Deception (Infidelity #3)

“I turned off the stove. Your dinner is a tad overcooked.”

I turned in a small circle, taking in the apartment. I’d lived here for years and it’d been fine. I was comfortable and content. Now, without Charli, it seemed empty and too quiet. She’d been gone for less than an hour and I missed… well, everything about her. I walked back to the bedroom to gather a few clothes.

Her damn vibrator was still on the bed. It was bad enough that someone had been in our apartment. I couldn’t leave it there for Deloris or her team to dust. I lifted the purple silicone-covered shaft. It was curved and smooth. My thoughts went to the delicious ways I could use it on Charli. I imagined her moans and screams as I pushed the buttons. There was a music option that would allow the device to respond to my voice. She should be in my bed—in our bed—and with words and this stupid toy I should be taking her to new heights.

The room came into focus, but I wasn’t seeing what was really there.

I was seeing what wasn’t.

Her delicate hands were bound with an intricate winding of satin and secured above her head. Her beautiful hair was piled high, and stray auburn wisps surrounding her face contrasted with her flushed complexion. My chest heaved as her sexy body was displayed—each curve, each angle—for my optimum viewing pleasure. In my imagination she was nude, except for the black shoes she’d worn to Mobar, the same shoes that had adorned the dashboard of the Boxster. Her ankles were untethered, bound only by my instructions. Her legs were spread, slightly bent, with her knees out and the heels of her sexy shoes threatening to perforate the soft Egyptian threaded sheets. As the humming vibrations rippled through the air, her body trembled in anticipation, and she stifled a whimper. I loved the way she squirmed as she fought between maintaining the position I demanded and her body’s natural reactions.

My lips quirked as I added a satin blindfold to my fantasy. It was something we’d never done, but then again, we’d never played with her vibrator either. Without sight, her senses would be heightened. The quiet hum would be louder, a roar in the otherwise silence of our room. My words would be amplified, sending shockwaves from her ears to her pussy that clenched and dripped with unmet need.

I’d tease her mercilessly, giving her small tastes of what was to come.

Then I remembered my earlier directives. I’d told her that I’d bring her dinner. The lack of sight would affect that too. Nibbles of the food that Lana had prepared would be just enough to provide the energy she’d need for our night of fun, but never enough to satisfy.

Keeping her wanting and deprived would be my goal, until it wasn’t.

It wouldn’t be only her swollen clit or glistening silky folds that would tell me of her wonton desires, her fragrance would fill the air until she couldn’t take it anymore and submitted to words, asking, begging, and finally demanding relief. The purple shaft would bring her some, but only as much as I allowed. It wouldn’t be enough.

“Your cock. Stop being a dick. I want your cock, now!”

A full-on smile graced my lips at the imaginary dialogue. It was as if I almost heard her voice, the way it cracked with urgency and determination.

“Lennox, I have my team on their way.”

Deloris’s voice from the living room pulled me from my fantasy as reality fell hard upon my shoulders. I hit the switch again, stopping the hum as the erection my thoughts had created quickly faded. By the time I had a few clothes packed and the vibrator stowed within its case in a drawer, my physical response was completely gone.

Just like my dreams.

Just like Charli.





“YOU KNOW YOU can’t leave him,” Patrick said as he squeezed my knee. “I can tell you’re upset. I don’t know what he did, but you simply can’t. It’s not allowed.”

I twisted the stem of the wine glass, the red liquid swirling within the globe. Thankfully, Cy wasn’t home and it was just Patrick and I. “Thanks for letting me borrow your gym shorts and t-shirt.”

He laughed. “Besides the fact that you kind of look like they’re swallowing you whole, you look cute. I don’t often get to see a beautiful woman wearing my clothes.”

I looked up through my damp lashes as his words tugged my lips into a small smile. “Beautiful? Yeah, I feel gorgeous right now.”

“Well, you’ve got the too-big clothes going for you, plus the red blotchy thing and puffy eyes. A little snot as you sniffle. Little cousin, you’re dazzling.”

I sighed. “Can I just stay here for a day or two and figure things out?”

“You know you can. I don’t even need to ask Cy. You’re always welcome, but what about your apartment?”

My shoulders moved up and down. “I told Chelsea she could stay there. She’s flying from California at the end of this week. I hate to get all settled only to have her displace me. Besides, I feel like I’d be on display there.”

“Display?”

“It’s a security thing. I’m kind of over it.”

Pat leaned back against the couch. “I had a good feeling seeing you with Lennox. Besides, you have that whole one-week history…” He fingered the rim of his wine glass, and I tried to ignore how it reminded me of my martini glass only hours before. “I’m sure you can work through this.”

“He has my number.”

“If these were normal circumstances, I’d tell you to forget all about him. I mean, who needs someone like Lennox Demetri? I can only imagine it’d be awful to have a boyfriend who redecorates a room for you, practically weeks after you move in. One who cares enough about your dreams to pay for your education and buy you whatever you want or need, one who gives you the ability to tell Uncle Alton and Aunt Adelaide to stick their conditions up their tight asses. And girl, his looks. Damn, nobody wants to put up with those sexy blue eyes. I mean the way they light up when you walk into a room and he looks at you like he’d eat you whole. I can see how that would get old fast.” He took a drink of his wine. “Honestly, I’m not sure how you managed to stay for this long.” He shrugged. “There’s always good ole Bryce.”

I sat forward, put my wine glass on the coffee table, and after placing my elbows on my knees, cradled my head. “I don’t need Bryce. Why do I need a man?”

“If you don’t know the answer to that question, my opinion of Lennox Demetri has just plummeted. I mean, I’m sure you have a vibrator.”

I sighed. The thought of the purple shaft tore at my heart. I looked up. “Pat, I should get some sleep. I have class early in the morning, and I’m sure you’ve got work.”

Setting his wine glass next to mine, he reached for my hand and turned it over. With his other hand, he gently touched my wrist. Unknowingly, I gasped and sucked my upper lip between my teeth as his fingers caressed my tender skin.

Suddenly all playfulness was gone from his expression. “Did he hurt you?”

I pulled my hand free. “No.”

“Alex, this is something totally different. I mean, the agreement has one out, and if your wrist is bruised.” He stood. “If that bastard—”

“Stop, Pat. Nox didn’t hurt me.”

“You what…” he asked incredulously, “…ran into a wall? Maybe you tripped?”

“No. None of those things. You’re wrong.”

He shook his head. “When you first got here, I thought you were mad. You weren’t mad. You were scared. You’re scared of him, aren’t you?”

Am I?

“No,” I said sitting taller. “I’m not. He didn’t hurt me, not physically. It’s about trust.” I stood, picked up my wine glass, took a long sip, and paced to the windows. With my back toward him, I asked, “How much does Cy know about you?”

I almost heard him shrug. “He knows me better than anyone.”

I turned. “Does he know what the girls said about you at academy?”

“That I’m great in bed?” he asked with a smirk.

“That you used them. All you wanted to do was get in their pants and move on.”

“It doesn’t take your friend Chelsea with a psychology degree to figure out that I was in denial.”