It's a Wonderful Lie

Chapter Thirteen

Caspian

I’m a terrible person.

After dinner, I spent an hour sitting at this bar fighting myself on my desires. I want her. I want another night with her. I want the whole week with her, if she’ll let me. But there’s clearly something going on between her and my son, too.

So instead of wandering the hotel in search of them, fully intending to spy on whatever they were up to and figure out what’s going on there, I decided I’d leave it to fate. I ordered her a drink, placed it at the seat next to me and told myself that if I am meant to pursue her, she will find me.

And now here she is. Exactly as I hoped for. But I still feel like an asshole.

Because all I want is to finish my drink, take her back to my room, and make her feel everything she wants.

But it can’t be my call.

So instead, I keep my eyes trained forward and with a teasing smile that I can’t help, ask, “Rough day?”

In my periphery, I can see her turn to look at me for a moment before drawing her attention back to her empty glass.

“Is it possible for the same man to blow your mind in two different ways in less than twenty four hours?” She swirls the ice around, likely in an attempt to distract herself from the slight vulnerability she just showed. In the few interactions we’ve had, she hasn’t appeared to be a fan of the moments that she’s not in control.

“I hope it was more than two,” I bring my bourbon to my cocky smile that naturally lifts in her presence and take a sip, still avoiding her gaze. The second I meet her eyes, I know I’m done for.

The bartender comes up and she orders a second round. We both sit in silence, sipping our drinks for probably half an hour, but it’s not awkward or uncomfortable; it’s electric. I could sit in silence with this woman for hours and feel more alive than I do running a marathon.

Neither of us says anything, but then like an i***t, I finally dare a glance at her. Like she read my mind, she looks at the exact same time and suddenly a million words are exchanged through that one connection.

She wants this just as badly as I do. Her eyes are wide and pleading, like she is looking for another escape, which I already know last night was for her. But I don’t know if I’m ok with that a second time.

I didn’t anticipate I’d ever see this woman again when we ended up back in my room last night, so allowing her to use me to deal with whatever she’s going through was justifiable. She’d be gone in the morning and I’d move on with my life. But she’s still here and I don’t know how I’m going to move past her.

And as much as it will kill me to be nothing more than an outlet for Emery during what’s likely a stressful week, I hate that the rich brown eyes are holding me in a way that has me thinking the long-term pain will be worth the few days of pleasure.

Her eyes dip and trail down me like she’s taking inventory. From my lips to my throat to my chest and back up, slowly she’s making me feel more expose than ever, but I don’t want it to stop.

Once we’re locked back in on each other, she silently licks her lips and sucks her bottom one between her teeth. God, how I want it to be my teeth biting her right now. I don’t even care that we’re in the middle of a fairly crowded bar. I’d happily cover everyone’s tabs if it meant I as one second closer to being alone with her again.

But instead of lunging at her like my c**k is attempting to do through my pants, I just shake my head, letting her know I think this is a bad idea.

One corner of her lips quirks up and she nods so softly I almost miss it. It’s like she’s telling me she knows it’s a bad idea, but she wants to do it anyway.

And I can no longer resist the temptation.

I pull out my wallet, slip my keycard out, and while the bartender’s back is to us, set it between us on the countertop. I turn back to my drink, taking another sip as I face forward, not looking at her.

But out of the corner of my eye I see set her hand on top of the card and slide it until it’s in front of her on the bar and she can discreetly pick it up and put it in her clutch.

She finishes the last couple sips of her drink before turning towards me and slipping out off the stool. She’s so close I could easily wrap my arm around her waist and claim her now, but instead I just grip my glass tighter as she pivots and begins heading out to the elevators.

As soon as she’s out of the vicinity, I release a deep breath, my entire body on edge knowing what’s about to happen again. I take a final sip of my drink and close out my tab before heading to the front desk to grab myself a new keycard and make my way up to my suite wondering how it’s going to feel when I open the door and find Emery on the other side, waiting for me.