Masked Innocence Read online

  The man was sinful. It wasn’t just the looks that made him dangerous, it was the cocky confidence that dominated every move, every touch. And the frustrating yet ecstatic fact about the whole package was that he could back it all up…

  Julia Campbell never knows what to expect with win-at-all-costs Brad De Luca. And she’s starting to like it that way. She gave up safe, conventional relationships when she let the elite divorce attorney seduce her into his world. Now that he’s determined to strip her naked of every inhibition, she’s in danger of falling too deep and too fast.

  But their affair begins to feel even more dangerous when a murder leaves a trail of suspicion that points straight to the mob…and Brad. Trusting a man with a bad reputation and a past full of secrets seems like a mistake. But when she’s forced to make a choice, the consequences will take her further than she could ever have imagined.

  Also available from

  Alessandra Torre

  and Harlequin HQN

  Blindfolded Innocence

  MASKED

  INNOCENCE

  Alessandra Torre

  Dedicated to Mom.

  Thank you for raising me to be independent, and for always

  letting my imagination run free. Thanks for gnomes in the forest,

  walks through cotton fields, and your unwavering acceptance and support.

  I love you.

  Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  Chapter Forty

  Chapter Forty-One

  Chapter Forty-Two

  Chapter Forty-Three

  Chapter Forty-Four

  Chapter Forty-Five

  Chapter Forty-Six

  Chapter Forty-Seven

  Chapter Forty-Eight

  Chapter Forty-Nine

  Chapter Fifty

  Epilogue

  Acknowledgments

  Excerpt

  Having two men at one time is a strange experience. My first time in a threesome, I was blindfolded, my senses heightened and restricted to touch, scent, sounds and taste. Touch. The feeling of their hands on my bare skin, caresses, grips, slaps and fucks. God, those long strokes of pure animal ownership. Scent. Fresh linen, candles, Brad’s unmistakable combination of God knows what that drove me absolutely crazy, my own sweat, the strange new scent of the stranger in the room. Sounds. Their ragged breaths, my own heartbeat pounding in my head, a primal groan, whispered words of reverence, the sound of flesh on flesh, of my own wetness. Taste. Tight, stretched skin in my mouth, Brad’s mouth on me, my own taste on their tongues, the eroticism of it all. And finally, the taste of completion when I milked them dry, the flavor of victory and carnal satisfaction. I had done it. I had gone there. And I had loved every minute of it.

  One

  “So, what’s next?”

  I turned my head, glancing at him, his dark profile hiding the grin that I knew played over his features. I reclined in the passenger seat of his car, snug against the warmth of the seat heater. He reached his hand over, offering it to me, and I grabbed it, running my hands over his huge palm and strong fingers. “What’s next with tonight?”

  He chuckled, the sound unfairly sexual. The man could make a sneeze sound carnal if he wanted to. “I’m taking you home with me tonight, unless you have an objection to that. I meant in regards to us.”

  I yawned. “Your home sounds good for tonight.” Yes, his huge home with its big, luxurious bed, worth-giving-up-carbs-for shower and stocked fridge would be welcome tonight, especially since a night in that wonderful bed normally led to a morning of orgasms. “As far as with us, that’s in your ballpark. I tried the threesome, and I’m cool with that if that’s what you need to be faithful.”

  “You’re ‘cool’ with it.” His wry tone elicited a frown from my side of the car. “You seemed a little more than ‘cool with it.’”

  I rolled my eyes. “Fine. I loved it, can’t wait to do it again, I will worship at the shrine of Brad from this day forth. Happy?”

  The light changed in the car, and this time I could see the grin that stretched over his face. “Well, if you insist. You know I strive to please.”

  Yes, you certainly do. I never thought I would appreciate one singular quality so much. Competitiveness is great in a partner. Sexual competitiveness, I’ve learned over the last several weeks, is holy-freaking-God amazing. I watched the curve of his mouth, loving the transformation it caused to his powerful features. “So, tonight was it, right? That’s the sexual extent of your freakiness?”

  “Well...” He shrugged, glancing over at me.

  “Well?” I sat up, turning in my seat to fully face him. “Well what?”

  “I will never need anything more ‘freaky,’ as you like to say, than what we just did. But the point of this is not just my pleasure. It’s to awaken your sexuality, to find what turns you on and to explore that. Chances are, tonight wasn’t your single perfect fantasy.” I shifted slightly at the statement. Uh, yeah—it pretty much was. “As we grow in our relationship, you may find you like completely different things than you do now. As your sexual boundaries expand, your preferences may change.”

  I smirked at him. “So, what you’re saying is, if I keep dating you, in three years I’m going to be licking whipped cream off a bearded lady and loving it?”

  He laughed. “If it reaches that level, you’re not going to be still dating me.”

  I relaxed back into the seat. “Well, for now, that was plenty hot enough for me. I don’t know how much more sexual exploration my mind can take right now.”

  “So, if I receive any invitations, I should turn them down?”

  I paused, midsnuggle into the leather cocoon that the BMW’s seat had become. “What? What kind of invitations?”

  “You know, parties, cruises or threesomes like we just did.” His offhand tone was ludicrous considering the events that he was so casually discussing.

  Parties? Cruises? I swallowed, unsure if I was ready for more. Brad read my silence and looked over, the passing streetlights revealing concern on his face. “Too much?” he asked.

  I braved a smile. “For now. Let’s take it one freak show at a time, okay?”

  From the other side of the car came that delicious chuckle, and I clenched my core in an involuntary response.

  The car slowed, making the turn onto Brad’s road, and I looked at the stately homes that passed, each one more impressive than the last. Then we pulled into Brad’s drive, the suspension smoothing the rough ride of the pavers below us, and taking us to his home.