Sweet Little Lies: Heartbreaker Bay Book 1

by Jill Shalvis

  Although the tough truth was, she wouldn’t have to. Telling him the truth would accomplish that because he would give her up once she did.

  She’d known they’d be getting to this. She hadn’t missed him looking at her cheek, or the temper that flashed in his eyes whenever he did. “It’s—”

  “Not nothing. Don’t even think about saying it’s nothing.” His voice was gentle but inexorable steel.

  “My grandfather’s in a senior home,” she said. “Has been for years. I visit him every week but he doesn’t always recognize me.”

  “He hit you?” he asked, his voice still calm, his gaze anything but.

  “No.” She shook her head. “Well, not exactly.”

  “Then what exactly?”

  “He was trying to get me to leave,” she said. “He threw the stuff on his lunch tray at me.”

  His brow furrowed. “What the fuck?”

  “It’s that sometimes he thinks I’m my mom,” she said. “He didn’t like her.”

  Finn’s fingers slid into her hair, soothing, protective, and she felt herself relax a little into his touch.

  “Why not?” he asked quietly.

  “She . . .” Pru closed her eyes and pressed her face to his throat. “She was a good-time girl. She loved to have fun. My dad loved to give her that fun. We spent a lot of time out on the water and at Giants games, his two favorite things.”

  He smiled. “And you’re still out on the water.”

  She nodded. “It makes me feel close to them. I used to tell my dad I was going to captain a ship someday, which must have sounded ridiculous but he told me I could do anything I wanted.” She paused. “I loved them, very much, but in some ways my grandpa was right. My mom encouraged my dad. The truth is they were partyers, and big social drinkers . . .”

  “Is that why you never drink?”

  “A big part of it,” she admitted for the first time in her life. “Is that weird for you, being with someone who doesn’t drink?”

  He palmed her neck and waited until she looked at him. “Not even a little bit,” he said.

  She smiled. “My dad used to say my mom was the light to his dark. He loved that about her. He loved her,” she said, her chest tight at the memory of her mom making him laugh. “They loved each other.”

  There was empathy in Finn’s eyes and in his touch. Empathy, and affection, and a grim understanding. He’d had losses too. Far too many.

  “I’m glad you have those memories of your mom and dad together,” he said. “I know it sucks having them gone, but at least when you think of them, you smile.”

  Mostly. But not always. Not, for instance, when she thought of how they’d died.

  And who’d they’d taken with them . . .

  “I’m sorry you don’t have those memories,” she said quietly.

  “Don’t be. Because I don’t know what I’m missing.” He met her gaze. “You had it worse. Your life was a complete one-eighty from mine. You know exactly what you’re missing.”

  And there went the stab to her gut again. “Finn—”

  “It’s not your fault, Pru. Any of it. Forget it.”

  As if she could.

  He tightened his grip on her. “No more going into your grandfather’s room alone. You take an orderly with you, or anyone. Me,” he said. “I’ll go with you. Or whoever you want, but I don’t want you in there with him alone again.”

  “He’s not always that bad—”

  “Promise me,” he said, cupping her face, taking care with her cheek. “There’s only honesty between us, right? We have no reason for anything but. So look me in the eyes and promise me, Pru.”

  She inhaled deeply, feeling like the biggest fraud on the planet. “I promise,” she whispered, hating herself a little bit. “Finn?”

  “Yeah?”

  Eyes on his, she leaned in close. “Do you remember when you kissed away my hurts?”

  “After the first softball game,” he said and smiled. “Yeah, I remember. It was a highlight for me.” His eyes went smoldering. “Want me to do it again?”

  “No, it’s your turn,” she said. “I’m going to kiss away your hurts.”

  He stilled. “You are?”

  “Yes.” Please want me to, please need me to . . .

  A rough sound escaped him then, regret and empathy, making her realize she’d spoken out loud. Closing her eyes, she tried to turn away but his arms tightened around her, his voice low and rough. “I do,” he said fiercely. “I’m going to show you just how much I need you. All night long, in fact.”

  She stared into his eyes, letting the strength in the words, in his body, in his gaze convince her he meant every single word. “The whole night,” she repeated, needing the clarification.

  “For as long as you need.”

  Since that was too much to think about, she had to set it aside in her head. Instead she slid her fingers into his hair as his hands caught her, rocking her against her very favorite body part of his. She oscillated her hips, thrilling to the way he groaned at the contact.

  No slouch, Finn stroked up her arms, encouraging the spaghetti straps of her sundress to slip from her shoulders. The bodice was stretchy and lightweight and still damp from the rain, which meant it took very little effort for him to tug it to her waist so that her breasts spilled out.

  A rough, very male sound of appreciation rumbled up from deep in his throat and his hands went under her dress to cup her ass, pulling her in tighter to him, putting his mouth right at tease-her-nipples level.

  He captured one in his mouth and her brain ceased working. Just completely stopped. Probably for the best since she was about to do things with him that she’d told herself she wouldn’t do again. “Finn—”

  Finn groaned again, a near growl. “Love the sound of my name on your lips,” he said and sucked hard, his hands pushing her dress up her thighs as he did.

  “Oh no,” she said, and right then, with his teeth gently biting down on her nipple and his hands up her dress, he froze.

  “No?” he repeated.

  “No, as in I’m not going to be the first one naked this time,” she clarified. “Why am I always the first one naked?”

  “Because you look amazing naked. Here, let me show you—”

  “Now just hold on,” she said with a low laugh, feeling dizzy with lust. “Good God, you’re potent.” She shoved his shirt up his chest and hummed in thrilled delight at the sight of his exposed torso. “Off,” she demanded.

  He took a hand off her thigh, fisted it in his shirt between his shoulder blades and yanked it over his head, never taking his eyes from hers, immediately going back to the business of driving her right out of her ever-loving mind.

  Her hands slid down his bare chest over his abs, which were rigid and taut enough that even though he was sitting, there was no fat ripple. If she didn’t want him so badly, she’d hate him for it. She popped open his button-fly jeans and a most impressive erection sprang free into her hands.

  He was commando.

  “Laundry day,” he said.

  She stared at him and then laughed. She had him full and hard in her hands, and she was hot and achy and already wet for him, and she was laughing.

  “It’s not nice to laugh at a naked man,” he said, smiling at her, not insulted in the least, the cocky bastard, and it only made her laugh harder.

  “I’m sorry,” she managed on a snort.

  Straightening up, causing those delicious ab muscles to crunch, he nipped her jaw. “You don’t look sorry.”

  She stroked his hard length and her body practically vibrated for him. “I’ll work on that,” she managed as he pushed up the hem of her sundress.

  Her amusement backed up in her throat.

  Air brushed over her upper thighs now. Her panties were tiny, enough that when Finn reached his hands around to her ass, there was bare cheek groping.

  “Mmm,” rumbled approvingly from his throat. His fingers dug in a little, cupping, squeezing, and then
slipped beneath the lace, making her quiver.

  “Hold this,” he said.

  She automatically took hold of her own dress at her waist. She felt hot. Achy. Desperate. She was already straddling him but his big hands adjusted her legs so that the two of them fit together like two pieces of a puzzle.

  “Yeah,” he said. “Like that.” And then he scraped aside her little scrap of panties and stilled as he got a good look at what he’d exposed.

  And that’s when she remembered the Brazilian. “It’s Elle’s fault,” she blurted out.

  “Oh Christ, Pru.” He stroked a reverent finger across her exposed flesh.

  Her exposed, bare flesh. “She took me and Willa to the spa and—”

  The pad of Finn’s finger came away wet and he groaned.

  “—the next thing I knew . . .” she trailed off when, holding her gaze, he sucked his finger into his mouth. “So . . . you like?” she whispered.

  “Love.” His hands went to her hips and he lifted her up to the table, plopping her on the wood surface. Then, calm as you please, he scooted his chair in close, draped her legs over his shoulders, lowered his head and . . .

  Oh. Oh. Her last coherent thought was that maybe Elle had been onto something . . .

  “Missed the taste of you,” Finn murmured a few minutes later, when he’d rendered her boneless. And not very many minutes either. He shifted back, and afraid he was going away, she made a small whisper of protest and clutched at him.

  Flashing her a smile, he reached behind him, pulling his wallet from his back pocket.

  “It’s a little late to exchange business cards, isn’t it?” she asked, trying to make light of their compromising situation because as was already established, her mouth never knew when to stay zipped.

  He pulled out a condom.

  “Right,” she said. Damn, she should have thought of that. Problem was, at the moment, with her dress basically a belt around her waist, exposing all her goodies, she was incapable of thought.

  “You take my breath,” he said, eyes on her as he tore the packet open with his teeth and then rolled the condom down his length.

  She’d never seen anything so sexy in her entire life.

  With what looked like effortless strength, he scooped her from the table and lowered her over the top of him, in total control of how fast she sank onto him—which was to say not fast at all. Seemed Finn liked the slow, drive-her-insane grind, and she let out a sound of impatience that made him flash her another smile.

  “You think this is funny?” she managed.

  “You panting my name, whimpering for more, and trembling for me?” He brushed his stubbled jaw very gently across her nipple and gave her an entire body shiver. “Try sexy as hell.”

  She was no longer surprised to realize that she felt it. Sexy as hell. It was an utterly new experience for her and she didn’t quite know how to rein herself in. So she didn’t even try. Instead she went after every inch of him that she could reach, following each touch of her fingers with her mouth. His shoulders, collarbone, his throat . . . God, she loved his throat. But what she loved even more? The rough, extremely erotic sounds she coaxed from him.

  “Lift up,” he whispered hotly in her ear, and then rather than wait for her to comply, he guided her with his hands on her hips, showing her how to raise up on her knees until he nearly slipped out of her, and then to sink back down, once again taking him fully inside her.

  They both gasped as she began to move like that, urged on by his hands, all while their mouths remained fused, kissing hot and deep. When they ran out of air, he wound his fist in her hair and forced her head back, sucking on her exposed throat, his other hand possessive on her ass.

  Then that hand shifted to the groove between her hip and thigh, his fingers spread wide so that his thumb could rasp over the current center of her universe. She gripped his wrist and held his hand in place.

  “You like?” he asked hotly against her ear.

  “Just don’t stop.” Ever . . .

  He didn’t. He swirled that roughly callused thumb in a very purposeful circle that was exactly the rhythm she needed, making her cry out his name as she came hard.

  When she opened her eyes, his were hot and triumphant, and she wrapped her arms tight around his neck. “It was your turn to go first.”

  “Always you first,” he said and melted her heart.

  “I’m not sure that’s fair.”

  He smiled. “Hell yeah, it is. I love watching you come for me.” He nipped her chin. “You say my name all breathy and you dig your nails into me. So fucking sexy, Pru.”

  With a low laugh, she buried her face in his neck.

  “That shouldn’t embarrass you,” he said. “Watching you come makes my world go around.”

  At the thought, her body clenched around him and he groaned.

  “Your turn now,” she whispered, and did it again.

  “Yeah?”

  “Yeah.” Empowered, she gave him a little push until he leaned back in the chair. “You just sit there and look pretty,” she said. “Let me do the work now.”

  He flashed her a sexy grin that almost made her come again before he leaned back, clearly one hundred percent good with giving her the reins and letting her have her wicked way with him.

  She gave him everything she had, and in the end when he banded his arms around her, his head back, his face a mask of stark pleasure as he shuddered up into her, she felt herself go over again. With him. Into him . . .

  It shocked her. A co-orgasm. An effortless co-orgasm. She didn’t realize it was a real thing. She’d honestly thought it was a myth, like unicorns and good credit ratings.

  When she caught her breath and her world stopped spinning out of control she looked at him. Sprawled beneath her, head back, eyes closed, he had a smile on his face.

  “Damn,” he said. “That just gets better and better.”

  Dazed, she stood on shaky legs and began to rearrange her dress. “This isn’t anything like what I expected.”

  He gave a sexy laugh. “Liar.”

  She froze and looked at him.

  “Admit it,” he said. “You’ve wanted me since day one. I sure as hell have wanted you since then.”

  Laughing at her expression, he pulled her back onto his lap, cuddling her, kissing the top of her head. “You think too much, Pru.”

  That was definitely also true. She rested her head against his chest and listened to his heartbeat, strong and steady.

  “I’ve got something to say,” he murmured, his hands sliding down to palm and then squeeze her ass.

  She wriggled a little bit, just to hear that low growl and feel his fingers tighten on her. But while his body was giving her one message, his words gave another.

  “You helped Sean out and that means a lot to me,” he said.

  She froze and lifted her head to look at him. “He told you? He didn’t have to do that.”

  “I’m glad he did. I already knew you’re warm and sexy, funny and smart, but what you did, Pru, having his back like that—and by extension, my back as well—that told me everything I need to know about you.”

  She shook her head. “Anyone would have—”

  “No,” he said. “They wouldn’t. I’ve got my brother and a select core group of friends that would do anything for me, and that’s been it. But now I’ve got you too. Means a lot to me, Pru. You mean a lot to me.”

  Oh God. “I feel the same,” she whispered. “But Finn, you don’t know everything about me.”

  “I know what I need to.”

  If only that was true. “Finn—” But before she could finish that statement, the one where she told him the truth, the one that would surely change everything and erase their friendship and trust and . . . everything, someone knocked on her door.

  “Ignore it,” Finn said.

  “Pru,” came a deep male voice from the other side of her door.

  Jake.

  Oh, God. Jake.

  This was
bad. Very, very bad. If Jake found Finn here with that look on his face, there’d be no holding back the storm. Jake had told her to tell Finn before things went too far, and when Jake told someone to do something, they did it.

  But she hadn’t.

  And things had gone far with Finn. Just about as far as a man and a woman could get . . .

  She was in trouble. Big trouble. One of the problems with having a wounded warrior as a BFF is that he saw everything as a conflict to fix. She had no doubt he’d take one glimpse at them and very possibly butt his big nosy nose in and enlighten Finn himself.

  And that would be bad. Very, very bad. She jumped up and straightened her dress before whirling to Finn. He’d pulled up his jeans, but hadn’t fastened them. Nor had he put on his shirt, which meant he sat there in nothing but Levi’s, literally, his hair completely tousled from her fingers—bad fingers!—an unmistakable just-got-laid sated expression all over his face.

  Not moving.

  She waved her hands at him. “What are you doing? Get dressed!”

  “Working on it.” He stretched lazily, slowly, like he had all the fricking time in the fracking world.

  Jake knocked again, annoyance reverberating through the wood. Jake had many good qualities but patience wasn’t one of them. “Pru, what the hell are you doing in there—and it’d better not be Finn,” he said.

  She’d just sent her hands on Finn’s chest to give him a little hurry-up nudge, so she had a front-row view of his brows shooting up.

  Well, crap.

  Then, from outside her door, came the unmistakable sounds of keys rattling, which reminded her of the unfortunate time on moving day when she’d given Jake her damn key. What had she been thinking? “You’ve got to hide!” she whispered frantically to Finn.

  “What the hell for?”

  With a sound of exasperation she whirled around and eyeballed potential hiding places.

  She had little to no furniture.

  “Dammit!” Then she focused on the dumbwaiter. Perfect. “Here,” she said, opening it and then pushing him toward it. “I need you to get in here for just a minute—”

  Finn, solid and steady, didn’t move when she’d pushed him. What was it with her and big, badass alphas who only could be budged when they wanted to be budged?