Page 71 of Black Ties and White Lies

“I never told anyone else that,” she confesses, wriggling against me as I remind her who exactly makes her lose control like this. “I never really even admitted it to myself,” she continues.

“Oh, but you’ve told me. And now I won’t ever let you forget it.”

“Beck,” she moans as I coax two fingers inside her.

“It should’ve been me that took care of you that night. Not my selfish brother who couldn’t get the fucking job done. And not you, either. It should’ve beenme. You denied yourselfandme by walking away.”

My thumb presses into her clit. “I couldn’t—”

I nod, my chin hitting her shoulder. “I know, baby. That’s why I didn’t blame you for it. But I couldn’t stay there any longer knowing he had you.”

“That’s why you left…” Whatever else she was going to say gets lost in the bliss of her orgasm. Her moans are loud, echoing off the small space of the bathroom.

I rub her until her fingers wrap around my wrist, stopping me. I place a kiss to the back of her neck, needing the connection. “Yes, that’s why I left unexpectedly that morning. I’d blamed it on a meeting, but the reality was, I didn’t want to see you with him. It was past that I didn’t want to see you with him, it was more that I couldn’t without feeling sick.”

She spins around again, taking my face between her hands. The gesture seems far more meaningful than anything between us before. It doesn’t feel fake or out of lust. It feels real, and the thought disarms me.

“Never again,” she promises.

I smirk, mimicking the way she holds my face by placing both my hands at her cheeks. “Well, that part is fucking obvious.”

She giggles, shaking her head at me. I lean in, playfully nipping at the tip of her nose. She squirms on top of me, the movement sending another round of bubbles and water over the edge of the tub. Then I emphasize my words by kissing the woman who has found a place in my heart, wondering in the back of my mind how long I’ll get to keep her.

Beck standsin front of the hotel room phone with a towel precariously wrapped around his waist. With one small tug I’d be met with the sight of every perfect inch of him. I smile at the thought, knowing how easy it would be to strip him completely and let him have his way with me all over again.

“Stop staring at me like that,” he warns, the phone pressed to his ear.

I bite my lip, shaking my head at him. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

He grunts, gesturing to the bed in the middle of the room. “You’re eye fucking the hell out of me. If you aren’t careful, I’ll end this call right now and fuck you on top of the sheets I’m trying to replace.”

I open my mouth to respond, but he holds up a finger. “Oh hi,” he begins, clearing his throat. “Uh yes, we do need new sheets.”

My eyes bug as I realize whoever is on the other line with him definitely heard the threat he just gave me. I know I should be embarrassed, but instead I find it hilarious that Beck is clearly uncomfortable talking to whoever answered. His pale cheeks fill with color, something I haven’t seen before.

I have to stifle a giggle as he places the phone back on its station. When he looks at me with a menacing grin, I know I’m in trouble.

“You find that funny?” he taunts, taking a step closer to me. I take a step backwards, trying to escape the wrath in his eyes. The plush hotel robe is way too long on me, causing me to almost trip over my feet with the backwards movement.

I shake my head at him, hating that my lips betray me by curing up in a smile. “Nope,” I answer, popping thePfor dramatics.

He raises his eyebrows, adjusting the towel on his waist. “You’re lying,” he drawls.

My calves hit the back of a chaise lounge, giving me no place else to go. He knows I’m cornered by the Cheshire cat grin on his face. “Do you find it amusing that a poor old woman just heard me threaten to fuck you?”

“I mean, she probably would have gathered anyway when you asked for new sheets.”

He hums, closing the distance between us and pulling me toward him by the lapels of my robe. “You have a point there, Miss Moretti.”

Standing on my tiptoes, I loop my arms around his neck. He smells delicious. The vanilla and sage soap the hotel provided is a scent I’ve become obsessed with. “Soon to be Mrs. Sinclair,” the words fall from my mouth before I can think better of them. The moment they’re out, I wonder if I’ve said too much. “You know, with our agreement and everything. I didn’t know if it was now time forthat,” I add last minute, internally wishing I would’ve just kept my mouth shut.

Now that we’ve slept together, I don’t know what it means for our arrangement. I’d imagine it’s still on, but things do seem more…complicatednow.

“I’m the one who mentioned it to begin with. Tell me when and where and we’ll make it official.”

My heart flutters in my chest, something it shouldn’t be doing. While we may be intimate now, it doesn’t change the fact that our engagement will be a lie. When he says, “make it official,” it isn’t in a romantic way. At the end of the day, it’s a business arrangement for him, and I need to keep reminding my heart of that fact.

I run my fingers over the hard planes of his muscles. For the time being, all of this is mine. We’d also come to that agreement. We’d have each other and nobody else for the year while we pretended to be in love. It’ll undoubtedly hurt at the end of this when we stop pretending, but it doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy him for as long as I have him.

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