Page 67 of Perfect Liar

I ran up the back staircase to my room and chose faded denim boyfriend shorts with split side seams and a sleeveless white blouse. I tossed lip gloss and sunglasses into my black leather shoulder bag, and then dashed out the door.

Will waited for me in the hall, just as his mother had said. He met me at the bottom of the stairs, wearing jeans and one of his confident smiles. He flashed his brows and rubbed his chin.

“Christ, Elle. Your legs…I want you back upstairs. We can go out another time.”

I flipped strands of hair over my shoulder and gave him a slow, mischievous smile.

“Nope. Beach now, bedroom later.”

He lifted me off the last step.

“You’ll kiss me first.”

“Then you won’t want to leave. Swear we’ll still go.”

He nodded.

I hooked my legs around his hips, cradled his face in my hands, and slanted my mouth over his, tickling his lips with my tongue.

He opened and thrust his tongue impatiently around mine.

When we broke apart, he put me down, keeping a tight grip on my waist. I panted, breathless.

“Is it still the beach you want?” he teased.

Thinking about it, I shook my head. As if. I could never erase the image in my head of Will and me tangled in bedsheets.

A cocky grin hit his mouth.

I dragged my eyes to the growing bulge in his jeans.

“I mean yes, I want to go to the beach. And if you’re a good boy, maybe we’ll use that later.”

His breath touched my ear.

“Never good. But you’ll be in my bed tonight anyway.”

Then, as we walked out the front door, he kept one hand firmly planted on my ass. And for the first time since we arrived, I was outside of the house.

The glorious sun caressed my face, my bare arms.

Not a cloud floated in the sky. It was a balmy seventy-eight degrees, and the earthiness after a long rain, freshly clipped grass, and lavender wove through my senses.

I inhaled deeply, finding the saltiness of the sea, and smiled.

Ben pulled up in a black Range Rover with dark windows and Thomas riding shotgun.

John sprinted out of the house and yanked open the car door.

I cuffed him on the shoulder and winked.

He returned the wink, adding his handsome grin.

Will and I climbed in the back. He locked his arm around my waist and slid me over the leather close to him, and John jumped in on the other side of me.

“Weapons,” Will said.

Thomas looked back at Will from the front.