Crown of Lies

by Pepper Winters

  What is this...magic...between us?

  Was it like this between any boy and girl? Was the desire to cuddle close and listen as much as the need to curl close and kiss the basis of...dare I say it...attraction?

  I scoffed.

  Attraction?

  What do you know about attraction, Elle?

  You’re a closet romantic who knows nothing but spread-sheets and merchandise.

  I was an idiot to believe there was something going on between us—known or unknown, unique or mundane.

  The chocolate bar melted a little in my fingers. My tummy churned; I did the only thing I could do. I had to accept his gift now; otherwise, he would know I suspected he was homeless and hungry and would never tolerate my pity.

  But I couldn’t eat it all because if he was homeless, what else would he have? How long would that eighty dollars last him in a city that was so expensive just to survive?

  Tearing the chocolate in half, I sat up and placed his half on his knee. “Thank you.”

  His eyes found mine as his hand latched over the candy. His gaze danced over my face, lips, and hands. His fingers curled almost unconsciously around the chocolate with a feral gleam, just daring me to take it away.

  Slowly, he nodded, accepting that I knew things he didn’t want to say and agreed to eat because, if nothing else, there was trust between us.

  I gave him some space by looking away.

  Taking my time, I nibbled on the chocolate, nougat, and caramel, doing my best to focus on taste rather than my physical awareness of him.

  It was impossible.

  The entire evening—from the perfumed park, to the dewy grass, to the silent man inhaling half a chocolate bar—seared on my mind like an old-fashioned photograph, developing from blurred to sharp with hasty capture. A memory created by this man, this night, and this sugary confectionery. I would never again walk through Central Park without remembering him or how much he’d shaken up my innocent, boring world.

  Taking tiny bites to make the treat last longer, I didn’t expect conversation. So when a soft murmur interrupted the silence of the park, I jolted.

  “Do you come here often?”

  I wanted to giggle. It sounded like a cheesy pick-up line. He didn’t crack a smile or soften. He was serious.

  I looked at him through the waterfall of blonde hair that’d fallen over my shoulder. He’d already finished his dinner (or was that breakfast or lunch or a midnight snack?) Once again, the shadows of his beard and the silver-light made him seem mystical and not quite real. Too handsome to be real. Too much to be real.

  I swallowed my nerves and chocolate. “Not as much as I would like.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I work all hours of the day. I rarely get to leave the office.”

  He shifted his eyes from the open field to the tall buildings in the distance with their glowing windows and adult obligations. Belle Elle was the brightest jewel, mocking me, telling me to come home.

  “Do you like it? Being cooped up all day with no freedom?”

  I shrugged. “Who truly loves their work?”

  He didn’t reply.

  “I get satisfaction from doing a job well done. I like knowing I’ve done something worthwhile.” I looked down. “So yes, I guess I do enjoy it.”

  He kept his attention on the buildings, glaring at Belle Elle as if he already knew it owned my life and soul, and that whatever this was, it was nothing compared to contracts and lifetime legacies. “It must be nice to afford expensive things like birthday necklaces.”

  I licked my fingers free of my final bite of candy. “Do you know much about jewelry?”

  He threw me a caustic look. “I’m not completely ignorant. Just because I’m—” He cut himself off, returning to stare at the cityscape. “I know enough.”

  “I’m not saying you didn’t.”

  “Just drop it.”

  “For your information, I didn’t buy that necklace. It was a gift. I did mention that.”

  He tensed. “From a boyfriend?”

  “Would it bother you if I said yes?”

  He laughed harshly. “Why would it bother me?”

  I shook my head, my cheeks pinking in embarrassment. I had no idea why I’d asked or why it hurt so much that he’d found my question funny. “No reason.”

  I couldn’t look up. The grass was suddenly incredibly interesting. I plucked a few blades, running them through my fingers.

  Out the corner of my eye, I saw him twist slightly, his face hidden. Slowly, his hand came up, his fingers nudging my chin. I didn’t want to look at him, but his pressure gave me no choice.

  I let him raise my head. Our eyes locked and breathing became a task I could no longer perform.

  “Do you trust me?”

  I trembled as his fingers slowly unfurled from guiding my head up to linking around my nape.

  I couldn’t speak.

  I managed the smallest nod.

  His fingers tightened, pulling my face toward his. I sucked in a shallow breath as his gaze dove deeper into mine and his tongue wetted his lips. “I—I won’t hurt you.”

  His whisper landed on my mouth just before he pulled me hard.

  Our lips connected.

  I froze.

  The scent of grass and strange male hit my nostrils. The wildness of open skies and midnight made me uninhibited and free. My eyes grew heavy, closing of their own accord as he added pressure to the kiss, tilting my head with his grip behind my neck.

  I gave up every control without a thought. My spine turned to water. My insides to steam.

  He groaned a little, understanding my submission even when I didn’t.

  Scooting closer, his lips parted. The tip of his tongue darted out to test me. Test to see if I trusted him enough to let him kiss me in an empty park. Trust him enough not to go too far or hurt me.

  I answered back in the only language I currently knew. My lips opened, my tongue hesitantly touching his with truth. The explosion of chocolate made me moan under my breath as he licked deep inside my mouth.

  He didn’t hesitate.

  There was no sloppiness or confusion. His hand held me steady, his mouth worked mine, and every part of me flared with drowning, dark desire.

  He shifted until his knees nudged mine, his arm wrapping around my waist, deleting the space between us. The awkwardness of sitting on damp grass wrapped in a man I didn’t know didn’t stop the heat of the kiss from escalating.

  Our tongues met and retreated.

  Our lips slipped and connected.

  With every heartbeat, we increased speed and depth until I lost control of the rest of my body and found my fingers in his long dark hair, tugging the lengths, learning the strands weren’t soft like silk but thick and dreadlocked with neglect.

  That I was kissing a potentially homeless man didn’t stop me from wanting more. Grabbing a fistful of his hair, I pulled him demandingly into me.

  He swayed closer then snapped. He pushed me backward, forcing me to lie down. The moment I was horizontal, he lay down beside me. One leg pressed over mine, his thigh deliberately going between my legs. His body weight pinned me down.

  I tried to fight, doing my best to hold on to some resemblance of decency, but the moment he lay half on top of me, wedging our bodies together as if this was exactly what we were born to do—with his erection against my hip, and his arm around my waist, and his tongue in my mouth, and his touch on my neck...I gave in.

  I wasn’t afraid.

  I wasn’t lost.

  Not like I was an hour ago when two men pressed their unwanted pieces of anatomy against me. This man...I wanted him to. This man I didn’t know but shared an intoxicating connection with.

  Lights flashed in my eyes as his tongue dove deeper, dragging another moan from every crevice left inside me. I looped my leg around his, arching my hips, pressing against his hardness, feeling myself swell and heat and melt and yearn.

  He groaned long and low as o
ur hips fought to get closer. Impatience I’d never felt before suddenly hated denim and zippers and rules.

  Nineteen and never been kissed.

  I would do it all over again if this was my first true sexual experience. If every firework going off in my eardrums and eyelids was because of him, I would gladly be celibate for the rest of my days to deserve more.

  Because of him, I was unhinged and grinding with insanity, giving into madness I’d never understood.

  How had my night ended like this?

  Where had this spontaneity come from?

  This recklessness?

  My teeth caught his bottom lip, dragging a slip tide of violence and need from him. He growled into my mouth, nipping and licking exactly like the starving wolf I thought he was.

  “Fuck, what—what are you doing to me?” His breathless grunt did things. Glorious, delicious things. His voice created knots and bows with my insides. It filled my stomach with whirlwinds; it affected my core until my panties grew as damp as the grass we lay upon.

  I loved knowing I affected him the way he affected me. Adored that we were in this craziness together—tripping into whatever rabbit hole we’d found and deciding to kiss and kiss until we splatted against the bottom.

  His hands roamed, skating over my sides, keeping to the boundaries of pleasure. I arched, twisting a little to intercept his fingers as they swooped up and found my breast.

  We both gasped, stealing oxygen from each other’s lungs and sharing a moan-filled shudder. My hands felt empty—I needed to touch something of his. Something I’d never touched before and didn’t know how but I wanted to. So. Damn. Much.

  Lights appeared again. I was delirious with need but with no experience or knowledge on how to relieve such desire.

  I wanted him to do something. Touch something. Remove this tingling sparkling supernova deep in my belly. But he tore his lips from mine, his head flying upward in a rain of messy hair and smeared chocolate.

  “Shit.” He pulled away, leaving my body wanting and unsatisfied. “We’ve got to go. Now!”

  The lights were brighter with my eyes open.

  It wasn’t him.

  It was security.

  “Hey, you!” A flashlight shone directly on us.

  Kissing forgotten, he jumped to his feet and grabbed my hand. He hauled me effortlessly upright and yanked me into a run. “Go!”

  I didn’t hesitate.

  My sneakers dug into the grass, propelling me as fast as I could.

  “Stop!” The security guard gave chase, his flashlight bouncing erratically. He skirted the outside of the baseball field but most likely had keys as he jogged breathlessly toward the stands rather than try to out-run us as we bolted for the other side of the fence.

  Reaching the chain link, the nameless man I’d just kissed grabbed my hips and boosted me a foot into the air. “Climb. Fast.” His voice wasn’t out of breath but throbbed with urgency. He rippled with the need to bolt.

  I clutched the metal and scurried as fast as I could with my shoes barely fitting into the holes. The fence wobbled as he scaled it faster than I could, swinging over the top and dropping down.

  “Come on!” he hissed.

  I climbed faster, curling myself over the top.

  He paced below, holding his arms out. “Jump. I’ll catch you.”

  “What...again?” That he’d already demanded to catch me twice in our short relationship almost made me laugh. Had we formed habits already?

  Hysteria at being chased made jumbled emotions run riot. Laughter became nervousness. Attraction became anxiety.

  “Do it, Elle.” His tone gave no argument.

  The security guard had vanished, but it didn’t mean he wouldn’t pop up any second. Clinging to the other side, I looped my fingers tight.

  “I’m here.” He braced his legs, waiting.

  Giving him one last glance, hoping to God he was a man of his word, I squeezed my eyes and let go.

  The fall set my stomach tangling with my throat. I landed awkwardly like a bride who’d fallen from the altar into her groom’s arms.

  He grunted, pulling my horizontal form into his embrace. He stumbled but didn’t drop me. Our eyes met; a half-smirk hijacked his lips. “Couldn’t stay away from me, huh?”

  I swatted his shoulder. “You’re the one who told me to jump.”

  His face darkened. “I’m also the one who kissed you.”

  A flashlight appeared; a garbled shout was closer.

  “Shit.” He let my legs go, swinging me to vertical. The instant my feet touched the ground, he grabbed my hand and yanked me forward.

  We ran.

  Air and speed and night-sky.

  More flashlights appeared from other ends of the park, dancing with rays of righteousness as back-up guards arrived, chasing us like hounds.

  “Oh, my God!” I yelled. “What do we do?”

  “Keep running.” He pulled me forward, slipping into a faster gear.

  I wasn’t unfit (thanks to my regular gym sessions) but I couldn’t keep up with his pace. My lungs burned. My mouth opened wide, gulping at unhelpful air.

  A security guard appeared to our left, bursting from the night-shrouded bushes. Behind him ran four men in uniform.

  Police.

  Holy shit.

  Why are the police involved?

  We hadn’t vandalized property or hurt anyone. We’d gone for a stroll and kissed under the moon. What was so wrong with that?

  “Fuck!” Nameless squeezed my hand, doing his best to drag me faster. “Come on!”

  I shook my head, stumbling, dragging him back. “Ca—can’t.” Tugging on his grip, I did my best for him to release me. “My legs are cramping. Let me go.”

  “No.” His fingers locked tighter. “I won’t let you get arrested because of me.”

  Arrested?

  That awful word and terrifying implications gave me a final shot of energy. I ran as fast as I could, for as long as I could. The flashlights slowly lost ground but then sped up to match us.

  It’s no use.

  Lactic acid built up and up until I limped rather than ran. He had no choice but to either let me go or slow down. I didn’t want him to leave, but I also didn’t want him to face a situation he didn’t need to.

  “Go on.” I gasped. “Run. I’ll catch up.”

  He glowered at my lie. “You won’t catch up. They’ll take you into custody.” He punched a sapling as we sprinted past. “Fuck! This is all fucked up!” Sweat glistened on his brow, his black hood streamed behind him. The soft slaps of our shoes on the pavement matched our ragged breathing.

  He wasn’t afraid of a reprimand. He was livid at being caught. I was sure we weren’t the first to jump the wall and find some private time together. He was wrong to think we’d be arrested...surely?

  But it was more than that to him. Whatever existence he lived was a dangerous one. I didn’t know what he survived, yet here he was, pulling me forward on false energy granted from half a chocolate bar.

  I had no right to get him caught. Not when I hindered him while he tried to do the right thing by keeping me safe. For the second time.

  He doesn’t even know me, yet he’s claimed responsibility for me.

  My heart lurched, doing its best to force out lactic acid and provide life-granting blood to my suffering legs. But I was done. There was nothing left to do but stop and accept the punishment.

  “Listen!” I tugged again, planting my feet to create drag. “You go. I’m slowing you down.”

  “Shut up. Just trust me.” He didn’t look back or let go. “Run!”

  I had money for lawyers if it came down to being arrested. He most likely didn’t. I couldn’t be responsible for taking his freedom away.

  “No! Just let me go!”

  Looking over his shoulder, he eyed the police slowly catching up. A decision flashed in his gaze just before his feet changed direction and he hurled me into the bushes off the path.

  We cr
ashed into branches and leaves. The world became an evergreen maze. But then he shoved my back against a trunk, wedged his body against mine, and kissed me so damn hard, so crazily thorough, I suffocated from running and kissing and every dangerous passion he poured down my throat.

  My hands came up, clutching his hoodie as his tongue tangled with mine, knotting and licking, stealing every last breath I had.

  Pulling away, he rested his forehead on mine, a roguish smile replacing his grimace. “I’m not letting you go. I’ve only just found you.” A tenderness glowed in his brown eyes that I’d never seen from another other than family.

  My knees trembled. “You don’t even know me.”

  He placed a whisper-kiss on my mouth. “I don’t have to know you. I feel you.” His hand slowly threaded up my side, taking liberties I’d given him in a moment of insanity on a baseball field.

  Never looking away, he cupped my breast, running his thumb over my flesh.

  I moaned a little, my jaw going slack as desire sprang thick.

  He kissed me again, stealing my cry, pressing his hips against mine. “I feel you like this.” He squeezed my breast softly. “And I feel you like this.” He rocked erotically. “But I feel you most of all with this.” His touch climbed from my breast to my heart, pressing down over the rapidly beating muscle. “I don’t care that I don’t know you. I know enough.”

  I didn’t know what to say.

  This couldn’t be real.

  How had my night gone from alley robbery to bush-filled kisses? How had I transcended from lonely workaholic to falling for a man I’d only just met? A man who lived on the opposite scale of me in every little thing. Wealth and poverty. Safety and danger.

  “Come home with me.” If I were older with my own apartment, that invitation would’ve reeked with sex. But I wasn’t older and didn’t live alone. My need for him to be with me wasn’t just about me but him, too. I wanted to protect him, shelter him—to give him a better chance than the world had so far.

  He chuckled, brushing his mouth over mine. Deliberately ignoring my demand, he murmured, “You asked me before if I would’ve been pissed if a boyfriend gave you that necklace.”