Page 17 of Veil of Lies

I’d been there when the building was swarmed by the task force investigating my father. They’d hit his office at the same time, so evidence couldn’t be destroyed, or so they said. I’d had no clue what was going on, completely oblivious. It wasn’t long before I learned my gilded life was a very pretty charade and all the things I thought I knew about my father were false.

But I pushed the memories back down and tried to center myself again. Instead of dwelling on the past, I focused on my breathing and listened to the sounds of birds twittering in the trees. Once my equilibrium was restored, I restarted my watch and began the run back.

About two miles from the campus, I heard someone else running nearby. A brief flash of blue caught my attention. I slipped my earbuds into my pocket, so I wasn’t taken unaware if another runner came up behind me. While these trails were within the school boundary, I’d lived in New York long enough to prioritize personal safety and I had no intention of being jumped because I was dumb enough to pay no attention to my surroundings.

After around half a mile, the other runner’s path intersected with mine and I realized who it was. Harley’s face registered surprise when he saw me, followed by a huge grin. I didn’t miss the way he blatantly checked me out, his eyes lingering on my tits with much appreciation.

He wore a pair of shorts, riding low on his hips - low enough to reveal the deep V pointing downward. I tried not to ogle his taut abs, coated in a sheen of sweat. and failed miserably. Of course, he saw the way I eye-fucked him and his smile widened.

“You’re out early?” he said as we ran. He kept up with my pace easily. It was obvious he was naturally faster than me, but that was fine. I ran for fitness. I was not competitive in the slightest.

“Yeah.” I didn’t elaborate. I wasn’t willing to get into a conversation about how I couldn’t sleep and why that was.

“I prefer to run in the early morning,” he continued, ignoring my scowl. “It’s peaceful and I don’t have to worry about silly girls trying to catch my attention.”

I choked out a laugh. “Poor you, it must be awful having so many groupies.” I looked sideways at him, expecting his usual smirk, but instead he looked pensive.

“It is actually. I’m sick of girls chasing me because of who my family is and the fact we’re rich. They’re not interested in me, just what I can offer.”

He sounded a bit sad, and my natural empathy kicked in. “That sounds shit. I’m sorry.”

“That’s why I like you,” he replied. “You don’t give a fuck about any of that.”

I snorted. “I don’t give a shit, period.”

“Ah, I think you do really, I think you like me, Stella!”

“Dream on, asshole,” I scoffed, but he saw me struggling not to smile and grinned triumphantly.

“See, I knew it! Stella likes me!” he yelled into the trees, scaring some poor birds into taking flight in a flurry of panicked wings. I couldn’t help but laugh. The idiot was incorrigible.

In less than five minutes, we reached the edge of the trees and the school buildings came into view. Sweat trickled between my breasts. It was muggy as hell and I couldn’t wait to jump in the shower.

I slowed to a walk and stopped my watch. Just as I was about to head inside, Harley grabbed my wrist and pulled me into his arms. I was too shocked to protest, and much too hypnotized by his mesmerizing hazel eyes to do anything but stare at him.

He pushed a few damp strands of hair away from my face. “I much prefer you without your glasses on,” he said in a low husky voice. The heat of his hard body was giving me palpitations. I felt certain that if my watch was still tracking my heart rate, it would have spiked alarmingly.

Unease trickled through my veins, warring with the desire to get closer, to feel his lips on mine. I struggled a little, attempting to free myself from his muscular arms, but he held me firm. I was trapped.

“Don’t be so shallow,” I hissed. “There’s nothing wrong with wearing glasses. I like being able to see more than five centimeters in front of my fucking face.”

He chuckled. “Glasses are cool, but you have such pretty eyes, it’s a crime to hide them.”

Then he dipped his head and kissed me. I should have pulled back, slapped him, or done any-fucking-thing to stop this from happening, but I was powerless. My whole body lit up like a firework, desire coursing through my veins, heating my blood from the tip of my toes to the top of my head. The taste of him was thoroughly addictive and I wanted more. So much more.

His tongue pushed past my lips and explored my mouth. I submitted, allowing him to take control of the kiss, deepening it until we were both breathless. It was only when his hand slid up my body and found my breast that common sense kicked in.

“What the fuck are you doing!” I growled, angrier with myself for my loss of control than him. I was a fucking idiot.

“Kissing you?” Harley looked a bit puzzled like he couldn’t understand why any girl wouldn’t want to kiss him. Which was pretty understandable really. The guy was a fucking god, all muscles and insouciant charm. I imagined he was used to being irresistible to the female population and rejection was a foreign concept.

“Well don’t!”

“But you liked it!”

“I…well…NO!” I couldn’t think while he was this close, pumping out stupid pheromones and overloading my poor limbic system. So like any sane girl would do in a similar situation, I ran like hell to escape him before I did something I’d seriously regret, like climbing him like a damn tree and begging him to fuck me senseless.

Chapter 17

---