It's a Wonderful Lie

Chapter Fourteen

Emery

The fact that I remember exactly how to get to his room says a lot about how impactful last night really was for me. But I hesitate before swiping the keycard, feeling a little weird about entering his space without him.

Though he wouldn’t have given it to me if he didn’t want me to meet to go in ahead of him, probably in an attempt to be discreet, so I quickly brush that thought aside and enter the suite. Flipping the switch next to the door to illuminate the massive living space, I finally get a chance to take in the room.

I was a little too distracted last night and a little too panicked this morning to pay much attention to the details of my surroundings, but the suite is gorgeous and I can only imagine how much it costs a night.

It’s significantly larger than the one bedroom apartment that Merrick and I shared back in Indiana, with a expansive living room right as you enter, featuring a stone fireplace in front of an L-shaped couch that looks comfortable enough to melt into with a blanket and a good book on a cold day—and big enough for a family of five to join me. To the right is a compact, but flawless kitchen space with a marble island making up most of the counter space. There are four stools tucked into the edge, but just behind it is a dining space with six places set.

To my left, the foyer expands into a hallways that meets a double door I know enters the bedroom. For a minute I think about doing something sexy like taking off all my clothes so he can find me naked, seductively posing in his bed. Or setting myself up on the island in my new lingerie, with my legs open, so when he comes in I can say something like, “ready for dessert?”

But I shake my head, feeling awkward about both ideas. He also seemed to really enjoy taking his time undressing me last night. I don’t want to deny him, or myself, that delicious foreplay.

Not to mention that we aren’t meeting under the same circumstances as before.

Last night, there was an undeniable chemistry that brought us back here. Tonight, there’s another layer to it. The fact that we shouldn’t be doing this. While it’s causing my head to spin a little bit with anxiety, the forbidden factor is also sending a swarm of butterflies through my stomach and a shock through my core whenever I think about it.

It has to be the same for him too, right?

As I’m wondering this, I hear the beep of a key in the door and spin around to take him in as he enters, determinedly.

He sets his card, wallet, and phone on the table next to the door, but doesn’t look away from me as he does. I’m still holding my clutch and wish I’d put it down there, now that I’m thinking about it. Keeping his connection locked onto me, he keeps his stride as he walks right up to me. He’s not pouncing on me, but it definitely feels like he’s a hunter on a mission, approaching his prey, ready to strike.

Once he’s just a whisper in front of me—my breathing has already grown ragged and I’m desperate for him to take me again—he continues at the same pace, slowly killing me as he lightly touches his finger tips to my wrist before tracing them up my arm, over my shoulder, and up my neck.

My head instinctively melts to the right as my eyes close and his hand holds my jaw while his index finger slowly outlines the shape of my ear.

“Before we take this any further,” his voice is smooth, but firm, “I have to ask you something that I really don’t want to ask you.”

My eyes stay closed, but I feel his hand move back down my neck, playing with the seams of my dress. His fingers tingle across the top of the mock neck before feeling along the sleeveless edges, tucking two fingers underneath so they connect with my bra strap and pull lightly, eliciting a moan as the lacy fabric moves against my increasingly sensitive n****e.

“I’m on the pill,” I purr, unable to help the sultry tone that escapes me thanks to the way he’s lighting me up with the simplest of touches.

“Good to know,” I can hear the smile in his voice, which only heats me up more, “but it’s something else.”

“Mmm?” My head drifts back and I feel dizzy, nearly unresponsive to his questioning.

Suddenly his light touches become much stronger as his hand wraps around the back of my neck to support me. I can feel him grow closer as his breathing mixes with mine and I’m more than ready for our lips to meet once more. But instead, he finally asks his question.

“What’s the situation with you and Bennett?”

My eyes snap open and the lust haze I was just swimming in drains from my body as a panic floods in its place.

“Wha—what?”

“f**k,” he steps away from me and I feel the cold air rush over to me in his absence, “are you seeing him?”

“No,” I adamantly declare, but then I wonder how Bennett would answer that question, “I mean—oh, s**t…”

Covering my face with my hands, I move to lean back against the couch, feeling like complete s**t, even though I haven’t done anything wrong.

“So you are dating my son?” Caspian’s voice is quiet and so far away, a complete change to the man I met at the bar yesterday as well as the one who invited me back tonight.

“I’m not,” I state, again, “but I’m pretty sure he thinks he’s dating me…”

And without looking at Caspian, because I don’t want to know the horrified expression he’s probably wearing, thinking that he f****d his son’s girlfriend, I tell him everything that happened earlier. Ava’s insistence to take her place, the conversation in the igloo, him walking me back to my room, and how after all of it I still only wanted to find him.

“s**t,” I feel his presence next to me as he leans against the couch, taking in the information I just shared.

“I promise, I’ve never seen him that way and I tried to tell him I don’t want to date him, but he just looked so heartbroken and was begging me not to make a decision until after the wedding and the last thing I want is to cause drama for Ava and Micah during such an important week and I just—”

I sag further into myself, the weight of the situation beginning to take over, when suddenly Caspian’s hand is at the nape of my neck, offering the slightest massage to alleviate my stress. And I swear, that one touch gives me so my relief.

“Emery, I’m so sorry.”

“What?” I sit up and look at him, grief swimming in his eyes.

“No man should ever make you feel like you can’t say no to them.” His face is so stern and my heart flips a little at how protective he’s being for me.

“It’s not like that, I swear,” I reach out and take his hand, attempting to assure him that his son isn’t some monster, “I think he’s just lonely and it’ll be easier if I let him down after the wedding.”

He’s on me quickly this time, as he pivots to trap me between his arms, pressing his body against mine into the back of the couch. “You shouldn’t have to do that, though.”

I reach out and place my palms on his chest, running my hands over the toned muscles that stand tense underneath his evening shirt. I meet his eye as I continue my movements and see the frustration slipping out of them with each caress. Feeling bold, I begin carefully undoing each button from top to bottom as I speak.

“I have a hard time taking charge when it comes to the people I’ve known my whole life,” I let him know, my eyes rising back to his as soon as I reveal his bare chest, “But I only met you last night, so I have absolutely no problem telling you that I think it’s time we stop talking because I’d rather be choking on your c**k right now.”