Page 101 of A Lie so Dangerous and Fragile

“Fuck no,” he grunted, throwing his head back.

“Tristan …”

I pushed myself up on my tiptoes and cupped his face, but he refused to look at me.

“Did I do something?” I asked, pulling his face to look at me.

He looked tortured, as if he was battling himself.

He was quick to grab my hip when I almost lost my balance from standing on my tiptoes, and that was when I felt it. He was hard.

“You feel that?” His voice was rough and edgy.

His hand brushed against my hip, and the slight touch sent sparks through my cells.

“I didn’t know you were that sensitive,” I said, and he laughed softly.

“It’s been three fucking years. Of course I will respond to a touch like that,” he said and let go of me, putting some space between us.

I was burning with a strong need to feel him against me. As if he could read the thoughts in my head, he smirked.

“You’re not in the right headspace,” he said, stepping closer and pulling up the left shoulder of my robe to cover up my exposed skin.

“Try and get some rest, Chloe,” he said and headed to the door.

I watched him walk away with my skin still buzzing from his touch. And that night, I tried to relieve myself with my fingers diving down between my legs as I imagined them as someone else’s fingers. Callous and long, driving me to ecstasy. I came, burying my face in the pillow and writhing in the darkness of my room, but it wasn’t enough.

28

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Nostalgia

An alarm went off, and I sat up quickly from the bed as I realized what it was. I rubbed the sleep away as I rushed out of my room to the twins’ room. I found Kayden crying and trying to get down from his crib.

“Hey, sweetie,” I whispered, picking him up and walking out of the room quietly to avoid waking Kayla.

Tristan was already leaving his room as I stepped out to the hallway. He looked like he hadn’t gotten any sleep. He walked toward us in only jogger pants that hung low around his waist. My eyes moved to his crotch, and heat crept up my neck to my cheeks. His defined abs made my eyes linger longer on his impressive torso. Our eyes met briefly before I looked away, cradling Kayden in my arm. He hooked his tiny hands around my shoulders and nuzzled his head into the crook of my neck.

“Is he okay?” Tristan asked in a hushed tone behind me.

“Yeah,” I said in a low voice.

“Hey, buddy,” Tristan whispered, stroking Kayden’s hair. “Maybe he’s hungry or he needs a diaper change,” Tristan said, standing too close to me, the heat from his body engulfing me like a warm hug.

“You hungry, baby?” I asked, and Kayden shook his head, indicating no. I placed my hand on the bottom of his diaper to check if it was heavy, but it felt light.

“Don’t worry; he does it all the time. I will stay up with him till he goes back to sleep,” I explained to Tristan. “You can go back to bed,” I told him and turned to walk to my room.

“You sure?” he asked, eyebrows cocked in concern. He folded his arms, and my eyes caught the way his muscles flexed and the prominent veins trailing up his arms.

“Yeah,” I replied with a dry throat.

He nodded and moved closer. My heart jumped when he leaned down to my face.

I wanted to face-palm myself when he placed a kiss on Kayden’s head, whispering, “Don’t keep Mommy up.”

He gave me a small smile as he pulled away and walked to his room. I turned away and walked to my room with something beating so fast in my chest. I felt like I was going to pass out. I looked back at Tristan again, and he was already looking at me. I entered the room quickly.

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