Tell Me True (4 page)

A SHAFT OF
moonlight beamed its way through our bedroom window, casting a white glow across Ash's arm as he pulled me closer to his body. "What's wrong, Catelyn? Is there something going on you haven't told me?"

My back faced him, so he couldn't see me bite my lip. He couldn't see the downturned
lines of my frown or the worry etched on my face. I tried to keep all of that from my voice. "I'm tired. And worried. Someone's coming after you. And I'm sad about Jon."

Maybe that was the wrong thing to say. His arm left me, and I shivered when the cool night air hit my skin
where his warm flesh had just been.

"You seem more upset about his death than Bridgette, and she was sleeping with him." Was there a hint of an accusation in his voice?

It had been a week since our non-wedding. Since the murder of Jon. Since the threat against the life that mattered more to me than my own. Since our lives had fallen apart. The level of disruption a situation like this can cause is unimaginable until you're living through it. "Of course I'm upset. He was my friend and about to become my brother-in-law. But Bridgette is devastated. She can't sleep and I'm sure she's lost weight. She doesn't look healthy."

I turned to face him, pushing my naked body up against his as he stared at the ceiling. I ran my fingers through the hair on his sculpted chest and rested my head against his shoulder. "You have nothing to worry about with me and Jon
,” I said soothingly. “I was only spending time with him to get to know my new family. I’ve missed having one since my parents died."

The tension in
his body drained away and he wrapped his arm around me and kissed the top of my head. "I'm sorry, sweetheart. I just know that Jon would have done almost anything to have you, and I didn't like seeing you spend so much time with him. But now… I guess it doesn't matter. I can't believe he's dead. I may not have always liked the bastard, but he was my brother. And now that he's gone, I miss him. Or at least I miss the brother I grew up with. The good memories, you know?"

"I do know. I feel it. I hurt when you hurt. We may not have gotten married last week, but you're still the husband of my heart and I love you. We are one," I said, linking our hands together. "I feel what you feel."
And you feel what I feel.

"We'll get married, I promise you that. As soon as we get through the funeral and figure out who did this, as soon as the shadow of Jon's death can't threaten our happiness, we'll get married. But nothing changes how I feel about you. You're mine, no matter what. And I'm yours.
And no one is going to hurt me, I promise."

He kissed me softly, with a tenderness that almost broke me with its sweetness. When his tongue flicked against mine, a flare of fire awakened in my belly and I moaned.

His cock hardened instantly, pressing against my stomach with an urgent need that had lain dormant since Jon's death.

I took him in my hand and stroked as our mouths played with each other, kisses getting harder and deeper, bodies pushing closer, hands exploring with desperate hunger.

With one hand he played with my breasts, squeezing my nipples alternately, sending shivers of desire that woke up all the nerves in my body. With the other, he moved between my legs, teasing the sensitive skin there, oh-so-lightly connecting with my swelling clit, sending tingles of pleasure through my body.

He worked his way down my body with his lips, kissing, licking and biting like a man starving. And maybe he was. We'd been ignoring the elephant in the room for a week, trying to pretend life was normal when it was anything but. A distance had grown between us that we couldn't seem to scale through
with words alone. But now, now our bodies did what our minds couldn't. Our bodies brought us back together, back into the space of oneness and completeness.

My back arched as he flicked my nipple with his tongue while plunging two fingers into my wet and swollen pussy. He used his thumb to rub at my clit and my orgasm took us both by surprise, both in how fast I came and how hard. My body rocked against his as he took me higher and higher, making me scream his name in pleasure t
hat was almost painful to bear.

Before I could come down from that high, while my muscles still spasmed with contractions, he thrust his cock into me, hard and fast and deep, striking at all the right places, rubbing my clit with his body as he penetrated me, and I came again,
even harder.

He grabbed my hair, pulling my head back as his teeth sunk into my neck. He growled and I groaned and our bodies
collided into each other like a wave crashing to the rocky shore.

Then he flipped me over and took me from behind, digging his fingers into my hips then slipping one hand between my legs to rub that swollen nub while he fucked me.

I lost count of my orgasms as I seemed to ride the wave of one after another after another. Though nearly spent, I wanted to ride him. Panting, using a move I'd learned from him in self-defense lessons, I flipped him onto his back and straddled him, my long black hair falling forward onto his chest as I pulled off of him slowly, teasing the tip of his cock and smiling wickedly as he fought to force himself back inside of me. I wanted to bring him to the edge and let him live there for awhile before giving him complete satisfaction, so I slowed down our rhythm to a torturous pace, only occasionally thrusting my hips toward his to take in all of his cock.

"You're a wicked woman, Catelyn."

I leaned in to kiss him deeply, then positioned my tits over his face so he could play while I picked up my rhythm, giving him what he wanted.

He came hard, sending my body back into spirals of ecstasy as we collapsed into each other's arms, sweaty, spent and blissfully happy for at least that moment in time.

As our breathing steadied, he kissed me, running his fingers lightly over my back. "You feel so good. I could lay here like this with you forever."

"I wish we had forever," I said, now sad.

"We do, sweetheart. We do."

I hoped he was right, but nothing ever lasted and I worried this dream would burst into horror, like so many
of my other dreams had.

His cell phone rang, interrupting my morbid thoughts as he answered with an irritated scowl. "What?"

He listened, grunted and hung up.

"Who was that?"

"Jim."

"Why's your private investigator calling us at midnight?"

"Because he found something out about Jon."

I sat up, pulling the blanket around me. "What?"

"Jon had purchased two one-way tickets out of the country and had taken out a considerable chunk of money from his back account. He was planning on leaving town, maybe for good. And he was taking someone with him."

THE FLIGHT FROM
Boston to New York took about an hour. So short we'd barely gotten settled and had our complimentary peanuts before we were landing. Ash had arranged a limo to pick us up for our double date with Bridgette and Jon. It had been my idea. Ash had loved the thought of a night in New York, but wanted to keep it just us. I pushed for my best friend and his brother to join us. "We need couple friends," I'd told him. He gave in when I promised another weekend for just us.

Everyone seemed so comfortable driving to the 5-star restaurant in a limo, wearing clothes worth hundreds of dollars, spending money like it didn't matter. I added up each penny, calculating how many months of rent in my old apartment that money would have covered. I tallied and totaled and marveled at how much I had now when not so long ago I was living off ramen noodles and hoping not to starve my way through law school.

When not so long ago I'd taken a job as a phone sex operator as a last ditch effort at staying in school.

Things had changed when I met Ash. He wanted to take care of me, though it had taken a long time for me to let him. Just after we got engaged, after Bridgette and I killed Lauren, he'd broached the subject of my work.
It was something we'd been avoiding while I dealt with health issues and a head injury, both of which had started to resolve themselves.

"Do I need to call your extension tonight?" he'd asked with a smirk.

"No, I'm not back to work yet."

He pulled me to him. "Don't go back."

"I don't want to live off your money," I said. "People already think I'm a gold  digger."

"Who cares what other people think
? Don't go back. Let me teach you how to make money another way."

"I'm already studying to be a lawyer."

"Then let me help you until you graduate."

I
suddenly realized he
had
been helping me. He'd been supporting me, just paying for the privilege to call in night after night and keep me from talking to other men. I wouldn't let go of my independence. Hated to rely on him for financial support. So that night I snuck downstairs and called in the Pleasure Palace. When Donna answered I told her I was ready to go back to work.

"Okay, I'll give you an easy one to start off with. Someone who's looking for an intimate connection."

"Okay." I took a sip of water and curled my legs under me, wondering what it would be like to do this after so long with Ash.

A man came onto the line and I introduced myself then let him talk.

"We're outside by the fire, just you and me," he said. "I'm… I'm married."

Why bring that up? Was he regretting this call?

I asked him how he was doing, and he told me he wasn't doing too well. "Been with the same woman since high school. I stuck with her when she was sick and couldn't work. Stuck with her when we lost our house. When we couldn't have kids. I never gave up on her, even when I felt alone and empty. But now she's cheating on me with another man and maybe it looks like we'll get divorced."

I felt empathy for him
, felt his pain and loss. "I'm sorry," I said, not knowing what to say that could make it better. "Sometimes the people who come into our lives aren't meant to be there forever."

"Yeah, I guess. But tonight, I don't want to talk about her or think about her. I want to pretend this isn't happening and just have fun and feel less alone. I want… "

He cleared his throat. "I want to be with you." He sounded sad. Lonely. Embarrassed by his need for another human connection. "Can you take off your clothes and tell me what you'd do with me?"

My hand trembled as I realized my answer.
"I can't," I said, twisting my engagement ring. "I have to go."

"What? Why?"

"I have someone who stuck by me, and now I need to stick by him."

I hung up after making sure he got a refu
nd for our call, and I went back upstairs to find Ash.

That night we made love. Sweet and slow and
long and gentle. I melted in his arms as he filled me and held me and brought me to greater pleasures than I'd ever known.

The next day I'd
called Donna back and quit The Pleasure Palace for good.

Ash tapped me on the shoulder, pulling me back to the present as w
e arrived at our restaurant and were escorted to the best table with a view of an outdoor garden and angel fountains reflecting colored water of blue and red and purple. Candles lit our table, casting a romantic glow as we ordered and sipped overpriced wine.

"So, Cat
elyn, where are you two going on your honeymoon?" Bridgette asked.

"We haven't decided on it yet," I said. "I'm vying for Paris."

"But I think somewhere more exotic would be fun," Ash said, smiling. "Paris is something we can do any time."

I laughed. "Only someone born an
d bred rich would think that. Paris sounds pretty exotic to me."

He kiss
ed my hand. "I'll take you to France whenever you want, baby."

Bridgette
made a gagging sound, but then Jon kissed her cheek, and she grinned. "I like the idea of a honeymoon in France," she said.

Jon shook his head
and fixed his eyes on me. "Croatia would be my first choice. It's got mild winters and to-die-for springs and summers. The food, the culture, the beauty of the place is a definite must-see. I can imagine someday living there and growing old with the love of my life, bathing nude at the beaches, sailing on a nice afternoon and then having dinner by the sea."

Bridgette squeezed his arm. "You're such a romantic."

I shifted uncomfortably under the heat of Jon's gaze as he waxed romantic about his future travel plans, hoping Ash and Bridgette didn't notice.

"Speaking of growing old somewhere," Ash said, turning to me, "where would you like to live after we're married?
We don't have to stay where we are. We can go anywhere you want."

I imagined Jon's scene, a place by the beach, sailing whenever we wanted, the turquoise waters
. It all sounded so beautiful. I leaned in to my fiancé. "Anywhere you are is my paradise." I couldn't imagine leaving Massachusetts, but after everything we'd been through, maybe a change in scenery would do us good. It was something worth thinking about, at least, but I'd hate to leave Bridgette.

I excused myself to use the restroom, which smelled like flowers and had a
n attendant present to hand out delicate towels after patrons washed their hands. I almost didn't know what do with myself, but I managed and scurried out, feeling outclassed by all this class.

And ran straight into Jon, who
backed away and smiled.

"You quit your job," he said.

"Ash told you?"

"He didn't have to
. Look, I need to tell you something. Remember how I'm the reason Ash got your number in the first place?"

I did remember, barely. It seemed like so long ago, that first call Ash made to my alter ego, Cat. "I thought you'd just given him an extension you used to call."

"It was a little more than that."

My heart skipped, and I clutched my purse tighter.
"What do you mean?"

"D
o you know what one does with obscene amounts of money?"

"I'm starting to learn.
" I gestured to the fancy tables around us.

"One gets hobbies. The more obscene the money, the more extravagant the hobbies.
Unfortunately, one of mine is… was… to support a certain business that deals in pleasures." He shuffled back and forth, a sad puppy look on his face.

I backed away. "You listened in on my calls?"

"No. Never. I did hear your audition, but that's it." He smirked. "I kind of wish I’d been the one to call you now."

I shoved down a shiver of horror at his revelation, knowing that I couldn't push him too hard right now. Instead, I smiled and kept my voice calm.
"Wow. Thanks for telling me. You didn't have to." I put a hand on his shoulder, letting the tension die between us.

He took a step closer, lowering his voice. "
I wanted to. Because you told me a secret as well. About your mother's book. About her research and the fears she had before she died. I want no secrets between us, Cat. I want to help you."

"Ash is coming," I said,
dropping my hand off Jon's shoulder.

"Tell me, do you trust my brother?"

I hesitated, not sure what game he was playing. "As much as I have to."

He nodded. "My brother can be a real dick, but I still love him. I worry about him."
He turned and waved to Ash, who was getting closer. "What will you do if my brother
did
kill your parents?"

I let my face go cold.
"Whoever killed my parents will suffer the same fate."