Page 26 of Lies Beneath Secrets

“Yeah, me and Knox.” He puts the cribbage board and cards back where he saw me get it from and comes back to the couch. “Thank you for letting me crash your night. I really needed a distraction.” He reaches over and tugs on my foot a little.

“Yeah, of course. What are neighbors for?” The small act of affection makes me want to jump off the couch and leave the room, just like every other time I get too close to this man. It got better the more time we’ve spent together but now, after not seeing him for so long, it’s come back full swing. I’m caught between wanting to wrap myself around him and running as fast as I can in the opposite direction. The man turns me on but scares the hell out of me. “I need to go to the bathroom,” I say and hop up from the couch.

I dart off to the bathroom across from my bedroom and close the door behind me. Trying my best to calm myself down, I look in the mirror and roll my eyes. My mascara has smeared all under my eyes. “Oh, that’s fucking great,” I tell myself and take a cotton ball to my makeup remover, then trace it underneath my eyes. I run my hands under cold water, then touch my cheeks with them for a minute before doing it two more times.

“Get your butt out there; you can’t hide in here forever,” I tell myself and take a deep calming breath before walking back out into the apartment. Conner is in the kitchen with both of the glasses we used to drink the vodka. My stomach drops a little because he must be leaving. “Taking off?” I ask and grab my glass to fill up with water. Why do I want him to stay?

“Maybe.” He gives me a smile and steps back so I can get by him to the sink. As usual, he doesn’t step as far away as he could. I’m forced to brush alongside his chest. The contact sends a tingle up my spine. His heat seeps into my back as I fill up my glass with water and gulp it down.

I swear he steps a little bit closer the longer I stand there with my back to him. I’m caught between wanting to turn around and wanting to just wait it out.See if he leaves.

Turning around wins out and when I force my head to tip back, the sight of him staring down at me with a hungry gaze meets me head on.

Without a thought, my hand not holding the now-empty glass reaches out and touches his chest. The feel of him nearly makes me pull back. Maybe it’s the vodka, or maybe it’s the fact I’ve just suddenly decided that being scared isn’t so scary anymore, I find my other hand placing the glass on the counter. It joins the wandering one, now flat against his chest. The black tee shirt he’s wearing is stretched across what I can only guess is a muscled chest that only exists in movies and on magazine covers. Not right here in front of me. Conner closes his eyes and sucks in a long deep breath, then lets it out just as slow.

“What are you doing Lauren?” he asks in almost a whisper, eyes still closed.

“Are you more than good enough?” I ask, getting his eyes to shoot open.

“I’m so far from good enough, you probably should be running.” His words come out as if he means them to be a warning. With such a sober and stoic expression on his face, I almost believe him but like any other woman in my position, I choose to ignore his warning.

“I can decide that for myself.” He lets out a groan and places his hands on top of mine. Just when I think he’s about to pull me in closer, he gently grips my hands and pulls them away from his chest.

“I’m not going to let you though. Decide for yourself, that is.” He takes a step back and releases my hands, effectively dousing any liquid courage I might have had. “I need to go.” He doesn’t wait for a response before stepping even further away and walking out of my apartment. I stand there in my kitchen for far too long, wondering what it was I could have done wrong. My heart pounds in my chest, and I take in one deep breath after another to try to calm myself.

“It was nothing to do with you, Lauren,” I say to myself and keep breathing. “Nothing to do with you,” I repeat over and over. My hand clenches with the need to flick my lighter and burn the inside of my thigh. “Nothing to do with you,” I say it again as I force air into my lungs. Breathing becomes easier the longer I stand there. Then my heart finally calms in my chest.

Maybe it was ten seconds, could have even been ten minutes, but I push past the bad thoughts trying to creep in and walk over to lock the door. I reach for the top lock, but I don’t get the chance to lock it before it’s pushed open. At first, my reaction is to scream but when Conner’s face comes into my line of sight, everything in me screeches to a halt. “I’m a fucking idiot,” he tells me, then brings his hands to my face, palming my cheeks before crashing my mouth to his.

CHAPTERTWENTY-THREE

Con

She moans into my mouth, and I can’t help but devour more of her. She tastes like fucking heaven. So perfect. Her body presses along mine, and I can’t help the overwhelming urge to claim every inch of her right in that moment. I was an idiot for walking out of her apartment and an even bigger one for coming back because now that I’ve gotten this little taste of her, I know for damn sure I won’t stop until I have her completely. And that’s happening right fucking now.

My hands go to her waist, and I haul her up my body. She knows just what to do and wraps her legs around me as I bump her back up against the wall. I press myself between her thighs, and the action gets more of them moans from her cute little mouth. I drink down each one she gives me with pleasure. I love it when a woman doesn’t hold back her noises. It’s so hot, and she sure as hell isn’t holding back, not even a little. “Bedroom, Conner,” she gasps as the ridge of my dick presses into her more. I must have hit the right spot because she lets out a shutter, then a small gasp. I need more of that, so I do as she says and walk us into the bedroom. I gently place her down on her back and give her one last long, agonizing kiss before pulling away.

She glows in the moonlight spilling in from her window and looks like damn near perfection lying there in front of me. “You want me to stop, now is the time to say something, Lauren,” I warn her. Instead of speaking, she takes off her glasses to place on her bedside table, then extends her foot up toward me. I take that as an indication to keep going. I tug off one of her socks, then the other, then reach down to the hem of her pants. Them fucking stretchy ones that she always wears that drive me mad. “I’m going to burn every damn one of these. I can’t think when you wear them,” I say, and she laughs.

“Brute.” She chuckles.

“You have no idea, baby.” I finish pulling off the pants, toss them to the side, and palm each of her knees with my hands, pulling them open. When they tense with resistance, I glance up to find her biting her lip. “I’m going there first,” I declare.

She sucks in a breath and relaxes a little, enough for me to settle between her legs. Gently, I run the knuckle of my index finger along her opening, then up to her clit. She jumps a little at the contact, and it causes a smile to tug at my lips. I plan on making her jump a whole lot more in just a minute. First, I tease her a little bit, running my knuckle up and down until in one quick motion, I bring both of my fingers together and slowly ease them inside her.

The sound she makes is something between a moan and a gasp that only gets better the more I work my fingers in and out of her. She’s already so wet, but I’ll be damned if I stop down here and not get a taste of her. With my fingers sill in motion, I get my lips around her clit and try to hold her down when her back arches up off the bed. Her hands go to my hair in an instant, and they tug at the strands. It only provokes me to flick my tongue more and get her to breathe faster and squeeze tighter around my fingers. She’s panting and tugging, then suddenly tenses up completely before falling limp into the mattress.

“Wow,” she breathes and makes me chuckle.

“I’ll say.” I pull my shirt off and try to unbutton my jeans when I realize my belt is in the way. “You’re making me lose all grip on reality.” She smiles at me, then to my surprise, gets up from the bed and comes over to me.

“Let me help then.” I watch her hands go to the belt and unhook it before going to the button of my jeans. She has a slight tremble as if not completely sure of herself, but it doesn’t take long for her to relax. She finds my cock and slowly pulls it free from my jeans. Her delicate little hand wraps around me and gives it a slow, agonizing stroke. I hiss through my teeth and let out a groan when she drops to her knees and takes the head into her mouth. Without thought, I bring my hands to her hair like she did to me. I do my best to pull it from her face as she works my cock in and out of her mouth, sucking just a little with each stroke. The woman is going to make me collapse to the floor before I can even get inside her.

Gently, I pull her away and guide her up to her feet. “Bed,” is all I say and let her hair go. She backs away, keeping her eyes trained on me, and I follow after her. In one slow thrust, I push inside. She gasps, and her legs tighten around me.

“Oh God,” she breathes.

“Just Con, baby.” She chuckles at my joke, but it’s quickly doused when I pull back and thrust in again, this time a little harder. I do it a couple more times until I pick up the pace. I know damn well I won’t last long this time around, but I’m not going anywhere now. Her hands go to my back, and her nails dig in. I bring my mouth to hers and kiss the hell out of her, my hips keeping up the steady rhythm. I pull back with my kiss and nibble on her bottom lip, then go back in for more. I’m so close, I can fucking taste it and in that moment, all I can think of is keeping this woman forever, even if she doesn’t want me. No more will she be going on meaningless dates with that piece of shit. No, she’s mine, and that’s that.

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