Page 47 of House of Lies

“She’s safe. And my battery died,” he responds.

“Is this your first day on the job, Domenico? For fuck’s sake,” I mutter.

“Sir, wait,” he says, stopping me as I head toward the stairs.

“What now?”

He looks uncomfortable as he stares at me for a moment.

“You might want to know that she was worried about you. She wanted to go back inside and find you.”

Something shifted between us on the dance floor. I felt it deep in my soul—how she looked at me, surrendering herself in my arms yet still resisting. She’s in denial. I’m in denial. I’m unsure how long we can continue this dance before confronting the truth. I know she wants to leave. She’s working on it. And I know her well enough to understand that she is determined. She will find a way to escape me if I don’t reveal the truth soon enough. Domenico deems this information necessary enough to share. It doesn’t matter if she was willing to risk her life to find me; if she intends to leave me in the end, it’s irrelevant.

I find Caelia sleeping in the middle of the bed, still dressed in her evening gown. She lies on her stomach with one leg bent and her hands tucked under the pillow. I undress slowly, aware of how much she hates it when I fuck her with my clothes on. Oh, and I’m going to fuck her. I’m going to own her pussy for the rest of my life. I step on the bed between her legs, sneaking my hands under her dress. Her body is soft and inviting; her curves mold into my hands. Removing her hair, I place a kiss on her shoulder blades as I draw small circles on her clit with my thumb. Even in her sleep, her body reacts to my touch. I wait until her body provides me with all the lube I need. I stroke my cock a couple of times and thrust inside her in one swift motion that sends her body deeper into the mattress. Leaning on my elbows, I slide in and out of her, my lips finding her neck.

I never knew what addiction felt like until I met her. There’s no rehab for this. I’ll carry this feeling with me to the grave.

She stirs as I palm her breast.

“Don’t be afraid, Wildfire. It’s only me,” I say, realizing that she might panic given her past experiences.

“Mattia?”

“Don’t say my name,” I beg her. “Not tonight.”

It might sound weird to her, but she doesn’t ask why. And like the good girl she is, she spreads her legs wider, allowing me to fuck her deeper. She clings to my arms, arching her back. I remove the sleeves of her dress, focusing on kissing her rather than thrusting my hips. She frees her arms, tilting her head. My hand finds its way to her throat, gently resting there, craving the sensation of her racing pulse. I’m going to fuck her so hard that she will forget Mattia’s name. But not tonight. I can’t. Tonight all I can do is take it slow, feeling her pussy stretching around my cock, bathing in every sound she makes, and marking her skin with my tongue. I need to see her. To feel her closer. I slip out of her, turning her on her back. There’s not much light in the room, but I feel her staring at me. I’m the fool. She owns me, not the other way around. I undress her further before positioning myself on top, claiming her mouth as I enter her again. She moans into my mouth, her nails digging into my back.

We’ve done this before. I’ve done this. She did this, although unwillingly. And tonight, for the first time in my life, I allow myself to lose myself entirely in someone else. She cups my face in her delicate hands, forcing me to look at her. Not that I could look anywhere else. She wants to say something but changes her mind. Instead, she takes a deep breath and kisses me again. Her legs wrap around my waist, keeping me close. I barely move as she clings to me, her body melding perfectly with mine. I lose track of time and everything else happening outside this bedroom. As I grip her waist and roll onto my back, placing her on top of me, all I can see and think about is her.

Caelia places her hands on my chest, moving her hips slowly. I fist her hair, bringing her mouth back to mine. I know she can be much louder than she is tonight, just as I can be rougher. She takes what she needs from me, and I willingly give it. My hands explore every inch of her body as she moves at a leisurely pace, my cock throbbing deep within her. She kisses me as she comes. She continues kissing me long after that. My release leaves me utterly spent.

But I can't let go of her from my arms.

CHAPTER 28

Caelia

Mattia’s unusually quiet as he follows me to the shower. As we wash each other, I cannot resist kissing him. His lips are addictive. Just when I thought things couldn’t become more complicated, my husband made love to me instead of simply fucking me. No, that stopped being enough for him. He’s set on showing me all the different sides of him until I am foolish enough to fall for one of them. His arm is scratched, but he dismisses my concern when I examine it closer—a lump forms in my throat and a strange feeling in my stomach. The thought of him being hurt is unbearable. He once told me that the truth remains true, even if no one believes it, even if I don’t. But he forgot to mention what happens when even I can’t tell what the truth is any longer. Do I still hate him? Yes. I will always hate him. I have no forgiveness to offer for what he did to me in the past. But hating someone doesn’t exclude other feelings. I can’t get out of this soon enough.

Back in bed, resting my head on his chest while his fingertips gently caress the naked skin of my back, I ask him what happened.

“Nothing. Go to sleep.”

I suppose some things will never change. I will forever be excluded from this part of his life. And I was okay with it before tonight. While waiting, I had plenty of time to reflect on my reaction. When I heard the gunshots, I wanted to go back inside the mansion because I feared for his life—foolish me. I need to create distance between us before it’s too late. But the cold truth is that I have begun to care about him. Enough to prioritize his life over mine.

“What’s wrong?” He asks me when I shift.

“Nothing. Go to sleep.” I echo his words back at him.

“Caelia, talk to me.”

I stand up, clutching the sheet to my chest. He follows me, wrapping an arm around my waist. I don’t know why this angers me so much. I won’t be a part of his life for much longer, but it still bothers me. He keeps everything locked away inside, never fully letting me in. Some things have changed, but some have not. Deep down, a part of Mattia will always remain the same. All he did was stop abusing me and return my fundamental human rights, and here I am, content to share a bed with him.

“The same way you talk to me?” I scoff.

“Where is this coming from?” I wish I had the answer. This is not a real marriage. It never has been. It’s simply playing house with my attractive husband, who occasionally shows me his kind side. “You made your intentions clear, Caelia. I’ve accepted your terms and conditions. This will be a loveless, childless marriage. I don’t even trust the people who love me, and you expect me to ... what? Talk to you about what’s going on? The woman who clearly stated she’d dance on my grave?”

He told me he didn’t trust anyone. This foolishness is my doing.