Secret Sins: (A Standalone) (17 page)

“I feel stupid,” he said. “It’s just a rock and dirt.”

“Yeah. It’s stupid.”

That was why we were together. We shared a cold, calculating cynicism. We were immune to sentiment.

“I like the musical note,” I said. “It’s cute.”

“I picked it. I drew it for his dad and faxed it over.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. It’s…” He swallowed hard. “It’s F. The note.” He blinked. Smiled with his lips tight in a thin line. “It’s so dumb.” His voice cracked.

“I bet.”

He looked away from the grave and shut his eyes. “I picked F for…” He shook his head, shot a little laugh that was sticky with sadness. “Friend. I needed it to be F for friend. Like I was in kindergarten.”

I put my hand on his cheek, thumb under his eye, ready to catch the tears that I knew were coming. “I’m embarrassed for you.”

He opened his eyes. So blue. Bluer than the cloud-masked sky that day. He wasn’t the man I’d met so long ago. The musician on the edge of fame. So close to the dream. So close he could save the world with it.

But he was. That man was still in him. Sometimes I forgot about that twenty-year-old with the potential he had a lifetime to fulfill.

He laid the flowers down. I rubbed his guitar callouses as we walked back to the car.

“You should play music again,” I said.

“No.”

“You’re not doing him any favors.”

“It’s not about Strat.”

That was a lie, but I couldn’t prove it.

“You’re right. The world is better off without you making music.”

He laughed a little and wrapped his arm around my neck, pulling me close and kissing the top of my head.

“I mean it,” I said. “You’re sexy with a guitar. Chicks dig it.”

“You sure you could stand the competition?”

“Have you met me? I don’t have competition.” I walked backward in front of him, each of my hands in his. “You don’t have to be a rock star. Just write some songs. See how it sounds. You might like it.” I bit my lower lip. “I might like it. I could be your groupie all over again. I’ll let you fuck me if you play.”

He pulled me to him. “You’re going to let me fuck you whether I play or not.”

“I hear South Dakota has the easiest bar exam in the country.”

“I’m not moving to South Dakota.”

“Then you better get that guitar out, Indiana McCaffrey.”

“You’re threatening me,” he growled with a smile. “You know what that does to me.”

“What?” I reached between his legs, and we laughed.

I ran back to the car, and he chased me, pinning me to the driver’s side door with his kiss. I pushed my fingers through his hair, pulling him closer. I wanted to crawl inside him and live there forever.

He ripped his face away from mine long enough to speak. “I love you, Cinnamon. You’re too precocious. Too smart. Too much of a pain in the ass, and I love you.”

“Even in South Dakota?”

“I’ll play again!” He laughed. “I’ll play if you love me.”

“You bet your ass I love you.”

“Case closed.” He kissed me again, pushing me hard against the car with the force of his erection pressed against me.

I groaned into his mouth.

“There was a hotel behind that florist.” He spoke in gasps. “Wanna go make the bed squeak?”

“Yes.”

We kissed again with an urgency that defied logic, as it should.

The freight train finally lumbered away, the bell on the last car dinging in victory. On the other side of the tracks, the rolling hills dissolved into infinity, and we drove right into it.

The End

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Read the story of Jonathan that starts in BEG - attached to the end of this ebook as a special bonus or just 
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My next release is 
MARRIAGE GAMES
.

THIRTY DAYS

That’s all Adam Steinbeck demands of his wife.

Thirty days in a remote cottage, doing everything he demands. After that, he’ll sign her divorce papers and give her complete ownership of their company.

Thirty days to rediscover the man he once was. The Dominant Master he hid when he fell in love with Diana five years ago. 

She wants the business they built badly enough to go to the cottage for a month. Cut off ties to the world and do his bidding. She can submit to him with her body, but her heart will never yield.

She thinks this is his pathetic attempt to repair their marriage.

She’s wrong.

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Do you want to know more about Jonathan's story?

Want to know more about Jonathan's story?

Jonathan Drazen. Gorgeous. Charming. Smart. Rich.

All the ingredients for a few nights of mind-blowing pleasure are right there. He’s made it perfectly clear he can’t love me, and I’m not out to fall in love either. 

But I can’t stay away from him. He’s got this bossy way about him in bed. The word “Sir,” falls from my lips, and when he tells me to get on my knees…well, my knees have a mind of their own. 

I got this. I can be his slave for a few nights and walk away unscathed.

We get in. Get it on. Get the hell out. Done. He knows the line between love and lust. It’s right between my legs. 

Now, let’s see if that line blurs for me.

1) 
Beg Tease Submit

2) 
Control Burn Resist

3) 
Sing Coda Dominance

If you love hot Mafia men, check out my
Corruption Series
. 
Spin
, 
Ruin
, and 
Rule
 are full length and the series is complete. Or get 
COMPLETE CORRUPTION
 and save!