A Beautiful Lie (Playing with Fire, #1)

by Tara Sivec

  When they heard they were going to be staying in a guest suite, they assumed it would be just that—a guest suite. This was more like a three-thousand square foot house inside of the palace.

  The doors were closed behind them with instructions to use the house phone in the sitting room for food, entertainment, or anything else they might need during their stay.

  The room they were currently in was the biggest living room they had ever seen, complete with twenty foot vaulted ceilings, windows almost as tall, and a view of the ocean outside. The entire room was decorated in cream and gold, and it was warm and inviting.

  Garrett and Parker walked wordlessly into the room, turning to the right when they came to another room.

  “Holy shit,” Garrett muttered.

  The bedroom took up at least half of the massive suite. It was decorated in more cream and gold, but darker hues than in the living room. Parker let go of Garrett’s arm and walked to the bed at the very end of the room, against the wall, and sat down at the foot. Her body sunk into the soft mattress and she let out a sigh of comfort. Garrett walked past the heavy gold curtains that hung around the room and leaned his shoulder against one of the marble pillars that encased the bed. He stared at Parker’s face as she glanced up and saw an elaborate dome that acted as a light and took up most of the ceiling.

  “We could make as much noise as we wanted in this room and no one would hear us,” Parker joked.

  Garrett laughed, remembering his earlier idea of the two of them moaning, jumping up and down on the bed, and rattling the headboard so the staff would know something was going on in the room and report back to Fernandez. Obviously that idea would be out.

  “I could do things that would make you scream and no one would know,” Garrett said with an arch of an eyebrow and a menacing, serial killer laugh.

  Parker laughed along with him.

  “Who said anything about you making me scream?” she asked jovially as she stood up from the bed. “I do believe I have proven my ninja skills on more than one occasion.”

  She moved closer so she could stand on her tip toes and kiss his cheek. She missed the easy camaraderie with Garrett; it was nice to have it back.

  Parker pulled away from him slightly so she could see his eyes, sliding her hand up to rest on his chest and turning up one corner of her mouth in a confident smile.

  “Don’t underestimate my power to make you scream,” she said softly.

  They stared at each other with humor evident in their faces for several heartbeats. Then, the reality of the situation set in for both of them. They could have been just a couple of friends, making off-color jokes about killing each other or performing some kind of act that would cause enough pain to make one of them scream, but in that moment, standing chest to chest, it stopped being a joke about shouts of pain and became the reality of cries of pleasure.

  Garrett swallowed thickly, imagining just what Parker could do to his body that would cause him to shout her name in pleasure, and Parker thought about Garrett’s hands and just where they could touch her to bring about screams of ecstasy.

  Awkwardness suddenly descended on both of them as they were each assaulted with thoughts about how they should spend the night together in the room.

  Parker needed a few minutes away from Garrett to get her head screwed on straight. This was an assignment, and Garrett was her friend. They could watch television, talk, or do whatever they normally did when they spent an evening together. It shouldn’t be that big of a deal.

  “I think I’m just going to take a shower,” Parker said as she took a step back from Garrett and walked around him to go into the living room where the staffer had placed their bags.

  Garrett was rooted in place, staring at the bed, and imagining Parker naked underneath the covers. He stood silently with his hands in his pockets as Parker came back into the room a few minutes later, carrying her toiletries and some clothes.

  He watched her walk down to the end of the room, past the bed, and disappear into what must have been the bathroom. He waited until he heard the sound of the water running before he snapped out of his daze and went to retrieve his own bag.

  Parker’s comment when they first saw the bedroom left a bad feeling with him. Fernandez invited them here for a honeymoon of sorts. Garrett found it hard to believe he wouldn’t have done something to make sure that’s what they used this time for. He didn’t trust the man at all and wouldn’t put it past him to do something underhanded and sick. Parker was right. They could scream and yell and no one out in the hallway would hear them. The room was entirely too big and the bed was as far away from the door and hallway as possible.

  Garrett picked up his small duffel bag and walked with it back into the bedroom. He deposited it on the settee at the foot of the bed and rummaged around inside until he found what he was looking for: a small silver keychain with a square device hanging from it that looked like a remote for a car.

  Garrett kept his hands inside the duffel and pressed the button in the middle of the device, turned the dial on top to adjust the frequency, and palmed it under his cell phone so he could walk around the room slowly to see if it lit up while he acted like he was typing on his phone.

  Within seconds the little light at the top of the device flashed yellow, and Garrett swore to himself.

  He crouched down quietly next to the nightstand on the side of the bed, making a production of untying and taking off his shoes while he looked under the bottom of the table. Sure enough, at the very back was a small, round, black device no bigger than a pea stuck to the wood.

  Garrett’s head dropped in defeat, and he wished he could yell a stream of profanities right now. But he couldn’t because every word they spoke was currently being listened to. Now he just needed to make sure they weren’t being watched as well.

  He stood back up and continued to slowly walk around the bedroom, acting like he was taking in all of the artwork on the walls. He stared out of the corner of his eye at the device still in his hand and prayed to God the light didn’t turn red. Red indicated a higher frequency like that of a video recorder. Garrett was worried enough as it was about how they were going tosoundlike a married couple on their honeymoon. It would be a whole new level of freak-out if they had tolook the part in bed as well.

  After a quick sweep of the room, the light remained yellow. Yellow was bad enough since it meant Fernandez and God knew how many other people were listening to them, but at least they couldn’t see what was going on. Garrett could work with that without raising any suspicions.

  Garrett heard the water in the bathroom turn off and knew he needed to quickly let Parker know what he’d found. He hurried across the room and with a slight pause outside the bathroom door, he pushed it open and walked into the steam filled room.

  Parker had just wrapped the towel around her wet body when the door to the bathroom suddenly opened and Garrett hurried in, shutting the door behind him.

  “What the he—”

  Garrett’s arm wrapped around Parker’s towel-clad waist, and his hand clamped down over her mouth before she could say another word. He pulled her against him and stared into her eyes warning her wordlessly not to speak.

  Parker was breathing heavy from the shock of Garrett barging into the bathroom and the feel of him holding her so close with only a towel on. She was wet and now cold since Garrett opening the door had let out most of the heat. But she was pressed up against Garrett’s warm body, clutching onto his biceps, and forgot all about the chill in the air.

  With his hand against her lips, she nodded her head in understanding and forced her heart to slow its rapid beats. Garrett slowly moved the hand from her mouth and put his index finger in front of his lips to further indicate she shouldn’t speak.

  Garrett stared at Parker’s face and refused to think about how wet and slick her skin looked and how easy it would be to rip the towel off of her body. Garrett’s eyes betrayed him, and he glanced down at Parker’s cleavage, pushing
up out of the towel because of how close he held her to him. Beads of water glistened off of the smooth skin of her breasts, and he watched a few drops slide into the valley between them. His tongue felt thick in his mouth and he grew thicker in his pants because of his irrational need to bend down and lick the water off of her.

  He leaned to the side, taking Parker with him as he reached inside the shower and turned the water back on.

  “Hope you don’t mind baby, I’m just going to rinse off while you’re getting dry,” Garrett said loudly as he walked the two of them backwards into the spray, sliding the shower door closed behind them.

  In seconds, the towel wrapped around Parker was sopping wet and molded to her body and Garrett’s black dress pants and white button down were plastered to him. Garrett was grateful he’d at least taken his shoes off.

  Parker watched Garrett’s face descend toward hers, and she lifted her chin and closed her eyes, thinking he was going to kiss her again. She knew it was crazy, she knew there was another reason he’d ushered them into the shower while he was fully clothed, she knew there was an important job they were supposed to be doing, but nothing else occupied her mind except for the feel of his warm skin through his wet clothes and the memory of his lips on hers.

  His wet cheek slid against her own until his lips were against her ear.

  “Bugged,” was all he whispered.

  Parker’s eyes blinked open as Garrett’s mouth remained alongside her ear. She had been alone with him in this “honeymoon” suite for less than thirty minutes and she’d already forgotten her skills and professionalism. With anyone else, on any other job, she would have jumped into action as soon as they entered the room, checking the area for listening devices. If her partner had barged into the bathroom and dragged her into the shower, she would have immediately gone on high alert and started formulating a plan of action in her head.

  With Garrett, all she could concentrate on was him.

  Garrett pulled back and looked into Parker’s eyes, seeing that she understood what he meant.

  They both realized a few well-placed moans and using the bed as a trampoline weren’t going to cut it. If Fernandez put bugs in their room, he was going to be listening and paying attention. He would know the difference between moans of ecstasy and moans of the fake variety.

  Garrett leaned down again and whispered, “Just follow my lead.”

  Parker nodded as he dropped his arm from around her waist, slid the shower door open, and gave her a nudge to leave.

  "Why don't you go get comfortable in bed, baby, and I'll be out in a minute" Garrett said loudly.

  Parker stepped out of the shower, blinked the water out of her eyes, and looked at Garrett. She hoped to God he knew what he was doing, because right now, she didn’t have a clue.

  “Okay. Don’t take too long,” Parker played along with a raised voice.

  Garrett nodded his head towards the door, indicating that Parker should leave, and pulled the shower door closed. He watched Parker grab a dry towel as she retreated from the room, finally letting out the breath he'd been holding.

  Parker stepped out into the bedroom, unwrapped the soaked towel from her body, and tossed it to the side. She tucked the dry one around her and glanced nervously around the room.

  She shouldn't be nervous. She'd been in plenty of situations where she was bugged and had to be careful of everything she said or did.

  But never with Garrett.

  Parker had no idea how they were going to do this. For the first time in her career she felt like things were out of her control. This was a Navy mission, and she was basically on loan to them. She didn’t have to make all the decisions, and she didn’t have to manage everyone and everything. Garrett was the leader of this mission, and right now she was more than happy to let him take the lead.

  Everything she’d thought about for years was suddenly coming to fruition. She was overcome with a wave of sadness that it was happening as a ruse while strangers were listening.

  With a shaking hand, she flipped the switch to turn off the main chandelier in the room, the only light had come from the moon shining through the windows and the sliver of light under the bathroom door. Parker clutched the towel to her chest and crawled into bed, knowing that everything could come crashing down around them if she didn’t suck it up and just do the job she came there for. She needed to focus on that and how important it was for them to get the truth. Parker would do whatever it took, even if it meant crossing the biggest line ever with her best friend.

  Garrett left the water running while he stepped out of the shower and removed all of his wet clothes. He grabbed a towel off of the shelf next to the sink, dried off, and wrapped it around his hips, securing it in place.

  He leaned his hands on the counter in front of the sink and stared at himself in the mirror for a few minutes, wondering how he was going to play this. Parker was out there right now...in bed... waiting for him―his friend and the woman he'd dreamed about for as long as he could remember.

  The guilt crept up as he reminded himself that this was his best friend's girl. Milo, the boy he grew up with and the man that remained his friend through everything―he was gone and he was never coming back, but that still didn't make anything about this right. Milo had always asked him before a mission if he would take care of Parker if anything happened to him. Garrett was certain that this wasn’t what Milo had in mind. He was plagued with thoughts of Milo barging through the door and asking Garrett how he could betray him like this.

  Garrett turned around and shut off the water, taking a deep breath. He closed the door on his personal feelings and put up the wall, reminding himself that this was just a job and Parker was just his friend. He was a SEAL, and she was CIA, and they were both there to get the job done, no matter the costs. He knew Parker would be completely professional about this, and so would he.

  With a steel resolve, he opened the bathroom door and stepped out in the dark room.

  Parker’s heart skipped a beat as the bathroom door opened and the light spilled out onto the bed. She was lying on her side, still clutching the towel to her chest as she watched the silhouette of Garrett with a towel wrapped around his hips step out into the room.

  Garrett glanced at Parker, taking in the sight of her waiting for him in bed. He reached back into the bathroom and flipped off the light. He could no longer see Parker’s face and part of him was grateful for that. He didn’t want her to see just how much this was torturing him inside.

  The light from the moon illuminated the room just enough so he could see where he was going as he rounded the bed and crawled in under the covers behind Parker. He wondered just how much sound the bugs could detect and hoped they couldn’t hear his heart about to beat out of his chest.

  Parker was glad Garrett decided to turn the bathroom light off. There was only so much truth she was willing to share right then. If he saw her face during whatever it was he was planning, she knew it would be a dead giveaway. She was nervous and scared about the fact that someone was most likely listening to their every move right now, but deep down inside, in a place she kept hidden from everyone, a tiny thrill of excitement shot straight to her core as Garrett slid across the bed towards her and rested his hand on her bare shoulder.

  Parker’s skin broke out in goose bumps immediately, and Garrett could feel them under his palm. He pushed himself up on his hip and reached down to pull the sheet and comforter up over both of their bodies. He knew Parker was still wet from the shower and figured she must be freezing.

  Garrett let the blanket fall to his waist, knowing he was far from needing to be warmed up. Being this close to Parker, when she was wearing nothing more than a towel, made him hot enough.

  Parker finally let go of her tight grasp on the towel and pulled her arm out from under the blankets, letting it rest on her side above the covers. She could feel the heat from Garrett’s body radiating off of him and wished he would close the gap between them and press himself again
st her. Parker needed to feel him. She needed his touch to calm her nerves.

  As if reading her mind, Garrett scooted closer to Parker, still leaving a few inches between them, though. He felt himself harden as soon as he walked in on her in the bathroom and pulled her up against him. Right now he was practically screaming to be touched, and he didn’t want to make it more awkward than it already was.

  Garrett held himself up on one elbow, looking down at Parker’s profile. She had her eyes closed and her bottom lip held between her teeth. He knew Parker well enough to understand that this situation was making her tense. If this was going to work, they both needed to relax.

  Reaching up with his hand, he brushed Parker’s damp hair off of her shoulder, letting his fingertips graze her skin. He leaned down and placed a soft kiss in the crook of her neck and then rested his forehead there for a moment, silently letting her know that everything would be okay. Garrett felt her body relax, sinking deeper into the mattress, and he knew it was time to get the show started. He pulled his head up and placed his lips to her neck a second time, making sure to create a loud smacking noise with his lips this time, certain to be picked up by the microphones.

  His lips made their way down the side of her neck and across the top of her shoulder, burning a path as they went. Each kiss echoed into the quiet room, and though Parker knew why he was making so much noise, the sounds broke through her mind and reminded her with each press of wet and warmth to her skin exactly who was doing this to her.

  Garrett didn’t need to make this more than it was; he didn’t need to make sure it was enjoyable for her, but he wanted to. He had to. With the first taste of her skin in his mouth, he knew there was no turning back. He turned off his mind to the fact of this just being a job and concentrated on it being Parker. Once he got to the end of her shoulder, he made his way back up to her neck, letting his tongue skim against her with every touch of his mouth to her to her skin.

  Parker couldn’t hold back the soft sighs that escaped when Garrett’s tongue touched her, and she couldn’t stop the quiet moans that broke free from her lips as he nuzzled his mouth and nose directly under her ear. He breathed her in and opened his mouth when he placed a kiss to the spot below her ear. His teeth grazed the smooth skin there as he sucked gently, his hand fisting into the material of the blanket draped over Parker’s hip.