The lies you love, p.10
The Lies You Love, page 10
“Hit by a car?” Beck asks, narrowing his eyes. “Where were you at?”
I look down. “It makes sense. Walker saving me was the beginning of our relationship,” I admit. “When he ended things and told me the truth, I was upset. Really upset.” A lump lodges in my throat and I work to clear it. “I ran out of our old apartment and sort of forgot where I was at. My mind went blank. The doctors told me it was shock, but that’s pretty embarrassing. Being shocked at something like that. Something that should be clear as day. That’s what they told me anyway. I don’t remember much after the conversation with Walker.” Beck nods. I continue. “The truck tried to stop, but I really just flew into the street without any warning, barefoot, still in my nightgown. It was raining.” A nightgown Walker picked for me. I pinch the bridge of my nose. “The driver was speeding, but it was still my fault. The truck pummeled me.”
Beck runs one hand over the stubble on his face, looking away. “How long ago did it happen?”
I keep my face trained on my lap. “Years. I stayed in the rehabilitation hospital for a full twelve months while everything healed. That’s when I had the time to plan for the pet store. I did all of the paperwork and planning while I was in there. Anyway, I moved into my new apartment, opened my store, started dating, and here we are.”
“I suspected the transplant based on the scar alone, but I did not expect that story to go with it.”
“Would be easier to tell people I had a bad heart and needed a new one. Maybe I should start going with that instead.”
“And lie?” Beck asks, winking once.
“Seems to work for you,” I counter, relieved he’s not asking any more questions about my past.
Beck turns on his barstool and takes my hands in his. “You said your relationship began with Walker saving you. What does that mean?”
I squeeze his hands. “You really pick up on the important stuff, don’t you?” He stays silent, face a stoic mask of democracy. He isn’t judging me, in fact, if I had to guess, my honesty is endearing me to him. “Walker saved me from being ra… attacked when I was in college. That’s how we met officially.”
“Wow. I’m sorry. I’m sorry about all of it, Auden.” My heart ignites at the tender caress of his apology he had no reason to give. His eyes, though still feral, hold a tinge of remorse. “If you were mine back then, I wouldn’t have let anything happen to you.” If any other man were to say that, I’d have scoffed, but now I know why I’m attracted to him so fully and mercilessly. Beckett is a protector, and I’m a woman who has been looking for a safe place to land my entire life.
I’ve already said too much, even if it did draw him nearer, and I now, I want all of him. I reach between our bodies and unbutton and unzip his fly. His thick, hard dick springs free. Licking my lips, I peer up at Beck’s face. His eyes twinkle with mischief.
“You gonna eat that?” he quips, grabbing the sides of my head to guide my mouth down. He said if you were mine.
CHAPTER NINE
Beck
I thought I was fucked this morning. After hearing about her past, I don’t know how I’m going to leave her, forget her, and move on at the end of the month. After two days, I’m already trying to concoct a plan to keep Auden for myself indefinitely. Maybe she can live in the apartment with me, and I’ll see her in between following Ramsey around like a puppy dog. Surely, she wouldn’t ask me where I was or what I was doing all day. Yeah, right. My nights are mostly free, though, so they could be spent like this. I let a groan slip as Auden’s wet, warm mouth sucks my cock so furiously the slurping noise alone might send me over the edge. Her orifices are magical portals to another world. One in which she and I alone are the inhabitants.
What are the odds I’d find a woman who possesses all of the qualities I look for and then some right now? I’d fathom a guess, one in a billion.
“Fuck, Auden. You’re gonna make me come. Not yet,” I hiss, trying to slow her head down with my hands. “I want to be inside you.”
Man, do I ever. All night long—all day long, I’ve only wanted to be deep in her pussy. I’m strung out on her body. On her story. On my desire to protect her from all of the things the world wasn’t able to. There’s a joke about men like me; we’re attracted to those who seem vulnerable. Seem being the key word. Auden doesn’t need a protector, nor would she want one, I’m sure. She wants consistent. Reliable. Kind. Trustworthy.
Nothing impossible for me to grant, but not without massive life changes. I’m amped up because of what that fucker Walker did to her. Sure, he saved her once, but he did it with false pretenses. He lied to her in the worst way. He made her believe he was someone he wasn’t. He promised her a life I don’t think he ever intended to give her. All he was doing was buying himself time. At least my errant thoughts keep me from coming down her throat prematurely. My rage toward the man who broke her heart so severely she ended up needing a new one. That’s a crime against humanity. I am personally offended.
She pulls off my dick, eyes watering, lipstick smeared all over her face and says, “Delicious appetizer. Ready for the main course?”
There’s the spark in her eye, the one that drove me wild with need all night long. It was missing when she was talking about the accident and Walker. My heart lurches when she stands, removing her dress. The scar now only adds to her beauty. A mark born of survival. I didn’t ask about it last night because there wasn’t a lull, nor was I under the guise I’d see her again. Auden wears it with pride and never once tried to hide it from me.
Her smile edges me closer, and I grab her by the waist with one hand and trace the pink line between her breasts just once. Then I lean down and place a languid kiss on her throat. “I’ve been ready for you all day,” I whisper, lips brushing the shell of her ear. My stomach tightens when her body shivers from my words. The fact I know I have so much control over her is thrilling, titillating—unabashedly the biggest turn-on I’ve ever experienced. “You like that?”
She moans when I drag my tongue down her neck and suck a rose-colored nipple. “Yes,” she says loudly when I ask her to use her words.
Picking up her slight frame, I set her on the counter in between two barstools. They both crash to the sides because I’m not being gentle. Not after the night I’ve had. The fucking Rifts filtering into places they have no right. I called Grey and exploded as I told him the new discovery. He stayed quiet and listened, probably distracted because he was also listening to Ramsey, but it made me feel better. Validated at the very least. The way the stripper looked at Auden scared me. I know what it means, and if she has a target on her head like I think she now might, I won’t have a choice but to keep an eye on her. I run my hands down the sides of her body, and she opens her legs, showing me everything in between. I swallow hard.
Another possibility is I’m making excuses to keep her around, and I’m well aware that if my skills as a Charge Man slip, I’ll never be able to forgive myself. With her displayed in front of me like a gift, I have full access to everything, and I know I’ll have to start thinking about apologies for myself. Auden runs her tongue along her bottom lip and hurried breaths make her chest rise and fall. I can’t stop myself from kissing her, and she pulls me into her, arms locked around my biceps. I try to keep my fingers light on her hips as our mouths collide. Her wet lips move against mine slowly, and I let her set the pace. I’m giving her control because I’m letting myself feel things I know I shouldn’t. It’s a balancing act. It has to be.
Auden pulls away and kisses my neck, sending a chill up my spine. Does she feel this? The electricity zinging between our bodies is as plentiful as oxygen. I close my eyes and feel her touch as she skirts her hands over my back, shoulders, chest, and waist. I let her touch haunt me like I know it will when I’m not near her. I memorize the way her lips feel as she lavishes my skin with attention—the caress of the pads of her fingertips against my neck. Auden tilts my head back and licks a trail from my collarbone up my neck and ends on my lips, my head still in her hands. Leaning my forehead against hers, our gazes catch and hold.
“You’re sort of perfect,” I say.
Her smile is small and coy. “And that might be the only lie I love.”
I shake my head, brushing my lips against hers as I do. “Not a lie.”
“I’m far from perfect, Beck. In fact, I’m a disaster.”
I lick my lips and lay a palm in the center of her chest. I push her down and back onto the counter. When her back is flat on the cold, smooth granite, I crawl on top of her and separate her legs with one of my knees. Auden clutches me closer, and I cradle her head with one hand and using my other hand as leverage, I thrust inside her slick entrance. Tracing her lips with my tongue, I bury my face next to her ear. “As long as you’re my disaster.”
She sighs out a quiet cry of pleasure and contentment. I fuck her dirty after that. Fast, hard, claiming. Pining for her all day has done nothing nice for my willpower or my ego. Moving my hand from behind her head, I lean back on my knees so I can stroke her clit and watch my dick moving inside her. Her hands fist by her sides and her eyes slam closed as she comes, moans dancing off her perfect lips, and her back arched off the counter. It has to be record speed. Her cunt grips me in waves and my stomach tightens as I feel my own orgasm approaching.
“Turn over,” I grind out, helping her get to her hands and knees.
Her breathing is ragged when I grab her ass and plunge into her from behind. Auden moans as each thrust fills her. She’s stunning. I glide my fingers down her slim waist to the flare of her curved round ass. I slap the right side once, hard enough to leave a mark. She yelps, but not because it hurts. She wants more. The muscles in her shoulder blades and back tighten each time I push into her. I’m mesmerized by her body, by mine disappearing into hers so fully that when my balls tighten and come, I almost don’t pull out quickly enough. I spill onto her ass in several powerful spurts. The creamy liquid slides between her ass cheeks and I use a single finger to slide it down further, her asshole puckering at the touch.
“I want that next,” I say, teeth grinding together as I make our next plan.
Auden squirms then spins so she’s on her back, getting my sticky cum all over the island counter. “Preparing food here is never going to be the same.”
“No, now I’ll always think about fucking your body any time I make a bowl of cereal.”
She laughs, cheeks pink, goddamn skin glowing like she’s lit from within. Sitting up, I move back, still on my knees. Reaching between her legs to the granite she slides her fingers across a pile of my come. I swallow hard as I watch her bring her middle finger up to her lips. She glides it across her bottom lip and then the top one like she’s applying lip gloss. Auden licks her lips and my cock tightens in a feral wild response.
“Jesus Christ, Auden. You really are going to kill me. That was so hot. You are so hot. You make me tremble with need when I just had you.”
“You feel that too? Like I’ll never get enough.”
I nod. Reaching for the paper bag that somehow didn’t fall to the floor. Pulling out a melon popsicle, I hold it up. “Dessert?”
Her eyes turn to slits. “I thought you’d never ask.” Auden teases her legs open. “How are you going to feed me?”
Tearing the wrapper off with my teeth, I spit it onto the floor. It’s already melting all over my hand and orange drips land onto her stomach and inner thigh. With my free hand, I finger her. “You’re so hot,” I say, feeling my stomach flip with nerves. “Should we cool you down?” I ask, quirking a brow.
She’s biting her lip, face still flushed from pleasure, hair a wild mess, and trusting eyes pleading with me to give her more. Fuck, I’m doomed. “Yes. As long as you’ll warm me back up.”
A breath lodges in my throat as I suck a drip off my fist and then trail the orange popsicle over her clit. She jumps at the cold contact, but I lean in and lick it away. Then I repeat it over again. Fluttering the softest swipe at her most tender part and then using my tongue and mouth as a salve. Auden is in rapture, her whole body moving with me and then against me when it’s time for cold. The melon mixes with her wetness and my head swims with desire. This tantalizing assault is for both of us. Auden relaxes in a pattern, and I savor every drop of this fucking popsicle which is my new favorite flavor.
She comes apart slowly this time. When I sense she’s near, I lick her cunt in a dizzying pattern that brings her to the brink. Her body stiffens and then it’s almost as if she melts into the granite, a puddle of satisfied goo. I finish the last of the popsicle and examine the mess we’ve made. She’s panting as she sits up and scoots to stand on the wood floor. She peeks in the bag. “Okay, just making sure you didn’t have anything else in there to torture me with.”
I press my lips together. “Come on. Torture? That seemed to be anything but.”
Her smile tells me I’m right. “Can we shower?” After she asks the question, her face drops.
“You don’t have to ask, but why the long face?”
She clears her throat. “Nothing. It’s fine.”
“Nothing is fine if a woman says it’s fine.”
She huffs and launches herself into my arms, her body hot against my skin. “A shower is a very couple-like thing. A shower together,” she amends. “And the last time I did it, I was in a couple. That’s all.”
Him again. That fucking bastard. I’ll relish taking everything that once only belonged to him. He didn’t cherish her the way he should have. “Let’s banish him for good then and have a shower with a side of orgasms.”
Her laugh is genuine. “I need a break. Well, I don’t, but she does.” Auden gestures to her crotch. “If we have any hope of lasting all night again.”
I catch myself frowning. “You know it doesn’t have to be all about sex. I thought you wanted it.”
“I do want it,” she’s quick to reply. “Glad to know that, though.”
“Fucking you is second to none, Auden. I will want to fuck you every chance I get. If I’m breathing, I’ll want to fuck you. You’ll have to be the one to ration it so we can have lives.”
Her lips turn down in the corner. “Next month, you’ll have your life back. Might as well get it in while we can.”
My stomach falls, and my nerves frazzle as I think of the circumstances we’re in. Auden turns and heads to the bathroom. I hear the water crank on, and her cell phone chimes from her purse. I know I shouldn’t look, that it doesn’t matter, but I need to know. It’s sitting right on top and the message is from Ramsey, as I suspected. It’s a short text inviting her to a bonfire tomorrow night. It’s outside of the city by several miles, on the property of some multi-millionaire. My first thought is there is no way Auden is going by herself, then second, unfortunately is that Ramsey might know people there from her former life and it’s not safe. Because the thoughts came in that order, I curse and slam the phone back into her bag.
Trudging into the bathroom, I exhale noisily. Auden peeks her wet head out from behind the shower curtain. “You okay?”
I offer a small smile. “I am.” I am a mess, but I leave off the end. “Room for me in there?”
“Barely,” Auden replies, winking, her hair soapy and piled on top of her head.
I step in and clean myself as she shuffles back and forth into the hot water. I give her more time when she rinses conditioner out of her hair. My face must be a mask of questions because she kisses me square on the chest and steps out of the shower after she’s finished. No sex. No play. Nothing. To make myself feel better about not thinking of Ramsey’s safety first, I validate myself by rationalizing that I’m with Auden, I’m off work. I’m not in the Charge Man mode right now. Of course, I’d think of the woman I’m obsessing over first instead of my Principal. Right? I feel sick to my stomach as I turn off the water and towel myself off. I tie the towel around my waist and go to find Auden. She’s in the hallway wearing one of my flannel shirts halfway buttoned, holding her phone. She holds it up to me.
“Did you touch my phone?”
She says it nicely, but there’s no way there isn’t accusation laced in there because phones are so personal these days. They hold people’s entire worlds and their most personal information. I swallow hard and stay silent because she’s staring at me. My poker face must suck.
“There’s melon popsicle on it, Beck.” She shakes the phone side to side.
“Someone texted you,” I explain. “I wanted to know what time it was.”
“Where was your phone?”
“In my jeans pocket on the floor somewhere,” I counter honestly. “Yours was going off, and I really did want to know what time it was.”
She looks down at it as she rounds the island to wet a paper towel to get the sticky off it. She places it in the breast pocket of the shirt and moves over to the island with the paper towel, and begins wiping it. “I’m not talking to anyone else,” she says, guessing all fucking wrong. “I’ve been honest with you. This is new and all, but trust comes first.”
“Auden,” I say, lowering my voice. “It was a knee-jerk reaction. I’m sorry.”
Her gaze locks with mine. “It’s fine. So do you want to go to the bonfire with me tomorrow night? You saw the text, might as well give me the green light for a date.” She continues her wiping except she now has more paper towels and a bottle of cleaner. “Ramsey is going with Griffin.” Oh fuck. The thought of a double date makes my head swim. Too close. This is a lot. But I can’t let Auden go there by herself.
