to know, so that you could make your own choices about the kind
of relationship you want with Adam.”

“That sounds more simple than it is. God, everything is so fucked up.”

“I know. And it’s all my fault.”

“No, not entirely,” he said. “I sure as hell didn’t make it easy for you to tell me. And after everything I said in Vienna,
I can see how you thought it would just be easier to go.”

“Maybe we should have just had a little more faith in each other.”

“Maybe so. But we can’t change the past. So it seems like a waste of time to sit here blaming each other. We were both at
fault. We were young and arrogant.”

“And so certain we were right,” she said, tears welling again.

“See what I mean,” he sighed. “This isn’t doing us any good.”

“So what do we do?” she asked, her voice catching in her throat. “Where do we go from here?”

“I honestly don’t know, Annie.” He shook his head, smoothing the hair from her face. “But I promise you, we’ll figure it out
together.”

“I’m afraid,” she whispered, her hammering heart testament to the fact.

“Not of me,” he said. “Never of me.”

“No.” She shook her head, her gaze locked with his. “Never of you.”

He slanted his mouth over hers, taking possession of her lips, the intensity of the kiss a physical embodiment of everything
they’d lost—and everything they’d found. Framing her face with his hands, he pulled her closer, his mouth giving and taking,
promising everything and asking for nothing.

She closed her eyes and reveled in the fact that he was here—with her. And that at least for this moment, they were together.
He deepened the kiss, their tongues tangling together, their bodies moving to a rhythm belonging to only the two of them.

She pressed even closer, needing to feel his heart beating against hers. Wanting to feel the heat of his body. To erase the
pain of the past eight years. To rediscover the magic she’d only ever shared with him. Before, when they’d come together in
the rain, it had been out of a need so fierce there’d been no stopping it. But now, in this moment, there was something more.
Something more than desire. Something soul deep—binding them together.

Reverently, he pushed the silk robe off her shoulders, and it slid down her body, pooling at her feet. Cupping his hands beneath
her breasts, he traced the line of her nipples with his thumbs, his skin rasping against hers, slivers of heat arcing through
her.

Then slowly he kissed her eyes, her nose, her neck. His warm tongue caressing the hollow of her throat and then moving to
suck gently on each earlobe. Each stroke, each caress, a mark of possession, the heat from his lips sending shivers of need
coursing through her.

She reached for the hem of his T-shirt, pulling it over his head and tossing it to the floor. She kissed his chest, circling
each nipple with the tip of her tongue, reveling in the feel of him—the taste of him. She trailed kisses along his shoulders,
her fingers tracing the scars that covered his torso. Some remembered, some not.

So many years gone.

His eyes locked on hers, he stepped out of his jeans, leaving nothing between them but skin and heat. She gasped as he pulled
her to him, fitting her body against his, the hard heat of his penis nestled into the juncture of her thighs. Then she slid
down, her hands caressing him as she kissed the line of hair stretching down over the taut muscles of his abdomen.

Then she enveloped his heat with her mouth, sucking gently as she moved her hands slowly up and down. His fingers twined tightly
in her hair as she loved him. Sliding up and down, her tongue tasting and teasing. She felt a surge of pleasure as he responded
to her ministrations. Growing harder—hotter.

Impatient now, he pulled her up again, his mouth closing over hers, the intensity of his kiss raising the bar, moving their
loving to the next level. Swinging her into his arms, lips still locked together, he carried her to the bed and laid her on
the cool cotton sheets, their soft comfort the perfect foil for his heat and hardness.

Straddling her body, he cupped her breasts, then bent his head as his mouth closed over her breast. He bit lightly, his fingers
moving rhythmically across the skin on her hips and stomach. She closed her eyes as the pressure increased, the sucking stronger,
more insistent. His hand found her other nipple, massaging and pulling, the combined sensations sending her bucking against
him.

With a crooked smile, he slid lower, his mouth making a hot trail as it moved downward, kissing, licking, stroking until she
thought she might cry out with sheer joy. Lower and lower he moved, lightly flicking his tongue. Teasing the soft skin of
her inner thighs, his hands cupped now beneath her bottom, lifting her upward, opening her to him. And then he blew softly,
the gentle kiss almost more than she could bear.

Her hands closed around the rungs of the headboard as he lifted her higher still, his tongue plunging inside her, driving
deep and pressing hard against her secret spot. In and out. Her breathing coming in gasps now, she pushed against him, fighting
for her release. And then his mouth closed around her throbbing core, his lips and tongue moving faster and faster until she
couldn’t think. Couldn’t breathe.

There was nothing but the incredible sensation of his mouth moving against her. Sucking her, harder and harder, each wave
of sensation carrying her higher and higher until she thought surely she’d die. And then with one final pull, she felt herself
splintering into a million shards of color and light.

He shifted to cradle her spasming body as she came. She pressed closer, needing to feel his body hot against hers, as she
continued to spiral out of control. Then, summoning her strength, she rolled to straddle him, her hair hanging like a curtain
on either side of his face. She bent and kissed him, then lifted and in one smooth stroke impaled herself, the feeling of
him deep inside her almost sending her over the edge again.

They stayed for a moment, bodies joined, gazes locked, and then she bent to kiss him, gyrating slowly as she did so, feeling
him harden against her heat. She teased him for a moment, and then, her passion fully aroused, she began to move. Sliding
up and down, her slick heat building the sensual friction until it was almost too sweet to bear. Then with a growl, he flipped
her underneath him, his big body covering hers. Possessive and loving, embodying everything she needed—everything she wanted.

As he began to move again, his mouth found hers, his lips and tongue caressing her as she tightened herself around him, stroking
and squeezing.

He started to move in earnest, and she lifted her hips to meet his, the two of them establishing a rhythm as familiar to her
as breathing. Still kissing, they moved together, in and out, in and out, each thrust taking him deeper—taking them higher,
the years melting away as they moved together—until there was no past. No future. Only now.

The two of them. Together. Their union a covenant. There were no more secrets. Only each other, and the glorious feeling of
their bodies as they moved as one.

Faster and faster they moved, the world spinning out of control, until the only thing left was the feel of his body inside
hers and the sound of their hearts beating as one.

Then slowly Annie drifted back to earth, safe for the moment in the warmth of Nash’s arms. There were no easy answers. She
knew that much. And she knew, too, that tonight wasn’t a panacea for their problems, but at least the shadows of the past
were finally gone, which meant that there was hope.

And for now, that would simply have to be enough.

Nash moved slowly through the layers of sleep, his mind trying to hold on to the dream. He’d had it so many times, it had
become a familiar companion. One that gave him great joy, only to leave him devastated once he realized it was nothing more
than a figment of his imagination.

He opened his eyes to the dark night, his heart quickening as he felt her body there, warm against him. This wasn’t a dream.
It was real. And like all reality, it came with a price.

One they’d both paid in full. But there was still so much between them. So many questions. So many things left unresolved.
His mind rebelled at the thought. Annie always said he made things more complicated than they really were. Maybe she was right.
Maybe now was the time for simple things.

Loving each other. Loving their son.

He thought of Adam—with Annie’s eyes and smile.

His son. The words echoed in his brain, and he tried to sort through the resulting emotions. On the one hand, he was delighted,
the feeling akin to receiving an unexpected gift. On the other hand, he was terrified that he wasn’t up to the task, that
he’d somehow let them down. And then, in between somewhere, there was anger. Anger for all that he’d missed, for all that
he’d thrown away.

Downstairs the clock chimed three, and his skin prickled, something alerting his senses. Beside him Annie stirred, then sat
up, clearly roused by whatever he’d heard.