Pure Illusion (Web Of Deception #1)

by Michelle Watson

  Hunter pulls the phone from his pocket and answers it. “What?” He holds my eyes the entire time. “You fucked up, Falcon. She’s with me.” Then a pause and an exasperated sigh. “Save your excuses. I gotta go. Later.” He ends the call, tucking my cell back in his jean pocket, his blue eyes penetrating through me.

  “Don’t,” I whisper.

  His brows frown in confusion. “What?”

  “Don’t.”

  “Don’t what?”

  “Don’t make me love you.”

  His head jerks back, forehead creases with wrinkles. An emotion I would describe as pain or hurt flashes in his stunning eyes, but that’d be wrong, of course. In order to feel pain, to feel anything, he would need to care. He doesn’t care at all. Hunter smiles so big it’s blinding. “I don’t want to make you love me, Isabel, but it’s apparent. You already do. But try to understand this with absolute clarity, I can’t love you. I don’t want to love you, not in the way you want me to love you. It makes me sick to even think about it. Not good enough. Not good enough for anyone.”

  His words are like a bullet to the heart.

  I’m not good enough.

  I’d burst into tears if I wasn’t so numb.

  Instead, I drag my shirt over my head and throw off my bra and rest of my clothes.

  “What are you doing, Isabel?”

  Ignoring him, I wander out the bed and head into his bathroom. I need a shower. I smell of him too much. It’s causing my stomach to hurt and chest ache, that’s not such a good sign because I don’t want to feel anything.

  He roughly grabs my elbow, bringing me to an abrupt halt. “You have that empty look in your eyes again.”

  “Shower. I need to shower,” I mumble.

  His fingers tighten on my elbow.

  I would wince if the pain didn’t feel so good.

  “I need to shower,” I repeat.

  He takes a step back and releases me but follows me into the bathroom. He turns on the water as I step into the glass shower. I sink down to the heated tile floor and pull my knees up to my chest. My dark hair clings to my back as the warm rain streams down my body. I am unaware if Hunter leaves or stays. All I know is that I’m shutting the entire world out.

  Chapter five

  Sleeping Beauty

  “Falcon is coming,” Hunter says quietly. It’s only been two days since he said those horrible things to me.

  Not good enough.

  “Did you hear me?” he asks.

  Not good enough for anyone.

  I simply nod.

  “He’s going to try to take you away from me, but I won’t let him. I’m not through with you.”

  I nod again, though I have no idea what he’s talking about.

  He’s not through torturing me yet?

  “Sleepy,” I whisper.

  He gives a slight nod, then slides behind me in bed, circling his arms around by belly, forming his front to my back. I wish the smell of him made me want to vomit, but it doesn’t. I love the smell of him. I’ve always loved the smell of him.

  “You remember when we had sleepovers when we were kids? I always slept in your bed. Your parents thought it was all innocent, but we were learning how to kiss. You told me all the places you wanted me to kiss you when we got really good at it. Remember?”

  My body jerks and then stiffens.

  I remember.

  I remember everything.

  “When I kissed you right behind your ear, you always trembled,” he whispers, nuzzling his nose in my hair. “Do you still like that?”

  Please don’t.

  His nose begins to trail down my hair, then his lips shift to the back of my ear. His warm and wet tongue presses in on the erratic pulse and nips me there.

  I shiver and whimper, trying to scoot away from him, but he holds me tighter against his body.

  “Yeah,” he declares smugly, “you still like that.”

  “Sleepy,” I reply breathy.

  “Sleep, then.”

  Hunter

  Hunter wakes in the middle of the night. He glances at his digital clock. 1:00 A.M. His head rests on the cool feather-filled pillows. Isabel is still tucked under his body. Her eyes are closed and she is still breathing.

  Thank fuck.

  She’s breathing.

  “Isabel?” he whispers.

  “Mmmm?”

  “You’re beautiful.”

  “I don’t exist,” she mumbles still asleep.

  Hunter Knight knows Isabel responds in her sleep. The weirdest part is that she always answered honestly but her responses are riddles. He could ask her anything he wants to know and she’d reveal every single secret she kept hidden, except he’d have to decipher her low-key confesses into his own interpretation of her truth, his truth.

  “Are you going to live for me?” he asks softly.

  She grumbles incoherent things, then she takes a deep breath through her nose and let’s it out in a small whisper. “If you look close enough, you can see it cracking. If you listen intently, you can hear it breaking. If you touch it, you’ll get cut. There are so many pieces, too many sharp pieces.”

  Intrigued, he inclines closer, holding her tight. “Pieces of what, baby?”

  “Pieces.”

  “Pieces?”

  “Mmmm. Fragments.”

  Without realizing, his hands violently squeeze her hips.

  She whimpers in pain.

  He loosens his grip but continues to holds her firmly, “I want you to live, Isabel. Live for me.”

  She whines in discomfort and attempts to move away from him but he holds her tighter against his body. His dick twitches. He’s getting aroused by her moans of distress, not to mention her soft body pressed into his.

  Shit!

  Even in this weak and broken stage, Isabel is still the sexist woman he’d ever seen. Her twinkling hazel green eyes that used to get so wide with wonder and awe every time she stared at him makes his heart pound heavier than anything else ever could. Her smooth, flawless pale, almost translucent brown skin always made him sick with desire. The scent of her: a wild and intoxicating mix of dark berries makes his head heady with a simple whiff. He knows her fragrant so well that he could blindly find her in the dark by her scent alone. But her long hair, dark silk, is his favorite. It frames not only her face but also her body, which has become very thin and frail due to stress and depression.

  He loves her hair.

  He always had.

  “I’m dying, Hunter. I’m dying a million deaths,” she wails softly.

  “No, you’re not—” she wiggles and he drops his arms from around her and she rolls over to face him, still asleep “—you look pretty alive to me.”

  She grunts when his heavy arms settle back around her middle. “I’m invisible to you.”

  “Yeah, you are,” he confirms. “That’s exactly what I need you to be.”

  She begins to make sniffling noises, on the verge of tears.

  Jesus, she cries in her sleep too.

  “Hush, Isabel,” he orders sternly, watching her bottom lip cease from quivering.

  So responsive.

  He likes that.

  “Blinded first by the beauty that killed her. Invisible. Someday you’ll fall in love with me.” she mumbles.

  He doesn’t know why, but he smiles.

  His smile is massively huge.

  In fact, his smile is not the friendly or inviting kind at all.

  His smile is darker, sinister, more deadly than that.

  Without needing to respond, he nuzzles his face in her nest of silk, hiding his lethal smile.

  Chapter six

  It’s Who You, I, We Are

  The warm sun lingers on my skin, waking me from a deep slumber. My eyelids lazily flutter open to the brilliancy around me that filters through the thick treetops outside the large windows.

  Hunter lives in a spacious two-story, three bedroom house made of grey stone and glass, outside of town in the midst of the
forest. There’s very little privacy when every wall is purely see-through. But I guess seclusion isn’t an issue when you’re surrounded by wild green jungle-like vegetation and have no neighbors or prying eyes in sight.

  As I wipe the sleep from my eyes, I notice that my left wrist is stretched above my head and secured to one of the poles on his wrought iron headboard by metal handcuffs.

  I have to pee and I can’t move.

  Shit!

  My eyes dart to the pillow beside me with a folded sheet of plain white paper that has a written note:

  Went out for a run and to get groceries.

  Don’t trust you alone yet so I cuffed you.

  It shouldn’t take long. Be back soon.

  Hunter

  Infuriated, I strain against the cuffs, thrashing like a rabid animal, quickly exhausting myself. My head starts to spin from the sharp, jerky motions. My heavy breathing and erratic pulse slows as I still my movements. Being cuffed to Hunter’s bed was one of my favorite fantasies.

  Why are you freaking out? This is what you always wanted, right? my subconscious asks.

  A strong warm, tingly feeling settles in the pit of my stomach and between my legs, stirring a deep longing I kept carefully at bay. Now, I don’t know whether I have to pee or just plain horny. I need to be relieved either way.

  Inhaling deeply, I close my eyes and breathe in Hunter’s masculine scent, letting it calm me. The warmth, tingly sensation before has intensified immensely. It’s spreading. I feel it in my fingers and all the way down to the tips of my toes.

  My free hand travels down the slop of my stomach, into the waistband of my panties, between my legs. I’m soaked. God, this feels so wrong but I’m in crucial need to alleviate myself. I need to come. If I don’t, it feels like the weight of it all will crush me.

  Panting, I start to touch myself, thinking of Hunter and his longish blond hair, clear blue eyes, and smooth, sun-kissed skin. My chest heaves as my breathing turns ragged. I massage my clit rougher, imaging his powerful, well-defined arms around me, holding me, touching me, and caressing me.

  It feels like a billion emotions are racing through me, all clashing together, leaving scorching desire in its wake. The heavenly sensations begin to build. I dig my heels in the mattress and yank harshly against the restraints as my entire body begins to tremble. Moaning softly, I come undone at the seams. Dragging my wet hand out of my underwear, I inhale and sag back into the bed, sated. It’s like I’m melting into his sheets. I feel so much better.

  My labored breaths and pounding heart fills the silence, until I hear someone crumbling a plastic wrapper.

  I feel my entire body flush.

  Oh.

  My.

  God.

  Mortified, I keep my eyes screwed shut.

  “That was so much better than porn,” Hero murmurs. “I’m like, so hard right now. My dick hurts.”

  “Naughty girl, Isabel,” teases Falcon in mock admonishment. “You always look amazing when you come, though.”

  I’m going to die a million deaths from embarrassment.

  Gathering all my courage I can muster, I peek out of one eye. Three sets of eyes are staring back at me. Hero slowly and seductively licks crumbs off his lips in a way it would make girls’ hearts stop. Falcon grins back at me, his brown locks curling over his navy shirt collar. He looks good. Falcon always looks good. Hunter leans in the doorjamb, arms crossed at his chest, his sharp gaze on me. He is dressed in black basketball shorts, sneakers, and a gray loose shirt that is drenched with sweat.

  How does he sweat in the wintertime?

  “That was quite a show, young lady,” Falcon scolds lightly. His muscled, insanely ripped limbs bring him closer to me. Hunter suddenly straightens his pose, grabbing Falcon’s arm, bringing him to an abrupt halt. “I need to un-cuff her and she has to get dressed.”

  Falcon’s brows furrow and his light brown eyes drop to Hunter’s hand. “I’ve seen her come. I’ve seen her naked, too. So let me go before I kick your ass in front of her and your little brother.”

  “Hero. Out,” Hunter growls.

  Hero throws a flirtatious wink my way that chills my skin and disappears from my view.

  Hunter’s free hand fists at his side, ready to strike. They can’t fight. They were best friends once upon a time. It’s just wrong.

  “Please don’t fight,” I quickly blurt out.

  Their eyes shift to me.

  “Falcon, I love you so much, my shining knight. Can you please give me and Hunter a moment? Please.”

  He gives me a slight nod, jerking his arm free from Hunter’s tight grasp.

  Hunter’s jaw clenches and he stares fiercely at the back of Falcon’s head, as if he wants to knock it right off. Falcon exits the room, shutting the door after him.

  His hard gaze flickers to me as he moves in my direction. He sits next me, never losing eye contact.

  “Un-cuff me. I need to pee and shower,” I whisper, avoiding his eyes now.

  “I went to the store to buy ingredients. You still like chocolate chip pancakes?”

  I don’t reply, but he keeps talking anyway.

  “I fixed them every morning for you. Wanted to cook them perfectly. I practiced for a whole month once in the summer. What twelve-year-old boy practices making perfect pancakes to please their best friend?”

  He used to fix me chocolate chip pancakes all the time when we were younger. They were always, always delicious.

  He blows out a long breath, raking his hand over his face, as if he’s trying to control his anger. “Did you enjoy yourself?”

  Not responding, I stare at a fixed spot ahead on the wooden door.

  “Eyes. Now, Isabel,” Hunter orders in a lethally quiet tone that makes my hairs stands on the back of my neck and a strong pickle race across my skin.

  My eyes quickly dart to his unforgiving ones.

  “Did you enjoy yourself?” he repeats, all patience gone.

  I nod once, feeling my cheeks burn and heat.

  What the hell was I thinking?

  “Who were you thinking about?”

  “I have to pee, really bad, Hunter. Please un-cuff me,” I whine softly.

  He cocks his head to the side, as if considering something, then simply says, “No.”

  “But I have to go. Un-cuff me. I might pee in your bed. It won’t be a pretty sight at all.”

  His lips twitch and he raises his brows as if saying, do you really think I give a shit? I groan, straining with all my might against the cuffs. I’m flopping around like a fish out of water.

  Hunter arm reaches out and he presses a hand, palm down on my stomach and pushes down. His touch seers right through my skin again. I inhale sharply, feeling my heart pound against my ribs. The feeling is so intense that I feel light-headed. “Settle down, Isabel.”

  “Hunter,” I gasp.

  “Shh.” His fingers splay over my navel and his thumbs sweep lightly across my skin there.

  My heart is squeezing so tightly in my chest it, like it’s about to explode at any second.

  “My brother has a key to my place and let Falcon in. When I came home, they were bunched in the doorway, mouths drooling. I pushed my way through and saw you coming, hard.” He brings his hand up to his face making a tight fist. “Hero knows what you look like when you come. He knows what you sound like.” Hunter drops his hand, shutting his eyes and tipping his head down, as if some awful tragedy struck. “I want to hurt both of them, Isabel. I don’t have the tolerance for shit like this. I don’t have the tolerance for you.”

  He doesn’t have the tolerance for me?

  My breathing turn heavy as I continue to listen to his words that strike me like stones to the head.

  He gives me a critical once-over, then shakes his head in disgust. It unnerves me in a way it shouldn’t. I know he dislikes me, but does he hate me as well? “You’re a smart girl so I don’t understand why you’re acting like a fucking idiot.” The muscles in his jaw tense as he
grits his teeth. “You need to get yourself together, Isabel. And fast before I…” He trails off, running a hand angrily through his hair and squeezing as he goes.

  Before he what?

  Hunter stands abruptly, startling me. He digs in his pocket and pulls out a shiny small metallic key, unlocking me from the restraints.

  I clutch my numb wrist to my chest in my hand, swinging my legs off the edge of the bed. Hunter steps closer, caging me in. The fiery heat emitting off his body is enough to smother me, it’s wrapped around me in a thick, heavy cloud, choking me. His scent overwhelms me. He smells like sweat and fresh lavender, it’s making my head spin as I stare down at his running shoes.

  His hand reaches out and flips my long hair over my left shoulder. That same hand touches the side of my face, dragging down my skin until his fingers press in on my lips. “You have a pretty mouth,” he utters lowly, his voice dripping with lust.

  My lips part in a gasp. His thumb slides between the seam of my mouth and then dips inside and touches my tongue. He tastes of salt and wild grass and something sweeter, something that’s only him. He removes his thumb as swiftly and as quickly as he slipped it in.

  I release a shaky breath and collapse back first to the mattress, my entire body quivering. This is very bad because I want to block out everything including feelings for Hunter. “Take a shower. Your pancakes will be ready by then,” he murmurs over his shoulder as he walks away.