The Secrets You Keep Read online

  Callan picked me up from the airport a little over an hour ago. I’d no sooner set my bags down in my room at the hotel when I was aching to be back at the hospital. Maybe that’s my heart telling me this is right. This is where I need to be. I’m drawn to this place, to the people here. I felt it from the moment I stepped off the plane the first time.

  Dawie smiles as I step through the double doors into the inpatient ward of Gateway Hospital in Cape Town.

  “I always knew you’d come back for me,” he says as he wraps me in a warm hug.

  Dr. Stephenson follows close behind him, greeting me the same way.

  “Well, you make it hard for a girl to stay away.”

  “We’re so happy to have you back, Dr. Matthews,” Dr. Stephenson tells me. “And you, too.” She nods at Callan.

  He grins. “I’m happy to have her back as well.”

  I nudge him with my elbow and he laughs. God, it’s a beautiful sound.

  His paperwork came back a few months ago. Callan is an official volunteer at The Gateway. Now he can sneak in on my shifts, and no one gets in trouble.

  He rubs his ribs then pulls me close. “I’m happy to help.”

  And I know he means it. Regardless of what the world thinks, Callan does what he does to help people. He is who he is because letting the bad guy win just isn’t an option for him. There’s a softness to his edge, a calm to his storm. And a fire inside him that I hope never burns out.

  ***

  Six months later…

  Callan sold his Miami house and bought a home here in South Africa. He asked me to stay with him, and I told him there’s no place else I’d rather be. I know that sometimes he’ll have to leave, and I’m okay with letting him go. What we have doesn’t have boundaries or conditions. In our own way, we both help people. We both save people.

  Callan’s donations have helped the hospital acquire resources it never would’ve had before. Because of him, lives have been changed, and I make sure to thank him personally for that every night when I come home.

  “I want it all,” he says. “Give me every doubt. Every fear. Every teardrop.”

  The chatter stops. The unending worries of the day. The stress of saving the world, one heartbeat at a time. All of it disappears.

  He stands at the foot of the bed and unbuttons his jeans. “You’re so beautiful spread out like this for me. Only me.” He leans over my body and pushes my knee up toward my shoulder. The cool air drifts across my flesh, open and ready for him.

  He slides his hands up my inner thighs then guides a fingertip between my folds. “God, I can’t wait to taste you.”

  My body shudders as he blows his breath across my clit. Between us lies a connection more intense than anything I’ve ever felt. I trust him. Completely. No barriers. And he knows me. He knows exactly where to take my body. More than I even know myself. My body is an instrument only Callan knows how to play.

  His hands explore my body.

  His mouth tastes my skin.

  And it feels like heaven.

  I once told Callan that you don’t own people—that people aren’t belongings. I was wrong. He awakens me. He protects me. He owns me. I belong to him. I always have. I always will.

  ***

  Callan

  She is everything. She’s given herself to me completely. Body and soul.

  I look at her, lying here— Trusting me, needing me. And I love it. I love her. The way she tastes, like the most delicious thing I’ve ever put on my tongue. I set out to own her, but she’s taken full possession of my heart. She is independent. Focused. Driven. In the daylight, for the rest of the world, she controls her environment. She decides what goes. But when we’re alone, she sheds this layer—not because she has a need to fulfill or an ache to burn, but because in her unconditional selflessness, she knows what it means to trust. She opens up. Blossoms. Like the wildflowers in the courtyard. And it’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.

  I know where I want to be in my life. And I know it’s with her. Always with her. She is my partner in every sense of the word. And I am the luckiest man alive.

  I flick my tongue over her swollen clit. “Is this what you want?”

  She bucks her hips and moans then buries her hands in my hair.

  I smile against her wet center. “Say it.”

  “Taste me, Callan.”

  She’s right there. Her body is on fire. God, I love the way she says my name when she’s like this.

  My tongue traces the seam of her delicious pink pussy and she whimpers. “Own me.”

  Oh, I’m going to. Her perfect fucking mouth. Her pretty cunt. Her tight little ass… mine. All of it.

  I inhale her scent once more, then I slide the jeans over my hips and kick them off the bed, then crawl up her body. My hand glides up her throat and wraps around the delicate curve there. Her lips part when she sees my cock, and I groan.

  I.

  Am.

  Done.

  “Suck me,” I command, bringing my other hand to her hair and grabbing a fistful.

  She pushes me onto my back and takes me into her mouth. It’s so perfect—so fucking perfect. So warm. So wet.

  I hiss.

  She licks.

  I growl.

  She takes me deeper.

  Her fingers dig into my thigh while I fuck her beautiful mouth. She moans around my cock, and the vibration sets me on fire.

  Jesus, I need to stop this before I come. And I am not ready to come. Not yet. Not without being inside her first.

  I pull her head back then grab her hips. Her eyes meet mine, and without me having to ask, she slides onto my dick and gives me what we both need.

  I stroke my hand over her messed up hair. “I wish you could see how perfect you look right now.”

  Her skin is flushed, and her lips are swollen. Sweat glistens across her breasts.

  She looks away, like my words embarrass her. “I think the lack of blood flow to your brain is starting to affect you.”

  My fingers trace her spine. “No. Actually, I’ve never seen things clearer.”

  Her head pops up off my chest, and she smiles. “Well, you’re not so bad yourself.”

  “Marry me.”

  I don’t know where or how or what the fuck that even was. I just know I need her. All of her. All the time. I never want to let her go.

  She swallows hard. “What?”

  “From the first time I saw you, your lips, your eyes, your voice— it’s all I ever think about. You gave me exactly what I need, and I never even asked. You just knew. You’ve seen the darkness in me, uncovered the secrets that I keep, and you love me anyway. There’s so much uncertainty in my world, but the one thing I do know is that me and you—it’s as real as it gets.”

  Tears fill her soft brown eyes. I tuck a fallen hair behind her ear.

  “Yes.” Her voice is hardly above a whisper.

  I need to hear it again.

  “Yes?”

  She smiles and the first tear falls to her cheek. “Yes. I’ll marry you.”

  I roll her to her back and move on top of her. “I love you. So fucking much.”

  She parts her lips and takes in a breath when I place myself at her entrance. Then she wraps her legs around my waist and invites me inside. “I love you too.”

  I don’t know what tomorrow will bring. Or the day after that. But I know that I’ll spend every minute of every day loving the woman that saved me— until there are no more tomorrows.

  The End

  Acknowledgements

  Thank you to YOU! Yes, you. The one reading this right now. Without you, I wouldn’t be able to wake up every morning and live my dream. Without you, none of this would be possible. Thank you for reading my words and diving into my imaginary worlds. Thank you for your support.

  To my Hookahs— Thank you for encouraging me, nagging me, pushing me—to be a better me. I love you bishes with all my heart.

  To— Susie Poole. Thank you for being
my lifeline. For real. It’s so hard to find someone you can depend on these days. Not only do you make me smile and amaze me with your awesome work, but you are my ride or die. And I adore you to the moon.

  To all the blogs, authors, and newsletters that shared this book with your world— thank you for supporting me.

  To Erin and Deb— you ladies are always amazing and I couldn’t do it without you.

  To the mom who said this is “smut” and threatened to use it against me— Thank you for showing me that I am better. Better than ugly words. Better than hateful vendettas. Better than judgmental stares and fake smiles. I am me. And nothing you say can take that away.

  About the Author

  Delaney Foster is a native of the deep bayous of sweet Louisiana, not far from New Orleans. Where eating, drinking, and dancing are much a requirement for citizenship. She loves all things romance, a good glass of wine, and Saturdays at the baseball park. She does believe leggings are pants and is a bit of a book whore. In her heart, Mr. Darcy will always be the ultimate book boyfriend. And in her books, you will find sexy alpha males and the strong women who love them.

  Delaney has five books currently published, with A Woman’s Touch being her debut. You never forget your first, and Nick and Heidi will always hold a special place in her heart.

  Read more about Alex and find out if he found his happily ever after in The Perfect Gentleman.

  Or follow Makenna and Callisto into a world of darkness and sin in Sin with Me and Sin with Me: Penance.

  Get your fix on all things Delaney by following her on Amazon, BookBub, or social media. She loves to hear from her readers.

  Click here to find all Delaney’s books.