Wicked as Lies

by Shayla Black

  Tessa hustled through the kitchen, turning on the automatic brewer for her morning tea, then headed into the living room. As she settled in one of the recliners, she flipped on the TV just in time to catch the weather and traffic report from the local news station and opened her pajama shirt so Hallie could nurse. The baby latched on immediately, her strong pulls and greedy noises telling Tessa how hungry she was. Then again, she hadn’t gone five hours without a meal in her life.

  The local news ended and a national morning show began. She paid almost no attention to the cheerful hosts in their professional clothes broadcasting from New York. Everything about their lives looked so glamorous. What did she have in common with them right now?

  Besides, this was her favorite time of day, the quiet before the storm. When the new morning breathed fresh promise while they shared the last of the night’s peace. She always felt close to Hallie in these moments. Tessa smiled as her daughter laid a little hand on her and continued eating with gusto.

  She stroked her brown, baby-soft hair. “Hey, slow down, sweet pea. How about a burp?”

  When she sat Hallie on her knee, bracing her little body across her palm and patting her back, Hallie wailed with displeasure. But Tessa coaxed a hearty burp from her, then opened the other side of her top so she could continue nursing.

  The baby rooted around before enthusiastically latching on. Tessa giggled. “Wow, you are hungry.”

  She lifted the remote to change the channel when the door to her bedroom zipped open.

  Zy charged out shirtless, hair mussed, eyes alert as he scanned the shadowy room. As soon as he found it empty of threats, his burning stare fastened on her. She was so aware of her exposed breast, illuminated by the light of the TV, as Hallie sucked.

  From his broad shoulders to his strong thighs, he turned rigid all over. And…were his sweatpants tenting?

  Heat flashed through Tessa. She reached for a burp cloth or a blanket to cover herself, but she had neither.

  Zy seeing her breastfeed shouldn’t make her self-conscious. She’d done it in front of other people. Well, nurses and doctors, along with a neighbor who had three kids of her own. But still, people. She was merely feeding her baby the way nature intended. There was nothing sexual about it.

  Except when Zy’s gaze touched her, her heart thudded, her belly fluttered, and the air around them sizzled.

  It felt undeniably sexual.

  What would she do if he tried to touch her? Kiss her?

  “Are you okay?” His voice sounded like he’d had an all-night bender of whiskey and rough sex.

  It sent a shiver through her. “Fine. You were only asleep for twenty minutes. Why don’t you go back to bed?”

  “No. I’m up.”

  She didn’t dare glance down again to see if that was true everywhere. “Sorry. We didn’t mean to be loud. As soon as Hallie is done, I’ll start coffee.”

  “I’ll do it.” Finally, he blinked. “I apologize for staring. I didn’t mean to.”

  “It’s fine. It’s just a baby eating, right?”

  “Sure.” Zy didn’t sound convinced.

  Tessa was desperate to break the tension between them. “Hey, really. Thanks for letting me sleep last night.”

  “Happy to help. All you have to do is ask.”

  She winced. “I’m not very good at that.”

  “I’ve noticed.” He delivered a gentle admonishment before he disappeared into the kitchen. “What flavor of tea do you want this morning?”

  He’d noticed she wasn’t drinking coffee? Then again, she shouldn’t be surprised. Nothing escaped this man.

  “The jasmine green tea, please. Cabinet to the—”

  “Right of the stove. Got it.” Behind her, she heard the door open and the rustling of the tea box. “What do you need to accomplish today?”

  “Groceries for sure.”

  “We can do that. Think you ought to take Hallie to her new daycare for a couple of hours so you both get used to it?”

  They should. In fact, Tessa was days past due. “No.”

  “Your call. Just thought I’d put it out there.”

  She sighed. “Fine. We’ll take her after breakfast. And I need to clean your wounds again. I forgot last night.”

  “They’re almost healed.”

  “Almost isn’t totally.”

  He sighed, mirroring the sound of her annoyance. “Fine.”

  Tessa laughed. “You can dish out the medicine, but you can’t take it?”

  “No, I can. And I know you promised the colonel, so we’ll do that, too.” The automatic brewer hummed, then water dispensed. “Your tea is steeping. Want anything in it?”

  “I’ll get it in a minute. Coffee pods are—”

  “In the pantry, I know.”

  “Do you notice everything?”

  “Pretty much. Occupational hazard.”

  Tessa got that. The guys who worked for Colonel Edgington all had that sharp, watchful quality. Josiah rarely failed in the friendly smile department, but he observed others way more than he spoke. Same with Cutter. Since Trees wrestled with cybersecurity, he was more into machines than humans, but he’d proven that he was always paying attention. And One-Mile? He did everything with an intensity that scared her.

  As the automatic brewer finished another mug, presumably Zy’s coffee, Hallie finished eating. Another burp later, and Tessa righted her pajamas, settled the baby in her swing, then claimed her tea in the kitchen. Zy stood at the island, drinking black coffee and watching her approach. She wished she knew what he was thinking.

  “Eggs, bacon, and biscuits sound good?” she asked as she added some sugar substitute to her tea.

  “Great. Need help?”

  Tessa shook her head. “This will only take a few minutes.”

  “All right. Mind if I ask you a few questions?”

  About Hallie? About breastfeeding her? About the way he’d watched? “Go ahead.”

  “I want more information about Cash.”

  That was a relief. Those questions were far less personal.

  “Like what?” She preheated the oven, then grabbed eggs and bacon from the fridge.

  “When he came here last time, he was drunk, right?”

  “Definitely.”

  “Does he drink a lot?”

  Tessa considered that as she set bacon in the skillet and set the biscuits on a cookie sheet. “Maybe more than I realized. On our first date, he had a beer or two. I had a glass of wine. But looking back, things escalated after that. On our third date, we went to an outdoor music and arts festival. He had a lot more to drink that night. And he got a lot more assertive.”

  Cash had kissed her on their first date. It had been nice. He hadn’t pressed, demanded, or overwhelmed. But after that festival? He’d pinned her against his door, laid his lips over hers, and pressed her mouth open. At the time, she’d assumed it was passion…and she’d had enough tequila to give in without thinking as much as she should have. Inside his bedroom, he’d all but torn off her clothes and invaded her body. The whole thing had been over and he’d been snoring beside her in ten minutes. Until now, she hadn’t realized their next few dates had followed a similar pattern.

  “The other night, he got violent. Had you seen that before?”

  She slid the biscuits into the oven. “No.”

  “Do you think he’d hurt you?”

  That question was harder to answer, and she considered it carefully as she flipped the bacon and began whisking the eggs. “Until the other night, I would have said no. But I never imagined he would break my window because I pissed him off.”

  Zy’s slow nod said her answer didn’t surprise him. “Had you ever seen him angry before?”

  “No. He was always the cut-and-run type. I think that’s why I was so shocked.”

  “What does he do for a living?”

  “He works in construction. For his cousin.”

  “Listen, the colonel only asked me to stay until you return
to work on Monday, but…if Cash ever threatens you again, call me. And if he hurts you, I’ll kill him.” Zy’s expression said he was one-hundred-percent serious.

  “I appreciate that, but I don’t want to keep dragging you into my mess. I’m sure the police can handle it.”

  “You’re not dragging me. I want to know. Promise me.”

  Why? Did Zy enjoy playing protector? Did he get a kick out of putting assholes in their place? Was he taking the colonel’s request a step further? Or…was this is way of showing some interest in her? “A-all right. I will.”

  “Good.” He pasted a sudden, blinding smile on his face. “You sure I can’t help with breakfast?”

  “Set the table?”

  “On it.”

  By the time he finished, she was removing bacon from the skillet and scrambling the eggs. In between, she handed him the butter. “Want honey or jam for your biscuits?”

  He took the glass dish. “This is fine. I’m not much for sweets.”

  Tessa sighed. “I wish I could say the same. My neighbor brought me these homemade peach preserves that are to die for.”

  “So eat them. A teaspoon won’t hurt you.”

  She plated the eggs and carried them, along with the bacon and biscuits to the table. “Tell that to my pants. They still won’t zip. Six and a half pounds to go. But I think our walk yesterday helped.”

  “Then we’ll do more exercise today. I could use some, too.”

  Tessa eyed him. “Are you supposed to be doing much while you’re healing?”

  “No one at the ER said I couldn’t.”

  “Do you even remember what the doctor said that night? You had a concussion.”

  Zy shrugged. “Not my first one, probably not my last. My shoulder is healing up. No bones were broken. I’ll be fine.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Why are men so stubborn?”

  “We’re not. Women just think we are.”

  “Ha! That’s hogwash.”

  “Hogwash, is it? That’s a term I haven’t heard in…forever.”

  “Because you California Yankees don’t know the first thing about good Southern vernacular. Bless your heart.”

  “I’ve heard that expression is the Southern woman’s equivalent of fuck you.”

  Tessa gave him her most innocent smile.

  He laughed. By the time they’d finished eating and cleaned the dishes, they had a plan of attack—even if it made Tessa nervous.

  Thirty minutes later, she had packed up Hallie’s things, called the daycare, then put herself together. She wasn’t surprised that Zy had used the time to clean the rest of the kitchen.

  Not long after that, Tessa said a tearful goodbye to Hallie. Seeing her baby in the older woman’s arms, looking both confused and near tears, had Tessa ready to forego giving the daycare a trial run, but Zy insisted she stay the course, at least long enough for errands, lunch, and groceries.

  In her little SUV, Tessa broke down. This was her first time away from Hallie, and she wasn’t handling it well. Zy held her hand, cradled the head she laid on his shoulder, and promised her everything would be all right. The words could have felt like empty platitudes, but she knew he meant them. He was the kind of man who protected the weaker and moved mountains to right wrongs.

  And if she wasn’t careful, she would get too used to having him in her life.

  Tessa loved him being around, and not just because he helped her. Because he made her laugh, made her feel safe, and made her feel like a woman again.

  Finally, she pulled back and dried her tears. “I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t be. Hallie is lucky to have you. Not everyone has a mother who cares as much as you do.”

  Before Tessa could ask what he meant, Zy started the car and pulled away. Tessa glanced back at the daycare one last time. The sooner she finished these errands, the sooner she would have her baby back.

  They made quick work of the dry cleaners and the drugstore. She picked up a pair of shoes she’d scuffed from the repair shop and dropped off an online return at a nearby shipping location.

  A fast-food salad followed, and Tessa had a difficult time eating for all her worry about Hallie. God, she was such a mess. How would she survive work next week? Or all the weeks after?

  Finally, they grabbed some groceries so the kitchen would be stocked for the next few days. And as soon as all the bags were loaded into the car, she took her car keys from Zy’s grip, hopped in the driver’s seat, and peeled rubber back to the daycare.

  “Two and a half hours is a good start,” she said, more to convince herself than anyone else.

  “Not bad. Let’s see about making tomorrow’s visit longer.”

  She winced. “I know I need to…”

  “Just like I know you don’t want to, but it will make Monday easier.”

  “Ugh. You’re right.”

  Still, she was so happy when she got a cooing Hallie back in her arms.

  After a quick trip home, the baby howled hungrily, so Zy agreed to put the groceries away while she fed Hallie. Tessa felt exhausted, more emotionally than physically. Zy perked her up by dragging the stroller out of the hall closet and suggesting they all go for a walk. Since it had done her a world of good yesterday, Tessa agreed.

  After a few brisk turns around the block, she curled up with Hallie for a nap. While she did, Zy oversaw the repair of the siding when the workers came by, then made arrangements with the glass company to come out when the replacement window arrived on Saturday.

  As afternoon wound down, they cooked dinner together. It felt intimately domestic and so terrifyingly normal.

  After a mere two days, she’d gone from feeling like she was sharing her space with a stranger to dreading the moment he left. But if he stayed, she would only get attached. So would Hallie. It wasn’t smart for either of them.

  “TV?” he asked once they’d done the dinner dishes together.

  For Tessa, the noise box was more of a way to fill the silence than to pass the time, and she didn’t want to waste a moment she spent with him. “I doubt there’s anything good on. Why don’t we talk?”

  “About what?”

  “I don’t know. Something interesting. You and Trees are really tight. How did you two meet?”

  A grin crossed his face. “In basic. We had this obstacle course to complete, which included rappelling down the fifty-foot Warrior Tower. Since Trees is so damn tall and his wingspan so wide, he had an advantage. Our first time as a class through the course, he handily beat everyone. So, being the competitive asshole I am, I told him I was going to beat him by the end of the class.”

  Tessa could picture that. “Did you?”

  “Yeah, but I’m not sure I would have if other shit hadn’t slowed him down. See, on our last run-through, he was coming off the tower and smoking everyone. I’m hauling ass, trying to catch up, when I see another guy fall from the top of the wall. Trees forgot all about me and the fact we had an unfriendly bet going. He hopped off to help the guy but had to jump to the side at the last minute to avoid landing on him. He broke his ankle.”

  “Seriously?”

  “Yep. Once he saw me coming over the wall, he remembered what was at stake and he was pissed.”

  “What happened then? Did you finish?”

  “I was a cocky shit. I had every intention of continuing on and beating Trees so I could collect on our bet…which was nude photos of some poor schmuck’s hot girlfriend.”

  “No!” It was both horrifying and funny.

  “Oh, yeah. We were eighteen—stupid and horny. And we’d been without sex for weeks.”

  “Weeks? I was still a virgin when I turned eighteen.”

  He shot her a sidelong glare. “Yeah, not me. Not even close.”

  “Sixteen?”

  Zy shook his head.

  “Fifteen?”

  He just raised a brow.

  Tessa gaped. “Fourteen?”

  “Thirteen, but I wasn’t looking for it. My older brother’
s ex-girlfriend, Celeste, decided to nail me to get back at him for cheating on her, and I was too dumb and horny to say no.”

  Holy cow! “How old was she?”

  “Seventeen.”

  “What did your brother do when he found out?”

  “He didn’t right away. I wasn’t saying a word, and Celeste didn’t tell him because we were too busy getting busy.”

  “You’re lying.” The story was so crazy, he had to be.

  “Swear to God, that’s the truth. About four months later, he caught us and he tried to beat the shit out of me. But I’d turned fourteen by then. I was big for my age, and of the two of us, I’d always been way more athletic. I held my own until our dad broke it up.”

  “Did you see Celeste after that?”

  “Not much. My brother blabbed to everyone at school that we were fucking, so she treated me like I had the plague.”

  “That’s horrible!”

  “That’s Theo.” He shrugged. “We were never close. We had nothing in common…except nailing Celeste. At least she said that, between the two of us, I was better.”

  She gaped at him, then laughed. “That’s horrible, too.”

  “Awful. But now that I’ve fessed up, tell me about your first time.”

  “No.”

  “C’mon. It can’t be more ridiculous than mine.”

  He had her there. “All right. Um…the summer after high school graduation, I spent with one of my girlfriends and her family on the beach in Naples, Florida. Her older brother brought his college roommate. We had a typical summer fling…and I thought I was in love. But after I went off to college that fall, I never heard from him again.”

  “Damn. Guess we’re both unlucky in love.”

  “I am. But I’m sure you have no problems. Why are you still single?”

  He shrugged. “Never met anyone special, I guess, especially not in the Middle East, where I’ve been the better part of six years between my service and contracting. I’ve been Stateside less than two weeks.”

  “Really?” That explained a lot. “Well, you’re a great guy. Some lucky woman will snap you up soon.”

  Already she was dreading the moment she heard he was dating. His girlfriend would be gorgeous, fit in those clingy Lycra dresses Tessa used to love. She’d probably look both classy and bad-assy in a pair of killer stilettos—and she wouldn’t have the responsibility of another man’s child.