StrategicSurrender (7 page)

“Thanks,” Kiera replied, and with a deep breath she threaded
her arm through Hayden’s and they continued on down the street. Kiera’s stomach
growled hungrily and she looked forward to a decent meal.

“So what’s another of your deep, dark secrets?” he teased
her. Laughing, Kiera thumped him gently with a bunched-up fist.

“Hey,” she chided him. “
You
owe
me
a deep dark
secret now. I’m not giving any more freebies after that mammoth expose on the
inner workings of my brain.”

“Fair enough,” Hayden returned with a small nod. “I can
understand that. Hmm, a hidden secret? Well, I don’t know how much of a secret
it really is—but I certainly haven’t talked to anyone about how much this stuff
with Ben has affected me.”

Hayden paused to take a deep breath and look away and into
the windows of the shops, restaurants and buildings they passed. Kiera squeezed
Hayden’s hand gently in both support and compassion but remained silent as he
seemed to gather his thoughts. As a minute dragged on without him speaking
further she shook her head slightly.

“You don’t have to go there,” she replied gently with
understanding. “I certainly don’t want to force you to say anything. If you’re
not ready—“

“No,” Hayden replied insistently. “It’s just difficult for
me to find the words. It’s all still new and raw for me. I feel conflicted over
so many aspects of it. I feel incredibly stupid for being duped, I feel naïve
for having so much faith in my partner, and worst of all I feel completely
betrayed.”

“There’s nothing wrong in any of that,” Kiera insisted.
“What you’ve been through is emotional and complex. It’s not something you can
just pack up into a neat little box and label something to learn from and move
on. You also—despite what you obviously think—show to such advantage through this.
Hayden, do you realize how rare it is for someone to be as loyal as you are?
Don’t let this make you bitter and twist you up inside.”

“How would you react should Josh turn out to be evil?”
Hayden asked with more curiosity than angst.

“Hopefully with as much grace as you have to your
situation,” she insisted with honesty. “I’d be devastated, as I am sure you
are, but I hope I could continue taking each day step by step and not let it
alter who I am and how I perceive the world.”

Hayden drew her into his embrace and yet again their lips
met hungrily. Their hands grappled at each other’s shoulders, needing to draw
each other closer. Kiera wished passionately they were not in the middle of the
sidewalk and instead had some privacy. She craved to touch Hayden, to feel his
skin under her hands, to lick and caress every inch of his skin.

“My car is in a garage just across the street,” Hayden
murmured. “How hungry are you really?”

“I can live without Italian,” she purred huskily. “I’m not
sure I can keep from exploding if I don’t feel your skin and taste every inch
of you very soon. My car is parked under the Enforcers building so yours is
closer.”

“Now that sounds like an idea,” Hayden agreed promptly. They
shared a final lingering, heated kiss before Hayden stood up straight, took her
hand once again and with a quick look stepped out onto the street and led her
to quickly jaywalk across the busy road.

Giggling as they jumped back up onto the path on the other
side of the road, they strode with hasty steps into a nearby parking garage and
retrieved Hayden’s car, dark blue and low slung. Kiera thanked Hayden as he
gallantly opened the door for her. Sitting on the comfortable leather
upholstery, Kiera watched the handsome wizard as he climbed in, buckled his
belt and started the car, revving the engine a few times before peeling out of
the garage.

* * * * *

Kiera knew she’d probably never fully know when she’d
decided to throw caution to the wind and just go with it. If someone had
asked—or teased—that she’d become involved with a fellow coworker, she’d have
laughed herself silly. Strange how Fate had a way of bullying you.

All she knew for certain was she couldn’t keep away from
Hayden. Everything about him drew her, and if the price for what lay between
them was a dint in her pride and the possibility of her work life being
complicated for a short time, then so be it. Hayden was good, kind and funny.
He was as attracted to her as she him, and Kiera might just explode if she
didn’t follow where this was leading.

Besides, the core of Hayden, his spirit and soul, was so
good, so noble, she craved to know him better. She wanted to learn everything
about him. The more she learned the deeper she fell for him. If it became
complicated later—well, she’d deal with that when and if it arrived.

Surrendering herself to the whimsical magic of the night,
and trusting in the goodness of the wizard she followed, Kiera let all her
stress and anxiety go. It was a Strategic move, but one she could be confident
in. Surrender was the only way to go if she wanted to see where this magical
relationship with her wizard could lead.

Kiera trailed Hayden through a small, neatly kept front
garden and onto a large wooden porch. The cottage was small and old, but recent
painting made it appear well cared for.

“This is yours?” she asked, surprised and pleased. Hayden
threw her a proud grin over his shoulder as he inserted his key into the lock
and paused on the threshold a moment. After the brief break he nodded his head,
pushed open the door and waved her inside.

As Kiera entered she felt the faint pressure of a Boundary
being crossed. It wasn’t uncomfortable, rather like walking through a doorway
draped with beads that you could feel as you pushed gently past them.

“Yep, this was my grandmother’s home,” Hayden explained. “My
parents had moved states by the time my grandmother re-wrote her will toward
the end there, and since I had already graduated and decided to remain in
Chicago she left it to me.”

“I can feel the Boundary,” Kiera replied. Hayden led her
down the hall and into a large, open kitchen area.

“My mother was raised here, and in my youth we would
frequently have lunch every Sunday here as an extended family. There’s a lot of
history here, that’s how the Boundary came to be. I didn’t have to do anything
except get it used to my permanent presence and not my grandmother’s. Would you
like a drink?”

Kiera smiled slowly, hearing Hayden’s tone deepen as he
asked the question. She closed the small distance between them, stood up on her
tiptoes and wrapped her arms around Hayden’s shoulders.

“I am very hungry,” she admitted in a low voice. “But I have
to be honest and say there is a far deeper craving than the one in my stomach.
I was wondering if you could maybe help me?”

“Hmm,” Hayden pondered. Kiera thought for a split second he
truly was weighing the issue, until she saw the small smile twitch at the
corner of his mouth.

“Now how could I possibly help you?” Hayden mused.

About to answer him, Kiera moaned instead as Hayden lowered
his mouth to the nape of her neck and kissed her passionately. Blood rushed up
to her face and her nipples tightened deliciously under the prim work shirt.
She lifted her hand to rake through Hayden’s hair, the soft strands tantalizing
against her skin.

“Well,” she murmured huskily. Speech left her again as
Hayden trailed his lips up her neck and he nipped a gently biting kiss to the
edge of her jaw. Kiera loosened her hands and let them fall down to cling to
Hayden’s back. She arched her body up into Hayden’s and the warmth of his heat
penetrated through her clothes.

All at once desire exploded through her body, setting Kiera
on fire. Desperate for speed now, she found her fingers scrambling with
buttons. Her need to tear Hayden’s clothes away from his body was urgent. As
Hayden shrugged out of his shirt to help her, Kiera sucked in a deep breath as
the hard planes of his chest were exposed. Lean but well-muscled, the
handsomeness of his body dried her mouth out.

“Oh Hayden,” Kiera murmured, her arousal clear in the hushed
tone of her voice. Eagerly, she traced the tips of her fingers along the ridges
of his pecs, the smooth skin warm over the hardness of his muscles. Kiera could
feel the power of his magic humming like electricity beneath the surface of
Hayden’s body, like a generator waiting to be switched on.

Cool air brushed along her skin as Hayden removed her shirt
and Kiera shivered. Hayden bent his head and peppered a series of kisses down
her collarbone, over her shoulder and down along the edge of her arm.

“I’ll keep you warm,” he muttered. Kiera couldn’t help but
smile.

“I know,” she responded huskily. “I’m counting on it in
fact.”

They each helped one another remove shoes, socks and pants
until Kiera soon slid her fingers into the waistband of Hayden’s briefs. Hunger
raced through her body and even though a part of her urgently wanted to touch,
lick and caress every part of Hayden’s body right then and there, another
equally strong side of her wanted to take her time. Kiera decided to relish
this opportunity and enjoy every second she could wring from this moment with
this wonderful, sexy wizard.

They stood locked desperately together in an intimate,
passionate embrace. Kiera let her fingers graze along the edges of Hayden’s
briefs, teasingly caressing his soft skin and moving back and forth in a
taunting will-I, won’t-I manner. She could feel the heat radiating from his
thick shaft, his erection pressing against her pelvis as they stood clenched
against each other. Kiera wanted to draw the moment out, however, and a little
teasing would merely add tension and spice for them both.

“Kiera,” Hayden moaned wantonly, his dark eyes burning into
her like a brand. She grinned impishly in response, loving the small thrill of
power he gave to her in letting her set the pace in this moment.

Hayden rocked his hips up into her, urging her on silently.
He raised an eyebrow at Kiera, his lips full and sensual from their earlier
kisses as he smiled beautifully at her. Once again the handsome, sexy wizard
stole her breath with the intensity of his gaze. He looked as if he could see
through into her soul, read all of her secrets and hidden desires with just a
single glance.

Kiera tugged the elastic of his briefs so she could slowly
pull them down over Hayden’s slender hips and down his legs. His thick cock
sprang free, its slick head bobbing against the flat plane of his belly.

Running the pad of her thumb over the bulbous tip, she
spread his pre-cum over the head of his shaft. Feeling equal parts naughty and
adventurous, Kiera knelt to the floor so her face was level with Hayden’s
heavily aroused shaft. Licking her tongue out experimentally, she laved at the
swollen head and tasted him.

“Mmm,” she murmured with approval. Quickly she lapped at him
again before opening her jaw wide and encompassing his entire tip and
swallowing him down as far as she could.

Hayden groaned. His hand fisted at the back of her head, his
fingers threading through her curls. Kiera grunted as Hayden tugged her
slightly closer to him, gagging a little. With a deep breath she pulled back
slightly, relaxed her muscles and then pressed back down again.

He tasted salty and smelled musky, his cologne spicy. Kiera
enjoyed the scent and inhaled it deeply. Warm hands ran down her back and Kiera
could feel Hayden struggling to unclasp her bra. After a moment it fell away
and her nipples tightened further as the cool air hit them.

Kiera mumbled appreciatively around Hayden’s thick cock, the
vibrations rumbling along his skin. He sucked in a quick breath, which caused
Kiera to smile, amused. She cast a quick, naughty look up to catch Hayden’s
gaze and found herself drowning in his dark, hungry look.

She watched as he reached his hands down to wrap around her
naked arms and gently Hayden tugged her upward. Reluctant to let his shaft go,
Kiera let her teeth very, very lightly graze along the sensitive skin as she
stood back up again.

“Not that I am unappreciative,” Hayden whispered softly in
the growing darkness of the kitchen, “but I have plans for you. Plans that
require I last a lot longer than I will if you continue to pleasure me so
decadently.”

Kiers grinned evilly, intrigued and even more aroused by the
prospect. She stood up on tiptoes, wrapped her arms around his shoulders again
and drew their bodies flush together.

“What did you have in mind?” she purred lightly as she
kissed him thoroughly.

* * * * *

Hayden felt lightheaded, as if he were going to drown in the
passion Kiera unleashed within him. With her sultry good looks, those long,
luscious curls and her big, speaking eyes he could hardly believe that not
twenty-four hours earlier he had been depressed with where he was in life.

Her lips had been delicious on his cock, like a small slice
of paradise sent directly to him to remind Hayden why one perseveres. However,
Hayden didn’t want their first time together to be Kiera sucking him off and
then both of them having to wait a period for him to recover.

Hayden wanted to worship at the altar of her body. Her pale
pink, lacy bra had been a concoction of feminine frivolity. But against her
darkly tanned skin it had appeared like icing on a particularly tempting cupcake.
Embarrassed by how his fingers had fumbled with the clasp, relief had surged
through him as the tiny scrap of lace had fallen from her body.

He traced the pad of a thick finger down the curve of her
slender waist, relishing the soft, smooth expanse of body he explored. When he
reached the matching, pale-pink, lacy edge of her high-cut panties, he hooked
three fingers into the waistband. A few impatient tugs and the lace pulled away
from her small ass and Hayden pulled them down off her legs to pool in a heap
on the tiled floor.

Their bodies pressed so tightly together he could feel the
heat of her lithe muscles penetrating his body. Feeling wicked, Hayden suckled
the lobe of her ear into his mouth, grazed his teeth lightly over the small
morsel and then tugged at it. Kiera arched her neck and moaned deliciously. His
erection strained against the silky heat of Kiera’s skin, eager for more
attention, but Hayden determinedly tried to keep a rein on his ardor.