Page 85 of Ugly Truths
Still, Silas seems as entertained by her bluntness as he is by mine. “I wanted to make sure you weren’t still cleaning,” he explains. Earlier, Lauren insisted he join Jeff to watch the game, admitting it was to give us privacy only once he was out of earshot.
“All set, big guy.” Lauren pats his chest as she brushes past him, heading back to the living room with her wine glass in hand.
Silas watches her leave, then his eyes return to mine, sparkling with mischief. “I like her,” he declares, closing the small distance between us.
I lean back against the counter. “She likes you too.”
The familiar curl that often tumbles over his forehead falls into place as he tilts his chin down, closing in until our chests nearly touch. His expression is so unguarded that it stuns me.
Is this what Lauren meant? Because when it's just us, I see it too. I feel it. It presses in with him. This quiet, undeniable force that makes it hard to breathe.
One of his hands settles on the counter, while the other moves to caress the side of my hair, gently drawing my face closer to his until his mouth is on mine. Any rational thought melts away.
My hands find his sides, fingers curling into the fabric of his sweater. The scent of the bourbon Jeff had offered him lingers on his breath—smoky, spicy, and inviting. My tongue traces his lips for a deeper taste, and he inhales sharply through his nose, fingers tensing in my hair.
He pulls me back by the strands just enough to show me the heat in his eyes. “Tease,” he murmurs, and I let out a laugh.
“We can go whenever you’re ready,” I whisper, batting my eyelashes. His smile deepens.
“If Lauren wouldn’t berate me, I’d say right now,” he replies, leaning into me so that I can feel every line of his frame against mine. Despite the hard granite pressing into my back, I can’t find it in me to care. “Thirty minutes,” he decides with a quick nod.
“Thirty minutes,” I agree quietly.
Silas leans down for one last chaste kiss, retreating only before I can tempt him further. He holds me there, his gaze intense as he studies my face.
“For what it’s worth,” he says, licking his bottom lip where I had, the faint sheen making it glisten, “I also like the scars.”
My eyes widen. Almost as quickly as he spoke, he turns on his heel, picks my wine glass off the counter, and leads me back to where Lauren and Jeff are settled on the couch, eyes glued to the game.
If they notice the flush on my face that doesn’t seem to fade as we sit, they don’t mention it.
Chapter 34
Elena
It’s been seven weeks since Ben, Corey, and Luis started working on the servers while I’ve been watching from the sidelines. I’d hoped that after a few weeks, Silas would send me with Davey to the satellite office, but that never happened. They’ve been worried about someone recognizing me, especially with Brenden still lurking. The last thing they want is for that information to get back to William, especially after Silas banned Jeremy from returning until the audit was complete.
Davey crafted several solid excuses for why this particular audit is taking longer than the others, but that hasn’t lessened William’s irritation. I’ve overheard enough late-night calls to Silas to know he’s furious with the delays.
Still, I’ve done what I can to help from a distance. Mostly, I offer counsel over phone calls and help Davey patch up the corporate cloud by retracing the steps I took in the spring. We thought the server files would unlock everything about Sierra Blanca. Instead, they’ve felt like dead ends, again and again.
Silas’s frustration continues to grow sharper, despite our efforts. Sometimes it feels like he’s starting to doubt whether this will lead us anywhere, but there are too many vague threads for it to simply be a coincidence.
Even with all my certainty, I can’t bring myself to tell him what I think more than I already have. His feelings toward me stillfluctuate enough to remind me how fragile this all is, and I feel like I’m one contradicting comment away from pushing him too far.
If I’m too much of myself, he might finally decide he’s done.
These thoughts plague my head while we work silently in his study. Silas is at his desk while I sit on the couch, reviewing some of the information Ben decrypted and sent over this morning regarding some offshore accounts. The afternoon sun pours through the windows, bathing the room in warm light.
Silas’s phone starts to vibrate on the edge of his desk. He looks at the screen, slides open the call, and places it on speaker.
“Yes?”
“I’m at the satellite office,” Davey begins, skipping any greeting. “I need Elena to make sure your laptop is secure before I email you.”
Unease immediately curls in my chest and down to my stomach.
Silas’s expression gives nothing away, but his movements are rigid as he stands from his seat in a silent invitation. I set my laptop down, my feet suddenly heavier than before. Once settled in his chair, I pull the laptop towards me and try to will away the slight tremble in my fingers.
