The Perfect Lie (Hope Falls Universe)(10)

It had been so long, but all she could think right now was how happy she was that she was here. That Josh was holding her in his arms and that they were alone in this little slice of heaven in the mountains. She’d left on this trip of self-discovery, consumed with thoughts about all of her regrets, but this one perfect moment would never be a regret to her.

She gazed at Josh. There were beads of sweat on his forehead and his jaw was tensed. For a brief second, she wondered whether she was too heavy for him but then he bit out, “You feel so fucking good, Steph.”

A little bolt of thrill shot through her that she could cause this perfect slice of man to lose control. That she could have the same effect on him that he was having on her. But right now, that same effect demanded he start to move. Because words were still hard, she wrapped her arms tighter around him and nudged him just slightly, causing them both to gasp for breath. Then she managed out a ragged, “Please…”

That was all he needed to hear. He slowly slid out of her heat before he pressed back in. As he repeated the action, the pleasure started to mount within her. She was hyper aware of everything right now. The slight breeze, the rock behind her that was now considerably warmer. The sweet heat of his breath against her neck. Her breasts crushed against his hard chest. And every excruciating inch of him as he thrust in and out.

He moved faster and faster as all the sensations suddenly became too much. All at once, it exploded and sent her right over the edge. As she tumbled over the peak, she cried out with pleasure, convulsing around him as his fingers bit into her ass, holding her still as he continued his assault on her body. It was as if as soon as he’d made sure she came, he let the leash on his control go and the tension exploded as he found his own release, letting out a sexy-as-hell growl as his own climax ripped over him.

And that’s when she heard footsteps approaching.





Chapter Four



Josh tensed but stayed right where he was. If he ran to get dressed, Steph would be bared to the world and he didn’t want to leave her naked and in plain sight of whoever was walking nearby.

He bent his forehead down and pressed it against hers, both of them still breathing heavily and trying to stay as quiet as possible as they waited for whoever was approaching to find them…

Then there was the sound of voices. It was too far away to hear what they were saying, but one of the speakers was angry about something. All of the sudden, the footsteps retreated.

Steph let out a little laugh. “I guess they needed an experienced guide,” she whispered.

He pressed a kiss to her forehead before he finally disengaged from her. Even though the day was heating up quickly, he already missed her warmth surrounding him.

It took a few minutes for them to find where all their clothes had gone, but soon enough Steph was, sadly, fully clothed again. He had absolutely no regrets about what had just happened but he really wished they were somewhere near a closed bedroom so he could really take his time with her.

Next to where her shorts had been on the ground, he noticed that her phone had fallen out of her pocket during the rush to undress. He bent to pick it up, but right before his fingers touched the smartphone, it lit up. It must’ve been on silent mode because it didn’t ring or vibrate. Someone named AJ was calling.

“You’ve got a call.” He handed the phone to her.

Steph, who had been so carefree and wild a second ago, stiffened as he said the words. He wondered whether he should just chuck the phone over the cliff. But he went ahead and handed it over.

She glanced at the screen before she ignored the call and put it back in her pocket. “Thanks.” She walked back to the rockface they had just been resting against. She ran her hand along the smooth surface. “How did this happen?”

Well, she didn’t want to talk about the call. That was the price he paid for sleeping with someone he just met, he supposed. He had no right to ask her about who was calling her and why. Was AJ a boyfriend? God, he’d never even asked whether she was single. He couldn’t imagine her being with anyone who wasn’t him, whatever that meant. She mentioned she rarely dated. That had to mean she was single. Right?

In this day and age, getting a phone call from a guy didn’t mean anything. AJ could be anyone. He forced the sudden paranoia back and he came up next to her and put his hand on the rock too. “Well, once upon a time there was a super-hot blonde who came to the picturesque town of Hope Falls and made the poor, experienced tour guide loose his mind.”

She gave his arm a playful punch. “No, smart ass. Why is this rock so smooth? It barely even feels like rock…”

“When the winter snow melts, this is one of the ways the water escapes. I guess over a few hundred years of these sporadic streams, it’s worn the rock down to this.” He ran his hand over the perfectly smooth stone that felt like a soft marble. Just one of the unexpected wonders of these mountains.

Her hand finally fell away from the rockface. “You bring all the girls up here?” Her tone was joking, but she wasn’t looking at him so he couldn’t tell whether she was drilling him about his own relationship status. Maybe they were both thinking the same thing.

“Just you,” he said honestly. In a town this small, it was hard to date without hundreds of eyes watching his every move. And after his first year there, the Hope Falls residents had become surprisingly possessive of him. Any time a tourist showed the slightest bit of interest in him, he’d be drilled with questions every time he went to Sue Ann’s Cafe.