Beautiful Liar

by Natasha Knight

  “Slater,” I began, not sure what I wanted to say. What I wanted. All I knew was that my body reacted to his, my breathing coming in gasps even as I heard the sound of his belt being drawn through the belt loops.

  “Shut up.”

  The belt connected with my ass, and I let out a cry.

  “Just shut up.”

  He lashed me again, holding me down with one hand and whipping me with the other as I wriggled this way and that, trying to escape the blows he rained down on me.

  “Please!”

  “You don’t get to talk!”

  He struck harder, catching the tops of my thighs.

  “You don’t get to do anything but take it.”

  His breath became ragged, and his words sounded rushed and filled with emotion. Wherever he’d been these last four days, they hadn’t lessened the anger he’d felt the other night. No, that anger had simply been waylaid as he’d done whatever he’d needed to do.

  “If I hadn’t come, he’d have raped you. Do you realize that?”

  “I’m sorry!”

  “I dropped by to see how you were feeling.” He struck harder as if the memory of my lie fueled the stroke.

  “Please, Slater, it hurts.”

  “Your sister told me you were gone. You were at the club stripping, when I’d told you specifically not to do that again.”

  “I know. I know. I just…” I wept, unable to continue, going limp, taking my punishment.

  “He almost raped you,” Slater repeated, his voice cracking as the belt hit the floor.

  I tried to turn, but he wouldn’t let me up so I craned my neck back. He just shook his head, his eyes glistening, dark, as he reached for the lotion on the counter that stood beside the dishwashing soap. He arranged himself behind me and met my gaze, which was locked on his.

  “What are you doing?” I asked when he squeezed a generous amount into his hand.

  “I’m fucking your ass,” he said, smearing the stuff between my cheeks roughly as he spoke. “I’m fucking your ass, so you know you belong to me. So you learn to do as you’re told.”

  He pressed one thick, lubricated finger inside me, making me squeeze everything tight.

  “Keep your eyes on me, MacKayla. I want to watch you take it.”

  “It hurts!”

  “You stripped when I told you no more.”

  He moved his finger in and out of me, smearing lotion inside.

  “If I was five minutes later…”

  “Please, Slater,” I panted, aware his cock would be much harder to take than his finger.

  “You danced for strangers.”

  He pulled his finger out and reached for more of the lotion, rubbing it over his length.

  “You let them see what belonged to me.”

  He pulled my cheeks apart and lined himself up against my asshole.

  “But I don’t share what’s mine.”

  He pressed the head of his cock against my too tight ass.

  “And when I’m done fucking your ass, when I come inside your ass, you’ll know better.”

  With one thrust, he pressed two thick inches inside me, making me cry out in instant agony.

  “When I fill you up with my cum, you’ll know you never,” another thrust, another two inches, “ever,” he pulled out but pushed in again, claiming more. “You’ll never, ever, show anyone what belongs to me again.”

  He pulled all the way out, and I braced myself for the next thrust, but before he took it, he slid one hand underneath me to rub my clit and gently pumped in and out of me.

  “I’m about halfway in, MacKayla. You ready to take all of me?”

  I moaned, squeezing my hands around the lip of the counter. “Yes.” I’d never felt anything like this before, the pain turning into an intense pleasure as he rubbed my clit.

  He pulled his hand away and gripped my hips again, opening me up, his gaze moving to his cock lodged halfway inside my ass.

  “Who do you belong to?” he asked, pulling out and thrusting in hard.

  I cried out, pain coming first, then on its heels, ultimate pleasure. “You!”

  “Who does this ass belong to?”

  He repeated what he’d just done, except this time, he claimed more inches. “You!”

  “Who does this body belong to?”

  He waited, pulling out, the head of his cock just inside my asshole. I arched my back to him. “You. Please, you.”

  He fucked me then, thrusting all the way inside me, his fingers moving back to my clit.

  “You like it hard, don’t you,” he said.

  I nodded, biting my lip. He reached his other hand up and tore the top of my dress open to grip one breast, then took a nipple between two fingers and squeezed.

  “Are you going to come with my cock inside your ass?”

  I nodded.

  “I like watching you take me, MacKayla. I like the feel of your tight, hot little asshole squeezing my cock.”

  “I’m close.”

  I was. The sensation of being fucked there combined with the heat of my whipping and his fingers fiercely manipulating my clit and nipple were almost too much too bear. When he leaned over me to bite my ear and whispered the word “come,” I did. I let go of everything, and I came hard, throbbing all around him as he thickened inside me, thrust hard one last time, and stilled, his breath coming in short gasps as he emptied, his seed hot inside me, his chest vibrating with a moan against my back.

  “YOU COULD HAVE killed Jack, you know,” MacKayla said while we walked Zeus around the neighborhood.

  “He almost raped you.”

  “You’d still be in jail now if you had.”

  “You should press charges against him.”

  “I just want to forget. Forget everything about that night. I shouldn’t have gone back. You and Janey were both right.”

  “I wanted to kill him. It was like I couldn’t hear anything, couldn’t see anything but him. I’ve never felt so out of control, not even when I learned the truth about Mel. About Dinah and Nick.”

  She slipped her hand into mine. “I’m sorry, Slater.”

  We walked in silence for a few blocks before she stopped and faced me.

  “What is this between us? Are you leaving? Staying? What’s happening here?”

  Zeus tugged at his leash, and we walked again. Was I ready to talk about this? Had I given it enough thought to even do that? Hadn’t I wasted enough time, though? I stopped. Zeus would have to find something to entertain himself for a bit.

  “Some days, I wake up and think how everyone I know, everyone I trusted, has lied to me. For so many years, my entire life was a lie.”

  “I’m sorry I lied the other day. I had promised to cover for Angie and had told Jack it was my last night. But still, I shouldn’t have lied to you.”

  “I didn’t mean you. I know you’re sorry, and we’re fine.” I grabbed her ass. “You paid.”

  “Ouch.”

  I paused, the smile vanishing. “I think, actually, you’re the first real, the first honest thing, that’s happened to me in a long time. Well, Mel’s real, but that too was a lie.” I took MacKayla’s face in my hands. “I have feelings for you. I can’t even explain how or why, and it’s certainly not what I expected to happen. It was in no way my intention when I came looking for you, but I find myself wanting to be with you more and more.” I paused, hearing the words that were about to come echo inside my head instead. But when she didn’t speak, I added: “I’m not leaving. I’m not going anywhere.”

  “I’m glad. I don’t want you to go anywhere. The last four days, I felt like shit. I just felt so bad, and I want you to know I trust you too. I think that’s what you were trying to say?”

  I smiled. “It’s more than that. I think I’m falling in love with you, MacKayla.”

  She searched my eyes, and all I could think about was how right the words sounded, how good it felt to say them aloud. She broke eye contact and scratched her head, shaking it once before re
turning her gaze to mine.

  “From how we started to this… I feel the same, Slater. No, no, I don’t. I don’t think I’m falling in love with you. I know. I’ve never felt this way about anyone in my life. I’ve never had anyone…”

  Tears filled her eyes, but when I touched her to comfort her, she gestured for me to wait.

  “I feel safe. I feel protected. I feel like I’m not entirely alone, and you can’t imagine how good that is. I care about you. I love you.”

  I took her into my arms and studied her perfect, beautiful face. Her eyes, which softened when she cried. Without words, I held her, wanting to keep this moment forever, wanting to simply hold her forever.

  “I love you,” she whispered again.

  I wiped the tear that slid down her cheek away with my thumb, holding her face with one hand.

  “I love you, MacKayla.”

  Her lips felt soft against mine, the kiss gentle, tender. I tasted the salt of her tears as her body surrendered into mine, and for one moment, there was nothing else, no one else, apart from us. She and I were alone in the world. And in that moment, I wanted for nothing else.

  But before either of us were ready to pull away, my cell phone buzzed in my back pocket, and Zeus tugged at his leash with a bark.

  MacKayla chuckled. Zeus tried to run after a squirrel who’d just come down off a nearby tree. I stared at the display on my phone. It was Amelia.

  “Who is that?” MacKayla asked.

  “Mel’s nanny.”

  I swiped the screen to accept the call, a knot in the pit of my stomach telling me this was no good.

  “Amelia?”

  Amelia’s tone only confirmed it.

  I picked up a rental car at the Philadelphia International Airport and headed out to my old house, the one I used to share with Dinah. The one that still legally belonged to me. I’d owned it since before meeting Dinah, and now she lived there along with Mel and Nick. And Amelia, the live-in nanny/cook/housekeeper. I owed Amelia a great deal of gratitude. Knowing Dinah would fire her if she found out it had been Amelia who’d called and filled me in on what was happening, she’d still done it. She’d put Mel’s well-being and safety before her own livelihood.

  It had been almost three years since I’d left. I’d visited a few times to see Mel, but mostly I had kept my distance. I wondered now if that had been wise. Mel wasn’t my biological daughter, but I couldn’t ignore things if she were being neglected. If it weren’t for Mel, I’d have kicked Dinah to the curb three years ago, and she knew it. Not only that, but she used that knowledge to her advantage. She manipulated me with it.

  Amelia had run out of options when she called me. She’d explained a little bit on the phone, telling me I needed to get on a plane and come home. Nick had gotten into trouble with some pretty bad people, apparently. He’d made some partnerships and had some dealings that were not on the up-and-up, and now, it was coming back to bite him. She didn’t know the full extent of the trouble but had heard Dinah and Nick arguing about it enough times that she could tell me a little. It had gotten to the point that Nick had been spending nights at the office. And Dinah’s idea of a solution to their marital problems? Pour another drink.

  About two weeks ago, she’d come home with a dent on the side of her SUV. She’d had Mel in the car with her. I couldn’t have her driving drunk for so many reasons, not the least of which was Mel’s safety.

  At a little past eight that evening, I pulled up to the large, colonial-style house and parked on the street. Amelia must have been looking for me, because she opened the door as soon as I exited the car.

  “Slater.”

  She stood on the front stoop, wiping her hands on a dish towel. I gave her a big hug.

  “It sure is good to see you back home.”

  Back home. That was an interesting choice of words. “It’s good to see you, Amelia.”

  I followed her inside, where the scent of her famous lasagna, mine and Mel’s favorite, permeated the house.

  “Oh, man, Amelia. I miss your cooking.” Apart from the warmly lit kitchen, darkness shadowed the house.

  “Well, it’ll be ready in less than an hour. Dinah and Mel should be back by then.”

  She couldn’t quite meet my eyes, but the nervous ringing of the dish towel told of her concern.

  “She’ll fire me if she finds out I called you.”

  “I’m not planning on telling her. I just came to visit Mel. It was a surprise trip.”

  “Thanks, Slater.”

  “Can you tell me more of what’s going on?”

  She adjusted the temperature on the oven. “Nick’s got himself into some trouble. I know it’s not my place, and I shouldn’t say anything, but it’s put considerable strain on their already deteriorating relationship. If it were just Nick, I wouldn’t care. You know that, Slater. What they did to you…”

  I put my hands on her shoulders. “Tell me about the trouble.”

  She nodded. “He’d gotten some funding, from what I understood at least, from this organization, these men, and he apparently didn’t deliver what they had agreed upon in exchange. They came to the house a few weeks ago. It freaked him out when that happened. I mean, not for Mel or even Dinah, but for his own neck.” A look of disgust etched her features. “I still can’t believe…”

  “How’s Mel doing?”

  “Good. She’s a sweet sweet girl. And smart.”

  “Is she happy?”

  “I think she puts on a good face. I mean, she is happy, it’s her nature, but she also sees the fighting, hears it. They don’t bother leaving the room. And Dinah, her drinking has gotten out of hand. I’m worried about her driving with that little girl in the car.”

  I took a seat at the bar and rubbed my forehead. “You mean she’s driving drunk?”

  “I don’t know if it’s drunk, but it’s too many for me to be comfortable with.”

  “And Nick? Does he know?”

  “He’s so wrapped up in himself, his work, and now, with this mess, he barely takes notice of her, and Dinah’s resentful. The way she deals with that is to drink, and the one who suffers the most is Melody. I’ll be real honest, Slater. Melody hardly sees Nick, and Dinah treats her more like a burden than anything else.”

  “A burden?”

  “I’ve heard her tell that poor girl if she weren’t in the picture, she and Nick would be happier.”

  Stunned, I sat back as if struck by a truck. How had things deteriorated to this point?

  “How long has it been this bad?”

  Amelia shrugged. “A while. The drinking and driving is new. I’m worried, Slater.”

  The garage door opened, and we both jumped. I sprung to my feet, more anxious now than ever to see Mel, to have a look for myself at just how bad things were with Dinah.

  Amelia followed me to the garage, and I watched Dinah pull up the driveway in her SUV. I tried to smile, to look happy when Mel saw me, but that quickly faded when Dinah came close to hitting the sidewall of the garage as she drove too fast into the space.

  Once she’d parked, Amelia walked out to meet them.

  “She’s been whining for the last hour!” Dinah grabbed her purse and stumbled out of the driver’s seat. It was then she saw me and stopped dead. Her surprised look quickly turned to one of panic, then irritation. “Slater, what are you doing here?”

  “It’s nice to see you too,” I said, stepping out toward the car.

  Amelia opened the door on Mel’s side, and I looked away from Dinah’s resentful face to hers. Her cheeks were wet and her eyes puffy and red, but as Amelia lifted her out of the SUV, she saw me. A huge smile spread across that beautiful face.

  “Uncle Slater!”

  “Goddamn it! Enough noise already!” Dinah shouted.

  “Dinah!”

  Dinah snapped her glance up to mine. “What?”

  “Uncle Slater?” Mel’s tone changed, her smile vanishing.

  I worked to soften my features and turned back t
o Mel. “Well, hey there, honey. I figured it had been too long since I’d seen you and decided to drop by. I hope you like the surprise?”

  The smile returned, and she held her arms out to me. “I love it!”

  I took her from Amelia. She wrapped her little arms around my neck and squeezed so hard I thought my heart would burst. God, I missed her. I missed her so much.

  Dinah huffed and turned on her heel. “Bags are in the trunk!” With that, she went inside. Amelia moved quietly to open the trunk, looking a little shamefaced.

  “I’ll get them, Amelia,” I said, setting Mel down.

  “You have to see my room, Uncle Slater. I bet it’s the prettiest purple you’ve ever seen.”

  “I can’t wait.”

  “You must be hungry, Melody,” Amelia said. “I made your favorite, lasagna.”

  “Are you eating with us?” Mel asked me.

  “Are you kidding? I wouldn’t miss Amelia’s lasagna!” I met Amelia’s gaze and tried to reassure her with my own. “Why don’t you head in with Amelia, and I’ll get your bags.” Truly, I needed a moment to calm myself.

  “Okay.” Mel let Amelia lead the way inside after she had adjusted a small princess backpack on her shoulders. She started to talk immediately, telling Amelia all about her day at preschool. I checked my watch. It was past nine. Mel should have had her dinner and been in bed an hour ago. What the hell was Dinah doing just getting her home now? Grabbing up the various shopping bags—all high-end boutiques—I followed them inside.

  “I think I made mommy mad, but I wasn’t whining for an hour, I promise,” Mel said to Amelia as she settled her at the kitchen counter and prepared a plate for her. “I just got hungry and was out of snacks.”

  I fisted the delicate handles of the bags before setting them down.

  Amelia gave her shoulder a squeeze. “Oh, honey, it’s okay. Eat up now. I’ll get you a glass of milk.” She poured some into a cup with a lid and set it in front of Mel. “Slater, lasagna?”