Twisted Lies (Dirty Secrets) (4 page)

His parting words had burned, fueling my hate fire.

Everything had clicked into place that night. To people like Kyle, it was perfectly acceptable to fuck a girl like me in secrecy and then discard me like trash, like a whore.

Jade nudged me, interrupting my disturbing trip down memory lane. “Sin, I’m not saying to forget. I’m saying you need to heal and let that shit go.”

Jade was right, but the truth cut like a knife. I couldn’t let it go. No matter how hard I tried to distance myself from the past, it was still stuck to me like shit on the bottom of my stiletto. I tried to scrape it off, but the residue and stench remained.

And Kyle Fillion was that stench, the shit that had lingered. He’d sabotaged the chance for any man to break through the thick ice encasing my heart. Many had tried, and all had failed. I wouldn’t—no, I couldn’t trust again, not after Kyle had trampled my heart and pride like it didn’t mean a thing.

I stared through the window, watching the blur of city lights as Kirby darted in and out of Manhattan traffic. The past didn’t matter. Love didn’t matter. Perfect love didn’t exist. It was a cliché. I understood good, hard, and sweaty no-commitment sex. No emotions were required.

I looked at Jade and winked. “Enough of this sappy stuff. I’m over that shit. Let’s get to partying. It’s time to turn it up and toast to the end of my dark past.”

Kirby pulled up in front of the club and opened the car door. I shivered from the icy blast of air whirling around us as we stepped out of the car. Jade looked every inch the rich diva as she swathed herself in a huge white-and-grey fur coat, which she wore over the top of a tight leather mini dress, leaving her long, tanned legs on display. Meanwhile, for a night out on the town, I rocked my own design, a black silk pantsuit and black bustier. It was sexy with a hard edge, and it was a direct reflection of who I was now.

Jade strutted past the crowd freezing their asses off queued behind the red velvet rope. Giving a bored stare to the intimidating bouncer standing atop a set of stairs, holding a tablet, she held out her hand. He grunted and stamped it, and the crowd grumbled.

“What does it look like in there tonight?” Jade asked.

“A mixture,” he responded.

Then he stamped my hand.

“This is bullshit. How come they don’t have to wait in line?” a female in the line complained.

Shifting uncomfortably, I avoided the heated glares of the crowd. I still wasn’t completely easy with bypassing the line outside the club and going right in with VIP status. But Jade had clued me in on how the whole club thing worked. It was a silent business relationship. The clubs liked to pretty up their establishments, and the fact that Jade was rich and came from a famous family was a bonus. She would party at the club, and the club would comp her drinks. If she liked the place, she would invite her rich, beautiful friends, making that club the hottest place to be.

The bouncer stepped aside, and I followed Jade into the trendy New York City nightspot, located in the borough of Brooklyn, that edged a little closer toward bar-with-a-dance-floor territory. I loved this club. It was one of my favorite places to party. The whole scene felt fairly Miami-inspired with mojitos and drinks that came in real coconuts. The crowd was culturally diverse. The club would have DJ nights, or live bands that rolled out sets chock-full of rock, salsa, merengue, samba, rumba, reggaeton, calypso, and a smattering of old school hip-hop.

An eager hostess hurried over to us as we stepped over the threshold, ready to provide us with the VIP treatment. She escorted us to the lush lounge area with VIP seating where we could indulge in superior table service or just sit in the all-black mezzanine lounge.

Minutes later, Jade and I were sipping our drinks while watching some of the upscale crowd walk around like sheep in the same designer clothes. Their clothing was boring, with no originality, which was one of the main reasons I’d decided to move forward with my dream of designing my own clothing line. After losing the monotony battle with my closet, I’d decided to change the rules. If I couldn’t find what I wanted to wear, I would make it instead.

Jade knowingly stared at me. “No thinking about business tonight.”

She dragged me onto the dance floor. I closed my eyes, enjoying the exuberant energy of the salsa rhythm. My eyes snapped open when I felt a pair of hands wrap around my waist. “What the…?” I snapped before being spun around and finding Jaxon’s blue eyes staring down at me.

God, he even smells good. Damn.

Jade smiled naughtily before sauntering away.

Jaxon leaned in, and his lips brushed against my ear. “When am I going to get your number?”

I rolled my eyes. “Uh…I don’t give my number to stalkers.” I swayed my body to the beat, enjoying the pressure of his hands on my hips a little too much.

“Stalker? Wow! I’ve never been called that before.”

“Don’t you think it’s fitting for a guy who always ends up at the same club I’m at?”

This wasn’t me making idle chitchat. It was a fact. In one way or another, Jaxon and I always seemed to end up at the same parties. Tonight was the first time I actually took the time to study his face. Blond and handsome, he was tall, that was for sure, and his toned golden body told me he hadn’t missed a session with his personal trainer. By his cocky smile, I knew he was all too aware of his good looks.

“Dance with me?” he asked, flashing his teeth, his voice low and sexy.

I arched a brow. “You know how to dance to salsa?”

“Of course,” he said into my ear. “One dance.”

The beat of the music thumped as he looked at me with a question in his eyes while his hands squeezed my hips.

I shrugged.

His hips pressed sensually against mine as he took my arms and placed them over his shoulders. His hands slid along my back. Sighing, I allowed my body to caress his lean frame, my hips gyrating to the beat, and my body stirred.

Fuck it.

I grabbed a handful of his hair. It was soft to the touch, like silk running through my fingers. Pulling his face down, I ran my tongue against his lips just to test the chemistry, but when he tugged on my lower lip and kissed me hard, everything went from playful flirting to full-throttle fuck mode.

It wasn’t long before my fingers were stroking through his hair as his fingers walked down my back and landed on my backside before squeezing my ass. I tilted my head back, looking at him through my lashes, before leaning forward, the tip of my tongue licking the heated skin of his throat. The thoughts running through my mind were jumbled, irrational, and downright surprising. I wanted Jaxon more than my next breath. I nibbled and caressed the exposed skin, smiling when he shivered. The control that I had over him was absolutely heady.

Jaxon growled as he picked me up and then pushed me against the wall of the club. To feel the desperation of his hands as they caressed me with an edge of trembling neediness was hot as freaking hell. His mouth touched and nipped me like he was a man on a mission. By the time I came up for air, my lips were swollen and my eyes were glazed over.

He didn’t smile. In fact, his eyes were the most serious I’d ever seen.

“I could say a lot of pretty words right now, but they wouldn’t mean shit. I want you.” He slid me down onto my feet. “Come home with me tonight.”

I couldn’t keep my hands off him. Spreading out my fingers across his back, I was enjoying the way the sensual heat of his skin seeped into my fingers.

He stared at me with unwavering focus. “Is that a yes?”

I nodded my head. “Yes,” I whispered.

I could still taste him on my lips. I wanted to have this moment, knowing it would all disappear in the morning. I would walk away then, never to see him again. And that made me want him even more.

Jaxon gestured toward the vigilant hostess that flittered through the club. She practically tripped over her feet trying to get over to him. “Sir?” she asked.

“Tell the valet to bring my car around,” he said briskly before pulling me over to the lounge area where Jade was flirting outrageously with some guy.

I passed her my empty coconut and bluntly said, “I’m leaving.”

“You treat her good.” She stared coldly at Jaxon.

His face tightened. “Always.”

Her eyes narrowed. “You better. I know exactly where to find you.”

They glared at each other. I rolled my eyes. “Guys. You do realize I’m standing right here?” They stared at me blankly. “I can take care of myself.”

“I’m just making sure Jaxon understands you’re like family. No one fucks with my family.” Jade winked at me. “Call Kirby when you’re ready to go home, and he’ll be there ASAP to get you.”

I nodded before Jaxon and I pushed our way through the crowd, heading for the exit. Stepping out into the cold air, an expensive-looking silver car pulled up. The valet stepped out, handed the key to Jaxon, and then opened my door. After I slid in and sank down into the leather seat, no words were exchanged as we pulled away. When he put his hand on my thigh with the promise of things to come, I shoved it away. I wasn’t big on intimate touching.

He frowned. “You okay?”

“Yeah.” I smiled slightly. “Just didn’t think tonight would end with me going home with you.”

He smirked. “Don’t worry. I’ll still respect you in the morning.”

I laughed. “The question is, will I still respect you?”

He looked at me, his eyes traveling over my body. “I guess that depends on how I perform, huh?”

“Pretty much.”

He pulled up in front of a building that I recognized from many photos in magazines. It was a building where many celebrities lived. His car swerved into the underground parking garage before pulling into a space. He turned off the car, and I waited for him to come around and open my door.

Then he said, “Look, I don’t want you to think I’m running a game on you, but I have to say, I’ve been watching you for a long time.”

I smirked. “All confirming my initial stalker assessment.”

He gripped the steering wheel and then released it. “Sin, you’re not like all the other women I know.”

I rolled my eyes. “You mean rich, spoiled, and boring?”

“No. I mean beautiful, independent, and inaccessible.” He paused. “I just don’t want you to think this is all about me fucking you.”

Oh God!

I was going to lose my shit if he started spewing some crazy promise, thinking it would make what we were about to do seem more romantic. I wasn’t looking for romance. It just didn’t fucking exist—at least, not in my world.

“Jaxon, you don’t have to promise me anything. In fact, I would prefer if you didn’t because I can’t give you anything beyond tonight.”

“What if I want more than tonight?” His eyes hardened.

I pulled out my cell. “Then I need to call my ride because I can’t give that to you.”

He placed his hand over mine and squeezed. “I’ll take tonight.”

He leaned in and kissed me, but I hesitated. Something just felt…wrong. It was almost as if shackles were being slapped around my wrists. I pulled back, but he pressed forward, his tongue coaxing mine.

He nuzzled his face in my hair and then backed away. “Ready?” he asked.

I stared at him. “Tonight only.”

“I hear you, Sin.” He ran a finger across my cheek before getting out of the car.

There was something about his response and his blank stare that made me pause. Common sense battled with the heat between my legs, and the shameless need to have sex with Jaxon won.

As we stepped into the elevator, Jaxon grabbed my hand, but I pulled it away. There would be no bonding or cuddle time or sweet nothings. This was all about straight-up sex. Jaxon placed a guiding hand on my back as we walked toward his door, and I tried to calm my uneasiness. Jade was right. Maybe I was too paranoid. Maybe I did overthink things way too much.
Jaxon is cool. He knows this is only a sex proposition.

I took a calming breath as I strode over the threshold. I stared at all the expensive furniture. The apartment was freaking immaculate.

“This is new—a guy with a spotless apartment.”

“Smoke and mirrors.” He winked at me. “My mother pays for a cleaning service. She hates my messy habits.”

His admission wasn’t surprising and only confirmed my initial assessment. He was a spoiled mama’s boy.

“That’s interesting.” I walked around, admiring the beautiful artwork and photos.

Just like I’d suspected, his parents were blond and beautiful just like him.

My body stiffened when I felt his arms possessively wrap around me. He pulled me round and into him. I forced myself to relax as his lips came crashing down onto mine. I eagerly kissed him back, my tongue entering his mouth and fervently exploring it.

His hands lowered from my back to my ass. He groaned as he cupped my ass cheeks, pushing me against his erection. “Playtime is over,” he growled.

Taking my hand, he pulled me behind him until we were in his bedroom. I didn’t resist when he gently pushed me onto the bed with his eyes focused on mine. I was used to this game of seduction. It all ended the same way, with my sexual itch scratched until fulfilled. I stared at him, enjoying the strip show, as he tugged off his black T-shirt, displaying his six-pack. His well-built body looked like he’d spent hours at the gym just getting hard and gorgeous.