The Lie(89)

“Transcendent?” I fill in.

She laughs lightly. “I was going to say fucking amazing, but that works too.”

I run my thumb over her lip, grinning at her, and she playfully bites it.

“You know,” I say, “I was thinking, even though there’s barely enough room to fuck on this bed, maybe we can make sleeping work.”

She grabs my biceps. “Like I was going to let you go back to your own room after you told me you loved me.”

“I do love you,” I tell her.

“I know. And you’re staying.”

So I get under the covers, and even though sleeping with her on a single bed in my brother’s old room is one of the weirdest things ever, I’m with Natasha. And we love each other. And because of that, everything is right.





CHAPTER TWENTY

Natasha





Weeks ago when Brigs said he wanted to “date” me, I never imagined that one of our dates would be in a pedal boat going around the pond at Hyde Park.

Then again, I never imagined how deeply in love with this man I’d be. And I never imagined how impossibly beautiful it would be to hear him say those words I’d first heard years ago. To feel it again.

Natasha, I love you. More than I’ll ever be able to express. Just know it. Believe it. And love me too.

I still melt over that, my heart a hummingbird in my chest. It might explain why I agreed to get into a blue plastic boat and pedal it all over the Serpentine on a chilly autumn day.

“Hey, pick up the slack a bit,” Brigs says to me, his legs pumping furiously while I half-heartedly paddle.

“Oh, come on,” I say, reaching across the divide, trying vainly to smack him across the chest. “A true lady never paddles.”

“That’s true,” he says. “Though you don’t fuck like a lady.”

I give him a wry look. “Thank god for that.” I look around us. There are maybe five other paddle boats out on the water. I’m grateful I’m wearing a hat and scarf, because today is the first day I’ve really felt winter might be around the corner. The season, not the dog.

“We should head back,” I tell him.

“Why?”

“Because I’m horny,” I put it bluntly.

Brigs raises his brows. “All right then.” He starts peddling faster, heading back to the green grass of the shore.

“Have you talked to your brother?” I ask him as we get closer.

“I really wish you wouldn’t mention him and the word horny so close to each other,” he says dryly. “But no, I haven’t.”

“Do you know when you’ll tell your parents about us?” I ask, feeling so impossibly young when I phrase it like that. “You know, how we met?”

It’s stupid to keep bringing it up, but I was so nervous over the weekend when I met them. I didn’t really have a reason to be though—they were sweeter than can be, and Lachlan and Kayla were absolutely adorable. I still don’t remember meeting Lachlan all those years ago—his face is still kind of a blur from that night—but I’m more than grateful that at least he knows the real story. The last thing I want to do is put pressure on Brigs, but it’s like a weight on my shoulders knowing that we’re not living the absolute truth. I just can’t lie anymore.

“Soon,” he says to me, and I know he means it. “I promise. I just want to tell them in person. Maybe I’ll go up next weekend. I should probably talk to my realtor as well and put my place on the market.”

“Are you serious?”

He shrugs. “Why not? I’m liking my life down here. This feels right. This is where you are.”

I’m taken aback. Completely flattered. Still… “Don’t change your life on account of me. Selling your place is a major deal.”

“And being in love with you is a far bigger deal than that. I’m not going anywhere, Natasha. I’m at your bloody feet and that’s not going to change.”

Damn. This man has a way with words.

“You’re getting royally fucked when we get back to your place,” I tell him. “And I mean that in a good way, of course.”

“I’m glad you clarified that,” he says, shooting me a grin.

And I wasn’t kidding. Once we get the pedalo to shore and head back to his flat, as soon as we get in the door, I attack him. I know I’m supposed to get my period in a few days, and my hormones are all over the place, plus my heart is on the rampage. Mix that all together and I’m one insatiable girl.

We disappear into his bedroom and our clothes come off, and I’m riding him first, my breasts bouncing, and I thrust my hips, his cock buried deep inside, his face staring up at me in lust and awe, like he can’t believe I’m real.