Betrayal (Secrets, Lies, and Deception Book 2)

by Heather Walsh

  Oh God. What the hell had she done? Running back into the house, she tore up the stairs, grabbing the first pair of shorts thrown on her chair. She glanced at Ethan, still asleep in her bed, torn.

  But Stephen…

  Downstairs, she found shoes by the front door, searching frantically for her keys. And just as she was about to go out the front door, she turned back, leaving a note for Ethan that she was safe. He’d know, she thought. It wasn’t how she wanted to tell him, but she couldn’t do it now, every frantic thought running through her head that she was losing Stephen.

  She raced back outside and into Ethan’s car, praying Stephen was still at the cabin. Minutes later, she was pulling off the highway, onto the long winding so-called road, praying he was there, praying he’d speak to her because she knew if she let this go until morning, there was a huge possibility she’d never see him again.

  Not that she could fault him for that. She could only imagine what he’d thought. And honestly, if she’d caught him in bed with another woman? No matter how innocent? It wouldn’t matter.

  At the top of the hill, she saw his truck and parked behind it. Giving herself a minute to get herself together, to wipe the tears from her eyes, wishing she didn’t look like hell, but still glad she hadn’t taken the time to fix it. Only fifteen minutes must have passed since she’d heard him leave her house even though it felt like a lifetime. Heart hammering, she got out of the car and ran up to the cabin, wondering if she should knock or just walk right in. Would he open the door for her?

  But before she could do either, his truck door slammed. She spun around, her heart in her throat. Stephen.

  And then it got worse.

  She’d wanted to run into his arms, feel him lift her up, feel that hard press of his mouth on hers, ravaging her, taking her. But the look in his eyes froze her to her spot, had her rethinking the impulsive decision of her midnight travels.

  Stephen stood at the bottom of the porch, three steps below her. He’d changed out of his tux, now wearing a worn pair of jeans with a black T-shirt that clung to his chest, showing off just how big he was. His black hair blended in with the night, his blue eyes never leaving hers as he lifted a bottle of beer to his lips, drinking half the contents in one long gulp, glinting in the moonlight.

  “Sleep well?”

  His tone was slightly sarcastic, letting her know that he’d seen everything, had drawn the wrong conclusion. But her heart was in her throat, preventing every single thing she wanted to say from coming out of her mouth as if she was stuck in one of those terrible, terrible nightmares where she was screaming and screaming, but nothing was coming out.

  And it had her heart pounding. Fear, gripping and intense, not from the man himself even though he looked ready to kill. But from what he might say.

  “I asked you a question.”

  Another tone she knew well. Deceptively quiet. Too angry to yell. And that’s when her hands started to shake, when she started to doubt he wouldn’t forgive her for everything she’d put him through these past few days. She opened her mouth, yet still couldn’t force any words from her mouth. He climbed the steps, looming over her and she couldn’t help but take a step back, fearing the words that would come out of his mouth, ending them. Words that were making her heart break before he even uttered them, and she wondered if it would be easier just to walk away before he could tell her he no longer needed anything from her again, just like he had the other night.

  He stalked closer but didn’t touch her. His eyes cold, hard. Harder than she’d ever seen them.

  “Answer me!” The roar echoed through the mountains, so loud and deep it jolted her, making her jump. But she’d forgotten the question and she could only shake her head, hoping that was the right answer.

  “Why are you here, Kat? You wanna finish what we started in the stairwell? Wanna fuck me one more time before you go back to him? ’Cause that’s not how this works, sweetheart.”

  Still not trusting her voice, she shook her head frantically, but Stephen wasn’t finished.

  “You wouldn’t stay with me, wouldn’t let me come home with you. Yet you let him. Slept with him!” And beneath the rage, she heard the heart wrenching anguish in his voice, the absolute despair that told her he believed she’d chosen Ethan. Finally, she opened her mouth, shaking her head. But now that she’d found her voice, he wasn’t going to let her speak.

  “Stupid me,” he said on a laugh that held no humor, before bringing the bottle back up to his mouth, emptying it this time. “I came to apologize. For tonight, for the stairwell. I didn’t want you thinking I was making a point, that it was a play, part of a game. Maybe it started that way. My jealousy and getting the better of me, hearing you tell another man you loved him, seeing you in his arms. But by the end, I just wanted you, needed you. Was desperate to show you that you’re just as desperate for me, and it had nothing to do with this stupid fucking on-going war I don’t want to fight anymore!”

  “Then stop!” she finally yelled, but he didn’t hear her, the fury in his voice breaking her already shattered heart. His words filled her head and she hoped to God they were still true. But Stephen was beyond listening, so she just kept her mouth shut, letting him vent, every word like a knife piercing her heart.

  “And I couldn’t leave it for morning because I was so fucking scared you’d use it against me. That after you thought about it, you’d realize what a dick move it was. And that smile, that sad fucking smile you gave me when you dropped me off. Jesus, I just fucking knew this was it. The end. But I can’t live with the thought of losing you! Wondering every single time we’re together, if it’s gonna be the last!”

  “It’s not—”

  “But even that would have been merciful because I don’t want to fucking share you anymore!”

  “You’re not.” But she knew he wouldn’t hear those words, whispered on a gasp, the sheer hell she’d put him through these past few days making her feel so very ashamed.

  “So I went up, desperate to see you, apologize, feel your skin against mine, even if it was just to hold you one last time, all the while praying instead that you wouldn’t be telling me I lost you tonight.”

  She didn’t want to hear anymore. Tears were rolling down her cheeks unchecked, too fast to wipe away. That she’d taken this strong, confident man and made him feel this way. That he’d been harboring all this these past few days and she hadn’t had a clue.

  “And do you know how it felt? With all this shit going through my head?” His eyes were piercing now, his body vibrating with anger. “Seeing you in bed with him?”

  “It wasn’t like that!” she screamed, loud enough that he would finally hear her, needing this to end, because she couldn’t take anymore.

  “Meaning what? You didn’t fuck—”

  “Stop!” she cried, shoving him with all her strength, enough adrenalin coursing through her that he actually fell back, his head slamming into the porch post behind him, shocking him silent. Finally. “Don’t you dare finish that sentence! You think I’d do that? After what happened between us?”

  Obviously. Stupid question.

  “The truth, Kat?” he whispered, his hand moving up to cradle her face. “Yes, I think you would.” He sounded desolate. Defeated. A far cry from his normal arrogance. Tt made her blink, stopped her from responding even as he placed a finger over her lips to prevent it. “You’re in love with him, and I can’t—”

  “Damn it, you ass!” Kat yelled, fisting his T-shirt in her hands. “I’m in love with you, Stephen.”

  He stilled, tension seeping into every muscle of his body half a second before he sprung, all his passion, his need and desperation burning through him into her when his mouth crashed down on hers. Instantly out of control, he ravaged her, his tongue demanding entry the second his lips landed on her mouth, every feeling she’d had inside her exploding into a hunger so crushing, so desperate, she was powerless against it.

  He lifted her, his big warm hands grippi
ng her waist until she felt her back against the cabin, then his hands were in her hair, holding her in place while he attacked her mouth with such ferocity she thought she’d orgasm from his kiss alone. She plunged her hands into his hair, fisting the soft silky strands, forgetting the need to breathe, kissing him back with the same ferocity he kissed her. Spots danced in front of her eyes and she didn’t know whether it was lack of oxygen or the overwhelming need for him, the devastating pleasure his mouth wrought. His hands tightened in her hair and he moved his mouth to her neck, his breathing as heavy as hers as she let her forehead rest on his shoulder. “Please,” she begged when she had enough air to get the word out. “Need you.”

  “Can’t,” he panted, shocking her. No way could he be serious. Not when she was about to combust. But he didn’t stop kissing her, didn’t stop letting her slide against him. “Don’t trust myself,” he breathed into her ear before taking her mouth again and she was lost, so incredibly lost when his tongue met hers again, so desperate for him. “Need you too desperately.”

  “Then take me,” she breathed again, her body on the edge of exploding, wanting that so, so much, remembering just how much she loved having Stephen Chandler out of control. And his words just raised that need so much higher when she wouldn’t have thought that possible.

  “You better be sure this is what you want, because once we do this? You’re mine. You think I was an arrogant, possessive ass before? You have no idea what you’re unleashing, baby girl.”

  Holy shit, she wanted that, so desperately, his words flaming her fire. “I do.” She wanted to scream the words, but didn’t think it came out that way. Maybe the desperate way she tightened her legs around his waist and moved up and down on his erection and tightened her fingers in his hair would get the point across because she was ready to burst into tears if he didn’t get inside her. “Now. Please,” she moaned. “Gonna—”

  And finally, he seemed to realize how desperate she was, that she was just as desperate for him as he was for her. “Jesus, not yet.” He loosened his grip on her hair, moving his hand to her waist and she let her legs unwind from his on a whimper and much as it pained her, she let her legs fall, shaking her feet, losing the shoes as Stephen shoved her shorts and panties from her legs. His fingers skimmed up her legs, slowly moving toward the center of her, but that’s not what she wanted. She wanted to feel him stretch her, as her body acclimated to his, didn’t want to be stretched before that.

  She tore her mouth from his, whispered don’t. She was wet, beyond wet. “Don’t,” she breathed again, and he seemed to understand exactly what she wanted, that she didn’t want his fingers stretching her first. She felt him unbuttoning his jeans and her body shook, so ready for him, the anticipation driving her wild. But all that need, as desperate as it was, in no way prepared her for the shock of Stephen thrusting into her and the immediate explosion of her body. Her scream echoed through the mountains, her body convulsing as the pain and unholy pleasure ripped through her, the force of it so powerful she felt on the verge of passing out, black spots dancing in front of her eyes as her body continued to pulse.

  “Ah fuck,” Stephen gasped, holding her hips in place, her back shoved up against the cabin wall as tears gathered in her eyes, tears of a pleasure so intense she didn’t want it to ever end. “Don’t stop,” she somehow managed to grit out and thank God he listened, thrusting into her, her orgasm rolling into a second one or maybe just one long one that refused to end.

  “More. Again,” she hissed when the she started to come down.

  “Christ, Kat. So incredibly tight. Wet,” he panted. “Fucking dream.” Every word uttered punctuated with another deep thrust that went so deep inside her and she could never imagine living without this, without him. And finally she could breathe again, or at least gulp in a few breaths, her body slowly coming down from her high.

  “No fucking way,” Stephen warned, and then his hand was in her hair, gripping, tight, his mouth crashing down on hers again, his tongue thrusting into her mouth with the same desperation his cock thrust into her body, their teeth clashing, and she wondered if it would ever go away. She felt her body responding again. He must have felt it too, the tightening of her body around him. He tore his mouth away. “You wanted this.”

  God yes, she wanted this. Would never stop wanting this. Loved having Stephen out of control. The heat, the desire in his eyes, the ferocious primal way he took her, it all coalesced, building and building. And somewhere in the back of her mind, she wondered if she’d survive this one, or if her heart would explode the same time as her body. And she felt his body tense, felt him grow even larger inside her, stretching her when she hadn’t thought she could be stretched any further, his thrusts stronger, more powerful.

  “Now, Kat!”

  And she exploded, Stephen right on her heels, his masculine roar thundering through the mountains, in her ears, mixing with her screams, on and on, blocking everything out except the white-hot pleasure burning through her veins, burning into her soul and she knew even as the pleasure imprinted on her soul she would never, ever fully recover.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Eventually he could breathe again. Eventually he moved them to the bed. Clumsily, though, his muscles still shaking, his chest still heaving, still chasing air that was escaping him, refusing to fill his lungs. Sweat dripped from his body, but he refused to let go of Kat, keeping her pinned on top of him, one arm across her back holding her to him, the other stretched above his head, gripping the edge of the mattress, anchoring him to the bed because he wasn’t sure he was completely down to earth yet. Wasn’t sure if Kat was even conscious, but at least she was breathing.

  Or trying to anyway.

  There were no words for what just happened. From the excruciating white-hot pleasure, to the most unimaginable orgasm he’d ever had. He swore he had truly blacked out for a moment. At least he’d warned her, but Holy Christ, even he had never imagined he’d had that in him. It went beyond losing control. Way beyond. A part of himself he’d never known was inside him.

  Jesus.

  “Am I alive?” Kat breathed, her body still trembling with aftershocks.

  He laughed. Where the air came from, he didn’t know. His. She was his and he was blown away by that. So certain…Ah hell. It didn’t matter. Not now. Not when he had her in his arms, still trying to recover. Eventually he’d let her up. In a day.

  Maybe two.

  “Hot.”

  “Thanks.”

  Kat huffed out a laugh, the sound vibrating through him and he closed his eyes against the bittersweet sound, a sound he knew he’d need to hear for the rest of his life, desperately needing to hold onto the moment, but reality was crashing its way back much too fast. And he might not be one to pray, but he couldn’t stop himself from doing it now, begging for the chance to always keep her his.

  “I meant I’m hot. Is the air working?”

  It didn’t feel like it. “Can’t let you up yet.”

  She turned her head, kissing his chest, reminding him he hadn’t even taken the time to undress them completely. They both still had their shirts on, only their lower halves bare and that’s only because he hadn’t been able to walk with his pants around his ankles. “Not the way I imagined being inside you again.”

  Kat raised her head, the smile she bestowed on him lighting the room as if the sun had risen, her beautiful green eyes shining with everything he’d been longing to see.

  “I love you, Kat.” Simply said, yet so full of emotion. He brought his arm around, buried his fingers in the nape of her neck and brought her head down to his, kissing her softly on her lips. “So much.” He was surprised his voice didn’t crack halfway through.

  “I love you, too. And for the record, that was exactly the way I wanted you inside me again. Although I’d definitely like to hear how you imagined it.”

  Stephen pulled her head down to his, kissing her softly on the lips. “First of all, we would have been naked.”
<
br />   Kat laughed and pushed herself up so she was straddling him. Grudgingly, he let her move. She took off her shirt, helped him remove his. “Better?”

  “Better.” He raised his legs, so she could lean against them, stroking her hair, her body, her breasts. And the diamond in her belly button. All the parts he missed during that crazy ride. He worried he hurt her, knew she’d be pissed if he asked so he let it go. Still, it awed him, stole the very air from his lungs, the strength of her passion, the wild part of herself.

  “You bring it out in me,” she said, as if reading his thoughts.

  She was so young, only twenty-three, hadn’t really lived since she was seventeen. She couldn’t possibly know that.

  “Who could top that?”

  “Nobody,” he growled. “Ever.” It was way too late for her to find out. “Now please get out of my head.”

  “Not in your head. It’s your eyes. I can see what you’re thinking again,” she said in amazement. “You used to be so open, easy to read, easy to laugh. I envied that, the last time we were together. And it’s been mostly missing these past few days.” Once again, she sounded a little sad. “I’m so sorry—”

  “No regrets, Kat. No guilt. You’re here. You’re mine. I am most definitely yours. Always. For the rest of the night, it’s enough.”

  “Always,” she whispered, then said, “Let me up. I’m…sticky.”

  And that quickly, he froze again, his life flashing before his eyes despite the words he’d just said to her. Prison…Kat pregnant. Alone. Ah shit. And even if he wasn’t arrested, he had no job prospects. He’d gotten the fourth turn down earlier today. Not unexpected, but still just as devastating. This is exactly why he should never have—

  “So help me God, Stephen, if you finish that thought!”