Page 26 of The Lies You Love
“I stand by what I said. What I have are secrets. Not lies.”
I exhale, then inhale the rest of the hot dog before nodding at the remnants of the pretzel in his hand. “You gonna eat that?”
Beck licks his lips and hands me the last bite still wrapped in paper. “It’s yours.” He takes another hot dog out of the bag and removes the bun like some kind of sadist. With a plastic knife, he cuts it up and I nearly choke on the thick bread in my mouth.
“Are you two?”
“Thirty-three,” he replies, squeezing a pack of ketchup onto the bun. “It’s about the dip for me.” I watch, horrified, as he dips a hot dog piece into the pile of ketchup and then pops it in his mouth. “Problem?” he asks, around the bite.
“Where to begin?” I reply after I’ve swallowed. “You butchered that poor hot dog.”
Chuckling, he grabs two beers from the fridge and spins the caps off with his forearm. He extends one to me and I chug several sips while trying to burn the image of his muscular arm from my brain. Once I start thinking about his body, it’s all I can think about. “It didn’t do a thing to you.”
Beck takes several more bite-sized mouthfuls while watching me. “You’ve been grilling me all night; can it be my turn to ask the questions now?” I hate that I feel flattered he wants to know more about me. An illusion of giving a shit, probably.
“I don’t have any hidden lies,” I say, clearing my throat. “Or secrets. I told you the most damning right up front.” It’s a method to push men away. I even recognize when I’m doing it and can’t stop. Shoving the final bite in my mouth, I say, “What do you want to know?”
“The scar. Tell me what happened.” There’s no need to ask which one he means, there’s only one. As a child, I wasn’t prone to injuries of any sort, no my one scar is a doozy—a constant, jagged reminder of my mistake that slices down the center of my chest. “I ah, got hit by a car. They brought me back three times. It caused a mess of damage inside my body, but my heart took the brunt of it. The scar is from the heart transplant.” His glare is curious but not horrified like most people after I tell them. I could have told him the weekly weather forecast. “Don’t worry, though. I’m good as new now. I don’t have any issues, which is sort of miraculous if you knew how many things could go wrong.” I pause and look away. “They told me my donor’s heart was a perfect fit in every way.” When he doesn’t say anything, I feel my cheeks redden and my chest heat. “It was years ago. I promise I’m okay.”
“Hit by a car?” Beck asks, narrowing his eyes. “Where were you at?”
I look down. “It makes sense. Walker saving me was the beginning of our relationship,” I admit. “When he ended things and told me the truth, I was upset. Really upset.” A lump lodges in my throat and I work to clear it. “I ran out of our old apartment and sort of forgot where I was at. My mind went blank. The doctors told me it was shock, but that’s pretty embarrassing. Being shocked at something like that. Something that should be clear as day. That’s what they told me anyway. I don’t remember much after the conversation with Walker.” Beck nods. I continue. “The truck tried to stop, but I really just flew into the street without any warning, barefoot, still in my nightgown. It was raining.” A nightgown Walker picked for me. I pinch the bridge of my nose. “The driver was speeding, but it was still my fault. The truck pummeled me.”
Beck runs one hand over the stubble on his face, looking away. “How long ago did it happen?”
I keep my face trained on my lap. “Years. I stayed in the rehabilitation hospital for a full twelve months while everything healed. That’s when I had the time to plan for the pet store. I did all of the paperwork and planning while I was in there. Anyway, I moved into my new apartment, opened my store, started dating, and here we are.”
“I suspected the transplant based on the scar alone, but I did not expect that story to go with it.”
“Would be easier to tell people I had a bad heart and needed a new one. Maybe I should start going with that instead.”
“And lie?” Beck asks, winking once.
“Seems to work for you,” I counter, relieved he’s not asking any more questions about my past.
Beck turns on his barstool and takes my hands in his. “You said your relationship began with Walker saving you. What does that mean?”
I squeeze his hands. “You really pick up on the important stuff, don’t you?” He stays silent, face a stoic mask of democracy. He isn’t judging me, in fact, if I had to guess, my honesty is endearing me to him. “Walker saved me from being ra… attacked when I was in college. That’s how we met officially.”
“Wow. I’m sorry. I’m sorry about all of it, Auden.” My heart ignites at the tender caress of his apology he had no reason to give. His eyes, though still feral, hold a tinge of remorse. “If you were mine back then, I wouldn’t have let anything happen to you.” If any other man were to say that, I’d have scoffed, but now I know why I’m attracted to him so fully and mercilessly. Beckett is a protector, and I’m a woman who has been looking for a safe place to land my entire life.
I’ve already said too much, even if it did draw him nearer, and I now, I want all of him. I reach between our bodies and unbutton and unzip his fly. His thick, hard dick springs free. Licking my lips, I peer up at Beck’s face. His eyes twinkle with mischief.
“You gonna eat that?” he quips, grabbing the sides of my head to guide my mouth down. He said if you were mine.
CHAPTER NINE
Beck
I thought I was fucked this morning. After hearing about her past, I don’t know how I’m going to leave her, forget her, and move on at the end of the month. After two days, I’m already trying to concoct a plan to keep Auden for myself indefinitely. Maybe she can live in the apartment with me, and I’ll see her in between following Ramsey around like a puppy dog. Surely, she wouldn’t ask me where I was or what I was doing all day. Yeah, right. My nights are mostly free, though, so they could be spent like this. I let a groan slip as Auden’s wet, warm mouth sucks my cock so furiously the slurping noise alone might send me over the edge. Her orifices are magical portals to another world. One in which she and I alone are the inhabitants.
What are the odds I’d find a woman who possesses all of the qualities I look for and then some right now? I’d fathom a guess, one in a billion.
“Fuck, Auden. You’re gonna make me come. Not yet,” I hiss, trying to slow her head down with my hands. “I want to be inside you.”
Man, do I ever. All night long—all day long, I’ve only wanted to be deep in her pussy. I’m strung out on her body. On her story. On my desire to protect her from all of the things the world wasn’t able to. There’s a joke about men like me; we’re attracted to those who seem vulnerable. Seem being the key word. Auden doesn’t need a protector, nor would she want one, I’m sure. She wants consistent. Reliable. Kind. Trustworthy.
Nothing impossible for me to grant, but not without massive life changes. I’m amped up because of what that fucker Walker did to her. Sure, he saved her once, but he did it with false pretenses. He lied to her in the worst way. He made her believe he was someone he wasn’t. He promised her a life I don’t think he ever intended to give her. All he was doing was buying himself time. At least my errant thoughts keep me from coming down her throat prematurely. My rage toward the man who broke her heart so severely she ended up needing a new one. That’s a crime against humanity. I am personally offended.
