Beautiful White Lies Duet

by K L Clare

  I traced the lines of her face. I couldn’t recall Isobel ever looking as happy, had never seen her eyes shine the way they did in that photo.

  My heart knew in that moment that what Parker had said was true. She wasn’t my sister, not by blood. I was furious with her for the lies, and I ached for her, missing everything about her.

  I flipped the page and found another photo of Isobel and Ethan, but in this one, there was another person.

  The third person was a man, his deceitful expression familiar.

  All three smiled and held drinks high as if celebrating something, and the hand of my sister’s murderer rested warmly on Ethan’s shoulder.

  I choked on my breath and slammed the album shut.

  My mind spun with details that I’d never questioned but should have. I swallowed hard and forced myself to see the truth. It had been staring me in the face for so long: Isobel’s fascination with guns, how she knew how to use them and carried one in her handbag, and how she met me at Nick’s to walk me home every night. The paranoia and the overbearing behavior. . . .

  She’d known the truth, and she had been protecting me.

  And there was her secret involvement with Ethan. She’d fed information about me, about the security of our situation to the Hastings patriarch, to Ethan. How else could they have known if danger lurked on this side of the Atlantic? Ethan hadn’t found it necessary to keep tabs on Isobel, to protect her the way Will protected me. . . .

  Ethan had known all along.

  They both knew she wasn’t my biological sister. She’d been planted in my life. Isobel had been another defender of my blood.

  Will stirred and grumbled something unintelligible. Did he know? He swore he had no secrets, that he’d never lie to me, and I believed him. No. Ethan had lied to him, too.

  I closed my eyes and held my hand against my forehead as if that would make it all disappear. I struggled to erase the unwanted image from my brain, that photo of Ethan and Isobel with Parker.

  I reached out to Will, whispering hoarsely, “I’m here, my love.”

  It was in that moment that I decided to keep the photo from Will until he made a full recovery. The meaning was unclear. Had my sister and Will’s brother betrayed us? One thing was crystal clear. When the truth was revealed—whatever it might be—it would affect us both in a profound manner.

  My mind spun further out of control.

  What had Ethan and Will done to Parker’s family, and what had happened to his sister?

  * * *

  It was sometime before sunrise on the third morning after Will had been shot, and I was stuck in the same loop, berating myself for selfish, reckless behavior.

  Hindsight is a powerful and useless tool. I couldn’t see it then, couldn’t see past my determination to get to Will. I’d gambled with my life the day I had left Eastridge—the life he had worked so hard to protect. The fact that I’d made it through an international flight before falling ill—and worse, that I hadn’t been followed and murdered—had been nothing more than luck.

  Worse still, my imprudence nearly cost us his life.

  “I’m sorry. I’ll never do it again,” I whispered.

  Will pulled my back tightly against his chest and cupped my breasts. “It’s all right, baby. No more apologies.” Then his velvet lips brushed over my neck and shoulder, and his throbbing erection prodded my back.

  I turned in his arms and dragged my fingers along his jaw, smoothing his unruly beard. Even in the dark, it was evident that the natural color of his face had returned and that the fever had gone.

  “Oh, Will. You’re back.”

  Determined to be finished with bed rest, he yanked the intravenous catheter from his arm. His strength surged, increasing with each breath. “Yeah. My woman needs me.”

  “I do. I’ve missed you so much.”

  He winced from the pain as he moved above me and claimed my mouth. As he balanced his weight, he held me and opened my legs wide with his knees. “I need you too, Elle,” he said near my ear before coming back to my lips and thrusting his tongue against mine.

  Electrifying tingles raced along my spine and washed over my skin as my body anticipated the reconnection to his.

  “I need to be inside you. Been dreaming of it . . . dreamed it over and over.” His voice was nothing but gravel.

  “I’m yours. All of me is yours.”

  Will shoved into me with ravenous force and drew a sharp cry from my lips. Grasping for sanity and tenderness, he stilled his body and buried his face in my hair. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you. Should have prepared you.” His apology was about more than that harsh thrust. “I keep fucking up. Help me stop.”

  I stroked his cheek with my fingertips. “Everything’s going to be okay. I love you, Will.”

  Despite his best effort and the tormenting pain of his gunshot wounds, he wasn’t able to calm himself for long. We’d been separated too long. Too many emotions had been forced aside. He held me in trembling arms and drove hard.

  I shoved against his chest with both hands and dug my nails into his flesh. His embrace relaxed some but remained too strong.

  “You’re crushing me, Will. . . . Kiss me.”

  When he kissed me, the tension in his muscles eased, and he became my tender warrior again.

  “I love you, baby,” he whispered.

  Soothed by his bared soul, I lay my hands on the pillow above my head and surrendered mine. He settled into the position and rhythm that would shatter us both. His mouth covering mine, he swallowed his name when I cried it, then roared through his own climax.

  Once he caught his breath, Will lifted us until we were sitting in our favorite ritualistic position. He was still inside me, his strong arms holding me close as he refused to separate our bodies. Our eyes locked and our breathing slowed. We were heart to heart and soul to soul, and I could feel the transcending depth of both. I ran my fingers through his hair and gently rocked my hips.

  “Such grace. And beauty. I don’t deserve you, Elle.”

  His reluctance to be with me in the beginning was never really about what he believed I deserved. It went deeper than that. He’d judged himself unworthy of love. It was a self-inflicted punishment for his sins.

  I took his face into my hands. “Being with someone isn’t a matter of what’s been earned, and love isn’t meant to be denied as penance. Being together is about how well we love, and no other man could love me as well as you do. I need you, Will. Only you.”

  He kissed my lips before resting his forehead against mine. “Christ, I love you. It just doesn’t feel like enough to say words so common.”

  I held on to him—there was nothing else to be done. He was right. There were no words for our insane, obsessive love.

  We eased back down to the mattress, and he collapsed onto the pillows with a grimace and an agonized groan. I snuggled into his body and lay my head on his chest, finding the heartbeat that was my lullaby. We closed our eyes.

  The lies would keep for a few more hours.

  51

  We napped for a few hours until the sun woke us. I rolled off Will’s chest and stretched in a lazy manner, absorbing the sunshine that beamed across the bed. The sun worked hard at dazzling me with its warm, golden rays as they pierced the panes of glass. I’d missed it, but the brilliant East Coast sunrise over the Atlantic could no longer hold me as it once did.

  “I want to go home, Will. Can you travel?”

  “Yeah. You want to go tonight?” He lifted my hand and admired the engagement ring he’d put on my finger. He turned it and watched the light shimmer across the lavish gemstones.

  I swear that ruby was carved from his heart. “I won’t ever wear another ring,” I told him. No other could bear as much love and sentiment as the one he was studying, the one inscribed with the words that meant more than the world to me.

  He kissed the ruby with a smile on his lips. “Okay, baby.”

  I smiled too and scooted to the edge of
the bed to snatch my phone from the table, and I handed it to him. “Thomas needs to hear your voice. Oh, wait. We need to talk about him first.”

  “What about him?” he snapped.

  Guilt eclipsed my bliss. “Don’t punish him, Will. Please. What I did—it’s not his fault.”

  He was thoughtful before he responded, his silence wrecking my nerves. Finally, gentle resolve filled his eyes. “I don’t blame my brother. And I don’t blame you. What happened was my fault. Forgive me, Elle. I should have learned the first time.”

  “Don’t do that. I won’t let you do that. You did what you thought was right—and you can’t accept responsibility for every foolish thing I do. I know I must learn to do as you say.” Unshed tears blurred my vision.

  “The day you stop challenging me, my rebellious little angel, I’ll wonder if you’ve stopped loving me. I want you just as you are—defiance and all.” Both corners of his mouth twitched, and his eyes flashed.

  I found myself smiling again. “We’ll call this one a draw.”

  “There’ll be many, I’m quite sure of it.” With a full grin, he lifted the phone to his ear and waited for Thomas to answer.

  My mind continued to drift while he and Thomas discussed arrangements for a plane to get us back to England, complete with an onboard medic this time. It was the first time anyone else had heard his voice since I’d tucked him into that bed.

  God, I had almost lost him.

  “Tonight, goddammit,” Will said into the phone as I closed the bathroom door. When I came out, he was rummaging through his duffel bag. He complained and scratched at his bearded cheeks. “Jesus, I need a shower.”

  “Yep, you do.” I snickered beneath my breath for a moment, then straightened my face. “But, more importantly, you need to eat.”

  “Shower first,” he grumbled on the way to the bathroom. He stole a kiss as he strutted past me in all his naked glory.

  * * *

  Jess and Ben were making breakfast, and my stomach rumbled as the smell of bacon and coffee drifted beneath the bedroom door. I tied my robe and headed for the kitchen.

  “Good morning,” Jess exclaimed in a singsong.

  They were sitting at the counter, side by side, each with a pistol stuffed into their waistband. She chewed on bacon and made some kind of list while he read the newspaper and sipped from a mug of coffee. They looked like an old married couple but with guns.

  “We heard the two of you,” she said in her usual unabashed style. “Figured he should eat. Breakfast is still warm.”

  My emotions were too drained to manage a blush. I shrugged instead.

  “We’re to assume from the vigorous activity that he’s regained his strength?”

  Ben’s tight mouth curved in response to her question.

  My gaping mouth wouldn’t shut, so I covered it with my hand. This time, my cheeks heated despite exhaustion.

  Ben cleared his throat.

  “He’s growing stronger by the minute,” I said. “Showering now. He and Thomas arranged our flight home. We’re going tonight.”

  “Tonight? He’s ready?” Ben asked.

  “I think so. You should go talk to him. I’m sure the two of you have a lot to discuss. But wait, first—did either of you hear from Josh?”

  “The cop was here twice. The case was reported as an unanticipated run-in with drug dealers. He said he’ll call Will in a few days. We can leave.”

  “What? What do you mean drug dealers?”

  As Ben hit the hallway to find Will, he said, “Don’t dig, Ellie. I’ve said more than enough. Just let it go.”

  “Will did what he had to do, Ells. It was the only way to protect Josh. And it did eliminate a good amount of heroin from the streets.”

  I shook my head in disbelief. What else didn’t I know?

  I’d wondered if I would see Josh before we left and if he was okay. Ben’s words revealed that answer. Josh would continue to communicate with Will as needed, but I would never hear from him again. I chewed on a slice of bacon and let silence ride as I gathered my thoughts.

  “You’re leaving me again,” my best friend blurted out.

  “I can’t stay here, Jess. You know that.”

  “But—”

  “Come with me.”

  I’d turned her life upside down and was motivated by selfishness to shake it up even more. I wanted her with me, needed her support. She was as much my sister as Isobel had been.

  “Don’t mess with me.” She came around the counter and hovered three inches above me. “Are you serious?”

  “Yes.” I made a fist with my right hand and covered my heart, promising sincerity the way we had since ninth grade.

  “Then I will come.”

  We squealed and hugged until Jess stiffened and moved aside.

  Will had been watching. His hair was wet, and he wore nothing more than jeans and fresh bandages. He rubbed his clean-shaven jaw and pegged me with a grin. “It’s settled, then?” He winked as he made his way around the island to secure me in his arms from behind. “Elle. I’m starving.”

  I stuffed a slice of bacon into his mouth and ran my fingers along his silky jawline as he chewed. I traced the tattoo that bore my name on his arm. He kissed my butterfly. We both purred.

  Ben tugged Jess’s arm. “We’ll go wrap up in town.”

  “We leave for the airport at six,” Will said.

  Jess gazed at us, her eyes intense. “Do you want to go back to the house and get more of your things?”

  I shook my head.

  “She stays with me.” Will’s sharp words reminded me how insensitive he could be. For me, he pulled from his buried reserve of tenderness. Most people weren’t as fortunate. He was known to be an abrasive prick for good reason. But it was who he’d been from the beginning, and asking him to change wasn’t something I would ever do.

  Jess was able to see beneath a person’s surface when given a chance. She’d figure him out when she saw how devoted to me he was, how hard he worked to make me happy.

  Will twirled me around and connected our bacon-flavored lips for a moment. “You never have to go back. Nothing in that house is worth revisiting a nightmare. We’ll replace it. Buy anything you want.”

  Nothing left there held any real value anyway, not to me. Memories—the good ones, those subtle but endearing moments with my grandmother and sister—were all I needed to take with me. I carried those deep inside, and they’d never be lost.

  “I want you to sell the house for me.”

  “What about this property?”

  “This place, too. Everything.”

  I would never delve back into the pain that had forever damaged my heart. There was no point—no reason to relive the horror when I had already moved on. Lissie and I would never stop grieving Isobel and Gran; we would always carry the loss in our hearts, but we’d do so in our new home, surrounded by the love of our new family.

  Will nodded. “Done.” He understood, and he’d handle the business end of it. I’d never have to think about it again.

  “What you did for Josh . . . with the drugs, I mean . . . to protect him from an internal investigation—that was lovely, Will. Thank you.” I kissed his cheek.

  “It was a debt I needed to pay, baby.”

  “Sit and eat. You’ll lose the strength you’ve regained. Then you can take me for a walk on the beach.” He pulled up a stool and opened the newspaper, and I set a warm plate in front of him.

  “I’ll shower while you eat.” My lips lingered longer than I intended when I kissed his cheek again. Will was the kind of man well suited for facial hair, and I loved it on his handsome face, but the silkiness of his bare skin was amazing on my lips. “I won’t be long.” I let down my hair and tossed him a smile as I sauntered across the kitchen floor.

  His fork hit the plate as he jumped up.

  “You stay there—eat,” I demanded.

  “Witch.”

  He sat and filled his mouth with another egg.

/>   52

  Strolling along the shoreline at Lords Point where it all began for Will and me was like walking through an old dream. I was out of my mind for him from the moment he approached me on the pier. He was my world by the time we walked on the beach together for the first time, but I never could have predicted how intense my feelings for him would become.

  It was a gorgeous sunny day in October, and New England was bursting with its famed autumn colors. Cirrus clouds streaked across the horizon. The tide was low, and the Atlantic’s surface was as smooth as polished glass. The nasal, rasping call of a male snowy egret startled me. He’d wandered to the mainland from one of the marshy islands in his quest to find a suitable female with whom to share his nest.

  “Stick around, mate. It worked for me,” Will said to the white bird as it waded fearlessly into shallow water just a few feet away. He squeezed my hand and grinned. “I found mine here.”

  I laughed from my gut, repaying the little egret with a scare of his own. My heart cherished every rare moment that Will was able to let go of responsibility and war. I locked each one securely in my memory’s safe as one would lock up gold and precious gems in an indestructible vault. “Don’t take his advice,” I told the bird, now preening his curvy plumes. “He stalked me for years before making a move.”

  Will winced as he lifted me and kissed my mouth. “I don’t regret it, Elle. I needed you strong. Look at you now. You’re a beautiful force of will.”

  “The way you see me, the way you love me . . .” My whisper trailed off as I smashed my lips to his. He opened his mouth and led us into a deep kiss, and when we broke apart, breathless, I pushed my secret smile against his skin. “Put me down. If you open the wounds, we can’t go home tonight.”

  We found a sunlit spot higher on the beach near some boulders. He sat in the sand and pulled me into his lap so that I faced him. I locked my legs around his lower back, rested my hands on his shoulders, and pressed my lips to his again. The fiery ruby on my finger connected with a ray of sun.