Page 85 of Perfect Liar
Will used my hair to pull me back to his mouth and kiss me hard.
Ethan cleared his throat.
Will dropped his head and splayed his hands against the table, one on each side of my ass. His cheek brushed mine, his scruffy beard sending a shock of pleasure through me.
“What do you want, Ethan?” he snapped.
“The door has a lock. Next time, you might use it. I came to tell you Dan Jones wants a dinner meeting this evening, so I’m leaving in ten to see him. Decide what the week looks like, so plans can be made. I’ll be back in the morning to have that chat with Mum.”
Will glared over my shoulder at his brother.
“You know what it looks like.”
“I don’t think I do,” Ethan said.
“Stop talking about me as if I’m not here,” I snapped.
Will straightened his back and pulled me off the table. He stared at me with narrowed eyes.
“My answer hasn’t changed. You’re staying here.”
“Well, I want to go, and that hasn’t changed either. What if I stay with Joe while you work? And if you agree, maybe he and Thomas could take me shopping, and I can get a few things for Lissie and me while we’re in the city?”
The door opened and shut, but neither of us looked in that direction.
“No. I’ll hire a personal shopper and you can get whatever you want.”
“I’ll do my own shopping. And, you know, my nightmares will come back.”
“You still have them when I’m here.”
Of course, he was right, so I just shrugged.
“Listen, Elle. I can’t accomplish shit when I’m distracted with worry about you. Billions move through the firm, and I need to see to that properly. Christ, you’re asking me to leave you in a public house, to let you out onto the streets of London. No, I’m not going to do that.”
“Okay, okay. I won’t leave the hotel. I just don’t want to be so far away from you, and I was thinking…I’m protected here or there, so what difference does it make?”
He planted his feet wide and crossed his arms over his chest. Everything about him became sharp and measured.
“I can control this fucking environment—that’s the difference, woman. I said, no.”
He turned his back and started cleaning the guns.
“I’m safer with you,” I whispered.
Then I walked away, and he let me.
We were at an impasse, and one of us had to give in. But it wasn’t clear to me who it would be until he came to bed that evening.
Will slipped in behind me. He pulled me close and wrapped his bare body around mine. His mouth brushed my ear as he pushed my hair aside.
“Don’t be angry with me. I watched a man almost take your life. I relive it every day, and I can’t handle the thought of anyone getting that close again. I won’t lose you, Elle.”
His words were as tender as the warm kiss he placed on my neck.
A tear fell onto my pillow. To hold back the others, I squeezed my eyes shut tightly and swallowed. I understood where he was coming from. I relaxed into his heat and slipped my hand into his, lacing our fingers together.
It hit me then, as he stroked my hand with his thumb, that his mother’s reprimand in the kitchen the day before had been intended as a lesson for me as well.