Lie to Me

by Natasha Preston

  It depends entirely on what his mood is.

  "Ladies," the friend with jet-black hair says. "Lovely to see you again, Heidi." He turns to me. "You must be Savannah. I'm Toby."

  "Hey, Toby."

  "Hey, I'm Max," the blond friend says.

  "Nice to meet you."

  "What are you two drinking?" Max asks. "It's my round."

  Heidi puts her bag down on the bar. "I'll have a white wine, please. Savannah?"

  I tear my eyes from Kent, who's still looking at me. "Er, gin and tonic. Thanks, Max. Are Brooke and Freddy still coming?"

  "If they get back from his parents' early enough," Heidi says. "So, Toby, who's tonight's lucky lady?"

  I turn away from Heidi and Toby as they get into a conversation about how he's waiting for her before settling down. I'm not sure if he's serious because she rolls her eyes, and Kent doesn't say anything. He doesn't strike me as a guy who wouldn't care that his friend and sister were getting it on.

  Kent is still standing in the same spot. Max is leaning over the bar, giving our order, and Heidi and Toby are now sitting on stools, focused on their conversation.

  Kent and I probably look really odd, standing near the bar, facing each other but not speaking. It should be awkward to look at a person for this length of time, but it's not. My heart thumps in my chest as he watches me like he's ready to pounce.

  I offer him a smile. "Hey." One of us has to talk first, right?

  He blinks and then nods his head. "Savannah."

  My name is a whisper and sends a bolt of desire down south.

  Don't even think it.

  "How are you?" I ask. It seems like such a stupid thing to say after he had his fingers inside me this afternoon. Despite seeing him only a few hours ago, I've missed talking to him. Well, arguing with him. Flirting with him.

  God, I thought I was pathetic before.

  His lip quirks. "Good. You?"

  I nod. "I'm fine. Looking forward to tonight."

  Is he really going to try it on with another woman in front of me? I shouldn't want that, right? But there's something about him chatting up someone else when I know it's me he wants to take to bed that makes me all hot.

  Unless he likes her and takes her home.

  Oh God, this could backfire.

  Narrowing his eyes, he leans in like he's trying to figure something out. "Are you drunk already?"

  Why would he ask that? I didn't stumble, and my breath can't smell of alcohol. I had a mint on the walk here. "What?"

  "Your eyes look drunk."

  "Oh." My mind empties. Literally every word I know fucks off, and I'm left with no response. There's not really much I can do about my eyes.

  Kent's light eyebrow arches.

  If you're waiting for me to say something, you'll be waiting a while. I've got nothing here.

  He sighs, and his eyes flick to the ceiling before landing back on me. "You look nice ... stunning."

  I laugh. His voice is gravelly, half-sounding like that hurt him to admit and half-sounding like he's a bit turned on.

  Again, I have no idea which one.

  "Thank you." His compliment sends my mind into a bit of a spin. "Don't look too bad yourself."

  And that was the understatement of the year. His plain black shirt perfectly highlights his sculpted chest and arms. The sleeves are rolled up his forearms. I'd love to know how long he spends working out. Hell, I'd love to watch him get all sweaty.

  "Savannah?"

  My body jerks at the sound of my own name. Oh, dear God, no. I feel my eyes widen as I look away from his chest. I was staring. Pressing my lips together, I ignore the burning in my cheeks, super grateful that it's not all that light in here.

  Besides a smirk, he doesn't call me out for openly gawping at him.

  It would seem that Kent's nice side is out to play tonight. Good.

  Max hands Kent two drinks. One is mine.

  "Thank you," I say to Max as Kent passes it to me.

  Max wiggles an eyebrow and turns back around.

  Oh, he so has the wrong impression. For anything to happen between me and Kent, we would have to get along for longer than ten minutes ... and he would have to stop being a dickhead to me. Or, apparently, we'd have to share a meal.

  "Your arm okay?"

  "No more pain. It's just annoying, wearing the splint."

  "If you need help getting changed, I volunteer," Max says, spinning around so fast, I'm surprised he didn't trip.

  I tilt my head to the side. "Wow, thank you for the kind offer."

  Max looks at Kent and shrugs. "I didn't hear a no."

  Kent's jaw hardens.

  "Hmm, not familiar with sarcasm," I say, and Max laughs. "No."

  "You wound me, Savannah. I guess I'm not the one you want to unzip that beautiful, tight dress."

  My hand tightens around my glass. Don't throw it at him.

  "Right. I already have someone for that," I reply. I mean, it's me. I'm the only one taking my clothes off, but Max doesn't need to know that.

  "You have a boyfriend? You said you were single." The muscles on Kent's forearms bunch.

  Rolling his eyes, Max turns around. Great, he's the catalyst for this conversation, and he bails out when it gets awkward.

  "I am single." Very, very permanently single, just how I like it.

  Kent doesn't believe me. His eyes stare straight through me.

  "I didn't lie," I add. Not about that anyway. "There is no one but me."

  With a nod, his posture loosens up, as he understands that I do everything for myself.

  Jesus, uptight much? Why would it matter to him if I lied anyway?

  "Table!" Max shouts. He dashes between me and Kent, holding his drink out in front of him.

  "Is he okay?" I ask, my eyes following him power-walking to a table in the corner.

  Kent laughs. "We're not sure, but we should follow him, or he'll get lost."

  "Dude, I'm marrying your sister," Toby says as he and Heidi also pass us.

  Kent rolls his eyes. "Of course you are, dickhead."

  Okay, Toby's definitely trying to wind Kent up. Doesn't seem to be working. He might actually have to marry Heidi.

  I turn to follow the others, but Kent doesn't move.

  "Are you coming or standing there the whole night?"

  "After you."

  I take a swig of my drink and walk. I wonder if he knows how weird he is.

  The seating area in the club is along one side, heaving with people walking back and forth from their table to take a drink before returning to the dance floor.

  A group of people to my left moves into my path. I turn away from them to protect my fractured arm, but it's not needed because Kent's arm reaches around me, blocking a guy who bumps into him rather than me.

  What?

  The bumper apologises and walks around the back of us.

  I look up at Kent over my shoulder. "Thanks."

  He takes a small step back and lowers his arm. "It was nothing."

  Kent sidesteps me and walks over to everyone else, who is now sitting down. They've left two chairs free--next to each other, of course. I take a seat between Kent and Max.

  Max leans over. "So, Savannah, tell me about yourself."

  "Not much to tell."

  "Oh, there's plenty. You just don't want to."

  Correct.

  I shrug. "I moved here three years ago from a small town, and I've never looked back. I like pizza, coffee, wine, gin, clothes, and summers spent in pub gardens. I hate arrogant men," I say, looking directly at Kent.

  Kent smirks. "You keep telling yourself that, babe."

  Toby slaps Kent's arm with the back of his hand. "You definitely don't want this arrogant prick, Savannah. I'm much more of a gentleman."

  "I just watched you trying to bed your best mate's sister," I reply flatly. "Doesn't exactly scream gentleman. You've not even offered to take her out."

  Toby sits back in his seat, mouth popping open a f
raction.

  "Yeah, she talks back," Kent mutters, lifting his eyebrow at his mate.

  I smile because I'm starting to. Slowly, Kent is bringing me back, and I'm not sure what that means. If it even means anything. Maybe he's just the one to piss me off enough to snap me out of my funk.

  I've missed having a group of friends like Kent has. In my teens, I was surrounded by people. Becoming a shadow was my choice, but I never realised how much I'd faded until I saw people carefree, and I started behaving like the old me.

  I'm basically a sixty-year-old woman.

  Toby flicks his index finger up in the air. "I said I wanted to marry Heidi, not just sleep with her."

  "You said that to wind Kent up. I bet you've never even had a girlfriend before."

  "I've never had a girlfriend, but at least I'll have more than one night with a woman."

  I don't need to ask, but I do anyway. "Who can't have more than one night?"

  "Kent. He thinks they'll get attached if you spend too long with them," Max says, injecting himself into the conversation.

  "I don't see how that's possible," I tease, grinning at Kent.

  Max chuckles and points at Kent. "The lady has a point. You're hardly a catch."

  "Why are you two talking about my love life?" Kent grunts.

  "Spending two nights with a woman isn't going to make them fall in love with you. It doesn't make sense to me," I say.

  "Hmm, interesting. Why do you think he has only one night then?" Max asks.

  "Micro penis?"

  Max throws his head back and laughs at the same time Kent bellows, "What the fuck, Savannah?"

  I grin triumphantly.

  "I do not have a micro penis. I'll show you right now!" His hand reaches down to the zipper on his jeans.

  "Whoa!" Heidi flails her arms. "You keep that in your jeans."

  "Savannah, follow me to the restroom," Kent snaps.

  "Absolutely not," I say the words, but I don't think I put enough disgust into them. Mostly because I don't totally hate the idea of being somewhere private with him. Unless he's in a shitty mood. If he'd asked that after the restaurant incident, I probably would have gone.

  He makes eye contact, and it's the kind that hooks me and demands I don't look away. I lick my dry lips, and Kent's chest puffs. Okay, that wasn't meant to be teasing, but I'll take it.

  "Are you ready to hit on someone in here?" I ask.

  He watches me for a second before replying, "Yeah, you."

  Laughing, I shake my head. He's persistent; I'll give him that. It feels really nice, having someone chase me. It's been a long time since I've felt desired. A bloody long time.

  "Fine." His head dips, and he whispers, "Which woman do you want me to talk to while you sit here and watch, getting wetter and wetter until you're begging for my cock?"

  I bite my lip. Why is this so hot?

  "Any. I don't care. And it's going to be you doing the begging."

  He leans back, shrugging. "I'll do it now if it'll work."

  "Go, Kent!"

  With a wink, he gets up and walks to the bar. I don't miss the bulge in his jeans.

  Every encounter with Kent, whether good or bad, is foreplay. I know I'm not supposed to have one-night stands, but that rule seems so stupid now. But I don't know how I'll feel the morning after, and I vowed to never allow a man to hurt me again, not if I can help it anyway.

  Kent screams heartbreak.

  I watch him, feigning interest in the conversation Heidi, Toby, and Max are holding, but I have no idea what they're saying.

  Kent stops by a woman, and she does a double take. She obviously likes what she sees because she twists her body and arches her back, so he gets a better view of her cleavage. Obviously, he picked the woman with big boobs.

  Mine aren't big.

  Kent steps closer, but I notice that he makes sure I can clearly see his profile, so right now, I'm still on his mind. The woman, who I decide I don't like, laughs, throwing her head back.

  I bet whatever he said wasn't that funny. He's not a fucking comedian, love.

  Still, he has her eating out of the palm of his hand even while his eyes flick back to me.

  He moves closer again and touches her arm. That's like throwing a bucket of cold water on a flame. My stomach churns. There wasn't supposed to be touching. Okay, I'm definitely enjoying it less now that there's been physical contact. It was hot, knowing that she wanted him and he was trying to get into my pants, but he's making it seem like she can have him.

  His eyes move to me again, and a frown pulls across his forehead. I look away as ice settles in my stomach. This isn't fun anymore. It was much better when it was just a fantasy. I guess some things shouldn't be acted upon.

  I run my fingers down the stem of the oversize gin glass. Why did I ever think that was a good idea?

  He's made me lose my mind. I've not been this stupid in forever. Coming here tonight was a mistake.

  I'm such an idiot.

  "At what point did that experiment fail for you?" Kent whispers in my ear.

  My breath catches. I turn my head, and yep, he's back.

  "Well ..." I say, composing myself. He came back. My heart leaps. He came straight back for me. I take a breath to calm the thudding in my chest. "About the time you got hands on."

  Kent smirks. "Noted." He sits back and grabs his beer.

  Oh. He thinks I'm jealous. I did sound jealous just then. But I'm not. I mean ...

  God. I'm jealous, and he came back because he knew that.

  14

  Kent

  Toby slaps my back, and that's when I realise I'm still looking at Savannah.

  I honestly think we should just sleep together and get all this sexual tension out of the way. She was jealous when I was talking to that woman. I was turned on, thinking about her watching me chat up someone else. In my head, I thought, when I came back to Savannah, she would be so horny, she would jump me.

  However, I'm more than happy with how things turned out. Savannah is jealous.

  "You good, bro?" Toby asks, grinning like a fucking prick.

  "Fine," I spit.

  I wish he would go back to trying to hit on my sister. Heidi would never go there. Plus, Toby is only after one thing, which Heidi isn't into. At least, I damn hope not.

  "I'm sure she doesn't really think you have a micro penis," he replies. "You could always send her a dick pic if Heidi's getting all precious about not wanting to see it, too."

  Heidi slaps Toby's arm. "Precious? Would you want to see your brother's penis?"

  I turn my body, so they're more behind me.

  Savannah is smiling and looking around the table. I don't think she has anyone besides Heidi. So far, she's fitting in with my friends, and I'm not sure how I feel about it.

  Who am I kidding? I like it.

  "Right. I think I've done enough small talk for now," Max says. He gets up and walks into the crowd on the dance floor.

  "What was that?" Savannah asks.

  "He's done talking to the group and going to look for a lady friend."

  She rolls her pretty grey eyes. "I should have guessed. Is that what you all do?"

  Yes.

  "Not always."

  "Not always? Sometimes, you don't feel like finding the girl you're bedding once?"

  Leaning closer to her, I smile. Shit, I can smell her hair from here. "Tonight, I'm all yours."

  I sit back to see her response. Her lips part.

  God, it does not help me wanting to fuck her when I know she wants me as well. I don't know if she would agree to one night. I'm thinking not.

  She recovers her shock and adjusts the strap of her dress over her shoulder. "You wish."

  Yeah, actually, I do.

  "You're going to deny you want to be under me?"

  Lifting a single eyebrow, she shakes her head. "I don't think so. I'm not a one-time kind of girl."

  Damn it.

  "What's wrong with a one-night stand?"
<
br />   "Nothing, if you want a one-night stand."

  Savannah tries to be angry. Her grey eyes are narrowed, but she's leaning as close to me as I am to her, which dampens her fire a bit. She blinks heavily. Yeah, she wants me. I need her to make the first move since she's the one saying no.

  "I still can't believe you've never had sex with a stranger."

  "Believe it, and you're not a stranger."

  "Wow. You're sure you've definitely had sex before, right?"

  Her cheeks turn pink. "Yes! Very funny," she hisses. "Not that it's any of your business."

  "Was he shit in the sack? Lie there like a sack of potatoes and make you do all the work?" Smirking, I add, "Did he have a micro penis?"

  Her eyes dart away.

  Oh God, is one of those things true?

  "I don't really want to talk about the guy I slept with. It's in the past."

  "Did he break your heart?"

  She looks back and stares me dead in the eye. "No. I've told you before, I've never had a proper boyfriend. He just messed with my head a little."

  "So, micro penis or rubbish in bed?"

  "Why are we talking about the guy I slept with?"

  Yeah, why am I?

  I raise both hands, conceding. "Want to dance instead?"

  What the fuck? Dance? Why am I asking her to dance?

  She jerks her head back, shocked. "What?"

  I don't know why she asked that after she clearly fucking heard what I'd asked.

  Tapping my foot on the ground, I spit out, "Dance."

  "Well ... yes. I mean, yes, but you don't seem like the type to get out on the dance floor to dance."

  "What do you think I do on a dance floor then?"

  She playfully nudges my arm. "Dry-hump."

  "Very funny, Savannah."

  "Come on. Show me how you dance without rubbing yourself against me."

  I stand up as she rises. "Where's the fun in that?"

  "Where are you two going?" Heidi asks.

  "To dance," Savannah replies. She bites her lip like she's suddenly realised I'm Heidi's brother, and she's not sure if she needs permission.

  Heidi's eyes widen. "Oh my God, Kent, don't just dry-hump her!"

  Savannah laughs and bumps my arm with her bad one. I don't want to wish pain on her, but I hope that hurt.

  I tilt my head in Savannah's direction. "It's not funny."

  "Yes, it is."

  "We'll come with you. Toby, you can totally dry-hump me if you want," Heidi teases.

  Fucking sister. I think I preferred it when she lived to work.

  I lead Savannah onto the dance floor, being careful that no one knocks into her arm. This probably isn't the place for someone whose fractured arm is still healing. She's got another three weeks in the splint.