Page 55 of The Lies That Shatter

“Fuck!” she shouts, and I start to panic.

“What?” I ask, looking around for whatever danger she can see that I can’t.

“Please tell me Kellan didn’t just see that?” she asks, suddenly remembering that we planned to place a few security cameras in Mel’s bedroom, to try and see what her level of involvement with everything is.

I can’t help but chuckle as her shocked expression turns murderous. “Why are you laughing?” She hits me across my arm, making her feelings clear.

“I haven’t set up those cameras yet. I planned to do it after I wanked. Believe it or not, I didn’t fancy wanking in front of Kel. So we decided I would set it up shortly,” I explain, smirking as the relief on her face becomes almost comical.

“That’s good. I don’t think I’d be able to look at him again knowing he’d seen that,” she adds.

“It wouldn’t be the first time. I know for a fact he’s caught most of my siblings before.”

She shakes her head. “That doesn’t make it better.”

I chuckle as she gathers her things. Kissing her goodbye feels like I’m letting go of a piece of my heart, no matter how temporary. I guess she’s always owned a piece of it, but now she carries it with her, protecting it, and I carry a piece of hers.

Thankfully, Mel sleeps for a few hours, the drug working its way out of her system slowly. After McKenna left, and I staged the scene as planned, including setting up the security cameras with Kel, I got a couple of hours’ sleep.

My alarm went off at five, waking both me and Mel. Her eyes were slower to open than mine, and if her gentle groan is anything to go by, her head is pounding the way I expected. The drug is supposed to replicate being so drunk she passed out, and it looks believable.

“Morning,” I say softly, as I swipe a stray strand of blonde hair off her forehead, tucking it behind her ear.

“Morning,” she replies, her voice hoarse.

I reach behind me to the bedside table and hand her the bottle of water I left there. It sounds like she’s got a mouth drier than the Sahara Desert, and I’m not surprised when she takes a healthy gulp from the bottle.

“I had an amazing night last night.” I throw a cheeky wink her way, setting up the story just like I planned.

“My head is so fuzzy.”

“The red wine you had here went to your head quickly. We still had one hell of a night before you passed out though, didn’t we?” I run my finger down her side, prompting her to lift the duvet to confirm that she’s naked. Her eyes run over my body, stumbling for a second over the fact I’m wearing boxers, but she doesn’t say anything.

Her eyes strain, like she’s trying to force herself to remember something that’s just out reach. She looks torn between admitting she can’t remember, and telling me she can, just so she doesn’t look like someone who drank too much and passed out.

“I wish I hadn’t drank so much. I don’t remember a lot,” she admits, her eyes raking over my naked torso.

“Next time, no wine,” I say with a chuckle, and she grimaces.

“Now?” she asks, as she reaches over and traces her finger along my abs.

“I’m sorry, darling, but I can’t. That was my alarm that woke us up. I have to get to work.” As I explain, I pull the duvet covers off and climb out of bed, reaching for my discarded clothes.

Mel groans and pouts. “No. Stay.”

“I can’t. I have a big meeting today. We will do this again soon, I promise. You go back to sleep. You look like you need a bit longer to sleep off your hangover.”

Once I’m dressed, I lean over and plant a kiss on her forehead, but she catches my arm, forcing me to stop my speedy exit. She climbs out of the bed, noting the discarded condom on the floor with something that looks to be a mixture of disgust and pride.

She takes the robe off the back of her door and pulls it around her body. In the shadows of the day that’s barely started, she looks much more natural than I’ve ever seen her before. Make-up smeared, bags under her eyes, her robe wrinkled. It’s the most normal I’ve ever seen her, but it looks so weird.

For the briefest of seconds, her eyes flick to the floor and she looks unsure of herself. “Was…was last night…good?”

I take her chin and lift until her gaze meets mine, trying not to think about how I do this with Mac when she refuses to look at me. “It really was. I hope you’re not too sore.”

I throw her a cheeky wink, and the smile I know she likes, before I press a kiss to her cheek. Obviously she won't be sore, but I hope that by planting that seed of possibility, she might ignore her body. The power of persuasion, as I told McKenna.

“Let me walk you out,” she says, lacing our fingers together.

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