Page 41 of Wild Lies

When the volume in the room returns to normal, I reply, “As much as I would love to do the adult version of cheering you up, if we’re staying, it’s gotta be PG.”

Resting an elbow on the bar, Chloe looks at me from under her lashes, pushing out her lower lip. “That’s so boring, handsome. I really did take you as much more of a risk-taker.” At least she doesn’t look as sad as when I picked her up.

I can barely hold back my grin as I lean in close. The noise in the bar dulls down until we’re surrounded by silence. Her eyes widen, and I watch her throat work when she swallows.

My voice rumbles in my chest when I murmur, “If you want to get out of here, I can have you moaning my name in a matter of minutes.”

When I lean back, I catch how Chloe’s cheeks flush before she dips her chin, hiding her face from me behind her honey-blond strands.

A fresh glass of whiskey is placed on the counter beside Chloe, and she picks it up, throwing back the contents. When she meets my gaze, there’s a heat in her eyes that charges the air until it practically crackles. “Only minutes, huh? And here I was thinking you were some cowboy Casanova.”

I run my tongue over my teeth, shaking my head as I scan the room, a smirk on my lips. “Oh, you’re playing a very dangerous game, buttercup.”

Chloe stands, her stool wobbling slightly on the uneven surface. She runs her hands over my arms before coming to a stop on my shoulders. I find her hips, pulling her a little closer. We’re in a bubble of our own making, one laden with heat and electricity; it sparks between us, until we might combust.

Closing the distance between our mouths, Chloe stands on her tiptoes until we’re no more than an inch apart. “Kade, take me home,” she whispers, her lips brushing against mine with every word. The smell of whiskey and a sweetness that is all her surrounds me.

As soon as she presses her mouth to mine, we go up in flames. This isn’t something we can fight; it’s like a spark to dry kindling. It’s inevitable. And I’ll be damned if I ever let her go.

Reluctantly breaking the kiss, I grab Chloe’s hand at the same time as I pull a few bills from my jeans pocket. I don’t know how much is there when I throw them on the bar and I don’t really care. If I owe Titan more, I’ll pay up later.

Right now, I need Chloe like my lungs need air.

24

KADE

The entire ride back to my place, I’ve tried to rein in my arousal, but with one hand on Chloe’s thigh as she’s kissed, nipped, and licked at my neck and earlobe, I’m harder than a rock. I’ve barely pulled the truck to a stop before I’ve put it in park, killed the engine and thrown my door open. We’re bathed in nothing but moonlight when Chloe chuckles, her amusement at my desperation clearer than the night sky above us.

She slides across the bench, taking the hand I offer, before jumping from the cab. I try to calm my body, to remember how I found her earlier, and that she needs this to be slow and intimate, not fast and rushed. Hell, she deserves for me to take care of her.

We don’t say a word as we head for the front door; the only sounds around us are the crickets in the fields surrounding my property and the gentle rustling of the long grass in the summer breeze. I have my own place on our property, but furthest from the main house. Not that it’s hard to do, given the miles and miles of land we own.

Chloe runs her hands over my back as I unlock the door, before reaching around me and unbuckling my belt.

“Woah, there, buttercup.” I remove her hands and turn to face her. She’s pouting at me again, and it takes every ounce of self-control not to suck her bottom lip into my mouth.

“Don’t make me beg, Kade.”

I cup her cheek with one hand, bending to brush my lips against hers. “Never, Chlo. Never.”

“Then take me inside and fill me in the way only you know how.”

Fuck. I want to do that every day for the rest of my life. I’m caught off guard by the thought; hell, it should scare me, but all it does is heighten my arousal. The more time I spend with Chloe, the more I want to claim her as mine. God, I hope she stays, even if only for a little while longer.

Bending, I pick her up, forcing her to wrap her legs around me before capturing her mouth in a tender kiss. For tonight at least, I can pretend like I’m the one she comes to with her problems and trusts to take care of them. I can pretend this is more than it is, something permanent and real.

The kiss is slow and teasing, giving me time to finish opening the door before I kick it shut. The click of the latch falling into place echoes behind us. Chloe’s fingers dive into my hair as she presses her body against mine in her search for more. She fits against me so perfectly.

I stand in the hallway, my keys falling to the floor as I reposition her in my arms, devouring her like she’s my last meal and I’m a man on death row. How I’m going to survive without her is beyond me and doesn’t bear thinking about. Because we both know our time together might very well end in four short days.

Breaking the kiss, I rest my forehead against hers, gasping for air. Our breathing tangles in the quiet, filling the room and mingling with the gentle ticking of the clock above the fireplace. “Just remember, you’re in charge. Always.”

Chloe cups my cheek, forcing me to hold her stare. “I know. I can say stop or slow it down with no pressure.”

I jerk my head in a nod before forcing my feet into action as I head for the bedroom. As hot as I think it would be to take her against a wall or lying on a couch, I’m not some horny teenager who can’t make it to the bedroom before he claims his woman.

His woman.