9781618858368ForbiddenDeceptionlLeveyNC Page 11

  Seth swallowed the pull of lust slamming through him. His gaze traveled down her legs, clad in thigh highs with pink bows dead center at the top, as she slipped off her skirt. “You take the fight out of a man.” He pulled off his blue cotton shirt, making sure she got a glimpse of his muscled physique, and then leaned over to unlace and kick off his boots. She turned from him when he unbuttoned his jeans and jerked them off. A solid shield of shit between them prevented him from knowing what played across her mind. Curious to her game, he gave her room to make the first move.

  In the comfort of her living room, she turned to face him. “I figured why break tradition.” She sat on the couch and crossed her thigh high encased leg with her strappy sexy stiletto.

  For a man used to being in control of everything, she ripped said control right out of his hands, and she knew it. On her turf he struggled to find a modicum of the rage coursing through him. Minutes ago, outside, he couldn’t escape the rage. Now, here he sat in boxer briefs, staring at her. “I need you to take those off. I can’t think with them on. The shoes have to go too.”

  Ailyn’s smile set his teeth on edge, telling him he’d played into her hands as she eloquently reached over to slip her shoes off and stood. She slipped her fingers inside the hem of her stockings before rolling them down over her long legs one by one with excruciating slowness.

  “Christ’s blood, darlin’.”

  His dick jerked. Lust gripped him by the balls. Visions of her bent over the couch clad in stockings and pumps danced through his mind. The absence of the silk covering her didn’t diminish how sexy he found her.

  “Can we get it over with now?”

  Seth tore his attention from her body to the words coming from her mouth, struggling to catch up. He paid attention to the change in her body language and posture. Clearly having her remove the distractions put them on equal footing. She appeared ill at ease, waiting for the ball to drop. She motioned for him to take a seat. Instead of sitting on the couch, he walked into the kitchen and returned with one of her dining room chairs, placed it directly in front of her and took his seat.

  “Ailyn. In retrospect, even at sixteen, I should’ve known something was off with you to disappear completely off the grid so fast. I want to know everything. What was going through your head, why you didn’t contact me then, later—all of the ugly truth. I deserve honest answers.” He leaned back to give her some personal space.

  “I was heartbroken, embarrassed and terrified. You were in no position to be a parent, and I wasn’t willing to risk going to jail or losing my daughter for something that wasn’t my fault.” Ailyn crossed her arms under her breasts. “Everything, every choice I made boiled down to, do I risk going to jail for the boy I fell for? Can I stay away from him knowing it’s illegal to be together? Can I survive quitting loving him?”Ailyn broke eye contact. “You have such a magnetic personality. This immense presence, you had it before and still do, more prominent now. Your effect is nirvana, addictive without trying. I can’t honestly say I wouldn’t have caved under pressure if we lived in the same area code. To avoid succumbing to my conscience, the only recourse I had left was to remove myself from temptation. ”

  “What made you feel like you had to do this alone? Did I ever give you any indication other than my age that what we shared wasn’t love? That I wouldn’t do anything for you?”

  She shrugged, shifting her stance. “You lied about something basic. I refused to risk the unknown or your parents’ reaction. This wasn’t something as simple as underage drinking. Even now, this is a whole new ball park—one where to this day I could still go to jail.”

  Seth scratched his jaw and let out a pent up sigh. “I highly doubt you’d end up in the slammer. We’re both adults now.”

  “The state has a year to prosecute after a DNA sample is given, Seth.”

  Seth blew out an aggravated breath. “She is ours, no one in my family would’ve endangered you or Eva if only you’d have told us. I was your first lover. I wouldn’t have demanded a test then or now. We could’ve handled things differently, Ailyn. Hell, I promised to take care of you. I understand why you didn’t contact me. I do, but did you really think running from the situation was the best way to handle it? That you could run forever and it wouldn’t catch up with you in the end?”

  “Gee, I don’t know. I mean what else should I have done, aborted her?”

  “God no.” He jumped from the chair and cringed as it crashed to the ground. Taking a deep breath, he paced in front of her. “I have a juvenile record, you know, for underage drinking, fraudulent identification. No court would’ve put you away from something you had no control of.”

  “But you got that after we broke up. I didn’t know. Besides, you deserved to have a normal childhood and go to college.”

  Seth snapped his gaze at her and encroached in her personal space. Jaw clenched, he loomed over her seething in fury. “I wasn’t a goddamn child when we were together. Stop alluding to that.” She recoiled from him, the fear in her eyes made him take a step back. “There was nothing wrong or bad about us, okay. People date each other all the time that are a few years apart.”

  “The laws—”

  “Fuck the damn law. I knew then you were it for me and if I’d waited six months or a year my chance would be gone. I am sorry for the millionth time that I lied to you about my age, but I don’t regret one single minute of being with you.”

  “Okay. What about your parents?”

  “They knew you were in college. Not at first, but after you left and I got busted. They’re pretty astute. Hell, they knew I was drinking and involved in knowing who was making and selling the IDs. I took responsibility for my youthful crimes then, and paid the price both with my parent’s disappointment and the law.”

  “So now you know. I hope you don’t hate me but I can’t say—even now knowing what you’ve told me, I’d have changed my actions ten years ago. I love my—our daughter more than anything in this world.” Ailyn moved forward, putting her hands on his chest, a beseeching expression written across her face.

  “I respect that. You have no idea how much I admire you for having the strength to raise her alone. The only remaining issue I have right this minute is your secrecy. We spent time together in bed and out. Not once did you mention Eva.” Seth toned down the clipped tenor of his voice.

  “I was still afraid. You act like I immediately should’ve just forgotten the panic, the fear and reprisal because we crashed into one another again.”

  “So, what you’re really saying is you’d have never looked me up to let me know about Eva?” She squirmed underneath his curt appraisal. His gut clenched waiting for her answer. “Don’t answer. I mean it’s fairly obvious since ten years has passed. You had no inclination of notifying me by any means available.”

  “Seth, it’s a complicated situation. You can’t honestly think if you’d have known, your path wouldn’t have changed. Look at who you are now, all you’ve accomplished. Do you think you’d have gotten this far with the added responsibility of parenthood?”

  “Yet, you did. You have a great career, one you love, and have spent the last decade raising our child while denying me the right to know or be a part of her life.” Knowing that if not for the school catching fire, he might never know of Eva was a hard pill to swallow, even though deep down he understood the reasoning, and didn’t begrudge her. Still unspoken words and intent cut deep.

  “I chose to carry the burden on my own. I’m sorry you’re hurt.”

  He believed her. She wasn’t a mean spirited. Just stubborn, like a majority of women he’d come to know and dated.

  “What does Eva know about me? I’m sure she has had questions.” He led them both to the couch to sit. He leaned back, put his hands behind his head and stared forward. Ailyn turned to him and tucked her leg under the other. “She has a picture of us in a frame by her bed. She knows your name and that you were an athlete. She knows who she’s named after. I told her we lost tou
ch with one another and I didn’t know where you were.”

  “Shit, I’m surprised she doesn’t hate the thought of me.”

  “Don’t do that. She can’t hate what she doesn’t know. Besides, it’s not like she hasn’t had a male influence in her life. Cordero has been present for every major moment of her life. Even when he’s traveling to fight or preparing, they have this video chat schedule to spend time together. She’ll just have two men who love her now. Of course there’ll be an adjustment period. If I’ve learned anything from my career it’s how children are resilient at adjusting. Adults are the ones who have a hard time.”

  Hearing how her brother had been there for his girls made him feel remotely better and cheated all at the same time. “How long has he known about me being her father?”

  “When he came after I first saw you again. He’s been pushing me to talk to you instead of running. I think he’s pissed that he never put two and two together or maybe we’d have collided earlier. My younger brother seems to know what I need, not the other way around.”

  “Where does Mia come into play?”

  “I met her in town like I said, but she also introduced me to the dance school and gymnastics academy Eva attends after school. Ashland babysits sometimes for me.” Aylin checked her watch.

  “Expecting her home?”

  “No. Rianna is picking her up and keeping her overnight so we can sort out this mess and figure out where to go from here.” Ailyn bit her lip and rubbed her brow, a hint of exhaustion showing on her face.

  “Dire knows?”

  “I don’t think so. He would’ve told you. I told Mia, who also told me to trust you and quit hiding. You have a lot of people who respect you and trust you immensely.”

  “And can you?”

  “I want to. I want to so bad. Ri thinks the reason I’ve never been able to move forward and connect with another man is because of the secrecy. Can you ever trust me?”

  “Come here.”

  Ailyn uncurled from her seat and edged closer into his arms. She straddled his lap, laying her head on his shoulder. He wrapped his arms around her and inhaled her sweet scent. Her body trembled against him as he held her, warm teardrops trickled onto him.

  “Don’t cry. We will work this out. I promise you.” He kissed her nape, roaming his hands over her back. She shifted in his arms to look at him. Seeing the doubt, the fear and need in her gaze unmanned him. He wanted to make life perfect for her, wanted to prove he was more worthy of her than when he was a teen. “I got you, darlin’.”

  “Promise?” she asked placing her forehead on his. “I won’t survive this a second time.”

  “I will not leave you unless God himself calls me from this Earth.” He stroked her hair and turned her face to his with his other hand. “I won’t fuck up a second time, not when I have everything I’ve ever wanted right in front of me. Family.” He sensed her need for physical contact to be the soothing balm for the hurt riding between them.

  Seth brushed a kiss on her lips, shifted his hips, and lifted her chin with his forefinger. “Let me in,” he whispered against her heated skin. Ailyn opened her mouth a fraction, giving him the chance he needed to drink her in. Soft kisses turned fevered. She pushed her supple body into him. His arousal pulsated against her lace panties.

  “Get them off.” She moaned into his mouth between lazy kisses. She dropped her hands from his hair and moved them to take her panties down. Seth reached the fabric before she could. With two fingers, he ripped them off, giving him the access he wanted.

  “Better?” He nipped her neck as she freed his erection from the confines of his boxers, then he lifted his hips, allowing her to push the elastic down until they pooled on the floor. Her heat emanated over him, wet and ready. Rising on her knees, she stroked his cock, and then sank down on him, encasing his cock in pure heaven. Seth unclasped her bra and molded her breasts in his hands. Fuck. She felt good rising and griping his dick with each downward glide.

  “Mmm.”

  Her words ignited the compulsion to come too quick. Seth groaned and slipped his hands under her ass to thrust his hips and strike her sweet spot when their bodies collided, groin to groin. She let out a husky moan as she rocked her clit over his pubs, creating a cataclysm of pleasure as she creamed over his cock.

  “I love how you ride me, darlin’.” He nipped her lips, slipped a finger into her saturated core and then dipped the blunt tip into her puckered hole. She wiggled against the intrusion, giving him access. “No one else has been here?”

  “N-no, just you.” She sank her manicured nails into his chest. He fucked her ass with his finger while she rode his cock hard and fast, her teeth sank over her bottom lip in rapture, a look he loved to see.

  Seth chased the shell of her ear with his tongue and sucked her lobe into his mouth. Ailyn shuddered and yanked her head away from him. How he missed driving her crazy. With a curl of his finger and pressure of his mouth on her nipple, she convulsed over him, sucking him into a vortex of euphoria.

  Driven to possess, he cupped her nape with one hand, threading his fingers into her hair, thrust his tongue in her mouth and devoured her with a single minded intensity to rebrand her his. He came hard coating her womb with his seed. She continued to rock over him, milking his dick, moaning as his pulsating cock caused aftershocks in her channel. Out of breath, heart hammering against his ribs, he curled his arms around her.

  “I have something for you.” She trailed kisses down his jawline and put her fingers to his lips when he opened his mouth to protest. On shaky legs, she slipped off his lap.

  Seth gazed into her passion flushed face, leaned back and raked a gaze down her satisfied body. “Let’s take this to the bedroom then.”

  “Okay. Let me just pick up my clothing.”

  “Still a neat freak.” He sprang up, swinging her up in his arms. “They can wait til the morning.”

  “Put me down.” She broke out into peals of laughter as he located her ticklish zone. “I have to get them now, what if Eva comes home tomorrow morning before school?” Her words sobered him right up. He set Ailyn down gently and slapped her ass. “Get to cleanin’, woman.” He winked and picked up his clothing.

  “Thought that would make you pick up your mess. Speaking of messes, the couch is sort of messy. Maybe we should clean it too.”

  “Or leave it.” He winked. “C’mon, darlin’,” he plucked one of her thigh highs out of her hand, “these for me?” A guy could dream.

  “Nope. I have to have something that makes me feel sexy underneath all my conservative clothing.”

  “Damn, here I thought you changed into these to torture me while I waited on the porch.” He draped the silk stocking over his neck. “How many pairs of these do you have?” He followed her up the stairs, stopping to glance at pictures of her with their daughter on the way.

  “Oh, maybe a few dozen or more. I don’t know. They’re just things we women collect like perfume and books.”

  Clothes forgotten, Seth spun her around and caged her against the wall. “I see a night of you trying every single pair on for me.” He breathed into her ear, brushing his scruff against her jawline. A heady inhale of breath caused his cock to lurch. Still naked, he pressed into her allowing her to feel the affect she had on him. “You’d take them off one by one, for me, yeah?” Inhaling, her hitched breath as her irises dilated, he ran the tip of his finger down the slope of her neck to the valley of her breasts. “Soon and very soon.”

  Ailyn ducked under his arm and ran. With a smirk, he enjoyed watching her ass jiggle a bit as she made her escape, then took his time to join her. An explosion of pink blinded him as he stepped into her room and grimaced. She hadn’t outgrown her fetish for Pepto Bismal pink, although there was no frilliness like her dorm room. The girly color adorned all of her furnishings.

  “What?”Ailyn laughed. “I know. My madre decorated for me. She keeps sending me knickknacks. I’m not sure how to stop her.”

  “Th
ere’s just so much of it.” He dropped down on the center of her bed. “My eyes want to hurl. Can we sleep on the couch? I’m not sure my man card won’t get revoked in all this—pink extravagance.”

  “Well, how about I keep you distracted instead.” He licked his lips as she opened her closet where an array of stockings met his gaze.

  “Cowboy, this is not what you think. They’re hand washed and hung on posts to air dry.”

  Seth groaned as she bent over and drug out a large fire safe box. Her eyes caught his. “You’re killing me.”

  “I know.” She turned giving him a view of her peaked nipples and reached for her pink robe hanging from a hook.

  “Now you’re taking away the best view,” he groused as she donned the robe and tied the sash.

  She tsked. “You’re like a little boy losing his favorite toy.”

  “I won’t answer that.” Seth watched her open the box and take out a stack of DVDs. She crossed over to her player and placed the first one in, closed it, grabbed the remotes and climbed onto the bed with him. “What’s all of this?”

  “Our daughter. We’ve been cataloging everything since August 14th, 2004, when she was born one full week early. I have scrap books too, but I figured you’d like a visual first. I can leave if you want to watch these alone.” She brushed a strand of hair behind her head.

  “Nah. Stay with me.” He grabbed his boxers and slipped them on. Watching home videos of Eva seemed wrong to do in the buff.

  Ailyn curled up to him as she hit play. “You sure?”

  “Positive.”

  The first section was a fuzzy video of her birth. He watched as the doctor handed Eva to her mom for the first time. Saw the emotion and heard her screaming wail. His heart swelled with love at the sight of such a small beautiful baby. “She’s perfect.” The painful existence of his absence in that moment faded with the gift of the video. Seeing wasn’t the same as attending, but she was trying to include him on what he missed out on, that in itself eased the betrayal of not knowing to a bearable hurt.