9781618858368ForbiddenDeceptionlLeveyNC (3 page)

Ailyn
laughed and headed inside to pick up her daughter. She waited on the sidelines,
as the coach gave last minute instructions before letting the girls go. A
sweaty girl tumbled over to her and latched on for a quick hug.

“You
should’ve seen me cheer and dance.” Eva skipped over to grab her backpack and dance
bag before they weaved out of the crowd and building.

“I
see you almost every day.” Ailyn unlocked the door. Mia waved at her from her
vehicle. She waved back as Eva climbed into her seat and buckled up.

“I
am
starving,
can we stop for fast food?”

“You
are what you eat.
So no.
I’ll whip something up when
we get home,” Ailyn said, as she slid into the driver’s seat and started the
car.

Two
hours later, long after dinner had passed, the kitchen made spotless, and an
exhausted ten year old finally fell asleep, Ailyn stretched out on the couch with
the remote, turning the television on to her favorite comedy show. Twenty
minutes into the viewing, she strained to focus on the plotline. With a sigh,
she gave up and plucked up her cell phone from the coffee table, then typed the
station house into a search engine. Once the company emblem popped up, she hit
go. A few clicks later, she stared at Seth’s picture.

Even
though time had passed, he still looked almost exactly the same. Perfect messy
hair, silky strands you just wanted to thread your fingers through. Light
stubble stretched over a strong jaw. The same vivid green eyes she remembered
drowning in. He’d grown taller, leaner with a large frame, broad shoulders,
coiled muscle, tapered hips, and thick thighs. The boy held nothing on the man
he’d become. She greedily ate up the information about him on the site.

Her
breath left her when she combed through his educational background, eating up
every tidbit on the page.
A double major in fire science and
fire engineering.
After graduating he applied for the fire department,
completed NFPA Firefighter I and II certification, earned a paramedic
certification,
passed
state exams, physical exams,
then mental screenings, supervisory training, and course work in fire
administration. After completion, he passed the fire lieutenant entrance tests.
She had no idea the training was so intense or held such a high level of
dedication and skill. From his page on the website, he worked hard to gain the
level of responsibility, promotion, and respect of his team.

Therein
lay her dilemma, separating the boy she knew from the man she’d undoubtedly
come to know. She loathed who she remembered, finding the current struggle to
reconcile the new Seth from the old or forgive how his lie.

Dozens
of images of Seth flashed across the screen. In some he comforted victims,
others showed him providing patient care or assessing the situation. Confusion
clouded her mind as all she saw was a liar. He may have them all fooled. To
believe he changed so much seemed impossible. And while she hated him on one
level, her heart ached for
him,
her body craved his
presence, his missing touch. A want she’d have to deny, and resolve not to
breakdown and give in—ever. And while he had no justification for breaking her
heart, she had the right to keep him in the dark. He lost his right to know
about her life and their daughter ten years ago when the ugly truth came out.

As
a mother, her only option was putting her daughter first. In no way would she
let him find out what his actions wrought. In this instance she wouldn’t take
Mia’s advice. His duplicity showed her he couldn’t ever be trusted, not even
with the knowledge they’d created a kid together. Better her daughter never
knew her
papi
lived in the same town
as them. What if she told Eva and then he perished in a fire?

For
a long time, she’d played the ‘what if’ game. What if he’d been who he said he
was, what if they’d survived college, got married and raised Eva together.
Alone in her room, she questioned if he’d ever had the same conversation in his
head. Did he know she pretended not to know him? Too many rampant thoughts
flooded her mind, too many memories swamped her. Seth possessed a devastating
effect on women. She was sure she wasn’t the first or the last. She logged off
her phone. With the fire, school was out for a few days while waiting for transitional
trailers to be brought in.

The
ring of her house phone interrupted her from beginning the next chapter of the fantasy
she’d hoped to disappear into. She looked at the caller identification and froze.
Seth Mahone flashed across the screen. She snatched up the receiver and let her
finger hover over the talk button, not sure she had the guts to answer. By ring
four she pressed the button, not wanting Eva’s sleep disturbed.

“Hello.”
She sucked her bottom lip into her mouth and attempted to still her shaking
hand.

“God,
it’s been so long since I’ve heard your voice.” His deep voice murmured into
her ear.

“We
just met today. How did you get my phone number?”

“You’re
listed in the phone book, darlin’.”

She’d
have to rectify that. “Don’t you think this is stalking behavior?”

“Ailyn,
did you really believe I wouldn’t recognize you?”

“I’m
sure I don’t know what you’re talking about. I have to go, it’s late.” Why did
his voice have to sound so good,
seductive.
So sure.

“Come
to the fire station. We need to talk.
Tomorrow morning, first
thing.”

“I’m
too busy. Goodbye.”

“Tomorrow
morning, first thing.
Don’t hide from me, Ailyn.” He
persuaded with his delicious voice. While her mind yelled no, her heart said
yes. “Okay.” Ailyn hung the phone up and wondered if going was wise or stupid.

Chapter Two

“Welcome
to Station 17, I’m glad you decided to come.” Seth opened the door for her. She
shot him down as he reached to usher her in, avoiding body contact by retaining
her distance.

“I
can see myself in and open my own doors. What do you want?”

“To
discuss what’s on my mind in the privacy of my office.” His smile waned into a
frown as he led the way, this time keeping his hands to himself. Good, he
learned quickly.

She
ignored the questioning glances from the other men as she trailed after him,
her eyes riveted to anywhere but his behind.

He
opened his office door and gestured for her to move past him. Holding onto her
temper, she breezed in before skirting away from him. When he shut the door and
systematically dropped each blind encasing them in privacy, she swallowed
nervously.

“That
isn’t necessary.”

“I
disagree. We need privacy, and my men don’t need to hear our personal
business.”

“We
don’t have any personal business. Say what you want so I can leave.” She turned
away from him, giving him her back.

“Christ.
This is not going how I wanted. Why didn’t you let me make amends? I tried for
months to reach out to you and fix us.”

“Fix
us?” Her pitchy voice ramped up an octave. Ailyn whipped around and glared.
“Fix us? There was no repairing us after your whopper of a lie.”

He
held his palms up in an attempt to calm her. “I am sorry for any pain I caused
you. You may not believe me, but I deeply regret not being honest with you from
the beginning. But damn it, if you’d only have listened for a moment, you’d
have seen that I was graduating that year, early.”

“You
were still underage! Unless you could’ve magically jumped from sixteen to
eighteen, and somehow I don’t think you had the power to create a time warp.
Not to mention we lived in a state where there are heavy statutory laws.”

“Please
lower your voice.”

“You
know, everyone around you may be fooled but I know the real you. You’re a liar,
a master manipulator and an all-around bastard. Do you even realize what your
duplicity could have cost me?” 
Has
cost me
, 
she wanted to scream
.

“Of
course not.
I was young and in love. I wasn’t
thinking about consequences, I was thinking in a matter of months it wouldn’t
have mattered.”

“Right,
because true love means building a relationship on nothing but dishonesty. Your
brand of love burned me.”

“I
am trying to apologize.” Frustration radiated from him. She didn’t care or want
his remorse. His struggle to find some common ground with her was too late.

“Well,
thank you. Apology not accepted.
Never accepted.”

“Ailyn,
what—I don’t understand why you’re so angry. I sincerely hoped we could have
dinner and a few drinks, laugh over my idiocy. Who knows, maybe get to know one
another now, as adults. Give us a second chance with no secrets this time.”

Ailyn
pursed her lips, facing off with him. She crossed her arms under her breasts.
“Why? So history can repeat itself? Sure, let me just get to know you all over
again so I can wonder if you’re lying about everything. Been there, done that.
I will date you when pigs fly and hell freezes over. Now if you’re done with
whatever you have to say, may I leave and forget I ever saw you again?” She
seethed in unabashed fury.

“Ailyn,
we don’t have to be this way—”

The
emergency tones went off, making her ears ring. She knew the sound echoing
through the stationhouse meant they had people to go save. “Don’t you have work
to do?”

“Strip.
We’re far from done talking and I have less than two minutes to get on my truck
and go. I’ll wait outside. You’re the one who used to make us strip, remember,
don’t walk away, figure it out.”

He
leaned in as if to kiss her. Closing her eyes, she fought the craving of
feeling his lips. Instead, he trailed his finger along her wrist and swiped her
keys out of her lax grip before leaving his office.

“You
choose now, all these years later, to remember the one thing I learned from my
parents about relationships and problem solving?”

“I
remember everything. I have to go, either strip or when I get off I’ll show up
on your doorstep to finish this where we can both get naked.”

Ailyn
froze, panic whiplashed through her. Seth could never set foot in her house.
There was no telling what he would do if he found out about Eva’s existence.
She couldn’t take the risk of him finding out. She tore her clothes off in
record time and thrust them out the door.

“Thought
you’d see things my way.
I’ll be back soon.” As his pounding
footsteps retreated, Ailyn snapped into action. No way in hell was she waiting
for him to come back. She ran to his desk and yanked open his drawers, looking
for a T-shirt or something. All she found was random junk and a roll of black duct
tape.

“God,
I really hate him,” she seethed. In no way did she want to get to know anything
about him as a man. Just being near him made her
want
to commit a felony.

Good
one, strip naked, stupid. I don’t have any clothes, but I do have a spare
ignition key in a magnetic box under my car. All I need is something to wear.

“Toilet
paper and scotch tape?”
She couldn’t find the bathroom and
toilet paper tore. 
Think Ailyn, think.
 A sudden idea formed giving
her purchase to leave. Giddy, she grabbed the tape. Calming her hammering
heart, she peeked out the door.
“Anyone out there?”
She waited a minute until she knew the coast was clear and jetted for the
kitchen, hoping the cameras were down as she streaked across the fire station.

Holy
hell, their kitchen is top of the line. Way better than mine
.
She stopped in awe of the gleaming appliances. Sighing, she realized she was
drooling and began searching through all the drawers and cabinets until she hit
pay dirt.

Keeping
watch on the time, she tore off long strips of black duct tape and lined them
on the counter. She took two strips and tore them down the length in half and
wove them together.

Humming 
Mr.
Know it All 
her favorite
 Kelly Clarkson 
song—so
appropriate in this instance—she set to work. In college she became a pro at
fixing costumes for the theater department or making clothing out of anything
on hand. Thanks to reality modeling shows, she found a quick untearable
solution. Saran wrap, and to her surprise in red. In no time she’d have an
eccentric, one of a kind creation to get her the hell outta Dodge, before a
specific commanding man returned. She cherished the thought of him finding his
office empty and wondering how she’d slipped out from under his thumb. Teaching
him such a lesson gave her a heady high.

Winding
the hazy plastic around her body made her itch, but no one ever said getaways
were easy. After numerous revolutions around her body movement became hard. She
concentrated on making sure her girls were wrapped tightly enough that her
nipples wouldn’t be seen. Certain she was covered adequately, she wrapped adhesive
under her boobs and smoothed the smooth side across her upper back, using the
wall to make the tape stick when she pressed her back on it. The last strip was
the hem. She wiggled to bend down and placed the last pieces across the bottom
of her masterpiece, then took a kitchen knife and slashed a tiny tear in the
side to give her room to walk in her micro mini dress. 
And voilà!
 Impromptu
clothing designed to allow her to get to her car without being arrested for
indecent exposure.

The
firehouse remained silent. She returned the supplies to their designated areas
and lit out of there like hell was on her heels. Upon reaching her car, she
realized getting on her knees to find the extra key would cause an issue. Once
down, she wasn’t sure she’d be able to get up, plus she didn’t relish the idea
of giving all an up close and personal view of her bare pussy. She paced the
length of her car, cursing her luck.

“Screw
it.” She eased down on her back, wiggled under the driver side carriage of her
car and slid her hand over the metal to find the box. She didn’t feel anything
at first and thought maybe it had been knocked off. Reaching a little further,
she closed her hand around it and pulled the slim container free.

“Now
that is something you don’t see every day.” Ailyn wiggled her head out from
under her car to see Seth’s team of men in full gear openly appraising her.

“Do
you mind? Staring is rude.” She bet her salary her face was flushed and the men
before her were enjoying her discomfort.

“What
do you think she has on? I thought she was stark naked when we left.
Lieutenant, get a load of your girl.”

“I
am not, and I repeat—
not—
his girl.
Now, 
shh
.
Don’t call him over here,” she hissed at the men.

“Well,
hey darlin’, I thought you were waiting for me in my office.” Seth lay down on
the ground next to her. She bit her lip, dying in mortification as he raked a
lingering gaze up and down her body.

“Go
away. I’m going home.
As soon as I get my key.”

“You
mean this one?” He flipped the spare key between his fingers. “Yeah, I
remembered teaching you to put a spare on the underside, since you were famous
for losing them back in the day.”

“Thanks
for the ride down memory lane. Now go away. I really don’t want to be near you.
As you can see, since I was trying to leave before you got back.”

“Come
on. You didn’t think I was going to let you walk away so easy this time, did
you? Although, I must say I’m impressed with your resourcefulness. Saran Wrap
has never looked so damn sexy. The tape is a nice touch. To think you did this
all for me.
New form of foreplay, darlin’?”

 
“You left me no choice,” Ailyn sputtered.
“Please leave me alone. I can’t get up unless no one is looking.”

Seth
chuckled and eased from beside her. Heat seared her cheeks. “Stop looking at my
goods.”

“Just
seein’ if they’re as hot as I remembered and they’re even hotter.” He shifted
and moved away. She took a deep breath, glad the overbearing man gave her
breathing room. She wiggled to move out when rough hands picked her up off the
ground. She found herself hauled over a shoulder, one hand holding her ass
firmly, the other clasped around her legs preventing anyone from getting an
eyeful.

“Put
me down, I can walk.”

“Lt.
has a pretty package right there. Man I would love to have a piece like that
wrapped up like a present for me.”

“Those
men are just as bad as you are.” She slapped him. “Put me down.”

“Don’t
hit.” A palm cracked across her near-bare ass. She yelped and beat at him with
her fists. As much as she hated him, her
pussy clenched in
want
. In the past being spanked always ended in cream drenched panties
and rough sex. “You didn’t used to be so mean.”

“A
lot has changed since last we met.” As if he knew the direction of her
thoughts, he landed another blow.

His
long strides brought them to his office, where he shut and locked the door and
found the ripped hemline. He withdrew a cutter from his pocket and sliced up
the side, freeing her lower half from the sweltering confines.
“Hmm, to free your breasts or leave them for later.”

“I
don’t think you’ll be seeing them anytime soon.”

“Damn,
Ailyn. I can smell your arousal. I bet your sexy cunt is dripping wet and
glistening underneath this plastic. Shame on me for forgetting how wet you get
when spanked.” He leaned his head between her legs and inhaled. A sexy growl
departed his lips, making her empty core ache.

“I-I
need to get dressed.” Dear Lord, he was undeniable ten years ago. Time had done
nothing but add to that dangerous trait. Dark need crackled between them,
making her forget she despised—no hated him. One look from him, one touch, and
her traitorous body reacted, leaned into his care, shivered at his words, ached
to be caressed, teased, fucked. He turned her into a great big erogenous zone
demanding satiation.

“Sure
you want to leave?” He swiped his tongue along her slit, causing her legs to
tremble and her thoughts to stall.

“I’m
not having hate sex with you.” She pushed her legs closed, he knocked them back
apart.

“Hate
sex? Your gorgeous body doesn’t hate me. She responds to my voice and touch.”
Seth’s mouth latched over her nub, closing his teeth around the button.
Shellshock and pleasure ramped up. Ailyn bit her lip to keep from screaming
out. Seth looked up from his position and winked at her surrender. The man ate
her like he was starved for his next meal. She gripped the edge of his desk and
canted against his devouring lips. He flattened his tongue into her slit,
stabbing her cunt.