Page 34 of Perfect Liar

He trapped me against the wall, and his blazing-hot eyes rested on my mouth.

“A good, hard fucking you won’t ever forget is exactly what you need.”

I gasped.

So much heat coming from his body.

I chewed on my bottom lip and matched him stare for stare.

Then he abruptly released me.

“Go to your room, Elle. And do not leave this house.”

Will walked away, his stride so graceful and primal.

His walk projected ego and dominance…

It warned me to do exactly as he commanded.

CHAPTER 10

Staring out at the moon, glad Lissie slept soundly in her own room, I pounded my fist on the doorframe.

Will had taken a hardline position about me getting together a funeral service for Isabel and Gran. He believed an assassin would be there lurking, waiting in the shadows for an opportunity to get to me.

Not only had those bastards taken our family from Lissie and me, but also, they took away our chance to see them one last time and say good-bye.

I did the only thing I could do—I imagined hearing the reverend’s prayer as he committed the bodies of my sister and my grandmother to the earth for rest and their souls to heaven.

It helped to diminish my anger, but it didn’t fully soothe me. I needed a real connection. I wanted to be with Will.

More and more, I craved his sheltering presence.

So I went to the kitchen to find him, passing through the living room where John watched a video on his phone.

But Will wasn’t around.

The intensity of the sea called out to me through the kitchen window. Farther out beyond the shoreline, the ocean’s white caps contrasted with the night’s blackness. It was beautiful.

A large shadow figure on the beach caught my eye…Will had gone without me.

I ran out and down the steps and started down the hill path, seeking his comfort, and hoping to find freedom from the endless, painful clutter in my mind.

Clouds rolled in, blocking the moonlight, and I lost sight of him. When light hit the beach again, he was gone. He frequently made security checks on the property. That’s where he’d gone, I realized, to make a pass around to the front.

I had watched him do it the night before.

He would come back around in a minute.

I would be alone only for a minute, then we could go inside together…and I would apologize for breaking the rules.

Already at the bottom of the hill, sinking in the sand, I decided to get my feet wet. I stepped into the water, and my lungs filled with ease again.

Brisk water struck my thighs.

“I’ll just clear my head for a second,” I whispered.

I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply, focusing on the ocean…the cold water washing up onto my skin, the briny gusts of air, the crashing waves.