His Secret Child (Slade Security Team Series Book 2) Read Online Free PDF Page A

Why had she lied to her own sister about the boy? Was Bethany on the level about what she wanted? He really wanted to believe in her—but he’d known Tayra, and she hadn’t been someone to trust.
    Restless, he toed off his shoes and took a quick tour of the house. A half bath stood off of the guest room. The room Bethany had gone into had a closed door, but Jason’s door stood ajar. He glanced in.
    The moon had risen and the boy lay sleeping with one hand wrapped around a stuffed teddy bear. He frowned. He’d seen that bear before. Brock had brought it home from China for Tayra, carried it tucked inside his go-to bag on the extraction from a covert mission. He shook his head. She’d cared for Brock—had loved him maybe, in her own way. But she’d bailed on him. Why hadn’t she been able to stick it out?
    He backed out of the room, headed back to the couch. He took off his shirt—no sense wrinkling it and he had on a wife-beater underneath. Shutting off the lights, he spent an hour handling email, catching up on reports, and making sure the business could deal with him being away for a few days. He started to yawn, so he shut down his phone and stretched out.
    A soft sobbing woke him. He came awake in an instant and lay still—assess, then act. Those were the habits drilled into him. He wondered if it was Jason, but the sound was coming from the kitchen. He sat up and rose, keeping the movements slow enough to be silent. He crossed the floor, keeping his weight light and balanced on the balls of his feet.
    Bethany stood in the kitchen, leaning on the kitchen sink as she had earlier, except now she had her hands over her face. Soft sobs leaked from her fingers. Dawn brightened the sky, spilling a soft light over her curls and giving her skin a pale glow. He could see a flash of bare thigh, a shoulder half revealed by the baggy, rust-colored T-shirt she wore.
    He couldn’t stand the misery in her sobs.
    He reached out and touched her shoulder.
    She pulled back with a jerk. He ignored that and gathered her into his arms. She stiffened, but he held on and whispered, “It’s okay. Let it go. I’ve got you.”

Chapter 6
    I’ve got you.
    What a stupid thing to say, but Slade’s arm closed around her, and she couldn’t imagine anything better. She’d always suffered from nightmares—terrors really. Vivid dreams that left her sweaty and shivering with her heart pounding. Stress made them worse. It was one reason she’d chosen freelance work over the corporate world—she hadn’t been able to handle the stress of a high tech job.
    But Slade felt like a rock—no, way better. He was solid and big and warm. He held her close, not so tightly that she couldn’t breathe, but supporting her, as if she’d never be able to fall. She couldn’t remember the last time anyone had held her.
    He smelled of something musky that reminded her of hot summer nights. She could hear his breathing—steady and even, and her cheek was pressed against his chest, where his heart thudded in a regular rhythm.
    She knew the instant the hug changed from comfort to something else.
    His pulse quickened. He pulled back slightly, his breath catching. He’d pulled off his shirt, and moonlight glinted off of the bunched muscles in his forearms and biceps. She didn’t know where to put her hands, so she put them on him.
    He leaned down, taking her lips in a kiss that didn’t ask permission, but took it.
    She wrapped her arms around him, lifted one leg, and caught it behind his, feeling the texture of his trousers against her skin. Tongues tangled, he pushed his hand through her hair—she hung onto him until she was gasping for breath.
    He pulled back a fraction, and she let him, dizzy and giddy. His voice sounded low and rough. “That should never have happened.”
    Bethany traced a finger down one lean cheek. “You can tell a lot about a man by the way he kisses.” She ran her finger over his bottom lip. “You’ve got some mad skills