The Lying Game

by Miller, Mickey

  Wasting no time, I grab two glasses and a bottle of wine. I’m going to need it for this conversation.

  When I slide the door open, I can’t help but stare at Lacy for a few beats.

  She’s wearing one of my bath robes, and she stands with her back to me as she spreads her arms out, gripping the railing and looking out over the city. Her hair blows in the wind.

  She doesn’t even notice me as I approach her, and when I make it to the railing and see her face, I understand why. Her eyes are closed as she belts out the lyrics to Taylor Swift’s Will you Remember Me, which is playing loudly.

  And looks like she’s already got the bottle of wine covered, judging by the half-drunk bottle in her hand. I don’t even see a glass.

  “Happy Friday, Laces!” I belt out. “Nice to see someone’s celebrating!”

  She opens her eyes wide, and clutches her heart, then grabs the ends of the bath robe to pull them in before I have a shot to see what she’s wearing underneath.

  “Carter,” she says, swallowing. “You’re here!”

  “Laces,” I say casually. “I’ll admit it, fine. I missed you. Came home a day early. Mind if I join you?”

  She blinks a few times and stares at me. “Yeah, sure,” she says, breathlessly.

  “I brought an extra glass out,” I say as I turn on the jets to the hot tub. “Were you just drinking from the bottle?”

  She clears her throat. “It was just me, so I figured why dirty up a glass.”

  I shake my head and spin around to check the temperature settings.

  Lightning quick, she slips into the hot tub and slinks lower into the water. The white bubbles cover her body all the way up to her neck. I silently lament I didn’t even get to catch a glimpse of her beautiful body on the way in.

  I slip all the way down into the hot water, the jets soothing my muscles. “Fuck, that feels good. How was your week?”

  “It was okay.”

  “So okay that you’re drinking wine by yourself. . . from the bottle?

  “Okay it was pretty good, until today.”

  A shiver runs through me thinking about the news I saw about her debt. I can’t believe she hasn’t told me. But on the other hand, maybe it’s none of my business. “What happened today?” I ask.

  She averts her eyes. “It was just a relentless day. I needed some hot tub therapy. How about you, how was your week?”

  “I’ve been doing a lot of thinking this week,” I say.

  I dart my gaze around the balcony. This isn’t a conversation I relish having. But like everything in life, once I’ve decided to dive balls first into something, that’s what I do. And with the results of the test coming back in a few weeks, I’d better start considering their implications.

  “About what?”

  I suck in a deep breath. “About everything. You, me. My past. Our past. Chandler convinced me to do a genealogy test to see what my genetic make-up is, so I sent in the sample. And if any relatives of mine have taken the same test, I’ll be able to see who they are. Cousins—siblings, of course I don’t have any of those, though. Aunts and uncles. That kind of thing.”

  “Fathers,” she says, and covers her mouth as soon as she says it, her face filling with fear as she notices how I visibly stiffen at the word.

  I cringe a little at that F-word, like I always have. But I’ve vowed to face the truth and stand up to my past. I’ve done enough running.

  The heat of the water feels damn good on my skin as it heats up my body.

  Lacy hits the jets behind us again, starting the timer for another ten minutes.

  “It’s okay. You know, I need to thank you. I wouldn’t have gotten to where I am if it wasn’t for you. From here on out, Lacy, no more secrets. Not from you, at least. I’m done with secrets, and I’m done running. What you said to me last weekend struck a chord. You’re right.”

  Her jaw falls open. “Did you just say, ‘I’m right?’”

  “Yeah. You were right. About a lot of things.”

  “I always get suspicious when you’re being nice to me. Like it’s a trick.”

  I laugh. “No trick. Just want to ask, though. Is there anything you have to tell me?”

  I picture the piece of mail I just looked at. And now I know that Lacy’s got almost thirty thousand dollars in credit card bills that she’s making minimum payments on.

  She glances at me, and averts her eyes. “Some things are just my problem, Carter,” she swallows.

  I nod and take a sip of my wine, looking out at the vast expanse of Lake Michigan. So this is how it’s going to be.

  As long as I’ve known Lacy—she has to know that in spite of any ill will I’ve harbored for her I’d wipe that debt out in a fucking heartbeat if she came clean to me about it. She’s a family friend, and an old friend.

  Most girls just excuse away my bad behavior, letting that shit fly because they know they won’t find this type of dick anywhere else.

  Not Lacy.

  Even right now, she’s acting odd. Standoffish and squirmy and I can’t quite tell why.

  Maybe she doesn’t trust me. I can’t say I’d blame her, given my track record for fucked-up behavior. I think back on the piece of mail I just saw. Technically, I shouldn’t have looked at it. Her credit card debt is none of my business. But I’m done with secrets now, even ones that might seem insignificant.

  As blunt of a guy as I am, maybe ten P.M. on a Friday after she’s drunk half a bottle of wine isn’t the time to start chatting about finances. I exhale slowly and let it go.

  Scanning the edge of the hot tub, I notice a strange object from the side of the hot tub. I pick it up and hold it in front of my face.

  “Are these. . . devil horns?”

  Her face turns beat red. “Maybe.”

  I narrow my eyes. “That’s hot.”

  “Thanks,” she swallows.

  “So why are you acting so weird?”

  “I didn’t know you were going to be home tonight,” she says.

  “Don’t dodge my question. If you don’t answer, I’ll have to assume you were planning on having some kind of angels and devils orgy. Seriously, what are these things?”

  She swallows. “This is silly, Carter. But...I just didn’t have a swimsuit. I wanted to get in the hot tub.”

  “You didn’t want to give my neighbors a nude show? They don’t mind.”

  She rolls her eyes. “I had this devil lingerie lying around, so I put it on.”

  I cup Lacy’s cheek and stare into her eyes.

  “I want to tell you everything I’ve thought about this week. How the thought of you has turned me on so much this week, every night. How this is the first time in a long time I’ve fantasized about the same woman every night. I haven’t felt like this since high school.”

  She nibbles on her lower lip. “Oh? And who were you thinking about in high school?”

  Smirking, I cock my head. “You really don’t know?”

  “No.”

  “You.”

  She freezes up, not moving, and I see her swallow slowly. “Seriously?” she whispers.

  I nod.

  “We were dating. Why didn’t you just make a move?”

  “I wasn’t in a rush. I thought we had our whole lifetimes.”

  “I didn’t want to lie to you, Carter. You have to know that. My mother made me swear I wouldn’t tell you, and swear to respect your mother-son relationship. I wanted to respect your family. It wasn’t about keeping a truth from you. It was about respecting your mother.”

  I feel the rush of emotion roll through me as I recall that day she told me she was lying.

  “I know. But it hurts, and it made me think everything that happened between us that year was based on a lie.”

  Putting a hand on my shoulder, she whispers, “We can still make up for lost time, Carter.”

  She leans toward me, and her nipples press against me. Her very hard nipples.

  Desire ratchets through me, along with confu
sion. I pull back and hold her shoulders, staring at her.

  The jets stop.

  My jaw drops at what I see through the water.

  She’s got on a bright red lingerie piece. Noticing how my eyes are tracking her, she wipes the tears away from her cheeks, and stands up shyly.

  She puts the devil horns on her head.

  Her expression turns positively devilish. “I was thinking about doing a photoshoot for you.”

  I turn my head so we’re facing each other, our noses barely inches apart.

  She runs her hand over my chest.

  Her eyes flit up to me, and she smiles. “Because I like being a little bad, with you. Is that wrong?”

  The water splashes as she stands up, giving me a full view of the lingerie. Her ass juts out of the back of the tiny little thing. It barely covers her pussy. Her nipples, hard and pink, point attentively at me.

  Adrenaline pumps through me and my cock hardens, half with desire. And half with rage.

  Straddling my lap, she pulls on the back of my neck to bring my ear down to her mouth, and whispers.

  “I was thinking about you, Carter. I bought this for you. Do you like it?”

  My nostrils flare, and my body flushes with desire. Want. Need.

  She bats her eyes, bringing her full gaze to mine. Her lips hover, a paper’s width from mine.

  I lick my lips, and heat consumes me.

  I come home after a week of reflection. I try to confront my feelings—for the first time in my life—and she distracts me like this.

  I grab a fistful of Lacy’s hair. “Come with me,” I growl, and lead her out of the hot tub to my bedroom.

  28

  Lacy

  “Lie here. And don’t move,” Carter growls.

  My entire body charges with desire as I lie in Carter’s bed on my back. He rummages around in the top drawer of his dresser while I stay still.

  My eyes flit to Carter without me moving my head even an inch. He looks so incredible from behind—he has the back of a body builder, and the sexiest ass I’ve seen in my life.

  I’m a ball of tension as I lay, waiting for him to do with me as he wants. I’ve never felt such a confused stew and litany of feelings running through me all at once.

  I want Carter to have his way with me. Make me his . . . his property? No, fuck that. Women didn’t fight for independence for hundreds of years to have me desire to be a man’s whore. In my mind’s eye, though, I imagine Carter’s body pressing down on me. I feel him pressing all of his weight down on me as he penetrates deep inside me, and whispers against my skin.

  “Lacy. You’re mine, and I don’t care what you think. You can’t hide the desire in your eyes. I said, no more secrets.”

  My heart speeds as though I’m about to go out onto the stage and begin the most challenging variation of my life.

  I close my eyes, summoning all of my effort to keep my body still.

  I want to run away, far from here. Part of me still feels like once I hand over control to Carter, he’ll just hurt me. But I love the way he makes me feel.

  I open my eyes, and Carter is standing still, to the side of the bed. I turn my eyes upward toward him.

  “No more secrets between us, Lacy. So here’s a secret of mine: I like to play.”

  I swallow a lump in my throat. “Play with what?”

  “It’s better that I show you.”

  “Right now?”

  He smirks. “You want to do this, Lacy?”

  “What are we doing? And yes.”

  “Then close your eyes and trust me. If you want to stop, just tell me.”

  “I want it all, Cartwheel.”

  He secures the black blindfold around my head, blotting out my world.

  Instantly, my senses of hearing and touch heighten.

  Carter’s fingertips run along my jawline, down my collarbone, teasing the skin around my areolas. My skin tingles, my nipples hardening.

  “What are you going to do to me?” I ask. I feel the absence of his fingers on my skin. My heart lurches.

  “I’m done being nice to you,” Carter growls.

  “Being . . . nice? When were you nice?”

  “Turn over,” Carter says, ignoring my question.

  I do as he says. He pulls my arms behind my back, and wraps them with something.

  “Are you going to answer my question?” I ask, my cheek turned against the sheet.

  “I don’t answer stupid fucking questions,” he growls. “So you might as well stop asking.”

  I clam up. I feel Carter’s strong hands as he fastens my wrists together. I can’t tell what he’s using except for the fact that they’re not handcuffs.

  “These are bondage cuffs. You won’t be able to move your arms with them.”

  “Oh really? I hadn’t noticed.”

  He grabs my hair, then pulls my hips up so I’m on my knees, but I can’t use my arms to balance myself, so my head smashes into the mattress. I keep my head to the side a little so I can still breathe.

  My heart pounds as his hands run up and down the backs of my thighs.

  “Gorgeous. Just fucking gorgeous. A gift from God, really. I could stare at your creamy skin all day. I love how it contrasts with your black hair. Have I ever told you that?”

  “No,” I say, blowing out a breath of relief.

  Too soon.

  A second later, I feel a smack on my ass.

  With something light.

  “Oww,” I mutter, swallowing as the sting rolls through my body.

  Carter’s palm rolls across my ass, rubbing the hot skin.

  “Carter,” I protest. “It hurts a little.”

  He chuckles. “You want me to stop?”

  “No. Keep going. Punish me, Carter.”

  “What did you just say?”

  “Keep going Carter,” I say with a hushed breath. “I want it all.”

  He rubs his hand in a circular motion on my ass, and I take a few deep breaths.

  A wave of anger pulses through me, my chest swelling. No man should have this kind of control over me and my desire.

  Especially Carter.

  But you know what I hate the most?

  I hate how much I love what he’s doing right now.

  “Screw you,” I mutter. “You always have to get some snide comment in. Get the last word. You think you’ve grown in the last week? I doubt it.”

  Carter grunts, and I feel another slap on my other cheek.

  “You don’t like it?”

  I let out a little air this time, but not as much as before. I embrace the pain.

  Carter caresses the spot he hit with his bare hand. And then strikes me again on the other side.

  “Yes,” I grunt lightly. “I do like it. But screw you, Carter.”

  Yes. Screw you and how good you make me feel.

  Continuing with this pattern, he does each side six times.

  I stay silent, as the endorphins pump through me, making me feel high. I refuse to give Carter the satisfaction of showing how much I love this.

  I love him.

  Fuck. No.

  I love what he can do to my body. Love the way he takes control.

  And I’m not telling him.

  He spanks me once more and can’t stop the purr of pleasure that escapes the side of my mouth.

  “Ohh, God yes,” I murmur, and as soon as I do, I want to cover my mouth. But I can’t move my arms. He lifts up my torso until I feel the heat of his cheek against mine.

  “Are you enjoying this?” he growls.

  “No,” I lie.

  “Good. And now, if you come before I say, I swear to God, Lacy.”

  I giggle. “You swear to God, you’ll what?”

  He huffs. “For a girl who wants to be punished, you’ve got a smart, smart mouth. Don’t you?”

  I don’t say anything. I feel the bed shift as it loses Carter’s weight.

  He slides my legs to the side of the bed. “On your feet,” he says.
r />   I do as I’m told, and stand up on his carpeted floor.

  “Kneel,” he growls.

  I balk. “On my knees?”

  I hear him huff. “You’ve got three seconds.”

  I clam up.

  “One.”

  Why would he ask me to do this? Of all the things he’s wanted of me. I blink a few times underneath my blindfold, wishing I could see him. What’s his expression right now? Playful? Mean? Blank?

  “Two.”

  I swallow, tension rocketing through me.

  “Three.”

  My knees hit the carpet just as he says the first syllable of the number.

  He steps toward me, I know because I feel the heat emanating from him.

  I crave his warmth.

  Running a hand along my jaw, he speaks again. “I’ll be back. Don’t move.”

  I hear his footsteps moving away, and a weird feeling of panic sets in. “How long will you be gone?”

  “One minute. One hour. It doesn’t matter to you.”

  I’m still as I kneel. I feel throbbing between my legs at the commanding tone of his voice.

  I flinch when I hear him slam the door shut. My whole body tenses, and I wonder if I’m an insane woman for doing this with him. I close my eyes. Not that it makes a difference with my blindfold.

  I’ve given Carter the power to destroy me.

  And what’s more, I ache for him to follow all the way through to the end of . . . whatever he’s got in mind.

  I want to show him how strong I am. I can take whatever he has to give me. And in another way, I wonder if he’s getting pleasure out of this night. Seeing me all bundled up and vulnerable.

  He must know how badly I want him. Before I knew he was coming home tonight, I was just planning on sitting in the hot tub in the devil’s outfit I got for him, for God’s sake.

  He was all I could think about all week.

  I wanted to wrap my legs around him and feel him inside me, loving how deep he goes.

  Hold onto to his arms, his sides, as he thrust into me so fucking powerfully.

  “Mmm,” I mutter, so hot and so wet for him.

  I open my eyes and I’m slightly surprised when all I see is black. Suddenly I’m irritated that he’s left me alone like this.

  What if he’s gone for an entire hour?