The Betrayal Read online

  “What do you think? Are you cut out to be a bikie moll?”

  The lights from the truck stop illuminated the blush that stole into her cheeks. She gave him a wide grin.

  “That was fantastic! I don’t think I’ve ever been so scared and so exhilarated in all of my life. How come nobody ever told me how thrilling one of these can be?” she said, nodding toward the Ducati.

  Declan’s grin widened, his insides warming from her enthusiasm. “I don’t know. All I can say is, you’ve lived a sheltered life, Senior Investigator Sabattini.”

  Chloe nodded soberly, her eyes twinkling. “I think you might be right, Federal Agent Munro.”

  Although it wasn’t that late, they were the only motorists outside the truck stop. Declan glanced through the brightly lit glass windows of the building and spied a bored attendant slouched behind the counter, his gaze fixed on something in his hand. Declan indicated the shop with his chin. “Do you want to grab a Coke or make a bathroom stop?”

  “A Coke sounds good, thanks.”

  Dismounting from the bike, he wheeled it off to one side, out of the way of any other traffic and kicked the stand down.

  “I’ll be back in a minute,” he said and walked toward the store. Moments later, he handed a cold can to Chloe. She cracked it open and took a long gulp.

  “Ah, that tastes lovely.”

  “Doesn’t it just?” he said. “And what about the night? Could it be any more mild? Perfect motorcycling weather.” He winked at her. “Glad you came?”

  Chloe tilted her head and peered up at the blanket of sparkling stars that surrounded them.

  “It’s so beautiful out here.” She looked back at him, her expression turning serious. “I’m so glad I came. Thank you for asking me.”

  He grinned back at her. “Thank you for coming.” His gaze locked with hers. Heat flooded to his groin and his heart rate picked up its pace in response. Chloe was the first to look away.

  “The stars seem so close out here. Almost as if I could reach out and pluck one out of the sky.”

  Declan forced his lascivious thoughts aside and concentrated on her words. “Yeah, it’s hard to believe it’s the same sky we gaze at in the city. With all the buildings and lights and all the other man-made paraphernalia crowding Canberra, it’s easy to forget all of this is up there.”

  “It is,” Chloe agreed. “A chandelier of stars. It’s nice to take time out every now and then and appreciate it.” She took another mouthful of Coke. “How often do you take your bike out?”

  “Not as often as I’d like. And not once since the charges were laid. My head’s been too crowded with everything else going on. A bike like this requires concentration. I didn’t want to risk an injury.”

  “Well, I’m honored to have been taken along.”

  Declan stepped closer and brushed a loose strand of hair off her face. “Just so you know, apart from my sister, you’re the first girl I’ve ever doubled on it.”

  His hand cradled her cheek and his thumb stroked her smooth skin. Her eyes widened and her breath caught on a soft gasp. His chest tightened with emotion and his body hardened with anticipation. This time, he refused to be denied. Drawing her up against him, he kissed her.

  His lips moved slowly at first, tasting the sweetness of the Coke on her lips. His tongue skimmed inside her mouth and delved deeper. She moaned against his lips and he tightened his hold on her, cursing the half empty can in his hand that restricted his ability to draw her closer.

  She moved against him, and he felt her inhibitions dissolving. Her arms went around his neck and he luxuriated in the feeling of her breasts pressed against his chest. He deepened the kiss, knowing that this was madness, but unable to stop himself. He could hardly bend her over the back of his bike in the shadows of the truck stop, no matter how much he wanted to.

  Ice-cold liquid ran down his neck and inside the collar of his T-shirt. He tensed and pulled slightly away. Another gush of liquid dampened his skin.

  Chloe’s arms fell away from around his neck. “Oh, my goodness, I’m so sorry. I’ve spilled my drink all over you.”

  Declan tugged at the wet fabric behind his head, the smile on his face belying his scowl.

  Chloe covered her mouth with her hand in an attempt to stem her amusement, but Declan wasn’t fooled. In a single stride, he closed the distance between them again and grabbed her around the waist, spinning her around until she had her back against his chest.

  With his other hand, he upended the rest of his Coke down the front of her shirt. She squealed and tried to pull out of his hold, but he only grinned and tightened his grip.

  Her T-shirt was soaked. Her nipples hardened from the contact. Blood rushed to his groin. He groaned under his breath and wondered what kind of hell he’d made for himself.

  Loosening his hold, he tossed the empty can into a nearby trash can and then returned his attention to her. She was brushing ineffectually at the large brown stain that graced the front of her shirt.

  She looked up at him and smiled. “I hope your sister doesn’t ask you how her shirt got stained.”

  Desire pulsed heavily between his legs. His cock lay rock-hard against his jeans. They were miles from home and his comfortable bed, but try as he might, he couldn’t get the image of her spread naked across his bike out of his head.

  He stared at her, unable to hide the emotion that held him transfixed. “You’re nipples are hard.”

  She sauntered toward him, desire flickering in her eyes. Reaching out, her fingers pressed against his jeans and tightened about his erection. Shock and desire ignited in his veins. He stood rooted to the spot.

  “They’re not the only thing that’s hard,” she murmured, giving him another squeeze.

  Declan grabbed her hand and held it against his cock. He couldn’t believe how brazen she was and from the look on her face, neither could she. Not that he was complaining. He couldn’t get enough.

  “I’ve been fantasizing about you bent over the Ducati naked, with my cock buried deep inside you.”

  She gasped and blushed, but she held his gaze and Declan’s desire for her skyrocketed.

  “I want to feel you inside me,” she murmured, her gaze fixed on his chest. “I’ve never felt this way before. All hot and funny and…tingly. I want to touch myself, relieve the pressure down there and then I think about you and I want you to touch me there.”

  Declan was going to explode. No woman had ever made him feel so wanted. Sex had been something he’d enjoyed without much thought or effort. He’d never stopped to analyze how he felt about it or the women he’d been with. Even with his long-time ex-girlfriend, Alice, sex had been a mutually satisfying pastime that he’d never spent much time contemplating.

  But with Chloe, it was different. He wanted to talk about everything that was happening to him, everything she made him feel and he wanted to know what was happening to her and what she was feeling. Listening to her halting admissions aroused him more than he could ever remember and he wanted more of it. Much more.

  But not here. Not in the middle of a truck stop where anyone could pull in without a moment’s notice. And not over the back of his bike, no matter how tempting. At least, not for their first time.

  He wanted comfort and privacy and time to get to know every inch of her delectable body and even more delectable mind.

  Yes, at thirty-four years of age, he’d had a sudden revelation. Sex was just as much about the mind as it was about the body, perhaps even more so. And it had taken Chloe for him to discover that.

  A frown marred the smooth skin of her forehead and her eyes clouded with uncertainty. Realizing he hadn’t responded to her admission, he cursed silently under his breath and drew her hard against him.

  “You won’t believe how much your words turn me on, sweetheart. I’m so hard for you, I feel like I’m going to come in my jeans. In fact, I’m not sure how the hell I’m going to climb back on that bike and ride all the way home. I’m going to break eve
ry speed limit and hope like hell the highway patrol are on their break because I’ll be flouting the speed limits to get us home. When I get you back, I’m going to spend the rest of the night loving you like you deserve—on a mattress, with clean sheets, flowers, champagne.”

  She looked up and offered him a soft smile. “Flowers and champagne? Really?”

  He smiled back down at her. “Okay, probably not flowers and champagne. I’m a little unprepared on that scale, but I can definitely offer you a cold beer and a super-firm bed.”

  Her smile widened. “Okay.”

  “Okay?”

  “Yes.”

  “Because if you don’t want to, that’s all right. I mean, just because I said what I said, doesn’t mean we have to—”

  She placed a finger across his lips and they stilled. His gut clenched at the softness of her skin and he breathed in the heady scent of her.

  “I want to. I think I’ve wanted to from the moment I saw you.”

  Hot need ricocheted through his veins. His cock throbbed painfully. He drew her hard against him and ground his hips against hers.

  “Do you feel how much I want you?” he murmured.

  She pressed even tighter against him and reached up to draw his head down to hers. Their lips met in a fiery kiss that he felt all the way to his balls.

  Gasping for breath, he broke off the kiss and tried to regain some control.

  “Whoa, sweetheart. Any more like that and we mightn’t make it back to my apartment. Let’s get going before I change my mind about doing it in this truck stop car park.”

  Chloe’s arms fell away and he suddenly felt bereft. Stepping backwards, he waited for her to catch her breath then helped her with her helmet. Tugging his own in place, he secured it under his chin.

  After making sure she was all set, he kicked up the stand and climbed astride the Ducati. Chloe hitched up her jeans and swung her leg over and within moments they were on the freeway headed for home.

  * * *

  The powerful motorbike ate up the miles and it seemed hardly any time at all before Declan pulled into his driveway and cut the engine. Chloe’s belly somersaulted with nerves and excitement at the thought of what lay ahead.

  Declan helped her off the bike and undid the chin strap on her helmet before lifting it off her head. Removing his, he hung both of them off one of the handlebars and wheeled the Ducati into the communal garage under the building.

  Chloe followed him more slowly. Never before had she gone home with a man for the sole purpose of having sex. Both experiences she’d had in college had occurred in her room after she’d invited her dates in for a drink. She’d known then what was going to happen, of course, but she’d been barely out of her teens and the men hadn’t been any older.

  Now she was thirty. A grown woman, but not nearly as worldly as the average thirty-year-old. Most women her age would know exactly how to take the lead. Chloe didn’t have a clue. She suddenly felt panicky and way out of her depth.

  Declan must have seen something of her uncertainty. After putting his bike away, he came over to her and tilted her chin up to face him. His gaze roamed over her face, concern and tenderness in his expression.

  “You’re over-thinking it, Chloe. I can see it in your eyes. You want me; I want you. That’s all there is to it.”

  He moved closer, so close she could see the green flecks in his brown eyes. “There’s nothing wrong with what we’re doing. Okay, so we met in less-than-ideal circumstances. That matter will very shortly be resolved. It doesn’t matter. It doesn’t change us. We’re two consenting adults who find each other attractive.” He closed the distance between them and pressed a lingering kiss on her lips. “Very, very attractive,” he whispered, his voice husky and low.

  She bit her lip in indecision. He smiled at her with a look on his face that was so damned sexy that she melted inside.

  He cocked a single, brown eyebrow. “Yes?”

  Heat warmed her all the way through and left her tingling. A need so strong almost took her breath away. “Yes,” she whispered.

  His eyes darkened with emotion. His lips claimed hers in another fiery kiss that she felt all the way down to her toes. Her heart pounded. She pulled away with a gasp.

  “Declan, I-I… Please, slow down. It’s…like I told you before… I’m not very experienced at this kind of thing.”

  “Going home with a man or having sex?” he teased.

  “B-both,” she stammered, silently cursing the heat that exploded in her cheeks.

  His face sobered and he cupped her cheeks in his hands and held her face still. Chloe had no choice but to look at him.

  “Like I told you before, I want you. I don’t care that you’re not experienced. Only a fool of a man would. I love that you haven’t chosen your bed partners indiscriminately. There’s not a lot of that out there anymore, on either side. It’s refreshing.” He pulled her hard against him and pressed his erection into the softness of her belly. “It’s a turn-on. Feel how much it turns me on.”

  Chloe’s limbs liquefied with desire. Heat stirred deep down in her core and she moved against him. He groaned and another thrill went through her. That she could bring a man like him to that point of need made her feel invincible.

  She reached up and pulled his mouth down to hers. His lips moved across hers with increasing need. She opened her mouth and gasped when his tongue swept inside and tangled with her own. Her hands buried themselves into the thickness of his hair. She returned his kiss with a passion that stunned her.

  In one swift movement, he bent and lifted her into his arms and headed for the elevator. Sliding her down the length of his body, he held her close against him, their fingers entwined, while they waited.

  Within minutes, he’d shouldered open the door to his apartment and was tugging her inside. She’d barely cleared the doorway when he drew her close once again and kissed her.

  Chloe’s heart pounded in her ears. She slid her hands across the soft fabric of his T-shirt, loving the feel of the hard wall of muscle beneath her fingers. She found the taut peak of his nipples and teased them with her fingernails.

  Declan sucked in his breath and she smiled, loving the sense of power that surged through her.

  His hands reached down to cup her backside and he molded her against him. She threaded her hands through his hair and held on, wanting the moment to last forever.

  “I want you naked,” he murmured against her mouth.

  She tensed in sudden nervousness, but he was having none of it. Tugging her still-damp T-shirt out of her jeans, he lifted it over her head and dropped it to the floor. Her bra quickly followed. His hands stilled. He stared at her.

  “You’re beautiful,” he whispered. “Just as I knew you would be.” He reached out and cupped her breasts and rubbed the pad of his thumb across her nipple.

  She gasped. Desire surged through her and pooled into moist heat deep inside her. His thumbs rasped over her tender flesh again and she clutched at his arms in an effort to steady herself.

  Declan growled low in his throat. Taking her by the hand, he led her down the darkened hall and into the bedroom at the far end.

  He let go of her hand and moved to switch on a lamp that stood on the nightstand. A king-sized bed made of some dark kind of wood took up most of the room. It was neatly made and the room was tidy, with not even a shirt or stray sock visible.

  Declan tugged off his T-shirt and tossed it into a laundry hamper that stood inside the door of the ensuite. Taking a seat on the end of the bed, he pulled off his boots and dropped them on the floor and then made short work of his jeans. They, too, made it into the hamper.

  He strode toward her, dressed only in a pair of boxer shorts. Chloe glimpsed his erection straining against the cloth and averted her gaze.

  “Look at me, Chloe. I want you to look at me.”

  The request was softly issued. She drew in a deep breath and grabbed hold of her courage. Her gaze met his. The nervousness and tensi
on left her body when she recognized the need in his eyes.

  Her gaze dropped lower, skimming over the impressive breadth of his well-muscled chest before pausing at the waistband of his underwear. Her mouth went dry at the thought of touching him again.

  As if he could read her mind, he moved forward and took her hand and pressed it against his hardness. Her heart thumped at the magnificent feel of him beneath the silk of his boxers. She ran her hand up and down the length of him and was rewarded by another low growl.

  “Feel how much I need you, Chloe. God, I can’t wait to be inside you.”

  His words sent a surge of heat to the heart of her core and her clit tingled. She squeezed her legs together against the rush of feeling and tightened her hold on his cock.

  “Oh, God, sweetheart, you don’t know how good that feels. Touch me like that again.”

  Emboldened, Chloe did as he asked, desire building within her. Declan reached out and undid the button of her borrowed jeans and slid the zipper down. She let him tug her toward the bed.

  A gentle push on her shoulder and she sat down. Kneeling at her feet, he pulled off her boots and threw them toward his. Still on his knees, he moved between her legs and inched her jeans down her hips. When his gaze fastened on her white lace panties, nerves once again warred with desire in her belly.

  “I want to touch you,” he murmured, sliding his fingers inside the satin of her underwear. His questing fingers skimmed over her clit and she jumped.

  “It’s okay, sweetheart,” he murmured. “Let me love you.”

  His fingers moved lower and swept across her dampened flesh. She moaned against the torment and moved restlessly against his hand.

  “Easy, sweetheart. Easy.”

  He slid her underwear down her hips and it too went the way of her jeans. He feasted his eyes upon her and Chloe was glad for the dim lighting. With his hands on her thighs, he drew her closer toward him. When his tongue touched her tender flesh, Chloe almost came off the bed.

  “Declan!” she gasped. “That feels…”

  “Incredible?” he murmured, parting her lips with his tongue.