Page 63 of Shadow Lies

“Kane,” she whispered. “Are you awake?”

Yes, but he could pretend not to be. He did just that, feigning sleep as hard as he could. That didn’t deter her as she ran her fingertips gently over his cheek.

He snatched her hand, grabbing it in his and lowering it away from his head.

“What are you doing?” he asked.

“I couldn’t sleep.”

That made two of them, but he hadn’t gone creeping into her bedroom.

“Just close your eyes and try,” he said.

“I don’t want to.”

He sighed. “Why not.”

“Because we’re leaving tomorrow,” she whispered.

“Alexis—”

“And I don’t know when—if—I’ll ever see you again.” Her voice shook.

He heard the telltale sniffle and knew even in the darkness she was crying. “Lexi.”

“I can’t sleep away the last hours we’re together. We’re both still here now.” She raised her hand again and brushed it against his cheek.

He knew what she wanted. And dammit, if she reached down she would feel how much he wanted it too.

“We can’t.”

“We can. We have,” she pointed out.

“It’s better—easier—if we don’t.”

She let out a short laugh. “Nothing about this has been easy.”

“Leaving tomorrow will be less painful if we don’t. Lexi, I never wanted to hurt you. I don’t want to make it any worse than it already is.”

“I’ll worry about that tomorrow,” she said with more strength in her voice than he’d anticipated.

Then she was kissing him and he let her, groaning as her mouth pressed against his as she eased on top of him. She reached between them and slipped her hand inside his pants to grab his length and he let her do that too.

She was right. They’d already done so much damage, what was a little bit more?

He sat and swung his legs over the edge of the sofa.

Supporting her with two hands on her bottom as she wrapped her arms and legs around him, he stood. He carried her to the bedroom and that obscenely large bed.

If they were going to do this anyway, going to pay the price in pain and regret tomorrow, they might as well go all in and do it right.

ChapterTwenty-Four

Alexis woke slowly as memories trickled into, and then flooded, her mind. She stretched and felt the pull of well-used muscles.

She reached out one hand and encountered only cool sheets.

Opening her eyes, her vision adjusted to the early dawn dimness of the bedroom. She didn’t need to turn on the lamp to know Kane’s side of the bed was empty.

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