Forgiving Lies (Forgiving Lies #1)(99)

“Rach, what are you wearing? It’s hot outside.”

Don’t care. “It’s winter,” I reasoned as I caught Kash’s gaze in the mirror.

His gray eyes were heating as they trailed over my non-existent ass, and while I loved that he was appreciating the view, this was about to be an epic fail of a dinner. I wasn’t in the mood to be checked out right now. I was having a mini-freak out.

“Yeah, but it’s also seventy today. Take off the shirt underneath.”

“I’m fine.”

Wrapping an arm around my waist, he pulled me so my back was against his chest and brought his lips to the sensitive spot behind my ear. “I know you’re fine, but you’re gonna be too hot,” he whispered, his voice dropping even lower as he began slowly unbuttoning my shirt.

Goose bumps covered my body when the cool metal of his lip ring brushed against my skin, and I felt myself getting ready to say I would do whatever he asked of me. He was such a cheater. He knew what that ring did to me.

“Open your eyes, Rachel.”

I did as I was told and found his gunmetal gray eyes looking directly into mine. Even through the reflection of the mirror, I could feel the heat from them and sense the want. His hands trailed over my chest, waist, and stomach; the pressure so light I almost couldn’t feel it, but it was doing insane things to my stomach and my breathing quickly escalated. I watched as he slowly took my top shirt off, the movement of his hands so calculated and controlled, I felt like we had just entered some form of foreplay. If I’d thought I had wanted to stay home earlier, I was definitely all for skipping this dinner now.

After he tossed the first shirt onto the bed, his hands did their barely-there touches over the swell of my breasts and down my waist again until he hit the hem of the long-sleeved shirt. One hand slipped under, and a breathy whimper of need sounded in the back of my throat when his warm hand caressed my bare skin. He smiled against my neck and nipped on it lightly. I wanted to shut my eyes and enjoy every touch, but everything in me was screaming to watch the most erotic undressing I’d ever witnessed or been a part of.

Like with the first, his movements were slow and controlled as he pulled this shirt higher, but now he gave little teases of fingertips being brushed against my skin. By the time it was over my head and he was letting it fall to the ground, my entire body was on fire and I was practically panting with need.

“Rachel,” his voice traveled over my bare shoulder like a caress, and I let my bodyweight fall against him.

“Hmm?”

Suddenly he was gone and I stumbled back a step before catching myself. I turned to see where he’d gone and my button-up shirt hit me in the face.

“What the—”

“Get dressed, we gotta go.”

“The hell, Kash? You can’t do stuff like that to me and then stop!”

“Have you forgotten what frustration feels like?” He asked huskily and I wanted to punch him in the face.

“I hate you.”

His lips curved up into my favorite smirk and he winked. “I love you too, Sour Patch.”

Douche.



OKAY SO I GUESS I should be thankful that the meeting went off relatively smooth. Mason’s parents and sister were actually really nice, and although we’d gone through the mandatory introductions for me, Marcy and Richard had come to dinner also and made the introduction fast and flawless. I’d just kept my mouth shut for the first five minutes unless I was saying the customary hellos and it’s so nice to meet you toos, and I didn’t have anything to worry about.

Until dinner started anyway.

“So, Rachel,” Mrs. Gates began and took another sip of her tea before continuing. “We’ve heard bits and pieces of what happened in Texas from the boys. But you know how men are with details,” she teased.

Mother effing shit. Bad juju! I knew it!

“I’ve really been wanting to hear your side of what went down.”

I got your sons shot! I had to bite down on my cheek so I wouldn’t say something of that nature as I took a breath to collect my thoughts. “What went down at the end?”

“The whole time they were there. We had no clue where they even were and didn’t talk to them more than once or twice a month, so we don’t know what was happening.”

Memories of the few months in Texas with the guys went flying through my mind and I swallowed hard. I knew this was coming at some point, Marcy and Richard had never asked and I knew it was only a matter of time. But I was fine with never reliving those three months again.

Kash seemed to sense the unease pouring off me and stopped talking to Mason and Mr. Gates. “You okay?” he asked softly, and sat back when he realized the other half of the table was completely silent. “What’s going on?”

I looked up and caught Marcy and Richard giving me sympathetic looks. They had to want to know this too, and it hit me then that Kash must have told them not to ask me. There was no way we could have gone this many days together without them saying something unless he had talked to them.

“Nothing, I just asked Rachel to tell us her side of what happened in Tex—”

“No,” Kash stated firmly at the same time Mason hissed, “Mom!”

“What? Is it so wrong for us to want to know what went on there?” Mrs. Gates asked, and I couldn’t blame her.