Lethal Secrets

Chapter 9: An Explanation

"I cut it off with all of them right after I dealt with Devyn."

"How many calls did you have to make?"

He sighed. "Excluding Devyn, there were three."

I frowned. "Busy, busy." Then again, he could have just lied and said none, Nicole.

"But that day was the first I'd even seen Devyn in two and a half months, and I haven't been in contact with the others for even longer." He met my eyes.

Something occurred to me then. "Minus blondie, whom you threw in my face within days of meeting me?" He winced at the reminder.

"And again, I'll regret that for the rest of my existence."

I sighed, squeezing my eyes shut as I grasped my temple. What am I even supposed to make of all of this?!  My instincts screamed that he could be trusted, as I tried and failed to recollect a moment where he'd been dishonest with me. That I know of.

The spark of feeling I had for this man had begun to grow once more, and was strongly urging me to accept this apology. Even the logical part of my brain couldn't come up with ample rebuttal. His reasons are sound Nicole, at least he's coming clean about his dirty secrets. Plus, you're meant to be playing house until this mess is sorted anyway.

Doesn't mean I'll stop being careful. "Andreas, here are my terms." I met his gaze, moving closer as I pulled my hand out of his to grasp his jaw. "If I ever catch you doing anything to betray my trust, I will leave and never look back is that understood?" His eyes dropped to my lips for an instant and I almost lost my train of thought. Keep it together. "I am no one's fool, and I won't be yours."

He shook his head as his eyebrows pulled together. "Never."

"And for now, I'm choosing to believe that, to give you some of my trust back." He met my eyes once more. "But understand that that is a privilage. Don't make me regret this."

His expression turned hopeful and I couldn't help but soften a little more towards him. Tentatively, he began to wrap his arms around me, and I couldn't keep from relaxing into his hold. Despite all your baggage, you're a sweet one Andreas.

I released the grip I had on his face as he pulled me closer. His look of absolute contentment when I allowed him to pull me onto his lap warmed some of the residual ice around my heart from his misconceived betrayal, my smile becoming increasingly difficult to contain.

He leaned up towards me, barely touching his lips to mine, waiting to see how I'd react. As tempting as his lips were, I moved to kiss him on the nose instead. Even at that slight contact, his eyes closed as he began to relax, breathing in deeply. "I missed you." I hummed in response as I studied his face, brushing my fingers through the front of his hair before moving to trace his brow and his cheekbone. How do I know you're telling me the truth, beautiful boy? He peeked an eye open. "This is where you confess how much you missed me too, Babydoll." His tone was teasing.

I shrugged as I wrapped my arms around his neck, teasing him right back, despite my reservations. "Well, I didn't."

"Didn't you now?" Before I could register what he was doing, he had my top two buttons undone. His gaze was now rapt to my cleavage, just inches from his face with our current position. "Well I missed you, very" he pressed a kiss to the top of one of my breasts, "very" and the other, before meeting my eyes once more, "much."

Despite it all, he still had a very strong effect on me, and before I could decide why I shouldn't, I leaned down to press my lips to his, his grip becoming almost painful as he pulled me closer. He groaned as our tongues met, my fingers moving to bury themselves into the hair at the back of his head. I gripped his head hard as he moved to remove his jacket, not letting him break contact as my other hand grabbed his tie, yanking it right off of his neck.

We only pulled away when my lungs burned for oxygen, studying my handiwork around laboured breaths. His hair was mused, with my red lipstick smeared all over his lips, and one red spot on the tip of his nose from earlier. I couldn't help but laugh at his resemblance to a certain reindeer. He flashed me a pointed look.

"I left some of my lipstick on your nose." I moved to wipe it away with my thumb. "Very cute."

He smiled, grasping my hand. "Did you really not miss me?"

I scoffed, squeezing his fingers. "What do you think?" His smile widened, and I wanted to hit something at how adorable this man was proving to be sometimes.

"I think that I really really like you, and you really really like me."

"Is that so?"

He nodded. "I appreciate you letting me explain, Nicole."

I shrugged. "Don't thank me yet. I'm sorry but, I still don't know how I feel about all this, yet."

"No, don't be. I understand the playing fields' uneven here. It would be weird if you weren't suspicious of me."

I flashed him a half smile. "Well you are quite the shady character."

He grabbed at his chest, wincing. "You wound me."

I rested a hand over his. "Oh did I Andre? Let me make it better." I undid the top of his buttons until his chest was fulling exposed, greedily running my fingers over his tan skin as I leaned in closer, pressing a kiss to his neck. "How's that?" How many women have found themselves here?

He gripped my hip. "Not quite there yet." His voice was a tad bit rougher now.

"Poor Andre." I continued to kiss along his neck, nuzzling his collarbone as my fingers traced circles over his chest. I breathed in the smell of his cologne, relaxing in his hold as the tension of the past couple of days melted away. I can't keep doing this. And I can't completely trust him either. It's too soon. I sighed, resting my forehead on his chest as my negative emotions seeped away the rest of my desire.

He rubbed my side. "Nicole? Are you alright?" I squeezed my eyes shut, pushing away from him as I returned to my seat.

I righted all of my clothing. "No, I guess not."