Page 89 of One Little Lie
“Hatty? You’ve always needed control. That’s why you’re the CFO. Numbers and equations have rules. It’s why you always felt so out of control when you’d draw. There were no rules to that. You had to run purely on instinct. They are very different sides of the same man, and that’s okay. That’s what makes you, you. And I …” She trails off, and I find myself desperately needing to hear her words.
“You what?” I whisper as I finally ease my erection out of her.
She bites her bottom lip so hard I know there will be an indentation left when she removes it. Rylan searches my face, and I wonder what she needs from me.
“I’ve always loved both sides of you, Hatty. Someday, you will, too.”
That ball of shame speed rockets up into my throat and rattles around there as emotion overwhelms me.
Lowering my face to the crook of her neck, I inhale deeply as I slide my hands beneath her body and raise her up. She’s sticky, and when I pull my hand back, I find that the flour has mixed with our sweat and made a paste of sorts that’s all over her.
I yank her naked body into mine, hugging her so tightly my arms shake. “Say it again?”
Turning her face so she can see me, she does as I ask. “I’ve always loved both sides of you. My entire life, I’ve been in love with Hatty Westbrook.”
Some people would say it’s too soon for those words, but to me, they’re twenty years in the making, and my eyes glisten with emotion.
“That’s not going to happen, Beast. No chance in hell am I—”
The kitchen door snaps open, and I twist my body to shield Rylan.
“Holy shit,” Easton’s voice calls out.
Rylan tries to shift us. “What are you doing?” I scold. “Easton is not going to see you naked. Hold still.”
Glancing over my shoulder, I see East is doing the same dance with Lexi in an attempt to block her from my ass. Rylan spins us, and so does Lexi. Four sets of eyes are wide open in shock as we go around and around, trying to block the other from view.
“Stop. Just stop,” East yells.
Turning my head again, I see he has one hand over his eyes and another firmly over Lexi’s. She’s grinning like a lunatic and attempting to pry his hand away from her face.
“Beast, cut it out. Let me go.” A hint of mischief is evident in her tone. If ever there was someone to push every single one of Easton’s buttons, Lexi Heart is that girl. Easton closes his eyes tight and uses his free hand to wrap around Lexi’s middle, slowly dragging her backward.
“I’m not going to let you get a look at my brother’s dick, Locket. No matter how nicely you ask,” he growls.
“Aren’t you seeing Rylan’s tatas? What’s the difference?”
“No, I’m not,” Easton chides, and I feel the need to weigh in, too.
“No, he’s not fucking seeing anything,” I bark.
“I don’t even know what to say right now, other than get yourselves cleaned the fuck up.” Easton’s voice is like acid, bursting the bubble we’d found ourselves in. “If the two of you are into some kind of kinky voyeur shit, do it somewhere else. Not GG’s goddamn kitchen.” He backs up, dragging a laughing Lexi with him.
“Way to go, Rylan!” she calls through the door. “Disinfect everything.”
“Oh my God.”
Laughter erupts from deep in my chest. It feels foreign, but the harder I try to hold it in, the more it wants to come out until finally I’m doubled over with tears streaming down my face.
“Hatty,” Rylan hisses, “this is not funny. This is the second time we’ve had sex, and the second time we’ve been caught.”
Straightening, I’m suddenly serious. “Third, princess. This is the third time we had sex. Just because I fucked up afterwards doesn’t discount the act. It’s something that has lived in my head for years. A memory I could never give up, even when it hurt.”
She opens her mouth to speak, but I grab a hand towel and tell her to turn around. We can’t keep standing here naked. Who knows who will walk through that door next.
Emotions swirl in my chest as I attempt to wipe away the flour that’s turned to sludge on her body. I’ve marked her. On her delicate neck, there is a nip mark, and as I wipe her down, I see more marks.
What the fuck got into me?
