The Secret.

As soon as Daniel and Corey left the hall, the man looked around, and, finding a suitable place, led the girl to the side.

"Daniel, where are we-"

Corey did not have time to finish her question, as her back was pressed tightly against the wall, strong male hands gripped her body eagerly. One arm wrapped around her waist and the other slid up her back. Daniel placed his palm on the back of the girl's head and lifted her head at the angle he needed so that she could relax and completely surrender to his power.

His hot lips touched her mouth greedily, enticing a woman into his passionate mystery. Every time he kissed her, Corey felt as if she was falling into another reality. He so skillfully and naturally subdued her body to his will that she did not immediately come to herself, but was in a relaxed trance, even when their lips parted after a sweet dance.

So this time too, passionate and energetic movements, showing who was dominant in this situation, gradually turned into gentle and unhurried touches full of love and tenderness.

Corey felt her body completely relaxed, and if Daniel had not pulled her to him, she would have fallen to the floor, deprived of the last strength. If every time it happened to her only from his kisses, what would happen if she decided to go further? She was afraid to even imagine that. But what she knew for sure was that her body treacherously turned to the side of a man whose heat enveloped her skin, and craved his touches more and more.

She wanted this and was afraid at the same time. Daniel Anderson was such a man, who, if finally let into her heart, would bring irreparable damage to the soul in case if she lost him. She was not yet ready for such a risk, it took her several years to recover from a previous relationship, and if she could somehow calm her heart after losing her first love, then it would be more difficult in the case of Daniel.

He was a strong, charismatic, attractive man, whose single look made the hearts of teenage girls and mature ladies tremble. His charming voice was like a fascinating melody, the sounds of which captivated your attention from the first moment you heard it. But this is what everyone knew about him, and there were things that only his relatives knew, and the things that only she knew.

For example, she was the only one to know that behind the strong and bright playboy image was a kind and caring person who was ready to put the interests of the family and people close to him above his own, ready to sacrifice his reputation if it helped the people whom he cared about, ready to put his life at risk if the situation demanded him to do so.

He was so different, so bright and so captivating that each of his features complemented the other, creating perhaps the most dangerous and most desirable mix that any woman could have ever dreamed of.

And this man wanted her. For Corey, it was obvious; he made it clear when his hands or lips were touching her body. She wanted to forget about all fears, and finally, to surrender to his power, but something was stopping her, and she could not understand what it was. But even this last wall in her mind, which she herself could not break, was rapidly becoming cracked as soon as the girl came into the view of his captivating eyes.

Daniel released her lips from the passionate kiss, and Corey had no choice but to bury her in his chest, her heart pounding like crazy.

"I missed you so much," Daniel said in a slightly hoarse voice after a long and intense kiss that took the breath away from both of them. He kissed the top of her head and stroked the girl on the back, which made her want to snuggle closer to him. Corey put her arms around the man, hugging him in her frail embrace. They had not seen each other for a week, but it was for the first time when she felt anguish that he was not around.

"Have you finished your work? You will not leave again, right?" She asked, hoping that this trip was the last one. She was the only person who knew about his job at the CIA, except for Elena and David. Even the parents of the brothers were unaware of that and thought that Daniel, as usual, was playing the fool somewhere.

"Did you miss me?" A man asked with playful notes in his voice. He leaned over to Corey and began to shower her face with light kisses, after which he slowly went down her neck to the girl's shoulders, "You are so beautiful today, however, as always. And I really like what you are wearing, there are so many places that I can touch without harming your dress," the man murmured, continuing the chain of tender kisses to the girl's clavicle line. If it was him to decide, instead of light touches of his lips, he would prefer to leave a bright red necklace of passionate hickeys, showing those around that this girl belonged to him.

"Mmm, Daniel, we need to catch up with Sean to find Ashley together," Corey whispered, tilting her head to the side and giving the man more convenient access to her neck. Her words did not match what her body wanted to do.

"Don't worry, we just give him five to ten minutes leg up, after all, it's his task to find our girl," Daniel ran the tip of the nose up and down over Corey's skin, then licked her earlobe.

"Ahahaha, Daniel, what are you doing?! It's tickling!" Corey laughed at his unexpected move, the woman looked at the man over her shoulder, and her heart went into her heels. From the darkness, a pair of cold blue eyes were looking right at her, the eyes of the person who looked so familiar, and, at the same time, so strange.

Her whole body was numb, she opened her mouth, but her voice seemed to be gone. Corey pushed Daniel away, her body was trembling. "Honey, what happened? Is everything all right?" The man was frightened that maybe he accidentally hooked her earring, but he was sure that he was careful.

"Aah, n-no, everything is fine, just ... It just seemed to me that there was someone else there, and I was scared."

Daniel turned around, but did not notice anyone, "Hmm, okay, come to me," he hugged the girl and stroked her back to relieve the tension, "Let's go and find our little romps. I'm sure we will find Ashley faster than Sean," Daniel grinned.

"Uh, you don't believe in your nephew?" Corey raised an eyebrow and shook her head.

The man made a whizzing sound and kissed her on the cheek, "No, dear, I just believe in our girl more. Sean will have to try to find my baby," Daniel added with pride and led Corey down the hall.

A joyful smile appeared on the face of the woman, no doubt a man whom she would let into her life should love her daughter no less than her. And Daniel in this regard met all the criteria.

She took Daniel by the hand, and turned around furtively, looking into the empty and dark corridor behind them. If she didn't know for sure that that person was not alive, she would surely say that it was him. Apparently, her inner reasonings about the future caused this strange hallucination.

But it was so real!

If she did not know that he was dead, then without a drop of doubt she would have stated that at that moment none other than Rick Stein was looking at her.

. . .

Sean was walking along the corridor to where Ashley had run when he saw her last time. Tears were streaming down his cheeks from resentment and vexation, both on his father and on himself. He knew that he had done a wrong thing, and it seemed there was nothing to be offended at, but his father's stern look made him shrink like a little kitten in front of a big lion.

"Ashley is also to blame, she wanted to play this stupid hide-and-seek game, but nobody is scolding her, everyone is just scolding me," the boy wiped tears with the sleeve of his shirt and bit off a piece of biscuit, which Aunt Corey gave him. Still, her pastry was the most delicious one that he has ever tried.

"The world is unfair, isn't it, little boy?" A low male voice made the child freeze on the spot. In front of him, a tall man in a dark blue suit and the black mask was standing, he leaned on the windowsill and crossed his legs. His aura captured the space around him, and the boy felt as if invisible dark energy was condensing behind his back.

"Sorry, I do not speak with strangers," Sean replied and took a step forward. At that moment, the biscuit slipped out of his hands and headed straight through the air towards the stranger. The man picked up a cookie and put it in his mouth. "Mmm, tasty. Who cooked it? Your mom?" he asked, chewing the treat he had taken from the child.

Sean stared at the man in front of him in surprise, "Sir, do you also know how to move objects without touching them? Only my dad can do that! Oh!" The boy closed his mouth with his small palms; he just revealed a secret that no one was supposed to know about.

The man grinned and squatted next to the boy, "I can do lots of other things too. Look." He opened his palm and a small fire began to form in its center, the fire rose up and crumbled in the air with bright sparks.

"Wow," Sean looked fascinated by the unexpected performance. He has never seen anything like this.

"If you want, I can teach you how to do it too," added the man, satisfied with the child's reaction.

"Really?! I really want to! "Sean was delighted, "I have to tell my mom and dad!" He was about to run back to the hall, again completely forgetting why he came here.

"Hmmm, I'm afraid if you want to tell someone about my secret, I can't teach you," the man stood up and walked away slowly. His gesture caused exactly the reaction that he wanted.

Sean rushed after the man and grabbed him by the sleeve, "And if I don't tell anyone, will you teach me?" For a whole year now, the boy unsuccessfully tried to regain the abilities that he had before, but the best thing he could do was slightly move the small objects. Now, if he can learn such an interesting thing, then mom will definitely be happy and be very surprised! Daddy will also like such a surprise!

"What is your name?" the man asked.

"Sean Anderson. And what's your name, Sir?"

The stranger grinned and sat down next to the boy, he straightened his bangs and patted the boy on the cheek, "What an unusual eye color you have, your eyes nicely match your black hair."

"I don't like my eyes, they told me in the kindergarten that my parents probably found me somewhere on the street because mom and dad had different eyes colors," Sean knitted his brows and looked away.

"Well, who knows, maybe you got the eyes of a grandmother or grandfather, so they are different. There is nothing terrible about this," the man noticed that the child cheered up by hearing his words. "Well, so, do you want me to teach you a couple of my secrets?"

"Yes, I really want it!" the boy answered happily.

"Good, very good," a triumphant smile slid across the man's face, "I have to go now, but I will soon find you. So let our meeting and the fact that I will teach you, be a secret. Our own little secret. Just yours and mine. Deal?"

Marcus extended his palm to the child.

Sean looked at the hand extended to him, uncertainty and doubt crept into the boy's heart, but childish curiosity took over. He raised his little palm and shook the stranger's hand in response, "Deal!"

Marcus grinned, ominous lights began to play in the eyes of the man, "That's it. Now it will be your secret, which no one will know about. See you soon, Sean Anderson."

The man got up, patted the boy on the head and disappeared into the air.