Page 32 of Tell Me No Lies

I came over here hoping my mood would improve, but somehow it's only gotten worse. I can't even stomp out because my fucking foot hurts, so I'm left lamely hobbling toward the hall.

"That's the problem, Piper." Tate's deep voice echoes through the relatively empty space. "Spending time with you has never felt wrong. Even though I knew it was."

I slowly turn to find him walking my way. "I've wanted to get closer to you almost from the very beginning." He huffs out a laugh. "That's why I offered you a job." He shakes his head. "Probably not my wisest decision."

I shrug. "Then fire me. I can find a different job."

Tate’s eyes flash and his nostrils flare. "No." He moves closer, crowding me. "That's another problem. Now that I'm used to having you with me all day, I can't imagine sitting in my office and not hearing your voice."

I restrain a shiver, trying to seem unaffected by his closeness and his admission. "I guess you’re going to have to start making some tough decisions then. You can leave me alone and keep me at your front desk. You can fire me and not have to worry about what anyone else thinks." I step closer, tipping my head back so my eyes are on his "Or, I can keep working at the shop and you can decide spending time with me isn't betraying their trust." I shake my head. "Because it's not. You haven't done anything wrong."

I know the girls at the shop have noticed how Tate loiters at the desk, and I'm guessing they've noticed how often I'm in his office. If they haven't already figured out there's something going on between us, then they’re never going to figure it out.

And no one has said anything. Outside of our interaction with Nancy at the restaurant, not a single person has acted different or weird.

But I know Tate well enough to recognize that his inflated sense of responsibility and decency is going to be a huge issue. So I decide to make the decision for him.

"Actually." I inch in a little more, bringing us nearly chest to chest. "I quit. Consider this my two-weeks’ notice." I tip my head. "What now?"

A deep rumble moves through his chest as he stares at me, unmoving. Unblinking.

"You're not quitting." His words are low and laced with danger, and might be intimidating if I didn't know him better. But I'm not worried. Nowhere near concerned enough to scan the room for an object I can use as a weapon. Tate would never hurt me. He would never hurt any woman.

In fact, I'd go so far as to say he would probably die to protect one.

He would never take one for granted. Never expect her to worship him. Never turn her against the one person she’s supposed to always protect.

And it has me closing the last bit of space between us and laying down a challenge. "So does that mean you'll be leaving me alone, or that you're going to tell Nancy she can go fuck herself the next time she looks at us funny?"

13

DID YOU JUST CALL ME BUDDY?

TATE

I'M TRYING SO hard to do the right thing here. To be the kind of man I've worked for years to become.

For a few days, I managed to do it. I've stayed away from Piper for almost seventy-two fucking hours. And every one of them was goddamned miserable. Especially knowing she was so damn close.

But now she’s standing right in front of me. Daring me to reach out and take what I want. And I’m not sure I can resist the temptation. Or if I even want to. "You shouldn't have come here."

Piper rolls her eyes and I swear I feel the movement in my dick. "Are you seriously going to avoid my question?"

"I'm seriously trying to do what I should. And you're making it real fucking hard." She has from the very beginning. This woman came at me swinging and has never let up. The more I get to know her, the worse it becomes, and I don't know how to fix the situation I've gotten myself into.

"You have to make a decision, Tate. Do you think I'm just gonna keep working at your front desk and we’ll just keep sneaky fucking?" She shakes her head at me. "Because we’re not. Someday I'm going to want something real. I'm going to want a man who isn't afraid to tell everyone he's with me. And you'll have to watch it happen from the office you hide in."

Thinking about someone else claiming Piper for themselves sends me over the edge. I lose all fucking sense and my mind blanks out on everything except for her. The way I want her. The way I know she wants me. "Like fucking hell I will."

I don't know at what point I grab her, all I know is before I realize it, I’m halfway up the stairs with her over my shoulder, blood pumping through my veins, feeding the surge of jealousy propelling me. Stalking into my room, I bend at the waist and deposit her in the center of my mattress.

She bounces a little against the blankets, arms and legs sprawled out as she glares up at me. "Fucking caveman."

I crawl over her, craving her nearness. "It's your fault. I've never been like this before." Hooking one arm around her waist, I grip tight and haul her up the king-size mattress until her dark hair is spread across my pillows. "You know just how to push me, and you love doing it." She was goading me, and it worked. "What do you want from me, Piper? To know that I want you?" I run my nose alongside hers, breathing in the sweet smell of her breath. "Because I fucking do and you know it." I've been so careful not to kiss her because I knew it would be the end. Knew I'd never come back from it.

She scowls at me, and I’m tempted to bite the twist of her full lips. “Because you’ve fucked me twice already?”

“This doesn’t have anything to do with fucking, and you know that too.” I barely ghost my lips across her mouth, teasing myself with what I so desperately want. “It would be so much easier if all I wanted was to fuck you.” I force myself away from the temptation of her mouth, breathing in against the column of her neck. “But you just had to go and be a pain in my ass.”

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