Page 15 of Pretty Girls Never Lie (St. Mary’s)

“I don’t need you when it comes to orgasming, Brantley.”

She holds on with one hand as the other disappears underneath the surface of the water.

My mouth dries out, and when her head flies backward in pleasure, Ialmostdrown.

NINE

Isla

I will never be able to get Brantley’s face out of my head after seeing the hooded look in his eye as he watches my every move. I have no idea why I can’t seem to remove myself from the situation, and I should be angry with how alive I feel in the moment, but that’s just the thing.

I feelalive.

We’re both in a daze–hidden away from the past and all rational thoughts.

“Fuck, you’re hot as hell, and I hate it.”

I slip a finger further into my wet panties at his compliment and suppress a moan.Why does this feel so good?I tell myself it’s because I’m in the water and worked up from his hot whispers, but I know it’s because I’m teasing him, and he’s enjoying it.

My eyes spring open when I feel myself falling underneath the water. When I meet his face, I realize that he’s so entrancedin what I’m doing, he forgot he was half holding me up in the pool.

He quickly shoves me past the break in the water and slaps me onto the edge of the pool. I’m exposed with him below me, half in the water and half out. His arms rest over the edge, and my legs are spread wide, giving him full access to stare up my wet skirt.

Water cascades over my curves, and my cotton panties are stuck to my body like a second layer of skin. Brantley looks up at me with eyes darker than his soul and then flicks his gaze in between my legs.

“Don’t let me stop you from getting what you want, baby.”

My voice is breathy even as I try to sound as nonchalant as possible. “Maybe I’m stopping you from getting what you want by not letting you see me touch myself.”

He scoffs before pushing his hair off his forehead. I want his strong jaw and mouthy tongue in between my legs, and that makes me feel so dirty but turned on at the same time.

“I want much more than that.” His voice is hardly audible. “Even if I keep telling myself I don’t.”

There’s a throb urging me to keep going, and it makes it hard to remember the hate. The anguish that comes with every thought of him and that night slips away, and I forget to breathe altogether when he pushes my knees wider.

I shut my eyes and let myself become fully immersed in the physicality of pleasure. My emotional standing with Brantley is long gone, and I’m feeding off his touch against my skin and his heavy breathing.

There’s a soft tap to my inner thigh, and I open my eyes to see Brantley pull back with parted lips. He’s concentrating on my face, and I blush. “I hate that you’re so damn pretty,” he admits.

My cheeks flush deeper, and there’s a sense of fulfillment brewing through the hot pleasure. It surprises me enough to miss the fact that his mouth is trailing kisses up my leg.

“It’s fucking with my head, Isla.”

I swallow and tell myself to get up and leave him in the pool, because how can I let myself be this vulnerable with the guy who holds so much of my trauma in his hands, but his warm whispers of admiration keep me in place.

“Well, seeing you again for the first time since that night fucked with my head,” I say.

“Is that why you jumped in to save me?” His breath brushes over my damp panties, and I shiver. I freeze when a gush of air cools my skin and exposes me. If I were to move a fraction, I’d feel the pad of his finger holding my panties to the side. “Can’t help but feel something for me because of that night?”

“Hatred,” I say, lying straight through my teeth.

Jumping in after him proved that I don’t hate him like I say I do. He played a part in my father’s death, but I can’t help but remember the way he pulled me back into my room multiple times to shield me from the dangerous game my dad was playing. I can tell myself that he ruined my life, but he actually saved it.

“You don’t hate me.”

I should.

“It feels wrong not to hate you.” My heart aches with a truth I’m desperate to ignore, so I start touching myself again so I can feel something other than shame. “You were there, and you left me and my baby brother.”

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