Page 90 of Lie For Me

‘Please,’ she urged into his ear.

He covered her mouth with his as he pushed deep inside her, and Lucy held on tightly, her fingers digging into his back, her hips pushed hard into his. Jack groaned as he sank into her and pressed his forehead to hers, cradling her face in his hands. She could feel the tension rippling through him.

He started to move inside her, thrusting deeper. Her hips moved to meet him, her fingers on his buttocks, driving him deeper inside her. She wrapped her legs around him, making him gasp as she opened herself to him even more. Then they were moving faster, their breath coming in gasps, his hands on her breasts, her hands urging him deeper.

Lucy felt a wave building inside her.

‘Jack, I’m…’ She gasped.

‘Don’t stop.’

He grabbed a fistful of her hair, holding her as he drove into her faster and faster.

Lucy arched her back, her nails digging into his shoulders, breathing heavily.

‘Oh God, Lucy.’

Then, her body began to shake as a wave of pleasure coursed through her. Jack’s arms tightened around her as she clenched around him, her orgasm pushing him over the edge. They clung to each other as their bodies shook. They lay in each other’s arms for several moments, breathing slowly, returning to normal.

After a few moments, Jack lifted himself to look at her and brushed tendrils of damp hair back from her face. His eyes locked onto hers, his gaze searching as his thumb stroked her cheek.

‘Are you okay?’ he whispered, as if he was afraid of breaking the spell between them.

Lucy nodded, her breathing slowing. She didn’t have the right words, so she reached up and gently touched her lips to his.

Jack eased himself away from her, slipped out of bed and went to the bathroom, pushing the door closed. She heard the clatter of the bathroom bin lid closing. Then the bathroom door opened and a sliver of light advanced into the room then clicked off. Back in the bedroom, Jack slid in beside Lucy and shifted until he was behind her, her bottom tucked into his hips. Tightening his arms around her, her head fitted under his chin. Wrapped around each other, they fell asleep.

29

The bed was crumpled, the sheets tangled and hanging off the side of the bed. Lucy lay sleeping face down, her hands cradling her face, a crumpled sheet across her legs. Jack sat on the edge of the bed and gazed at the smooth skin he had run his hands over just a few hours ago, at her slender fingers that had held onto him so tightly.

He stood and gently pulled the sheet up over her shoulders to stop her from being disturbed by the cooler dawn air. He bent and pressed his lips to her cheek, then slipped quietly from the room, holding his breath as the door clicked shut.

Outside, the air was still, and the gardens were silent. A delicious hour of peace, when all the partyers had finally gone to bed and before the hotel began to stir with preparations for breakfast and new guests. Jack strolled along the terrace, grateful for the early morning calm, taking deep breaths to steady himself.

His mind pulled him back to the events of the night. He couldn’t remember feeling like that with any woman before. Running a hand roughly over his face, he felt a strange hollowness in the pit of his stomach at the thought of not seeing Lucy all the time. No Saturday brunches, no late-night chats, no mid-week catch-ups after work. No dropping in on her at home at the end of a tough week. No Christmas at Dulcetcoombe. He remembered Lucy now, as he had seen her that night. Tired from long days, hair twisted up on her head, shadows under her eyes, but radiant at seeing everyone enjoying the fruits of her hard work. Breaking into a huge grin every time she heard a child say, ‘Look! There’s Father Christmas!’ or saw families walk in, mouths agape. He shook his head, trying to dislodge the thoughts.

Life seemed to suddenly have become muddy. The clarity he had felt around the New York proposal just a week or two before had evaporated. He felt irritable and unsettled as he traipsed around the gardens and shivered as the cool, damp air made the hairs on his arms stand up.

He dragged out his phone and scrolled through his emails. There was a new one, sent the previous evening from his lawyers handling the sale of the business.

Hi Jack,

Just checking in.

Casston lawyers have been in touch to say they haven’t had the signed agreement back yet. I appreciate the official contract deadline is Monday, but I wanted to check in and make sure everything is okay? I understood we had everything pinned down. If you have any final queries before signing, please get in touch.

Kind regards,

Steven

Jack read the email twice and then shoved his phone down in his pocket. Well, that was that, wasn’t it? Months of negotiations were over, paperwork was finalised and issued. It was done. Everyone was waiting on him to sign on the dotted line. He thought of his new app project, held in stasis until he could devote the time and resources it needed. A great idea with nowhere to go—until the sale was completed.

A year in New York—a couple of weeks ago, when the idea was first proposed, it had been exciting. Big city, new people, a whole new adventure. A chance to learn from people at the top of their field, see how a bigger business was run and make new contacts. Now, the thought of leaving left him feeling heavy and numb. But he needed the company sale to go through. He sighed as he went round and round in circles in his mind.

Need to sell, but selling means leaving. Not sure I want to leave, but then if I don’t, the sale might be pulled, and I don’t want that because I need to sell….

He slumped down on a bench, feeling the dew from the wooden seat seep through his trousers and not caring. A pair of rabbits grazed down by the tree line, watching him. He tipped his head back and stared at the sky, his eyes going in and out of focus as the light slowly changed. He felt tired and wired at the same time, his body keen to rest, his brain jumping from one thought to another.

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