More Than Lies (38 page)

“Couldn’t you have said whatever it is you need to say outside the bathroom?” I cross my arms, cock my head to the side, and pin him with a stare, that says, I’m annoyed. Not because I am. No, it’s so I don’t reach out and touch him. My hands need to stay to myself. Why does he have to be so freakin’ good looking?

He takes a step in my direction, making him only inches away from my body. His hand slides smoothly over the material of my yoga pants where the band is seated at my hip until he reaches skin.

Son of a freakin’ biscuit. Apparently he has no qualms about touching me. My eyes widen when in reality they want to close and savor his warm touch. I push him away. If I don’t, I’ll cave.

“Don’t.” That one word is all I can muster. I’m weak, but I have to pretend I’m not. It’s his fault I’m this way. He provokes feelings inside me that I wish weren’t there. Life would be much easier. Why, oh why did I have to fall in love with the unattainable? Does God hate me? My own mother does so maybe he does too.

“I haven’t touched you in two days. I want to touch you, Tara.” Oh, too effin bad. We don’t always get what we want. I never do so why should I give him what he wants only when other people aren’t around?

“What about this,” I point between us. “Did you not understand would not happen again? You can go back to banging every whore that crosses your path and I’ll go back to—” I stop not knowing what to say. Pining over him probably. “Go back to doing whatever it was I did before I started sleeping with you. Are we done?”

“No we aren’t done.” His words bite into me making me step back. “What were you doing before you started fucking me? The asshole out there?” He nods his head at the door. He’s talking about Preston. As if. “Why is he here? Why did you bring him here?”

Is he mad? Gee, I just don’t give a crap.

“Leave him out of this.” I don’t answer any of his questions. I need out of this small space. Angry Shawn may be a turn on. I’m so messed up in the head.

“No,” he barks. “Why is he here?”

His persistence causes a huff from my mouth to escape. I stare at him.

“Answer me this, where have you been since you left Mac’s the other night. Sam said you didn’t show up for class yesterday.”

“Why are you talking to Samantha?” My eyebrows draw inward toward my eyes and I place my hands on my hips. He raises his own eyebrows as if to say he isn’t answering my question if I’m not going to answer his. I breathe out, making it loud. “I went to my parents.”

“Samantha was at the house when I got home from work.” He doesn’t get home until after ten, sometimes even eleven. Why was she there? “What’s he doing here, Tara?”

“The evil queen, okay.” God. What does he want from me? I’m not with Preston. If he knows me at all, he knows that much. He continues to stare. Then he crosses his own arms across his chest. “My mother invited him along with me. I didn’t ask him to come.”

“So why did he end up here? Why didn’t you tell him to fuck off?”

“Because it was easier than dealing with the crap she would have thrown at me had I not let him come with me.” Hell, she was already threatening to kick me out of my own family. That’s probably going to happen in a few short months anyhow so why should I push for it to happen sooner?

“I’m not buying that shit.” His facial expression is hard.

“Oh, so now I’m a liar.” Well wasn’t that a foot in the mouth. Apparently he thinks the same thing because an eyebrow rises again. “I don’t care what you believe.” Keep the lies coming Taralynn.

“I think you brought him to piss me off.” That may have been half the reason, but I’ll never admit to it.

“Again, I don’t care what you believe. It doesn’t matter now does it? You’ll have another woman to get you off before nightfall. That is if you don’t already.”

I turn, open the door and walk out. No way do I want to see or hear him confirm my fears.

“Hey, Shawn.” Kammy’s voice filters into my ears. I look up as she walks my way. 

It’s nightfall. The sun buried down toward the West a few hours ago, but I still have my sunglasses sitting on the brim of my noise. Obviously not because it’s bright out. With them on, I can watch a certain blonde without her knowing I’m looking.

Right now, Tara is lying across from me, stretched out on a lounger. She’s reading from her eReader. She’s been at it since before the sun went down. Pretty much since we finished eating and got a fire pit started. It’s March, so the air is still too chilly for just hanging-out, outdoors.

Tara’s eyes glance up when she hears Kammy call my name. She succeeded in making me jealous today when she showed up with that douche prick lawyer that she went on a date with months ago. She wants to claim her mother forced her into bringing him with her, but I don’t believe for a second that she didn’t agree because she has something to prove to me.

Two can play at this game, baby.

“Kams!” I exclaim. “Hey, doll, how’s it going?” She stops next to the lounge chair I’m laid back on. I haven’t taken my eyes off of Tara even though it appears I’m looking up at Kammy. It just so happens I might have fooled around with her last summer. And by fooled around, I mean fucked. If I so happen to make Tara as jealous as she’s had me all day, then so fucking be it. She deserves it.

“Better now that I’ve made it and you’re here.” Kammy’s folks and mine are a lot alike. Her parents are even friends with mine. Her family also loves trail riding on four-wheelers and side-by-sides. Whereas we stick to coming to Georgia to have fun, her family takes vacations all over the United States searching for new trails to ride.

Sitting my beer down on the table, I free up my hand to run up her leg starting from her calf going up behind her thigh. Tara’s eyes follow the movements of my hand. That’s it baby, let that green eyed monster take over.

Kammy bends, sitting on the edge of my chair. That’s when Tara swallows hard followed by her mouth opening so she can suck in a gasp of air. Her face pains, making my guts tighten. Shit. I didn’t think this through. I didn’t mean to hurt her. I wanted to piss her off. Make her as mad as I am.

She snaps her eReader closed then looks away before jumping up and leaving the yard where all of us are laying or sitting in lawn chairs around the fire.

Kammy leans down, but I don’t register her until she slides her hand up my chest and whispers for only me to hear. “Can’t we have some fun together tonight? I’ve missed your cock.” My eyes snap up to hers where she is smiling down at me. Damn it.

I grab her around the shoulders and push gently, making her move backwards and I lean up.

“Sorry, Kam.” I shake my head. “Not going to happen.” Her smile falls. “I’m seeing someone.” Her lips turn into a frown. It can’t be helped and I don’t care either. If this is what it’s going to take to get Tara back in my arms, then it’s what I’ll have to do. Fuck the consequences because I want her far too much to let her go now.

“You don’t have to lie to me, Shawn. If you don’t want to fuck me, just say so.” She stands, turns, and stalks off before I’m able to say anything else.

I do the same, heading in the opposite direction. Tara is walking up the steps. She doesn’t enter the house from the back door. Instead she walks around the wrap-around style porch toward the front.

I jog to catch up with her.

When I round the side of the house, she stops just before rounding toward the front as if something caught her attention.

“Tara, wait.” I call out to her, but she throw up her hand as if she wants me to be quiet. I don’t say anything else and she doesn’t move as I near her. When I’m standing behind her, I place my palm over her hip. It’s not skin-to-skin contact but it’ll do until I convince her to give us another chance.

With my other hand I pull her hair away from the side of her face, pushing the strands to the other side so I can see her face. She looks a bit shocked, or surprised, but sad too. It’s then I hear a voice close by and look in the direction her eyes are focused on.

Preston is sitting on the steps on the front side of the house. He’s talking on his cell phone. I pull Tara an inch closer into my body as I listen to what she’s listening to him say.

“Dude, what about she’s Jacob Evans’s daughter did you not understand? She doesn’t have to be my type for me to fuck her or even marry her. She is exactly what I need to make partner sooner. I don’t want to wait years. I want it now. Do you think, if I marry his daughter, that he’s going to allow his son-in-law to remain a junior lawyer? Hell no.” He pauses. I assume to listen to whomever he’s talking to. “She has a pretty face. All she needs is a personal trainer to tackle that ass and she’d make the perfect little housewife. I mean, have you seen the rack on her?” After a second, he laughs. My hand tightens around Tara. That motherfucker is about to get the shit beat of him.

When he ends his call, he stands. That’s when I release Tara to go do just that, but it’s as if she knows what I’m about to do so she throws her arm out in front of my path. I could easy push through her, but I don’t. Preston walks into the house without realizing anyone overheard him.

Tara turns to face me. When she looks up, a tear rolls down her face. I want to murder him for hurting her this way. Tara’s always been a little too self-conscious in regards to her body. She has no reason to. I don’t get why she is, but she is. Probably has something to do with the evil bitch she calls a mother.

“Is that all you see, too? A chunky girl with a pretty face and big boobs?” Her voice cracks.

“You want to know what I see, baby?” She lowered her face toward the ground, but I lift her chin back up, forcing her eyes to look into mine, I say, “I’ll show you. Then, tomorrow, I’ll make that pathetic little bitch of a man wish he never laid eyes on you.” On what’s mine.

I don’t give Tara a fleeting moment to decide. Instead, I grasp her wrist and pull her behind me as I round the corner, heading in the direction of the front door. The same one that motherfucker entered. If Tara didn’t need me more right now, I’d find him and bury his ass.

Walking through the door, I make quick strides through the house until I reach the master bedroom. She may not realize it yet, but she is staying with me tonight.

And every night thereafter.

Pulling her inside, I close and lock the door. My brother and Kylie are supposed to arrive in the morning and I don’t want him to walk in on us again like he did a few months ago. It’s not because I’m hiding anything this time. I just don’t want anyone seeing her in the same intimate way that I do. That should be for me and me alone.

There is a full-length mirror on the backside of the door that leads into the bathroom. I take Tara and stand her in front of the mirror.

“What are you doing?” I step behind her, placing both hands on her hips. She looks at me from over her shoulder.

“I’m going to show you what I see.” I glide my hands up and grasp the ends of her shirt. “Now get naked.”

“What?” She tries to pull away, but I don’t let her.

“Either you can strip or I’ll strip you myself.” I smile, hoping for the latter.

When she takes too long, I make the decision for her by pulling her shirt over her head and tossing it behind me. She’ll cringe if she realizes I did that. I’ll just have to keep her distracted. Next, I hook my thumbs into the waistband of her pants and pull down. She watches me through the mirror as if she’s fascinated by what I’m doing. I bend, taking them all the way to the floor. Tara steps out of them and when she does I grab the material then push it out of the way.

As I stand back up, I glide my hands up the outsides of her legs, over her hips and come to a stop at her waist. I also watch her through the mirror. She’s beautiful, standing in front of me in a set of navy panties and a matching bra. The color matches her gorgeous eyes. They are sexy as hell on her. I almost hate to remove them. Almost.

I run my knuckle up her back, brushing against her skin ever so lightly as I make my way to her bra. With both hands, I unhook the clasp and then skim my fingers along her shoulder until I push the material off. The bra falls to the floor. Lastly, I run my finger downward until I reach her panties where I treat them the same as her pants, pulling them down her legs.

When I look back into the mirror to view the sexy naked woman in front of me she turns her face away, no longer looking at herself or me through the mirror. If I’m going to succeed, she must watch me. I place one hand over her hip, spanning my fingers out and digging into her flesh lightly to get her attention. That doesn’t work. She refuses to turn her face. With my other hand, I reach around to her front, placing my thumb and index finger on her jaw. Next, I turn her face to where I want her to look.

“I want you to see what I see. I told you I’d show you and that’s what I plan on doing, Tara.” Her eyes close, but only for a moment. She reopens them before I ask her to do so. “Keep looking into the mirror. I want you to watch us. I want you to watch me and believe everything I say. More importantly, I want you to believe it about yourself, here.” I remove my hand from her face to place my finger to her temple and then I move to place my palm flat against her chest, over her heart. “And here.”