Lover, Liar, Legend

Lover, Liar, Legend 4

Chapter 19

The bathroom mirror revealed fresh bruises along her throat, the ones Daniel had left now overlapped with Mark's. She traced them absently, her pulse jumping under the pads of her fingers. The peeling wallpaper caught her eye more of it had come loose overnight, the edges curled like grasping fingers.

She dressed mechanically: high-waisted slacks to cover the fingerprints on her hips, a silk blouse buttoned to the collar. The soreness between her thighs was a constant reminder. Her makeup concealed nothing.

The office was a blur of fluorescent lights and murmured greetings. Lena's chair creaked as she sat, her body protesting the movement. Her supervisor, Richard a man with kind eyes and a wedding ring he twisted when stressed leaned over her desk. "You look tired," he observed. "Everything okay at home?"

Lena's smile felt brittle. "Just a rough night." Richard's hand brushed her shoulder, lingering a moment too long. "Let me know if you need anything," he said softly. The heat of his palm seeped through her blouse.

Chapter 20

She waited until he walked away to exhale. Her phone buzzed again Jake, persistent. ‘Seriously, let's meet up. I know you want to.’ Lena deleted it. Then, reconsidering, she saved his number.

Mark called at lunch. "Did you eat?" he asked, like it mattered. Lena picked at her salad. "Yeah." The lie tasted like dressing and wilted lettuce. "Good," Mark said. A pause. "Richard texted me. Said you seemed off today." Lena's fork clattered against the plate. "He's just worried," she mumbled.

Mark's exhale was static in her ear. "Tell him to keep his f*****g hands to himself." The line went dead.

Lena sat very still, the salad turning to ash in her mouth. Around her, coworkers laughed, ate, lived. She wondered if any of them felt as hollow as she did.

Her phone lit up once more Daniel this time. A photo of his hotel keycard, the room number clearly visible. No Mark tonight. Just us. Lena's thumb hovered. The wallpaper back home was still peeling.

She replied: What time?

Chapter 21

The hotel lobby smelled like chlorine and expensive cologne. Lena’s heels clicked against the marble floor as she approached the elevator, her stomach tight with something between dread and anticipation. Daniel had texted the room number 1107 like it was a challenge. The elevator doors slid open with a soft chime. Inside, a businessman glanced at her throat, at the bruises peeking above her collar, then quickly looked away.

Daniel answered the door shirtless, a tumbler of whiskey in hand. His grin widened when he saw her. "Took you long enough." He stepped aside, letting her brush past him. The room was all sleek surfaces and dim lighting, the bed already rumpled. Lena set her purse down carefully, as if it might explode. "Mark knows I'm here," she said, though she wasn’t sure why.

Daniel laughed, draining his glass. "I know." He reached for her, fingers skimming the buttons of her blouse. "He told me."

Lena froze. "What?"

Chapter 22

Daniel unbuttoned her collar slowly, revealing the marks beneath. "Called me this afternoon. Said if I was gonna f**k his girl, I should do it properly." His thumb pressed into a particularly dark bruise, making her gasp. "So here we are."

The bed hit the back of Lena’s knees as Daniel pushed her down. His mouth was hot, insistent, his hands rough as they tugged at her clothes. She arched into him, her body responding before her mind could catch up. The sheets smelled like starch and something faintly metallic.

A knock at the door made them both freeze. Daniel pulled back, wiping his mouth. "Right on time," he murmured.

Lena’s pulse spiked. "Who—?"

Daniel was already crossing the room. He opened the door to reveal Mark, leaning against the frame with a familiar smirk. "Having fun?"

Chapter 23

Lena scrambled to cover herself, her heart hammering. Mark stepped inside, kicking the door shut behind him. He looked her over blouse undone, hair tangled and sighed. “you’re a mess."

Daniel clapped Mark on the shoulder. "She’s perfect."

Mark shrugged him off, his gaze never leaving Lena. "You like this?" he asked, stepping closer. "Like him watching?"

Lena’s throat tightened. Mark’s fingers dug into her chin, forcing her to look at him. "Answer me."

"Yes," she whispered.

Mark’s smile was razor-thin. "Good." He nodded to Daniel. "Hold her down."

Daniel didn’t hesitate. His hands pinned her wrists above her head, his weight settling between her thighs. Mark undid his belt with deliberate slowness. The leather slid free with a whisper. Lena’s breath came in short, sharp gasps.

Mark leaned down, his lips brushing her ear. "Say it again."

Lena’s voice broke. "I’m yours."

Chapter 24

The belt landed with a crack. Pain bloomed across her thigh, bright and sudden. She cried out, bucking against Daniel’s grip. Mark’s hand tangled in her hair, yanking her head back. "Again."

The second strike came harder. Tears pricked Lena’s eyes. "Yours," she sobbed.

Mark dropped the belt. His mouth crashed into hers, tasting of whiskey and something darker. Daniel’s grip loosened, his hands roaming her body as Mark claimed her. The room spun, the lines between pleasure and pain blurring until Lena couldn’t tell where one ended and the other began.

Later, sprawled between them, Lena traced the fresh welts on her thigh. Daniel smoked by the window, his silhouette sharp against the city lights. Mark stretched beside her, fingers combing lazily through her hair. "Richard called," he said, apropos of nothing.

Lena stiffened. "What?"

Mark’s smile was cold. "Said he’s worried about you." His fingers tightened in her hair. "Tell him to back the f**k off."

Daniel exhaled a stream of smoke. "Or don’t."

Mark’s phone buzzed on the nightstand. He glanced at it, then tossed it to Lena. "Answer it."

Jake’s name flashed on the screen. Lena’s thumb hovered. The wallpaper back home was still peeling.

Mark’s voice was a whisper against her skin: "Say yes."

The hotel sheets clung to Lena’s damp skin as Jake’s message burned through her phone screen. Mark’s breath was hot against her shoulder blade, his teeth grazing the fresh bite he’d left there an hour earlier. “Well?” he prompted, fingers tightening in her hair.

Lena typed ‘Yes’ with trembling fingers, then immediately dropped the phone onto the nightstand. Daniel chuckled from the armchair where he was lacing his shoes, the sound low and knowing. “You’re gonna be busy,” he remarked, standing to stretch. The muscles in his bare back rippled under the garish neon glow of the hotel’s vacancy sign bleeding through the curtains.

Mark caught Lena’s chin before she could look away. “You love this,” he murmured, thumb pressing into the bruise on her throat until her breath hitched. It wasn’t a question. The truth coiled in her stomach like a live wire—she did. The shame of it made her skin prickle.

Daniel tossed his shirt over his shoulder on his way out, pausing at the door. “Same time tomorrow?” he asked Mark, as though discussing a golf game. Mark nodded without glancing up from where his fingers were tracing the belt marks on Lena’s thigh. The door clicked shut.

Silence pooled between them, thick with unsaid things. Lena counted the water stains on the ceiling while Mark’s hands roamed her body with a possessiveness that bordered on reverence. “Richard’s having a department dinner Friday,” he said suddenly, fingers circling her wrist. “You’re going.”

Lena turned her head on the pillow to stare at him. “Why?”

Mark’s smile didn’t reach his eyes. He reached over her to grab his phone, pulling up a photo Richard’s hand resting on the small of her back at last year’s holiday party. The memory of that touch, innocuous at the time, now sent nausea rolling through her. “Because,” Mark said softly, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, “I want to watch him watch you.”