Soraya Lane - Mills & Boon Introduces - What Lies Beneath / Soldier, Father, Husband? / The Seven-Day Target

He leaned in and his tongue struck her sensitive center without fail, the intimate kiss sending waves of pleasure through her body. Cynthia squirmed under his touch, her hips rising up to meet him and then pulling away when the intensity became too much.

“I need you,” she whispered.

“You’ll have me,” he said, his voice deep and gruff with arousal. “I want to have a little fun first.”

This time she whimpered as his fingers and tongue pushed her closer to the edge. She didn’t want to peak without him. She’d admitted to herself tonight that she loved him. She’d exposed herself to him in every way, made herself so vulnerable she almost couldn’t believe it. She wanted her first cries of pleasure as a woman in love to be mingled with his own.

“Not without you. Not tonight, Will.”

Her pleas were finally heard, and he moved back up her body, nestling between her thighs and looking down at her. He reached to the nightstand for a condom, and Cynthia sighed in relief that he’d thought of it when she’d been too overwhelmed with desire to think straight.

A moment later, he hovered over her, the tip of him pressing gently at her entrance. Without hesitation, he drove into her, and then he lingered—buried deep inside her. It was a powerful feeling, to finally join with the man she loved. So much so she almost had to fight back tears that the connection brought on. The words she longed to say hung on the tip of her tongue, waiting to be uttered, but he started moving inside her, and the time for talking passed.

Will dropped his weight on to his elbows, pressing his chest against hers. He kissed her, his lips and tongue melding with her own as he gently rocked back and forth. Every inch of their bodies were touching and molding together. Cynthia could feel every flex of his muscles, every shudder of strain as he fought to hold back the tides. But she didn’t want him to do that. She wanted all of him tonight, leaving nothing behind.

“Love me the way you want to. Don’t hold back,” she said against his jaw.

Will didn’t answer but buried his face into her neck. His rapid breaths were hot again her skin, his body stiffening to surge forward harder and faster than before. The delicious movement accelerated every impulse running through her nervous system, the pleasurable sparks lighting up all over.

It wasn’t long before the tight knot of tension in her belly threatened to explode. Cynthia wrapped her legs around his waist and clutched at his back. The change in angle allowed him to drive deeper, a low roar of pleasure echoing into her ear.

She couldn’t hold back any longer. “Will!” she cried out, as one long, hard stroke sent her over the edge. Her body was racked with convulsions of pleasure, her muscles tightening and pulsating around his firm heat. Her fingertips dug into the muscles of his back, scrambling for purchase as he continued to pound deep inside. At last, his own release exploded, his groan of surrender vibrating against the damp skin of her neck.

For a few moments, they lay motionless, their bodies a moist tangle of limbs and sheets. Cynthia struggled to draw a full breath into her lungs, but she couldn’t. Her muscles were too tired and her heart too swollen with unspoken emotions. By the time the last throbs of pleasure subsided, she opened her eyes to see Will looking down at her.

“You,” he said, propping up on one elbow and brushing a damp strand of hair from her forehead, “were amazing tonight. You were so worried about fitting in with those people, but it was effortless. You were so elegant and graceful. Every woman in that ballroom wanted to wear your clothing and hoped they’d look half as good in them as you did.

“And all the men…” he continued. “Well, let’s just say I got to live out their fantasies tonight.”

“I got to live out my fantasy tonight, too.”

Will smiled, leaning down to place a soft kiss on her lips.

Her body responded to his touch, but her brain chased the heat out of her veins. It was time to sleep, at least for now.

He reached down to pull the duvet up to cover them, and then tugged Cynthia up to curl her back against his chest. Wrapped in the warmth of the blanket with Will beside her, they fell asleep, the lights still on, their clothes still strewn around the apartment.

Sometime before dawn, Cynthia woke up, still tucked in Will’s strong embrace. She squirmed slightly to free herself from his grasp and sat up on the edge of the bed.

“Are you all right?” he asked, his voice sleepy and rough.

“Yes,” she said. “I’m just thirsty, and I never brushed my teeth. Do you want some water?”

“No, I’m okay.”

Cynthia pushed up from the mattress and walked nude into the bathroom. At the doorway, she paused and looked back at Will. She expected to catch a glimpse of him as he fell back asleep, but he was propped up on his elbow. He was watching her walk away, but the expression on his face was not what she was expecting. His brow was furrowed, his gaze burrowing into her backside, of all places.

“Is something wrong?” she asked.

Will shifted his gaze to her, the intensity only increasing as he studied her face just as thoroughly. “No,” he said pointedly, although his contemplative tone made her wonder if that were really true.

Cynthia was too sleepy to worry much about it. She went into the bathroom and shut the door behind her. She chugged a cup of water, finished removing her makeup and went about her nightly beauty regime. Her body was aching, but fulfilled, and she was eager to crawl back under the covers and sleep in Will’s arms until noon.

Returning to the bed, she switched off the lights and slipped under the sheets. Will had rolled onto his back and his eyes were closed. She snuggled into him and laid her head on his chest. Listening to his heartbeat, she realized she’d never been so happy. Finding a passion in sewing and design was nothing compared to finding a passion and love for Will. Tonight had been everything she hoped and wished for when she gave him back her engagement ring—a chance for them to start over and be happy together.

“I love you,” she whispered into the dark once the rise and fall of his breath became steady and even against her and she was certain he was sleeping. Then she turned onto her side and closed her eyes, immediately falling asleep.

Although he was lying in bed with his eyes closed, Will was far from asleep. Ten minutes ago, he would’ve told anyone he was exhausted and content with the woman he loved in his arms. His business was doing well and his love life was better than ever. Somehow, all of that was snatched from him so quickly that he couldn’t feel the pain of it being ripped away at first. There was just a mix of confusion and denial swirling around the sleepy fog of his brain. What he’d just seen was impossible. Incomprehensible. And yet there was no way to deny the truth.

The rose tattoo was gone.

He’d hated that thing from the moment she’d gotten it. Cynthia had gone off on a spring break girls’ trip to Cancun their senior year at Yale. Sometime amongst the sun and surf and tequila, she’d decided it would be a great idea to commemorate the trip with a tattoo on her ass.

It was pretty and well done, but in the end, it was a red rose inked into her left butt cheek. He’d done his best to ignore it over the years, and when their love life fizzled, he’d forgotten it was even there.

Until it wasn’t.

When he watched her walk away, the realization hit him like an iron fist to the gut. There was no tattoo. And not even the faintest hint of where one might’ve been removed by a laser without his knowledge. There was nothing. He didn’t know what to say when she asked if something was wrong.