Hidden Truths
Page 17
“No! I’m positive. I’m sure that’s why he’s been dark. I bet… I don’t know. But it has to be a girl.” My thumbs flew swiftly over the keys as I typed. So glad you’re okay. I can’t wait to meet her!
I tapped my temple. “You see what I did there?”
Lance just shook his head with a smile. “Yeah, I see what you did there.”
My phone beeped seconds later. Can’t talk now, but yeah, you’ll meet her.
I squealed and threw my hands in the air. “See?”
Lance took the phone from my hands and set it on the counter. “I do see.”
I clasped his arms. “We’re okay. After everything, after it all, maybe we’ll all be okay.”
Lance pressed a kiss to the corner of my mouth. My favorite of Lance’s kisses. “Yeah, we’re okay. House, jobs, dogs, and visiting a nursery tomorrow. And you got a brother who found himself a woman who’ll make him honest.”
“God, I hope,” I murmured.
Lance nudged my nose. “I know.”
“Promise me this will last,” I whispered. “Part of me isn’t sure it’s okay to be this happy.”
Lance gripped my jaw, and those dark eyes met mine. “It’s okay to be this happy. And I promise it'll last, baby. I promise.”
I smiled. Lance kept his promises.
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It happened after I set my long island iced tea on the bar. It happened after I ordered another one, sipping this one a teensy bit faster because I was feeling loose and fuzzy and happy. It happened once we left our spots at the bar and began to make our way to the edge of the dance floor.
That was when I felt a tingle on the back of my neck, like someone was watching me. I looked over my shoulder into the crowd, but no one stuck out. I didn’t meet anyone’s gaze from across the room and lock eyes. None of that. I turned back to the dance floor to see Trish leading Reva onto it as the beginning bars of Crazy in Love started up.
And I felt it again. This time, there was a light touch on my elbow, just a brush of fingers, and I jerked away, then twisted my head to look up into a man’s face.
The first thing I noticed was that he had the most expressive smile. It was a good one too, big with white teeth. It took up the whole bottom of his face, but it was what that grin promised. Along with those dimples cutting into his cheeks—that grin promised banters and trouble and smartass comments…and a whole lot of orgasms. Oh yeah, a whole hell of a lot. Paired with light hazel eyes, and a rumpled head of brown hair, I lost my voice.
I just gaped. Gaped open-mouthed at this man who was grinning at me with so much promise.
“You looking for me?” he said.
I blinked at him. “I’m sorry?”
“Saw you looking around, and I thought, ah, she’s looking for me. So, I thought I’d come over. Make it easy on you.”
I was still staring at him open-mouthed like an idiot. Was this happening? Men like this—tall, lean, well-built men with charming grins—didn’t walk up to me. They looked right through me like I was invisible.
“Um—”
He leaned in closer, so close I could smell his fresh-scented cologne. “Close your mouth, peaches, before you catch a fly.”
I snapped my jaw shut with an audible clack. Peaches?
“The dress,” he said oddly. And I realized I’d said my question out loud. “Just a heads up. You walk in here wearing that color, and every man in here is wondering if you taste like peaches too.”
Now my eyes bugged out of my head. “I can’t believe you just said that to me.”
He shrugged, totally unbothered. “Just telling the truth.” Then he grinned again, and I realized he knew what the grin did. He knew how it made women feel, what it promised. He wielded it like a weapon. Even knowing that, I was slayed by it. At his mercy. Surrendered.
And that’s why I opened my mouth and said. “You said, every man, did that include you?”
That grin got bigger, deeper, his eyes warmed—no they didn’t warm, they ignited—and for the first time in a long damn time, I felt heat lick between my legs.
And that felt good, good in a way I hadn’t realized I’d needed.
“You want an answer to that? Then it’s one I have to show you,” he said.
And oh yeah, oh my God, I was turned on. In response, I wrapped my lips around the straw of my drink and sucked hard.
At that, he threw back his head and laughed. I hadn’t realized he could get more handsome. But when that deep rumble of laughter bubbled up from his chest and left that gorgeous mouth, I fell a little bit deeper into him.
He stopped laughing and bent his head so that his lips were at my ear, and that was where he whispered. “Baby, you just say the word and I’ll be on my knees for that taste.”
My legs began to shake.
A hand wrapped around my bicep, and his eyes darkened just a bit, slicing to whoever was standing next to me. It was Ali, and she was looking at the man in front of me with a healthy dose of caution. She was also fucking gorgeous, so I knew now was the time this man would realize there were better options on the table.
I glanced at him preparing to see him perusing Ali’s body, but that wasn’t the case. His eyes were latched on me, right on my face. I didn’t have a chance to dwell on that when Ali shouted over the music. “Come onto the dance floor. Reva wants you!”
Right, more like they’d probably seen me dumbfounded by a man way out of my league and were saving me.
“Right,” I said. I shot the man a smile and gestured toward where I saw my sister beckoning me. “Sorry, here for a bachelorette party.”
His gaze followed my gesture to my sister, and then he cut back to me, completely ignoring the younger supermodel at my side. What was that about?
“Come on,” Ali tugged on my arm again.
“Be there in a minute honey,” I said, and she let my arm go in order to saunter back onto the dance floor.
“See you ar—” I began.
His hand settled on my hip, hot and heavy, and when his fingers pressed ever so slightly into my flesh, I swore I felt those five points of contact all over my body. “Name.”
“I’m sorry?”
“What’s your name?”
“Peaches works.”
His eyes crinkled, like that amused him. Still he asked. “What’s your name, beautiful?”
“Sam.” I blurted out.
“Sam?”
“Samantha.”
“Samantha,” he murmured, and his eyes did a scan of my body. “Right.”
“I need to go…” I gestured again.
He let me go, and as I was running out onto the dance floor, I realized I hadn’t asked him his name.
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Check out my next romantic suspense, ZERO HOUR, coming in January 2018!
The Fast and the Furious meets Mr. Robot in USA Today bestselling author Megan Erickson's thrilling new romantic suspense series.
Hacker extraordinaire Roarke Brennan lives each hour - each breath - to avenge his brother's murder. His first move: put together a team of the best coders he knows. They're all brilliant, specialized, and every one an epic pain in his ass. Only now Wren Lee wants in too, threatening to upset their delicate balance. The girl Roarke never allowed himself to want is all grown up with sexy confidence and a dark past ... and she's the wild card he can't control.
Roarke might still think she's a kid, but Wren's been to hell and back. Nothing and nobody can stop her - especially the tatted-up, cocky-as-all-hell hacker. But when years of longing and chemistry collide, Wren and Roarke discover that revenge may be a dish best served bl
azing hot.
About the Author
Megan Erickson worked as a journalist covering real-life dramas before she decided she liked writing her own endings better and switched to fiction. She's a multi-published, RITA-nominated author with Avon, Berkley, and Entangled. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband, two kids and two cats.
Website: http://meganerickson.org/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MeganErickson_
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authormeganerickson
Other books by Megan Erickson
The Mission series
Blood Guard
Silver Tip Pack series
Daring Fate
Chasing Destiny
In Focus series
Trust the Focus
Focus on Me
Out of Frame
Overexposed
Bowler University series
Make it Count
Make it Right
Make it Last
Mechanics of Love series
Dirty Thoughts
Dirty Talk
Dirty Deeds
Gamers series
Changing His Game
Playing for Her Heart
Tied to Trouble
Leveling the Field
Cyberlove series (co-written with Santino Hassell)
Strong Signal
Fast Connection
Hard Wired
Mature Content
Acknowledgments
I have my readers to thank for this story. Wholeheartedly. I began writing this story in the summer of 2017 because I had severe writer’s block. I was stuck on what I was supposed to be working on, and couldn’t find any words. Then an idea popped in my head, these two characters—a man and woman who began as Tara and Dark Eyes. I started to write the first chapter, and at the time called it Boots because…I didn’t have a real title yet.
I decided to send the first couple of chapters out in my newsletter. Then I wrote some more and sent those. Before I knew it, Boots was growing. Lance and Tara were telling me their story every week, I was writing it down, and firing off my newsletter every Friday morning. Then my readers began to email me, message me, tweet me. They wanted more Lance and Tara. And Lance and Tara kept talking to me. I sent the first chapter in August and finished it in November. My writer’s block was gone, and I was left with a story I was really passionate about.
I can’t thank my readers enough for the feedback. This was honestly the most rewarding writing experience of my life. I loved hearing from you all every week and watching as you cheered on my characters and shared theories about what was to come. This was so much fun and I can’t wait to do it again in 2018 with Bryan!
Thanks so much to my newsletter subscribers and to Meg’s Mob for being so encouraging. I couldn’t have done this without you!