Page 55 of Reckless Liar

“You know it’s not like that for me. And three kisses hardly substantiate fooling around,” he growled.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” I mocked. “In all my vast experiences with men I didn’t learn that making out isn’t fooling around. Last time I kissed someone, other than Max, it was.”

His eyes softened, “That’s not what I meant, Ana. What this is between us? It’s not about fooling around. I mean the kissing is amazing.” He smiled at me. “But it’s not about that for me.”

“What did you expect me to say to her? It would crush her.”

“It’s going to hurt her a lot more to know you’ve been keeping it from her. That we both have. I think we should tell her, and Scarlett too.”

“There’s nothing to tell them, Xander.”

“That’s a lie and you know it.” He stepped toward me, cupping my cheek in his hand. He leaned forward about to kiss me. I stuck my hand against his chest, establishing a boundary. He frowned at me. “You know where to find me, Ana. Goodnight.”

He left me wordless, standing in the kitchen with a passed-out Eloise in the living room. I listened for the click of his door closing before going to Eloise. I rested a hand on her back, counting her breaths. I grasped her wrist, took a quick ulnar pulse, before feeling satisfied that she’d be okay. I made my way toward my room, pausing at Xander’s door.

He was right. It would hurt Eloise to find out later. Every time I kissed Xander we got deeper and deeper into this game we were playing. Every time I got farther away from escaping culpability. If I didn’t want anyone else to get hurt, the smart thing to do tonight would be to continue down the hall, go into my room and close the door. To stop kissing Xander, to stop thinking about his touch.

If I was smart, I’d leave him alone. But I was drawn to him. I needed him. When I was near him, I felt powerful, I felt emboldened. I felt things in my body I’d long ago thought were dead. I liked the way he made me feel.

I rested a hand on his door, fingering the grain of the fake wood, trying to decide what my next move should be. I tapped my fingers softly on the door in beats of three. I pulled my hand away, about to reach for the knob when the door flew open with Xander on the other side.

We stared at each other, both surprised. Without any more thoughts I stepped forward, stood on my toes, and grabbed him by the neck, pulling his mouth to mine. He responded by wrapping his arms around my waist, pulling me closer. His kiss was firm. There was an intoxicating urgency in his embrace. I stumbled against him, my hand raking through his curls. In one fluid moment he picked me up, his lips never leaving mine as he made his way across the room to his bed. Together we fell backward, his weight landing on me. His hands tangled in my hair as he crushed his lips to mine.

His hand moved from my hair to rest on my leg. Slowly as he kissed me, he slid his hand until it was between my thighs. I moved against him, urging him on. He reached down the front of my shorts, moving my underwear to the side and he slid his finger inside me as we kissed.

“I want to make you feel good Ana,” he whispered against my skin.

I turned my head away gasping for a breath. Xander’s fingers were inside me, his kisses on my neck. It was all too much, the brutal pleasure of it all. His hand moved against me, the pad of his thumb rubbing against my clit, sending sparks of pleasure through my body. His long fingers touched me exactly where I needed it and I felt myself getting closer. Gripping his arms, I gyrated on his hand, edging myself to release. His thumb brushed my clit one more time and I felt myself constrict around him.

“That’s it. Beautiful.” He murmured as I fell apart in his arms.

Blood pounding in my ears, I took in a shaky breath as his lips trailed from my mouth down my throat. With only a thin layer of cotton pants on, the hard length of him was pressed against my leg.

“Wait,” I mumbled.

He pulled away, panting as he looked down at me. “What?”

“We can’t do this,” I whispered.

He groaned, his head dropping against my shoulder. “No, don’t do this...”

He pulled his hand away as he started to roll off me, but I ran my hand through his hair, keeping him close to me. “No, stay.”

He turned his head, so his mouth was on the base of my throat. “But you said...”

“We can’t do this with Eloise out there.” I explained. “It doesn’t feel right.”

He groaned louder but didn’t try to move off me. He ran a hand across my stomach, sending shivers through my body. He raised his head to look me in the eye. “I guess, after the verbal lashing we got tonight, it doesn’t seem right, does it?”

I shook my head. I propped myself up on my elbows. He slid closer to me, kissing me again.

“We’ll continue this soon. But for now, I don’t think we should say anything to anyone. Please?” I begged.

He sighed, tucking his face into the nape of my neck. “Why?” he asked, trailing feather soft kisses along my collar bone. “Why should this be a secret?”

I closed my eyes at the sensation, sinking into the mattress for a moment before remembering myself. I pushed his shoulder, making him roll off me. “No. We can’t.”

Xander stared at the ceiling, running his hand through his hair. “No, you don’t like it or...”

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