Page 52 of The Good Liar

“Let’s get cleaned up for dinner.”

Our suite’s shower had a whirlpool tub in its corner, which was already heated and bubbling when we got back to our room. Cole had rented out the place for us, and other than the stablehand, who’d kept a low profile, and the estate manager who’d given us the tour when we arrived, I hadn’t seen anyone else. He’d planned this night perfectly, predicting what we’d need and when, and making sure it was ready.

We slipped into the tub first, the jets massaging the muscles that would be sore from riding come morning, then we headed for a hot shower.

Cole kneaded my skin with soapy hands, examining and kissing each fading bruise he’d given me, mourning the loss of them, as if they were the only thing making us real. What was left of them could easily be explained away if noticed by Daniel.

“If only I could take my hands to you,” Cole murmured from down on his knees, nose against my plug-free pucker. “If only I could spank you hard.” He smacked my ass cheek lightly, his palm and the water sluicing down my skin creating a beautiful song, echoing through the marbled enclosure. I moaned, holding myself up with a hand to the glass wall. His palm landed heavier, faster, in the same place and then not, with just the right amount of hurt to make my cock perk up, but not enough to cause damage. Not enough to make my ears ring as I came.

He’d need to be the one to stop. He held the control for a reason, and I was the victim to his dirty deeds for a reason. We were both helpless to the roles we played. “Cole,” I begged, rubbing my asshole against his nostrils, knowing he got off on it.

I bruised easily; we had maybe one more level of intensity before the proof of what we were doing here would be written all over me. I’d let him, I couldn’t stop him, I didn’t want to—

He stopped, standing and dragging his flattened tongue over my fluttering hole on his way up. “Careful,” he whispered into my ear, biting a line down my neck. “I promised to be careful.” He turned the water off and grabbed a thicker plug and lubricant from off the shower bench.

“That’s it?” I asked, staring at our hard dicks.

“Dinner’s getting cold,” he said, adding a generous helping of lube to the monstrosity in his hand. It was still much smaller than him. I could take it. “Bend over,” he whispered.

Dinner turned out to be a four-course meal in the grand dining hall, all served and fed to me by Cole. He’d vanish after each course into what I assumed was the kitchen, and return holding a fancy tray, something decadent hiding beneath its silver lid.

After turning away from the last forkful of dessert he held out to me, Cole took my hand, leading me down winding corridors until we came to a glass-enclosed atrium overlooking the expanse of the south lawn.

The lights were off, and the grand piano in the center sat directly under the spotlight of the moon and stars. He left me to trail behind him in wonderment as he settled onto the bench, warming up his fingers before jumping into “My Immortal” by Evanescence.The lyrics, which spoke of pain, wounds, and time apart, danced through my head as I fought to hold on to this moment and not revisit old hurtful ones.

He finished, extending the outro, then walked to where I stood watching the night sky, holding two flutes and the bottle of champagne that had been chilling on ice next to the Baby Grand.

I plucked one from his hand by its stem, and studied his attractiveness as he filled our glasses. He’d worn all black, had removed his tie and undone the top two buttons on his shirt, revealing his smooth, tanned collarbone. And he’d slicked his thick, jet-black hair away from his chiseled face. “You’re sofuckingsexy,” I said.

“Especiallywhen I’m fucking,” he replied, his brows dancing. He walked the bottle back to the ice bucket, and then returned on a loose gait to clink his glass against mine. His confidence in what he could do with his body, with his cock, was the biggest turn-on. I was lucky enough to have been his blank canvas when we were younger. To be the body he’d improved his art upon. To see and feel the changes as we both grew into our sexuality. There was power that came with that. A possessiveness, too. His abilities belonged to me.

I drank to keep from launching myself at him.

The fireworks started in the distance then, and I nearly choked on my drink as the exploding lights flooded the sky in fiery colors. Cole rocked back on his heels, a hand going into his pocket. “Happy Thanksgiving,” he said, taking my breath and my heart away, too.

Jasper

AFTER THE FIREWORKSended, Cole suggested a late-night swim in the indoor grotto. We kissed under the waterfall until our lips were raw, then he laid me out on the decking, giving me a teasing two strokes of his cock, before plugging me again with something bigger.

“You’re almost ready,”he said.

“Ready for what?”I asked in annoyance, gnashing my teeth through the burn of insertion. He pretended to not hear me, calling me into the pool instead, and treading around lazily while I reclined along the stone edge watching him.

“I spoke to my father before we left this morning. He didn’t sound himself. Well, he hasn’t sounded himself in years but this was different,” he said thoughtfully.

“Different how?”

“Well, first of all, the call had nothing to do with business.” He’d mentioned before that Nexcom was the only thing they shared since my mother died. “He said he waspersonallydoing his Christmas shopping this year, and then asked me what I wanted.” He seemed puzzled by this.

“Are you sure it was Franklin? Franklin hates Christmas shopping more than he hates organized activities,” I stated, scooting over to reach my forgotten tumbler of scotch. We’d moved on to the hard stuff.

“I know. I almost demanded a video call to prove someone wasn’t literally holding a gun to his head.”

“What did you ask for?”

Cole disappeared below the water, reappearing in front of me, nearly causing me to spill my drink. He reached for his own from over my shoulder, tossing it back and setting the empty glass down.

“Nothing. I told him I wanted nothing. But it was a lie. It’s just… He’d caught me off guard.” He pressed in close to me, securing my legs around him from under the water, checking to make sure the plug hadn’t moved. I was committed to not begging for him to fuck me. Not yet. And mutual arousal aside, because his dick was hard and currently using mine as a crutch, this conversation was important to him. He’d always been a superb multitasker.

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