The Lies I've Told: A By The Bay Stand-Alone Novel Read online

  “And what’s the good stuff?” I asked, looking up at him.

  He grinned, a full-faced sort of grin that made a small dimple appear in his left cheek.

  How had I not noticed that before?

  “You’ll see,” he replied.

  Before I had the chance to question him, I was lifted off the ground. I wrapped my legs around his hips as he moved toward the bed.

  “If you put me down on that nasty bedspread, I swear, I’ll kill you.”

  He laughed but managed to toss aside the tattered thing before throwing me down beneath him. My dress pooled around my waist, exposing my lace thong and bare stomach. I watched as his nostrils flared and eyes darkened in response.

  “See anything you like, Aiden?” I smiled.

  “Simply remembering all the things I’ve done between those legs,” he answered, his voice raspy and full of promise.

  Oh…my.

  His hand reached behind his back, and in one swift movement, he pulled his T-shirt up and over his head.

  And I forgot how to breathe.

  All those smooth, hard muscles I’d felt under his shirt were now on full display, and I didn’t waste any time in checking him out.

  “Damn,” I muttered.

  “You said that the first time, too.” He grinned.

  “It’s still true,” I purred. “Now, what were you saying about my legs?”

  He watched as I made a show of slowing spreading them apart, his eyes narrowing, brimming with desire. Never looking away, he hastily unfastened his belt, the clank of the buckle hitting the floor in mere seconds, soon followed by his jeans.

  He stopped short, leaving his boxer briefs on as he climbed onto the bed.

  “Always the melter,” I said, grabbing hold of the waistband of his boxers and letting go with a snap.

  He grinned, his body aligned above mine as he lifted my dress higher and higher. “Always the cruncher.” I felt his hands on the delicate lace of my bra, sliding the fabric aside. Cool air brushed against my nipples as his eyes met mine. “Although I guess I could see the appeal, digging your teeth into something,” he said just before he bent down, licked a wet circle around my areola, and gently bit down.

  Every part of me suddenly went ablaze as he pinned me down, sucking, licking, squeezing, and then repeating. My thighs were bound so tightly together, I felt like a grenade, ready to explode.

  And he knew it, too.

  He knew, one single touch to my clit, and I’d go off so long and hard, the whole state of North Carolina would hear me screaming his name.

  “Not yet, love,” his breathy voice whispered in my ear.

  I nearly whimpered when his mouth left my tender nipple, trailing a path down my stomach to the top of my panties. His fingers curled around each side and tugged.

  Watching him slide that thong down my legs?

  So fucking hot.

  Seeing him stop to unbuckle my sandals, resting each foot on his bare chest as he did so?

  Heartwarming.

  “Guard your heart, Millie.”

  I shook my head, getting back into the game.

  This was about sex.

  Nothing else.

  “Take your dress off all the way,” he instructed. “And that sexy little bra of yours. I want to see all of you.”

  I did as he’d asked, feeling incredibly sexy under his intense gaze. The moment my bra hit the floor, his lips were on mine and his hands were everywhere. It was like his tightly wound control suddenly snapped, and he was running purely on instinct.

  It was electrifying.

  We rolled around on the bed as he pulled me tight against his body.

  “Fuck,” he growled. “I need to be inside you.”

  I smiled against him. “What about patience and melting?”

  He pushed me onto my back, pressing his arousal deep into my center. “Fuck patience.”

  “Good plan,” I agreed.

  Reaching toward the nightstand, he grabbed a condom, one that I hadn’t even noticed he’d placed there. “Where did that come from?” I asked.

  “Your purse.”

  “How did you…” I started to ask, confused by how he know about the secret stash of condoms that I kept hidden in my purse before realizing. “Last time?”

  He nodded.

  “It’s really annoying that I don’t remember any of it.”

  He cupped my face with the palm of his hand, bent down and placed a tender kiss on my lips. “Let me refresh your memory.”

  I reached up and met his tenderness with something deeper, longer, and all-consuming. Just like that, we were back to fire and passion as my hands reached for the waistband of the only barrier left between us.

  My eyes widened as his boxer briefs fell to the floor.

  Yowza.

  He made quick work of the condom, and soon, we were back to heavy petting and rolling around in the sheets.

  Naked fun time with Aiden—my new favorite thing.

  For a man who’d just declared he was done with patience, he was quite thorough, kissing a path from my breasts down to my thighs and back again. My heart raced as he fingered my clit, making me moan deep in my chest.

  “Aiden,” I uttered.

  “Tell me what you want, love.”

  “You!” I screamed, not giving a shit who heard me.

  “Beg for it, Millie,” he demanded, spreading my legs wide as he loomed over me.

  “Please!” I felt the tip of his cock at my entrance, making my eyes roll back in my head from the sheer pleasure of it.

  “Please, what?”

  “Please fuck me!” I cried out.

  He didn’t waste any time, slamming into me the moment the words left my lips. He was brutal and gentle at the same time, each thrust sending shock waves to my core as his slow, languid kisses melted a piece of my heart.

  It was ecstasy, the feeling of our bodies joined together.

  Now, I understood why he’d said he’d been so miserable.

  Sex with Aiden was like a drug.

  And I could very well be on my way to becoming an addict.

  “Oh God, Aiden,” I moaned, feeling my body tighten and my breath shorten.

  “That’s it,” he said in my ear. “Come for me.”

  His pace quickened. The room filled with the sounds of our lovemaking as I began to cry out my orgasm.

  “Oh, yes! Oh God, yes!”

  “Louder, love,” he demanded, his thrusts penetrating deep and long.

  “Aiden!” I called out his name as I came so hard, I nearly passed out.

  His movement pressed on through my orgasm, prolonging it, as he rubbed my clit and then finally came himself.

  “Fuck!” he groaned, drawing out each letter as his eyes rolled back in his head.

  Both of us were breathlesss, unable to speak. He pulled me into his arms, and I lay next to him in the crappy hotel room, wondering just how I could have forgotten a night with this man.

  Because I was never forgetting this.

  Not as long as I lived.

  I woke up early the next morning, the sunlight streaming through the dirty old window of the dodgy motel room, and I rolled over in bed and watched her sleep.

  What a mess I’d made of things.

  A beautiful, wondrous mess.

  I’d like to say being cooped up in that car all day with her had fried my brain cells to the point that I had no bloody clue what I was doing when I kissed her in the middle of that dusty parking lot.

  But the truth was, just like last night when I’d removed every bit of her clothing and had my way with her over and over until we both collapsed from exhaustion, I had known exactly what I was doing when I stole that kiss.

  I wanted Millie McIntyre.

  No, I needed her. And I was done fighting it.

  Even if I could only have her for a handful of days, I’d take it.

  I’d take and take and take until she walked away.

  Because she would.

&
nbsp; She had to. I’d make sure of it.

  No one deserved to be shackled to a man like me.

  Not with the future I had coming.

  “Oh my God, I can’t move,” she said into her pillow, slowly stretching her naked body in a catlike movement beside me.

  Unable to resist, my hand glided along her side, following the natural curve of her hip to the deep valley around her waist.

  She was perfection personified.

  When she rolled toward me, my hand found its way to her belly, and my eyes met hers.

  “Good morning.” I smiled. “Seems like you’re moving just fine. Should I take that as a criticism to my performance?”

  She sensed the teasing tone in my voice and grinned. “I’m pretty sure I’m going to be walking bowlegged for the next week. Your pride can remain firmly in tact. No worries.”

  My grin widened. “So, does that mean you’re too sore for an encore?”

  Her breath hitched as I began to dip my hand lower, drifting past her belly button to the juncture of her thighs.

  When I heard a tiny moan escape her lips, I knew she was more than ready.

  Wasting no time I shifted on the bed, placing myself between her legs, like a man knelt before an altar for prayer.

  Maybe Millie was the only kind of religion I needed.

  “I’ve dreamed of this,” I said, running my hands along her silky thighs as I dotted kisses down each one. Her legs quivered in anticipation. “The first time I did this, I made you come so hard, you had to scream into a pillow to keep from waking the other guests in the inn.” I looked up at her one last time. “Don’t hold back this time. Wake this whole fucking flea bag motel if you want.”

  The moment my tongue tasted her sweet flesh, I was in goddamn heaven. I felt her body jolt, and her breath heave.

  “Shit!” she screamed.

  Smiling, I clamped my hands down around her hips, pinning her to the bed as I fucked her with my mouth.

  Hearing her moans and cries of passion made me feel like a bloody king.

  “Oh God, Aiden!” she uttered as I flicked her clit over and over with my tongue, plunging three fingers into her core at the same time.

  “Yes! Oh, yes!” Her body arched, accentuating her breasts and those tight pink nipples.

  It was too much. It was all too much. I knew I couldn’t finish without being inside her.

  Reaching for the nightstand, I grabbed a condom, ripped the goddamn thing open, and slammed that thing down on my throbbing dick. Grabbing her by the hips, I flipped her onto her knees, and in one swift motion I slammed into her with a guttural grunt.

  “Oh shit,” I groaned.

  It felt so good.

  Withdrawing to the tip, I didn’t waste any time. I was like a mad man possessed.

  Thrust after thrust.

  Moan after moan.

  I couldn’t stop.

  Gripping her hips, I fucked her hard. So bloody hard.

  Reaching underneath her, I pressed between her thighs, finding her clit once more, sending her over the edge. She did as she had been told and didn’t hold back, crying out her release to the heavens and everyone else between.

  So primal. So real. And all mine.

  It was the sexiest damn thing I’d ever heard.

  And my body responded in spades, coming so hard, I saw stars.

  And I wondered, in that moment, how I was ever going to let her go.

  Stepping out of the shower, I saw Millie checking me out in the mirror as I toweled off my hair.

  “Do I risk it?” she asked, still lounging in bed after our mind-blowing morning sex.

  I grinned at her through the mirror and glanced in the direction of the questionable shower. “It’s not the worst I’ve been in, but for you? I’d skip it. Plus, I like the idea of you traveling home today with my scent all over you.”

  That earned me a sheepish grin.

  Sitting up in bed, a thin white sheet draped across her, she cocked her head to the side and asked, “How is it that a boy from Yorkshire but actually from London is so familiar with grimy bathrooms and seedy motels?”

  Looking down so that she couldn’t see my smile collapsing, I tried to find the words to answer her. But how would I tell her I was just a nobody?

  An orphan from the wrong side of the tracks?

  I should have never said anything last night about London. I should have let her go on believing I was the rich, spoiled brat she and everyone else in the world thought I was.

  The persona I’d made them believe, because I was too scared to share the real me with anyone.

  But, in that moment, I’d wanted her to know something about me.

  Something real. Even if it was as small as where I was from.

  Of course, now it was coming back to bite me in the ass.

  Just as I was about to open my mouth and spout out yet another lie about going to boarding school in London, growing up, my phone began to buzz on the counter next to me.

  Seeing James’s name flash across the screen was like a punch to my gut. I’d been so focused on Millie, I’d felt like the rest of the world had melted away.

  But it hadn’t.

  And I had responsibilities outside of this motel room.

  I hit Accept and answered, “Hello?”

  “I guess I can cancel that search party then,” he said, his voice less than cordial.

  “I’m fine,” I said, noticing Millie in the mirror as she tried to look busy, grabbing her clothes from the floor. I appreciated the semblance of privacy.

  “I booked you a flight home. I wasn’t sure which airport was the closest to that ridiculous island you’re staying on, but I think you’ll manage.”

  “You booked my flight, James? Who are you, my mum? And how do you know where I am?”

  He let out an audible sigh. “No, I’m your brother, and you left me with no choice, Aiden. I haven’t heard from you in days. I tracked you through your credit card.”

  Setting the towel down on the counter, I ran my hand through my wet locks. “That’s not true, I texted you several times. And stop going through my shit.”

  “You texted me once. Once, Aiden. I don’t enjoy breaking into your apartment and logging into your computer. Last time you disappeared like this, I had to track you down in another country.”

  I rolled my eyes. I knew I shouldn’t have given him that spare key. “I know, and you never left.”

  “We’ve both made a decent life here, and I owe a lot of that to you. I would have never had the guts to make the move if you hadn’t done it first.”

  “Well, you’re welcome.”

  “But let’s not forget, you have a tendency to make rash decisions when shit hits the fan.”

  My eyes found Millie once again in the mirror as I let out a long-winded sigh. I leaned against the counter, suddenly feeling heavier than I had before, like I was carrying the weight of the world.

  “When do I leave?” I asked.

  “Tomorrow,” he said. “Just in time for—”

  “I know,” I said, cutting him off. “I’ll be there.”

  I hung up before he could say any more, feeling the walls drawing closer.

  Reality was coming, and I wasn’t ready for it.

  Not even close.

  By the time I finished up with James, Millie was more or less ready to go. Deciding to skip the sketchy shower after all, she’d gotten dressed and packed up what little things she had back in her purse. Her hair was braided to the side, and even though she wore little to no makeup today, she was still gorgeous.

  Maybe even more so.

  I liked seeing the normally polished, put-together woman a little disheveled, especially knowing I was the reason she was so out of sorts.

  “You ready to go?” she asked as I finished tying my last sneaker.

  “Yes, you?”

  She nodded. I could sense a tension that hadn’t been there earlier.

  “You heard my phone call?” I said, stepping clos
er, the warmth from her body like a beacon to mine.

  “Yes,” she simply said, her eyes focused on the grungy carpet.

  Cupping her chin, I tilted her head upward until those baby blue eyes I adored were gazing into mine.

  “You’re leaving?”

  I simply nodded.

  I could see the struggle in her eyes as she shifted away from me. “I should probably go, too.”

  Panic filled my lungs.

  “Come with me,” I said without thinking. I did a lot of that around her.

  “What?” Her eyes were wide with shock.

  Mine probably were, too.

  “Come with me,” I said again. “Have you ever seen New York through the eyes of a real New Yorker? I’ll take you to all the best places. You can watch me geek out at museums.”

  She grinned, excitement already blooming across her beautiful face.

  “Are you sure? It sounded like you were needed for something.”

  I scoffed, “That? It’s not a big deal. And, besides, it’s at night. You won’t even know I’m gone.” I tried not to look away as I lied.

  It was a big deal.

  The day after tomorrow was the anniversary of my little brother’s death. No one, outside of James and me, even knew about it.

  And I’d just invited a virtual stranger to the party.

  She’s not a stranger, and you know it.

  “I’d love to!” she said, standing up on her tippy-toes to kiss me on the cheek.

  “Great!” I said, faking enthusiasm, and I swallowed down a ton of dread.

  James was going to kill me.

  We’d only just landed in New York an hour ago, and I already felt on edge. I hadn’t realized it before, but North Carolina, with its laid-back calm and chill atmosphere, had already begun to grow on me.

  I’d always thought of myself as a city person, growing up on the streets of London and then translating myself to a busy life in New York, but less than a week in Ocracoke, and suddenly, the cars were too many, the horns were too loud, and the people were too overwhelming.

  “How long have you lived in New York?” Millie asked as we sat back in the cab while it drove us to my downtown apartment.

  “Fifteen years. I moved here when I was still a teen to study art.”