Page 83 of Cross Me

“Oh, X,” she whimpered, burying her face against my neck.

“I’m right here,” I said in a hushed voice.

She released my neck, her hands going to my pants. “I need to feel you.”

I considered carrying her to the bedroom, but the thought ran away from me as she unfastened my belt and slid a hand down to grip my cock. I groaned as her delicate fingers stroked my shaft. If she wanted all of me, I definitely wanted all of her. I reached up and found her zipper and drew it undone. Lifting her dress over her head, I unhooked her bra, allowing her full breasts to swing loose.

Clara moved against me, her hand still manipulating my cock, as I bent to capture her dark, pert nipple. I sucked it, watching as she slowly came undone, writhing against me. She was primal and beautiful—my very own goddess.

I moved to the other breast, my hand reaching to knead and plump the one I’d abandoned.

“Yes, please,” she whimpered as I drew the soft furl into my mouth. I would never have my fill of her, but I would never stop trying. Our story was only beginning, but she was every word, every page, every chapter.

I felt her hands undoing the rest of my pants and a cool breeze as my cock met air. She planted her palms on my shoulders and lifted her body to hover over the wide crest of my cock. My eyes never left hers as she eased, inch by inch, over me. Hers started to close, but she fought the urge, her irises rolling slightly as she moaned.

“That’s right,” I said, rubbing her back as she adjusted to the deep position. The dazed pleasure on her face was nearly enough to make me come. “Is this what you need?”

“Yes,” she whispered, her teeth sinking into her lip and she began to circle her hips. “I need you—all of you.”

“You have me.”

She tightened against me, her channel contracting around my cock as she slowly rode me.

Her face fell forward, burrowing against my neck. A small, anguished cry escaped her mouth as she began to roll her hips in desperate circuits. I rocked my hips, urging her there faster. I needed to feel her come. She clung to me as a violent spasm surged through her. I held her through it, joining her in the end. Then I carried her to our bed and proved she had all of me.

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

CLARA

I waited until Alexander’s breaths slowed into a peaceful rhythm before I slipped out of bed. I let him make love to me for hours because I’d known what faced me when he finally stopped. When I was with him, I was lost to his mistakes and his secrets. I couldn’t avoid them any longer. Pausing by our bed, I watched him sleep. In a few hours he would wake. By then I needed to know the truth. Having this hanging over my head had kept me awake with a racing heart. The doctor told me I needed to keep my stress level down. There was no way I would be able to do that if I tried to ignore this. Because, after everything, I was certain: I was done with secrets. If there were skeletons to uncover, I would find them. I wouldn’t allow anything to come between us—not even him.

The trouble was, I didn’t know where to begin. Any hope I had that he would come clean had been dashed by his stubborn silence. But Alexander had a warped perception of truth and lies. Given his family’s twisted politics and power plays, how could I blame him?

Grabbing clothes from the closet, I made my way to the lower apartments. I dressed quickly in my private office and then started rifling through the papers on my desk as my conversation with Henry replayed in my mind. Most of the files on my desk pertained to the Sovereign Games. I ignored the pang that shot through me as I stacked them in a neat pile and dumped them into a drawer. The rest of my papers were an odd collection of letters and notes. It took forever to dig out what I was looking for.

When Alexander had given Clarence House to Edward, I’d folded the list up and forgotten about it. Now, smoothing it open, I stared at the list of royal residences I’d brought to him weeks ago. All the names were antiquated and ridiculous, and I thought back, trying to remember the ones that I’d pointed out to him.

I’d wanted Edward close while still giving him some much-needed distance from the London press. My finger ran down the list until I reached Windsor Castle. Windsor would have been the perfect place, I argued then. Close to the city, but apart. But the castle itself wasn’t what I’d suggested. I followed the list down to an attached property that sat several miles away in a secluded hamlet.

Windsmoor House.

Unacceptable. That’s what Alexander had said. He’d called it practically condemned.

Now I saw how stupid I’d been. The Royal family didn’t leave estates to rot to nothing. If there were skeletons to be found, I needed to search Windsmoor’s closets first. I folded the sheet in half and stuffed it in my pocket. There was no way I was leaving the grounds on my own without someone alerting Alexander. I considered my problem and realized I only had one choice. I dialed the number and cut her off as soon as she answered. “I need your help.”

To her credit, Georgia Kincaid showed up in record time. She’d once told me her loyalty was flexible, and I could only hope that was still the case. She didn’t speak as I joined her in the garage.

“I need this to stay between us.” It was better to cut to the chase with her. We were both busy women. I had to figure out if the secret at Windsmoor was a danger to me or my family. I had no idea what Georgia did with her free time, but I assumed it was something along the lines of thwarting terrorism or meeting up for a quick dungeon date. It was impossible to say which.

“I don’t work for you,” she reminded me.

This was already off to a great start. “If you work for Alexander, then you do. We’re partners, after all.”

Her lips twitched but she revealed no other feelings on the matter. “What do you need, exactly?”

“You told me once that you were discreet.” I fought the wave of nausea this memory induced.

“I am,” she confirmed. She’d arrived here in her usual black, but her face was absent the usual crimson lipstick and coal-rimmed eyes. Barefaced, she was breathtaking and somehow even more intimidating.