Page 95 of Perfect Liar

Will fed me another bite from my plate, then handed the fork to me, and we finished our dinner while flirting and teasing each other.

The guys began to drift into our space, chasing away our intimate mood.

Drinks flowed, and they all carried on, joking, teasing, and challenging each other with this or that. The camaraderie among them amazed me—I’d never seen anything like it. They might have been a mix of brothers by blood and brothers by choice, but nonetheless, they were a solid band of brothers.

I thought about the tribal Celtic arrow tattooed on Will’s shoulder.

His father had inked the same one on each of his sons when they turned eighteen, like a traditional rite of passage. And at some point, Ben got inked with that same symbol of brotherhood.

Feeling drowsy, just as Thomas predicted, I snuggled against Will’s side, gripping his shirt loosely in my fingers. His strong heartbeat and his rich voice relaxed me.

He kissed the top of my head.

“You’re tired, baby. Let’s go up to the room.”

So I said good night to everyone, slipped my hand into Will’s, and we headed for the elevator. The moment the doors closed he swept me off my feet.

“Will, what are you doing?”

“I told you I’d carry you up to bed. I’m a man of my word if nothing else.”

I laughed from my belly.

“I haven’t seen you laugh as much since?—”

“—don’t say the words,” I whispered.

“It’s all right for you to be afraid, Elle.”

My need for him displaced fear and logic most of the time, but in that moment, the words about to spill onto my lips were a lie.

“I’m not afraid.”

He frowned but then quickly hid his concern.

“Good.”

Will pushed through the door of our hotel suite, into the bedroom, and lay me on the bed.

Removing my shoes slowly, one at a time, he tossed them onto the floor, and then dragged his fingers over the arches of my feet.

“Christ, even this turns me on.”

Our eyes connected as he climbed on the bed and covered my body with his.

Damn it, I wanted our clothes gone.

“How long before Ethan shows up again?”

“Probably sooner than he should.”

He pushed his arousal against my stomach and kissed me hard, owning everything, me, the world, taking it all. He stopped and spoke softly in my ear.

“You’ll be the cause of my ruin, woman.”

And then, while grumbling about Ethan fucking up quite a lot of shit at the firm, he lifted onto his palms and got up off the bed.

“But now you’ll fix it,” I said.