LIE (Right Men Book 1)

by Mayra Statham

  “Mom.”

  “Oh, don’t be such a fuddy duddy. She knows I’m joking around. Don’t you, Grace?”

  “Yes, Ma’am.”

  “Ma’am? Did my grandma come back from the dead?” She looked behind her. I laughed when she turned and winked at me. “Let’s sit and let these handsome men serve us.” Jenn smiled and nodded. Marcus walked me to a chair and pulled it out, and I watched Don and Bryan do the same for the other two women.

  “You have them well trained.”

  “I wanted to make sure my sons were gentlemen,” Jenn shared proudly. “So tell me, Grace, how do you like Montana so far? I’m sure you’re exhausted from the flight.”

  “I’m actually okay. I got to sleep on the plane for the most part.”

  “Good. Where is your beautiful little girl that I have seen in the magazines?”

  “Tabloids,” Don clarified as all the men brought over trays of food.

  “She’s at home with my sisters.”

  “You should bring her here, Marcus. Little girls love horses. I’m sure she’d love it here!” Jenn said, hope clear in her voice.

  “That’s the plan, Mom.” Marc pulled out the chair beside me and sat down. His arm immediately went around my shoulder. I looked up at him, his blue eyes meeting mine, and smiled brightly at him. I liked the idea of bringing Lexi here. She would love it.

  ***

  The family talked, and for the most part, everyone was nice and extremely funny. The only one who made me a little uncomfortable was Garrett. The way his eyes felt like they glared at Marc with anger bothered me. Thankfully, they were all such characters that I didn’t have too much time to dwell on that.

  Walking hand in hand, Marcus was now leading me to the cabin where we would be staying.

  “I wanted us to have privacy,” he said as if reading my mind as I once again wondered why we weren’t staying with the rest of the family.

  “Oh.”

  “I didn’t want to share you or worry about you worrying about anyone hearing us at night. That was when just my brothers were supposed to be here. I sure as hell don’t want that now with Nicola and my parents here.” I smiled.

  I felt happier and more carefree than I had in a long time. I leaned into his broad shoulder as we reached the front porch. “This is beautiful.”

  “The view is something,” he mentioned, and I looked at him, his eyes pinned to me. “Spectacular,” he whispered as his fingers were caressing my cheek with a feather-light touch.

  “I…”

  “Shh…” His thumb covered my mouth. “I want you to walk in there and take everything off your delicious body.”

  “Mar—”

  “Shh…” He grinned sexily. “Then I want you to face the bed.” My body trembled and my eyes widened at his orders. I licked the pad of his thumb, enjoying the even hungrier way his eyes turned, and nodded.

  Opening the door, I did as he instructed.

  My back to him, I took every article of clothing off my body. My skin felt like it was on fire. It tingled, knowing he was watching. My nipples were hard, and wetness pooled between my legs. My entire body ached for his touch. The moment I was completely naked, I felt him move almost right behind me. He wasn’t touching me, but I could feel him. The heat of his body was so damn close I yearned for his touch.

  “Walk and stand at the edge of the bed, feet shoulder-width apart,” his deep voice commanded, and when I moved to where and how he wanted, he surprised me again. “Close your eyes, Grace.” His order made my breathing pick up. Darkness cloaked around me when I closed my eyes. My heart raced as my other senses went into overdrive.

  The heat of his body neared. I could feel his own heavy breathing at my neck. His big, strong hands moved my hair to one shoulder. The smell of his skin mixed with the sun and his cologne made my mouth water.

  “Scared, Grace?” he asked in a hushed whisper against the skin of my face. I was dying to press my legs together for relief. He had hardly touched me and I was hotter for him than I had ever been.

  “No,” I croaked and was gifted with his nose nuzzling my temple.

  “I wanted to take you slow our first time here,” he rasped. My nipples strained further. “I wanted to light up a million tea lights and shower you with attention.” His words left me almost dizzy with need. I tilted my head back and hit his shoulder, his hands lightly moving to my waist.

  His touch wasn’t enough. I needed so much more. A whimper of need escaped my mouth. “Marc…”

  “Shhh… I’m going to take it as slowly as I can.”

  “Marc, you really don’t have to.” His deep chuckles were like a soothing balm to my nerves.

  “I do.” The confidence in his voice was clear. “I want to worship you,” he whispered into my ear. I moaned and pressed my ass to his front, realizing he was as naked as I was.

  Naked and hard. His hand landed on my belly, his palm flat and warm, holding me in place, stopping me from rubbing up closer to him. “Don’t hold back tonight. Not any fucking moment we are out here, Grace. Do you understand?”

  “What?” I opened my eyes, but his face went into my hair.

  “Close your eyes,” he ordered again, somehow knowing I’d opened them.

  “Babe…”

  “Trust me.”

  “I do. I trust you, Marc,” I whispered, closing my eyes, willfully returning to the darkness. Whisper-soft touches glided over my spine, and I stilled, trying to figure out what it was.

  “Relax…” I felt his soft beard at my cheek, his lips kissing me so softly I wasn’t sure if I had somehow imagined it.

  Soft, feather-like touches glided up and down my body, making my shoulders slump forward. He tenderly guided my hands to the bed. Bent, my body was completely exposed to him. My eyes closed tighter as I relished in the sensation. I felt him move away, but before I could complain, his hands touched my overheated skin. A chill ran down my spine as I felt his hot, wet mouth at my shoulders. It moved from my shoulders to the center of my back. Slowly and beautifully, he moved his way south.

  I gasped and writhed below him as he reached my sex. His mouth hit the spot with that first lick and touch. I couldn’t help the sounds that escaped. He ate me like he had been starving. Like I was a craving he could never sate. It wasn’t a thing to check off of a list to get to the main event for him. He enjoyed it as much as I did.

  My knees started to tremble. The sensations built higher and higher. My body tightened, and I felt it. I was so close. My body sprang tight, every touch, every lick, nip, and flick more intense and magnified than the last.

  All his teasing had paid off. Just as I was reaching the magical moment, he moved, guiding my knees onto the bed, then I felt him slam into me. My head fell onto the mattress. I fisted the sheets on the bed and cried out.

  “Give it to me, Grace,” he grunted as he pushed forward, and I pushed into him. We met thrust for thrust. I couldn’t stay in the darkness; I wanted to look at him.

  “Look at me, Grace,” he hissed on a thrust, and I looked back at him. His muscled arms bulged as he held on to my shoulders, his masculine face tense. “Fuck, love those eyes.”

  “More,” I mouthed, so out of breath I couldn’t speak, and thankfully he gave it to me.

  He was done with teasing both of us. He was hard and passionate. The small cabin filled with the sounds of our bodies connecting again and again.

  “Marc!” I cried as I felt it edging. I was on a cliff, ready to dive off, when he lifted my upper body so that his head would go into my neck.

  He rutted in and out, hitting the spot just right, filling me completely, and I flew.

  Pleasure and warmth hit me like hard, rough waves. I drowned in the beautiful feeling, and at the cusp of it, I felt his teeth sink into my neck, muffling the sexy sounds of his release as he poured himself inside of me. The pain of his bite mixed with the sound of his release prolonged my own.

  One of his hands cupped my neck delicately. I felt his tong
ue lick and soothe the spot he’d bitten and melted further into his body. His hands guided their way around my sensitive body, lifting me, disconnecting us.

  My eyes were heavy as we lay in bed together, catching our breath. Slipping under the sheets, on his back, he guided me close into him. My head was on his chest, his hands stroking my hair.

  It was beautiful.

  Perfect.

  That night, I fell asleep to the steady beat of his heart, thinking and hoping that I was in there, just a little bit. Because he was definitely taking up a lot of space in mine.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Marcus

  He watched her laugh at something Nicola had just said and turned to notice Bryan looking at him with a weird look on his face.

  “What?” he asked as he walked out to the barn. He heard Bryan a step behind him.

  “You love her.”

  “Yep.” He wasn’t going to expand on how love didn’t feel like the right word. It was more than love. Every day that passed, what he felt grew stronger. Brighter.

  “Have you told her that?”

  “Nope.”

  “Huh.” They walked in silence. They’d been at the ranch four of the seven days they had planned to stay.

  Each one had been better than the last. Even with his family around. They’d had lunch with them every day, but he’d made sure to disappear with her shortly after, with excuses of showing her the land. He’d taken her to the river, where they’d gone skinny dipping, probably scarring the fish that swam by them. They’d moved their activities to the grass, where she had ridden him just as the sunset hit. He would never forget the way her skin had glowed in the light of the end of the day, the thought of it making his body come alive.

  They stepped into the old barn, and Marc took in what he needed to have his foreman fix up.

  “It’s going to rain,” Bryan noted as Marc took a saddle out and looked at him.

  “I doubt it,” he said. Bryan shrugged.

  “I know it isn’t any of my business, but…”

  “What?” he clipped, wondering what his little brother felt he had to stick his nose in.

  “You should tell her. Explain it was a stupid thing between brothers. Tell her before—”

  “Bry—”

  “Tell her before she somehow finds out.”

  “How would she find out, Bryan?” he asked, tilting his head at his brother.

  “I’m not going to tell her, dickhead. I like her. I think you two make sense. So much, I don’t want to see you fall on your ass and mess shit up.” Before he could respond, Bryan walked out of the barn, leaving him to his thoughts.

  ***

  His annoying little brother had been right.

  It had started to rain. And not little soft sprinkling rain that could be romantic.

  A downpour.

  It was so much rain they had to jump off their horses and run. Hand in hand to one of the small unused cabins on his property.

  This one wasn’t like the one he’d had ready for them. It had a couple of furnishings, but it hadn’t been used in a while and was a little dusty and barren. They stood in the darkened cabin; the only light streaming in was that of the grey skies and the bolts of lightning coming in through the windows. He looked around the space and tried to figure out a game plan, hoping they wouldn’t be stuck there for too long. His skin started to chill.

  “Looks like we’re stuck here for a little while.” Her voice trembled, and he walked to her. His hands on her arms, he ran them up and down, trying to warm her up. He could feel the goosebumps on her bare skin, loving the way they felt.

  “Are you nervous?” he asked, smiling at her and trying to calm her.

  “No. I’m just not used to…”

  “We’re okay. It’s a small storm. We’re safe here.” She looked at him in a way that made him want to beat on his chest like a Neanderthal. So much damn trust reflecting back at him.

  “Safe is the last thing I am with you,” she mumbled, and he knew she didn’t realize she’d said it out loud. She stared into his eyes, his heart rivaling the thunder outside from her admission.

  He was captivated by the way she closed her eyes, shutting away what she was feeling from him, and he didn't like it.

  At all.

  He leaned closer, breathing in her soft scent. He wanted to tell her he was feeling the same way, but instead, he told her the other thing he was thinking about.

  “You smell so damn good.”

  “Definitely not safe when you say things like that,” she whispered. He leaned down further, running his nose along hers, and heard the soft gasp when her lips parted. “How can you make me want more?”

  “You want more?”

  “We’ve had more sex these last few days than I’ve had in the last six years, Marc.” He grinned, his mouth on hers. Then he pulled away to look at her.

  “Marc.” Half question, half plea. He backed away further. His hand moved to her face, tilting it up, and he watched the dark depths of her eyes open. What she exposed at that moment gave him the courage to step it up and be honest.

  “I'd never hurt you.” And he wouldn't. He'd work at always having the ability to have her look at him just like she was right that second.

  “Marc—” she started to protest, but he put a finger over her soft lips.

  Lips that spoke nothing but the truth. God, he wanted her. Not just for now, but for always. When she was in his arms, it felt like he had found a lost piece. A piece of him that was as fundamental to him as breathing.

  “These aren’t just pretty words to get in your pants.”

  “I'm pretty sure you know I'm a sure thing,” she remarked, a sexy smile on her face. He chuckled at her honesty.

  “Sweetness, I—”

  “Don’t. No promises, okay? There is no need—” she started to ramble, but he stopped her.

  He wouldn’t let her taint what he was trying to say. “That’s not me.” She opened her eyes at the gruff tone in his voice, and they shone with unshed tears. “I want you, Grace.” He watched her lick her lips, something like uncertainty playing in her eyes.

  “For how long?” Forever. The word was on the tip of his tongue, but she had to know the truth first. If he didn’t tell her about that fucking bet that was hanging over his neck like a noose, he’d lose her. He knew it.

  “Grace, I need to tell you...” But he didn’t say another word. He couldn’t. She shocked the hell out of him by stepping on the tips of her toes, leaning forward, grabbing his face, and kissing him.

  She had kissed him before, but never like this. Hard and wet. Desperate. He took over, and she melted beneath his touch. He held her close, feeling the way her body softened in his hold.

  “I know.” Her voice was soft but confident as she spoke against his lips while she gave him small pecks, never fully breaking the kiss. “You surprise me,” she admitted, and he knew he needed to tell her how everything began, but she kept talking. “At every turn, you’ve surprised me.”

  “You did too, Grace, but baby—”

  “You’re an incredible man, Marcus.” Something about the way she was saying it didn’t sit well with him.

  “Are you trying to get rid of me?” he asked, trying to make a joke of it but worried at the same time.

  “I've seen how hard you work. How diligent you are with everything you do. So damn detail oriented, it’s insane.” She smiled, and he rested his forehead against hers. “Your brothers are not easy men to deal with, each one different—”

  “Baby, my brothers are not something I wanna talk about in this state.” He rubbed up against her so she could feel his hardness. She whimpered.

  “You love them,” she kept talking, on a mission, and he needed to let her say her piece. “You love your family. You’re not anything like the media painted you. You, Mr. Wright, are as far from a bad boy as they get.” She whispered the last part against his lips. “You’re wonderful with Lexi.”

  “She’s a gr
eat kid.”

  “She is. Her mom thinks you’re pretty great too.” His heart rushed.

  “Yeah?”

  “Oh, yeah.” She smiled brightly, and he felt like he’d won an Oscar. Fuck. How did her smile alone do that to him?

  “Come here.” He pulled her into the semi-bare cabin and went to the dresser, pulling out some sweats and a sweater. “Get dressed.” He hoped that maybe once they were dry he could find the guts to tell her.

  “Dressed?” Her eyebrow went up. “I thought maybe you could help me undress.” She bit her lip, and he couldn’t help himself.

  He went in and licked and nipped that very spot. She licked and nipped his lips, and they started to kiss. Kissing her was like fuel to a fire, and from one moment to the next, every thought about talking was gone from his mind.

  His hands moved to her hips and pulled her in close. She gasped, and he took advantage of her parted lips, sliding his tongue in, tasting her. He liked it when she gave back. Her own tongue tentatively touched and slid by his. His hands went to the hem of her shirt and pulled it over her head. The wet material thudded at their feet.

  “Marc,” she whimpered when his mouth touched her lace-covered breast and he sucked on the tightened nipple, her head falling back, his hand there to cradle her.

  “I want you too, babe…” he rasped, unhooking the bra before his hands went to the waistband of her jeans, quickly getting them undone and pulling them along with what he saw to be lace panties down her smooth legs. Her hands slipped to his back under the hem of his shirt, and he let her pull it up, helping her take off the soaked material. He walked them back to the edge of the bed, gently pushing her back, her head falling onto the throw pillows on the bed.

  Though the cabin was usually empty, his ranch manager’s wife insisted on having every bed made up and ready just in case. Red and brown pillows sat on top of the mattress that was covered in heavy blankets.

  He kneeled in front of her. Her hands immediately went to her tummy, and he grabbed her wrists, their eyes meeting.

  “Don’t hide yourself. Not from me.”