Behind The Lies

by Dahlgren , Heather

  The way he takes in my whole body at my admission has my panties getting wet. He has this sexy, mysterious look in his eyes that just has me wanting to straddle his lap. I move in my seat to try to relieve some of the buildup I’m feeling between my legs and look away.

  “I’m sorry you had so a shitty childhood. It pisses me off that my dad is partly to blame for that.”

  I grin at Blake and feel good that he feels sorry for me. That’s sort of what I was counting on.

  “It’s alright, don’t be pissed,” I say.

  Blake stands up and drags London into the house and I’m left wondering what caused that.

  “McKinley, it was great meeting you. I’m sure we will see plenty of each other, however my girl, I don’t see often enough so I’m going to take her home,” Brody says.

  I say goodbye to him and Shannon as they walk out the side gate.

  “As much as I’d love to stay, tonight Kallie and I have plans. They include me, her, and her bed.” I giggle and take in the love they share. It’s visible which is something I’ve never experienced. It’s amazing to see something like that.

  “Damn dude, that’s my sister.”

  Hearing Braden say that makes me laugh pretty hard, as it does Jax and Kallie.

  “Shit sorry man. It doesn’t need to be the bed, it could be the counter, couch, hell the dining table.”

  I almost spit my beer out when Braden stands up and Jax and Kallie run laughing.

  All of a sudden, I realize it’s just me and Braden. I look over at him and smile. “Sorry to laugh, but that was funny.”

  He gets up and moves to sit next to me, which has my body burning with want. “I’m only screwing with them. I couldn’t be happier. He treats her like a queen.”

  I nod my head, completely at a loss for words with him sitting so close to me. I can feel his body heat.

  “McKinley, I’m going to be blunt because no one else seems to be. How do we know you are really Blake’s sister? I mean you just show up and everyone just says okay this is his sister, welcome. I don’t think I’m that trusting. So, convince me.”

  Anger bubbles inside of me. Who the fuck does he think he is? My hard nipples and aching pussy vanish in a flash, replaced by exasperation.

  “What the hell kind of proof do you want? You want a blood test, give me one. You want me to go find my dear old dad and have him admit it to you? I don’t know how you want me to prove it to you.”

  “What’s your agenda? What made you rush here after only learning a few days ago? Because if I’m not wrong, it probably took you a few days to get here. So, I have to believe you came here in a hurry for some reason. What is that reason?” he asks with a bit of anger in his voice.

  “Listen, I don’t owe you an explanation for anything. I’m not here to start a relationship with you. I’m here trying to discover a relationship with Blake. As I see it, that’s none of your business.” I try to sound confident, but I’m terrified he knows I am here looking for something else. And that makes me sad because I want him to like me.

  “That’s where you’re wrong. Everything that affects my friends and family is my business. And you still didn’t answer my question. What’s your agenda?”

  He moves closer to me with the last question and my body betrays my head when I feel my nipples harden again.

  I move in closer to him and keep eye contact the entire time. “I’m here to find my brother and hope that he wants to have me in his life. If he doesn’t then I’ll leave, and I will never bother him again. I’m not here to cause problems, I’m here to find family.”

  I don’t expect it and it shocks the hell out of me, but Braden grabs the back of my head and smashes his mouth to mine. I open up right away and when our tongues meet my entire body goes rigid. I’m putty in his embrace. It’s not a soft gentle kiss, no. This is an angry kiss. It’s hard, it’s fast, it’s all-consuming. I am loving every second of it.

  He pulls away much too soon but holds my hair gently at the nape. He searches my eyes, looking for something, answers maybe.

  “Fuck.” He stands up and runs his hands into his hair. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what the hell came over me,” he says with his back to me.

  “Don’t be sorry, please,” I say, with much too much pleading in my voice, sounding desperate. But holy shit that was the best kiss I’ve ever had. It was filled with so much emotion and that is something I’m not used to.

  Braden slowly turns to look at me and Blake comes outside smiling.

  “Thanks for being the only one to stick around with my sister, Braden. Everyone else will get a phone call tomorrow.” He simply nods as Blake continues to talk. “So, McKinley, since Jax is at Kallie’s why don’t you stay here tonight? You can stay in his room.”

  He wants me to stay here, in Jax’s room. He definitely doesn’t need to ask twice. “Thank you, Blake, I’d like that.”

  We all start to walk away from the fire, but Braden walks toward the gate.

  “Great party Blake, we’ll talk soon. Nice meeting you McKinley.”

  With that, I watch him until I hear the click of the gate. I guess that kiss wasn’t something he’ll be doing again. Which is fine because I’m not here for that, and I need to remember that.

  Chapter 4

  Braden

  * * *

  Walking in the front door I toss my keys on the coffee table. I plop down on the couch and scrub my face with my hands, keeping them there. What the hell was I thinking kissing McKinley? Christ, she is here looking for family and I’m shoving my damn tongue down her throat. That is definitely out of character for me. I’m not usually the type of guy that comes on strong. Most of the time I wait until the woman is just about straddling me to make a move. Yet, there was something about her that called to me. Something that took over my body, making it feel completely foreign to me.

  Watching her all day at the party playing with my girls pulled at my heart. I haven’t brought a woman around them, simply because I’m not willing for them to get close to someone if it’s not going to work. The last thing I need is for my girls to get hurt because of my relationships.

  Today when the girls were splashing in the pool and McKinley laughed right along with them, I couldn’t pull my eyes away. I had noticed her beauty the minute I saw her, but something was radiating off of her with my girls I can’t explain.

  After that, even when she wasn’t with the girls, I couldn’t tear my eyes away. Watching her laugh, talk and get to know everyone was something to watch. She seemed to just fit right in. When I watched her sip on her sangria, I started to feel envious of the glass. I wanted to taste her lips, see what they felt like pressed against mine. The more I watched the more turned on I got, so when I found it just her and me at the fire, I lost control.

  I thought if I pushed her hard enough, she would confess something that she may be hiding. My trust in women is slim and I wondered how she could just show up and fit in like she did. Like she’s been watching from afar. However, the more she pushed that she was here to find a relationship with her brother, the stronger the pull to her I felt. Finally, I couldn’t take it and slammed my mouth to hers. She opened right up to me and when I tasted her, it was more than I imagined it would be.

  My cock got rock hard, straining against my pants. My fingers begged me to feel her incredibly sexy body. I was so turned on that I would have had no problem fucking her right there in the backyard. Then it was like a slap of reality and I pulled away from her. I searched her eyes to see what she was feeling and when I thought I saw the same thing I was feeling, it was too much.

  Thankfully Blake came out and I took off. I need to keep my distance from her because I’m sure as hell not going to be the reason, she leaves Blake.

  After watching some TV to try to get my mind off of McKinley, I decide I should get some sleep because tomorrow my mom is bringing the girls home after breakfast. We are going to spend the day at the beach, which luckily for me is right out my door. />
  I climb into bed and close my eyes. Beautiful gray eyes haunt my dreams all night.

  “Daddy, look at my sandcastle.”

  As if I haven’t been watching them like a hawk, I pretend I’m seeing it for the first time.

  “Dawn that is amazing. Great job sweetie.” Watching the girls play in the sand and water all day has been great. I love spending time with them like this. Just the three of us, enjoying life. “Five more minutes girls, then we are going to head back up to the house for some hotdogs.”

  They both yell how excited they are and rush to finish what they are doing.

  After we get back to the house, I bathe the girls, laughing when I feel like they’ve brought back half the beach with them. We are now sitting on the back deck eating our dinner of hotdogs and macaroni and cheese. “What do you girls want to do tomorrow?”

  Tiffany smiles at me as she bounces in her seat. “I, I, I, umm, I wanna swim with Aunt Kallwee.”

  I chuckle at the way she says her name and look toward Dawn.

  “I want to swim with Aunt Kallie too, but I want to go shopping first.”

  A thing every father dreads hearing from his daughters, shopping. I’m not good at it and honestly, I don’t really like doing it. Even though they are so little, they like to spend hours in the mall. I’m the kind of person who knows what I’m going for, gets it, and leaves. Not these two. They want to look in all their favorite stores. Some are for clothes, some for toys, and even shoes. I dread it, but for my girls, I’ll suck it up. Unless of course, Kallie wants to go.

  “You want to go shopping with me or Aunt Kallie?”

  “I don’t care, Dawn says, finishing off her dinner.

  “Well, I love my girls, but I know you like shopping with Aunt Kallie. I’ll give her a call after dinner and see what her plans are. Sound good?”

  They both bounce around in their seats and I smile just taking in their excitement.

  After I finally get them to bed, I sit down on the couch and pick up my phone to call Kallie.

  It rings a few times and before she answers. “Hey Braden, what’s up?”

  “Hey. The girls want to go shopping tomorrow and then swimming at Jax’s pool. You free to take them shopping and I’ll BBQ for you?”

  I know she’s busy, but I’m hoping tomorrow she can swing it.

  “Luckily for you, my model is sitting next to me and won’t mind if I put it off.”

  She giggles and I hear Jax telling her to get off the phone.

  “You are the best sister and aunt in the world. I’ll bring them to you around noon and head over to Jax’s. Check with him and see if he wants to hang out while you are out shopping.” She’s quiet for a minute and I look at my phone to see if I lost her. “Kallie?”

  “Umm, oh yes that’s perfect. I’ll see you then. Night.”

  She hangs up and I toss my phone on the couch because an image of what was happening on the other end creeps into my head.

  We are on our way to Kallie’s and the girls are jumping out of their skin. They are so excited to go shopping. I owe Kallie for this one.

  As always once I park, I go over the rules of how I expect them to act. Agreeing with huge smiles on their beautiful faces. I chuckle and help them out of the truck. They are racing up the stairs, Dawn much further ahead of Tiffany, and it makes me miss the days when they would hold my hand. They are getting so big, and it makes me realize how fast time actually goes.

  They reach Kallie’s door and I yell, “Knock and wait for Aunt Kallie to let you in.” Who the hell knows what is going on in the apartment? Not a conversation I’m ready to have with the girls.

  “Daddy, hurry,” Tiffany calls back to me since I’m a few steps behind.

  Kallie opens the door, and the girls scream with excitement.

  “Aunt Kallie,” Dawn shouts before they both jump into her open arms.

  We walk inside and the three of them are talking a mile a minute.

  Jax comes walking over to me and smiles. “Hey man.”

  “Hey. Thanks for moving your shoot so she could take them shopping. I really appreciate it,” I say, slapping his back.

  “Family first,” he says, never taking his eyes off my sister.

  He’s right though, there is nothing more important than family.

  “I’m going to go pick up some food and head to your place. I promised Kallie I would barbeque. Are you heading over there now?” I ask, trying to figure out my day.

  He finally pulls his eyes off Kallie and looks toward me. “I have a few things to take care of first, but then I’ll head over. Blake should be there though.”

  As soon as he mentions Blake’s name my thoughts drift to McKinley. I have been trying to keep myself occupied with the girls to keep these thoughts at bay. Although when I’m alone she creeps into my mind. The taste of her sweet lips, the feeling that coursed through me when our tongues met, the way she melted toward me. Just thinking about it makes my cock begging for more.

  “Right, Daddy?”

  I snap out of my thoughts, feeling like an asshole for thinking that way with my kids around.

  I look to Dawn and smile. “What baby girl?”

  She giggles looking at Kallie before turning to me again. “I said, you are going to swim with us when we get back, right?”

  How can I say no to those big brown eyes? “Right.”

  “Alright, well we have a busy afternoon to get to. So, if you gentlemen don’t mind, I’m going to take these beauties and get going.”

  I mouth a thank you to Kallie and she winks at me. Best sister ever.

  I climb into my truck after getting everything for dinner and pull out my cell phone. Jax said Blake should be home, but I’m not going to show up without calling first. Again, who knows what he and London are doing.

  Pressing call, I wait for him to pick up. “Hey Braden, what’s up?”

  “Hey, the girls went shopping with Kallie, and then they are coming back to your and Jax’s place to go swimming. I was going to come by now to get stuff going for a barbeque. Is that cool?”

  I can hear noise in the background, but I can’t make out what is it.

  “Of course. I’m not there right now. London and I are grabbing some stuff from her place, but we shouldn’t be too long. I’m not sure if McKinley is there either because I know she said she was running out. So just use the spare key in the bushes.”

  Part of me is disappointed McKinley won’t be there, but the other part is glad because I don’t know what the hell, I would even say to her. “There is beer in the fridge so help yourself. We’ll see you in a bit.”

  We hang up and I make the short drive to the house and park in front. I look around and don’t see any sign that anyone is here. Grabbing the bags out of the truck I make my way to the front door. I put some of the bags down and reach into the bushes to get the key.

  Once inside I put everything away, get the steaks marinating, and grab a beer out of the fridge. I decide to sit outside and enjoy it before I start cooking. The girls will probably be shopping for a while anyway.

  Sitting here letting my mind wonder it drifts once again to McKinley. I don’t know what the hell it is, but I can’t stop thinking of her. I’ve only met her once it makes no sense. We don’t even know anything about each other. The only thing I know for sure is that just the thought of her makes my dick twitch.

  I’m just about finished with my beer when I hear the sliding door open. I turn my head expecting to see Blake, but my pulse picks up when I see McKinley. She has big sunglasses covering her gray eyes. Her hair is down, drawing my eyes to her tits that are showing just enough cleave, making my mouth water. The shorts she has on show off her long, sexy legs having me adjust my position.

  I realize neither of us have said a word and I stand up rubbing the back of my neck. “Hey.” That’s all I can manage right now. My thoughts are consumed with a foreign desire for this stranger.

  “Hey. What are you doing?” she asks, m
oving a bit closer to me with a small smile making its way to her face.

  “Oh, Kallie took the girls shopping and I came to make dinner for everyone.” I feel rooted in place.

  She looks over at the grill, which isn’t even lit, and looks back at me.

  She giggles and it does something to me I can’t explain. “Smells delicious.”

  We both laugh and the strange tension is gone. “It will smell delicious, don’t worry about that. I’m an awesome cook.” I give her a wink and she smiles, tucking her hair behind her ear.

  “I’m going to get a beer; would you like one?”

  I look to my almost empty one and tell her yes.

  I sit back down and smile, happy that I have this little bit of time with her before everyone gets here. She comes back out and hands me a beer before taking a seat next to me.

  “Thanks.”

  She smiles and looks out at the pool. It’s quiet for a long while. I’m not sure why she isn’t talking, but for me, it’s that kiss. I can’t stop thinking about it, yet I suddenly feel the need to apologize again.

  “McKinley, I think we need to talk.”

  I seem to have startled her out of her thoughts and she looks at me.

  “About what?”

  “I’m sorry about the other night. You have to understand that isn’t me. I’m not normally the kind of guy that is so aggressive.”

  It’s the truth, yet I don’t regret it. I’d do it again in a heartbeat.

  Adjusting her position, she looks at me briefly before looking out toward the yard. “Maybe you should be aggressive more often.”

  This grabs my attention and I jerk my head to look at her. Her cheeks are tinted pink and I grin. “Maybe I should be.”