Secrets Read online

  Secrets

  Miranda Bailey

  Copyright © Lovy Books Ltd, 2016

  Miranda Bailey has asserted her right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names and characters are the product of the author’s imagination and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  In no way is it legal to reproduce, duplicate, or transmit any part of this document in either electronic means or in printed format. Recording of this publication is strictly prohibited and any storage of this document is not allowed unless with written permission from the publisher. All rights reserved.

  Respective authors own all copyrights not held by the publisher.

  Lovy Books Ltd

  20-22 Wenlock Road

  London N1 7GU

  Contents

  Special Thanks

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Epilogue

  BONUS

  I. Lion Boss

  II. Married to the Dragon

  III. Riding Double Bears

  About the Author

  Special Thanks

  To D. Kitson, you truly are a wonder! Keep on being wonderful, my friend!

  Prologue

  “Do you want her, Daniel?” The quiet but clear voice of my wife, Antanasia, broke into my thoughts as I stared at the flames that burned in the fireplace. A glass of scotch in my hand went unnoticed, my thoughts on the flames and on somebody else.

  “You know I do. I can’t get her out of my head. What is it about her? Since the day she walked into my office with those big, gorgeous eyes…” My words trailed off as I pictured those green eyes once again, the way they looked up at me with such innocent need.

  “I think it’s her other big, assets, you can’t get your mind off of, Daniel.” My wife came around the plum colored, leather, wingback chair to kneel at my feet. I knew it was more to absorb the warmth of the fire than to be near me. “We’ve been together a long time, darling.”

  “Not that long…” I protested, but her long, pale hand on my calf stopped me. I uncrossed my legs, to remove her touch, more than to shift around.

  “Ah, how you do want her.” Her teeth gleamed through the smirk of a grin she gave me, white pearls in a pink mouth that I’d kissed countless times.

  “Antanasia…” I was about to protest, to tell her I only wanted her, but we would both know it for the lie it was. I wanted them both. She said I could have them both.

  I took a sip of the glass I now remembered was in my hand and inhaled sharply. It was smooth, almost thick, and refined. It steadied me as I tried to breathe through the tightness in my chest.

  “I can have her?” I’d never asked before, though Antanasia had put the offer on the table long ago.

  “Of course, you can, my darling. I’ve had so many lovers in my lifetime, some I don’t care to remember, some, well, some I wish had taken the offer you took, my love.” Her hand travelled up my leg, over my thigh, and paused at just the right spot. The spot that would draw my attention the most.

  “And you will leave her in peace?” I wanted to know the woman in question, the woman I wanted to make my lover, would not be tormented by my wife.

  “You want her, and you want a child, Daniel. Take what you want in life, isn’t that what I’ve always told you?” Her black eyes, not brown but black, stared up at me, her gaze hypnotic. “I can’t give you a child, but she can. Take what you want.”

  She leaned up on her knees, her face before mine. I’d loved that face since I was 24 years old. I still loved it, but now, another woman’s face appeared beside it, a face I wanted to touch just as much.

  “Then I’ll have her, Antanasia. Do you want to meet her first?” That was part of the agreement, an agreement we’d made all those years ago, when we first married.

  She could take as many lovers as she wanted, and I’d take mine, as long as we both approved. Over the years, I’d stopped counting Antanasia’s lovers, and she’d stopped seeking my approval. She was a beautiful woman, with black hair, a sensually shaped and seductively pale body, and she had no problem procuring lovers.

  I’d only had her.

  There’d been no other woman that could hold my interest as Antanasia had. Until now. Until Alayna.

  Antanasia’s head turned suddenly, and two long, sharp fangs appeared out of the top of her gums. A slow, languid smile spread over her face as she stood and smoothed down the black, body-hugging dress she wore.

  “My dinner is here, darling, I will see you tomorrow, alright? And no, I don’t need to meet your Alayna right now. Perhaps later, after you’ve gained her trust, and she won’t panic so much? You know how humans can be about my kind. About our arrangement.” She paused for a moment and then turned away.

  Her last words trailed off as she went out of the library, headed for her bedroom. As she said, her dinner awaited. She liked to play with her food.

  “If she’s strong enough, perhaps I can make the same arrangement with her.”

  I turned my gaze back to the fire. Next year, Antanasia would make me like her, a vampire. Would the woman that wasn’t my lover yet want the same? Alayna had stolen my thoughts and made me dream again, it was possible that dream could go on forever.

  1

  “Alayna, I need to see you please.” Daniel’s email appeared on my screen and I smiled. The owner of a private detective company, Daniel Osbourne was not one for phones, if it could be helped. My employer was only twenty feet away and rather than buzz me on the phone, he’d sent me an email.

  I closed the email, locked my screen, and stood up. My desk was one of several in the office, little more than carpeted walls that acted as screens made wide cubicles that separated one desk from the next. I looked down at my clothes, grimaced at the wrinkles that wouldn’t smooth away, and then brushed my hair into place. The long dark strands had already started to work free of the knot I’d tied them into. My hair did not like to be confined.

  The office was informal with light gray carpeting, and plenty of lighting to see by. I strode from my desk, wondering what Daniel wanted now. I looked around as I walked from the end of the open space to the back, where Daniel’s office was sealed off with a wooden door. The work space for employees was left open and encouraged informality. We normally called out back and forth to each other as we worked on cases, rather than make a phone call or email. Daniel was different, he encouraged his employees to feel at home, but sometimes, he needed to close that door and block all of us out.

  The man was a genius and he was our boss, so we gave him the respect he was due and didn’t complain about that door. Practicality was encouraged by Daniel, and trumped formality. Except for when that door was closed. It was closed now, I saw as I approached, and that made me tense. Not because I was worried I’d done something wrong, but because I’d often had fantasies about what happened when that door closed. Now wasn’t the time for those, though, I reminded myself as I approached the door.

  I tilted my head and I stared at his name on the door. How many times had I imagined Daniel in there, alone and totally private in that brick-paneled dark office of his, over the last two and half years? I had to hold back a soft soun
d of delight as I thought about it. That prompted me to shake myself mentally and remind myself that I was at work. Daniel Osbourne was a very distracting man, but he was my boss.

  It might be different if Daniel was the stereotypical private detective that dressed as though he’d rolled out of bed after a long night of tailing a client and dressed in whatever came to hand first. Oh no, Daniel was a professional, and he dressed the part to the hilt. He wore tailored suits, black today if I remembered correctly, with his dark blond hair cut in a classical style with the sides short but the top just long enough to grab onto as he...

  “Down girl.” I whispered the words to myself and looked back at the office. Had anybody noticed how long I’d stood there, like a naughty schoolgirl that dreaded the scolding she was about to get?

  It was those suits of his. Some women went for kilts, or cargo pants, some women loved a man in white cotton pants slung low on their hips. For me, it was the man of my literal dreams in a suit. The suits he wore always accentuated how muscular the man was, showcasing just how much time he spent working on his body.

  His clear blue eyes and healthy, tanned skin were a testament to just how much he took care of himself. He was a private detective, which should mean he was overweight from time spent motionless as he waited on subjects to make a wrong move, or from the trash food you were often forced to eat while on the go, but he wasn’t. Daniel dripped power and sex from his pores like most men oozed sweat. It was just a shame he never hit on the women in his office, namely me.

  I would hate the man for being so handsome, if he wasn’t so charming and funny. He was the epitome of a big brother to us all. Daniel was successful and kind, and you knew it the moment you saw him. If you were his employee, anyway. If you were a client or a subject being investigated, then you might take a step back from the man with cold blue eyes.

  I’d seen it happen on more than one occasion, and the difference between the man that cared about his employees and the man that hunted down liars and cheats was phenomenal.

  My infatuation with him had grown for some time now, and lately I’ve tried to avoid him. My latest project had made that nearly impossible though, because he had to approve a lot of the tasks I needed to get done.

  I am not the type for an office affair, I always thought it would be too tricky if it went sour and generally went out of my way to avoid attention from either sex, but Daniel was masturbation fuel if I’ve ever seen it. I was also focused on my career and an office affair would have complicated my goals. Especially since Daniel was married. I might spend far too much time with him on my mind, but that didn’t mean I definitely wanted to cross that line. I’d seen the results of affairs for too often to even try to take it any further than an office relationship.

  I heard a sound through the door and tilted my head again. My knees went weak when I heard the sound of his deep voice hum along with a blues song. My brain immediately turned those sounds into the kind of sounds he might make during sex.

  Down girl, I told myself again, you have got to control yourself. He’s married, and out there somewhere are a million single men that would love to jump your bones if you’re that desperate. I took a deep breath, plastered a smile on my full lips and walked into the office. I pushed my glasses up my nose after I walked in, my lurid thoughts about my boss had made me a little too warm for the black plastic to stay in place.

  “Hi Daniel, what can I do for you?” I asked with a tone I hoped sounded casual. I was glad when it didn’t even shake a little bit.

  “Hey there Alayna, I had some questions about this investigation on the affair case you’re working on. I want to make sure I understand all of it.” Daniel’s voice was rich and timbered deep, the kind of voice that would be perfect when he groaned your name as he….

  “Oh, the Henderson case?” I asked stupidly and watched him as he got up from his chair and moved to turn down his music player on a shelf on the brick-lined walls. He moved with such easy grace but looked away before he caught me in mid-stare.

  “That’s the one. Can you tell me more about it? How it’s going?” Those blue eyes nailed me to my seat.

  “Sure.” I chirped with a smile on my face that must have screamed distracted to him. I hadn’t even answered the second part of his question, I’d just stupidly chirped a response like a moron. I wanted to walk out of his office right now, before my stupid tongue could give away just how much he affected me.

  Then I thought about what “can you tell me more about it” meant. I almost groaned and closed my eyes as realization dawned on me. I knew that my night of fantasizing about the seductive Mr. Osbourne was shot to hell. Daniel didn’t just ask one or two questions about a case when he invited you into his office for a chat, he wanted everything explained in minute detail. That meant hours of being with him, alone, in this office that was dimly lit by a narrow window to the right of his desk.

  The good news was, I had no life to speak of, not even a goldfish to keep me company, so it didn’t matter what time I got home.

  I just hoped I could control myself and not make a total mess of the whole thing because lately, married or not, I’d started to find it very hard not to respond to the man. He’d never hit on me, but he had a way of looking at a person that drew you in. He’d touch my arm and I’d want to lean into him, or he’d lean his head down to listen to me and I’d want to finish that lean until it turned into a full-blown, brain-combusting kiss.

  “Great, bring a chair over to my side of the desk and show me what you have.”

  Fuck off home, right now, Alayna, my brain screamed at me, but I only chirped sure again and got out of the chair.

  I watched him carefully as I pulled the simple plastic and gray fabric chair over to other side of his desk, but I didn’t see anything that might indicate he had other plans for me. Nothing other than going over a case.

  I took out my phone and pulled up some of my files and handed the phone over. I wasn’t sure whether to be relieved or disappointed when he simply took the phone without even a look at me. I told myself to be relieved, and told my brain to shut up when it jumped to disappointed a second later. I breathed a sigh of frustration quietly and sat back in my chair.

  I suppose I should explain that my attraction to Daniel isn’t solely based on his looks. The man is gorgeous, don’t get me wrong, but he also has a brilliant mind. He could glean insights from an email, or a picture, that I’d never be able to put together, no matter how many training classes I went to.

  “How long have you worked for me now, Alayna?” He asked suddenly and looked up at me with curiosity.

  “Um, two years? Three maybe?” My brain had gone blank completely the minute he looked up at me.

  “You’re doing a splendid job. I see you’ve figured out the husband’s pattern already. How long have you had this case?” He looked back at the timeline I’d created to detail the subject’s movements.

  “A couple of weeks. I’m still trying to fill in what he does on Sundays, though. He goes into a coffee shop and disappears for hours. I’ve gone into the place and he’s nowhere to be found. He always come back out of the front doors, though. There’s no back street, so I have to guess there’s a basement in the building.” I put my work brain in control and made my horny brain shut the hell up for a few minutes.

  “Good thinking, there must be a basement. That shop doesn’t have an attic, much less a second floor. What about the mistress, what do we know about her?”

  His eyes were on me again and I had to clear my throat to give myself time to jump-start my brain again.

  Daniel was a very good investigator, and very good at asking the questions that gave him the answers he needed to move along in an investigation. I wondered if he remembered our last conversation, when we’d had a brush or two at what I thought was flirtation. Nothing serious, just a bit of innuendo here and there, and our hands brushed together as we reached for papers in the file folder I’d brought in. That’s why I had my phone now, no
reason to reach into a file.

  There had been more than that, though, over the last couple of weeks, that had encouraged my racing thoughts and my desire for the man. Maybe I’d imagined those long steady glances I’d caught, those thrilling moments when I’d look up and catch his gaze on me? He was simply lost in thought and his eyes were facing me, I’d told myself. He wasn’t interested in me, he was married for goodness sake.

  That made me go cold, yeah, married. He had not meant to flirt with me, he was not interested in me. At all.

  Right? I cringed a little when my brain added that bit, with a hopeful tone to it.

  I gathered my thoughts and courage once more and made myself face Daniel, my green eyes giving nothing away, I hoped.

  My heart skipped a beat when I saw those blue eyes up close and personal. God, he’s fucking gorgeous. If I just lean forward…a little bit…

  Quickly, I looked away and cleared my throat. I patted my dark hair primly and pushed my glasses back up my nose. Damn, how did it get so hot in here? I couldn’t focus I was so hot now, physically and mentally.

  Daniel looked up at my hair, his gaze softened, and for a moment, I thought he was going to reach up and touch the silky strands I kept hidden away while I worked. Instead, his eyes tightened, his jaw moved into a grim line, and he turned to his computer.