Текст книги "When I Lie With You"

Автор книги: Sandi Lynn

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Chapter 4

Rory

I kissed Ian goodbye as he walked out the door and headed to the office. Since he came to Paris, we spent every waking moment together, and it felt strange that he left, even if it was only for a while. Tomorrow was visiting day over at Hudson Rock and I couldn’t wait to see Stephen. We Skyped every Thursday when I was in Paris, but I still missed him and I couldn’t wait to hug him.

I walked over to the piano and ran my finger along the top. I sat down, positioned my fingers on the keys, and played some Chopin. I lost myself in the melody, but this time, I didn’t need to be transported to another reality. The reality I was in was perfect, and I was happy. As Mandy walked into the room with a smile on her face, I stopped playing and gave her a hug.

“Rory, I’m so happy you’re back. It was awful while you were gone. Mr. Braxton was miserable and I was so afraid I wouldn’t ever see you again,” she said as she hugged me tightly.

“I missed you, Mandy, and I’m here to stay.” I smiled.

“I was so worried that you weren’t going to take Mr. Braxton back. He knew I missed you because he came up to me the day he left for Paris and he told me not to worry because he was going to bring you home.”

“And he did. How were your holidays?” I asked.

“They were good, thank you.”

“How’s your daughter?”

“She’s really good. Just between us, Mr. Braxton gave me a raise as a Christmas gift. He said that I do a really good job and I deserved it.”

My heart melted at the thought of Ian doing that for Mandy. He was finally opening up and becoming the person he was meant to be before his mom left him.

“That’s wonderful, Mandy. I’m so happy for you. Now, when am I going to get to meet that daughter of yours?”

“Oh, I don’t know. I don’t think Mr. Braxton would want me to bring her here. He’s not fond of children.”

I was stunned to hear Mandy say that. Ian and I had never talked about kids in general, so I guess I wasn’t aware of his feelings. My mind went back to that day when Connor and Ellery were here and he was holding Julia. He looked very uncomfortable and, when he saw me, he handed her to me right away.

“Don’t worry about Ian. I can handle him. I really would love to meet your daughter. What’s her name?”

Mandy looked at me and smiled. “Her name is Molly.”

“Molly is a pretty name.”

“Thank you, Rory. I better get back to work,” she said as she turned and walked away.

I headed upstairs to move some of my things from my room to Ian’s. As I reached the top of the stairs, I started down the hall and stopped and stared at the door to “the room.” I put my hand on the doorknob and, surprisingly, it turned. I slowly pushed the door open and gasped when I saw the inside. The walls were no longer gray. They were a light yellow with white crown molding. There was a queen-sized bed with a beautiful duvet cover across it. A white-washed dresser sat on the wall where the hooks used to be and a beautiful matching armoire sat quaintly in the corner. I was in shock and had to look around and be sure this was the same room I had seen not too long ago.

“Do you like it?” Ian’s voice said from behind.

I jumped and placed my hand over my heart. “Ian, you scared me.”

“I’m sorry, sweetheart,” he said as he clasped my shoulders.

“Why are you home already?” I asked.

“Don’t you want me here?”

“Of course I do. I just thought you’d be gone longer.”

“I grabbed what I needed to and I left. Truth be told, I missed you, and I can do some work from home.”

“Aw, baby,” I said as I turned around and hugged him. “I missed you too.”

“Answer my question. Do you like it?”

“Yes. The room looks great. But why?” I asked as I looked up at him and placed my hand on his cheek.

“I wanted it gone. The memories, what it represented; everything. The room was an outlet for me; a way to release the pain I felt inside. The women I brought here were used to this kind of sex. But, you.” He smiled softly. “You were different. I had no desire to do any of those things to you or with you. You were so innocent, and all I could imagine whenever I looked at you was making love to you as passionately as I could.”

“Oh, Ian,” I whispered as I softly stroked his cheek.

He leaned in and kissed my lips and then turned around and shut the door.

“What are you doing?” I asked.

He didn’t have to say anything; his smile said it all. “I want to make love to you in this room right now. I want to create a new memory in here and I want to do it with you.”

“I would love that.” I smiled as my fingers deftly lifted his shirt over his head.

After we made love, Ian had to do some work in his study, so I put on my workout clothes and headed downstairs to the gym. The first thing I did was run on the treadmill for a while before switching over to the punching bag. Now that everything was settled and perfect with Ian, my mind wouldn’t stop wondering about what my Aunt Nancy said about my dad. He left my mom when he found out she was pregnant and abandoned his children. Desperation was settling in, and I wondered if my life would’ve been different if he’d stuck around. I felt an overwhelming need to confront him because I was pissed and hurt by a man I’d never even met. I stepped off the treadmill, wrapped my hands, put on the gloves, and started jabbing at the bag. Jab. Jab. Punch. Punch. The more I thought about him, the harder I punched. I bet he didn’t even know he had twin children. The thought consumed me as I continued to punch. The sweat was dripping from my forehead with each punch and kick I made.

“Remind me never to piss you off.”

I gave the bag a few more punches and then stopped and stood there, trying to catch my breath. Ian walked over to me and handed me a towel.

“What was that all about? Don’t get me wrong, sweetheart; watching you do that was fucking hot, but seriously, it looked like you were about to rip the bag from the ceiling.”

“I was just thinking about my dad,” I said as I wiped my face with the towel.

“I wondered how long it would take for what Nancy said to sink in.”

“It’s been there since she told me, but I had someone else on my mind and there wasn’t any room for any other thoughts,” I said as I kissed him on the lips.

“You’re getting me hard, Rory. I’m standing here staring at you and wishing that I was the reason for you sweating.” He winked.

“You’re sexy, Mr. Braxton, but I do have to take a shower. I’m starting to stink.”

“Yeah, I know.”

I playfully punched him in the arm. “You ass.”

Ian picked me up and put me over his shoulder as he slapped my ass and carried me up the stairs. “Now I’m going to punish you, Miss Sinclair, and you’re not going to like it.”

I couldn’t stop laughing each time he slapped me. “Somehow, I think I’m going to fully enjoy your punishment.”

* * *

“It’s good to see you, Rory. I was a bit worried that you stopped coming to our sessions,” Dr. Neil said.

“I’m sorry, Dr. Neil. I should’ve called you, but things happened so fast.”

“So, tell me how you and Ian are doing?”

Dr. Neil and I talked about my relationship with Ian instead of my past. I thought that I had put closure on it after I went back to Indiana, but the thoughts of my father consumed me. After we finished talking about Ian, I told her about what Nancy had said about my father.

“What are your feelings towards your father right now?” she asked.

I looked down at my hands and began playing with my nails. “I’m angry at him.”

“Why?” she asked.

“Because he abandoned not only my mother, but his kids. I don’t think he knows that there are two of us.”

“You mean twins?”

“Yes.”

“If you were to see him, what would you say to him?”

I looked up at her and didn’t say anything. I knew what I wanted to say, but I was too afraid, because if I did say something, the hurt and abandonment would become too real.

“Rory, what would you say to him if he was standing in this room?” she asked again. “It’s all right.”

I got up from the couch and walked over to where a picture hung over the fireplace. It was a painting of two women looking at each other through the glass. One was dressed in black and the other was dressed in white, but it was the same person.

“I would tell him that I hate him. I would tell him what a horrible person he was to leave like he did and abandon his own flesh and blood.”

“Okay, that’s a start,” Dr. Neil said. “Do you think that you would want to find him and tell him how you feel? Maybe find out his reason for leaving.”

“I’ve thought about it. I want him to know what he’s done and how his children grew up,” I said as tears started to fall. “I just want to know if he has any regrets. I need to know the truth.”

I turned around as the clock chimed, alerting us that my session was over. Dr. Neil got up from her seat and handed me a tissue.

“It’s okay, Rory. We’ll talk more about this at our next session. Perhaps it would be beneficial for you to talk to Ian about it. Considering his mother left him when he was a child, it seems like this is something the two of you could really help each other with.”

I grabbed my purse from the couch and gave Dr. Neil a light hug. “Thank you, Dr. Neil. I just might do that.”

As I was walking out of the office, my phone rang. I pulled it from my pocket and saw that Ian was calling.

“Hi, honey.”

“Hello, sweetheart. Are you on your way home?”

“Yeah. I just left Dr. Neil’s office and I’m getting in the car as we speak.”

“Good. We’re going to go out to dinner with Adalynn and Daniel tonight. She wants to discuss the wedding.”

“Sounds like fun. I’ll be home soon. I love you.”

“I love you too, sweetheart. Hurry home. I miss you.”

“I miss you too,” I said as I hit the end button.

All the way home, my mind kept going back and forth about my father and what Dr. Neil said about finding him. Things with Ian were so good right now and I was settling into my new life. Did I really want to fuck it up by bringing my father into it?

After I pulled into the driveway, I walked through the door and headed straight to the kitchen. Ian was standing at the counter, eating a blueberry muffin, and Mandy was at the sink, washing some dishes.

“Welcome home, sweetheart.” He smiled.

I walked over to him and kissed his lips, tasting nothing but blueberries. “Thank you, my love. You look like you’re enjoying that muffin.”

“Always do.”

I gave him a smirk as I said hi to Mandy.

“How did your appointment go?” Ian asked.

“It was okay. If you don’t mind, I really don’t want to talk about that right now.”

“Sweetheart, what’s wrong?” Ian asked as he took my hand.

“Nothing. We just talked about my father. I don’t want to think or talk about it right now.”

“Okay. We can talk about it when you’re ready.”

Ian tore off a piece of his blueberry muffin and handed it to me. “Here, blueberry muffins always make things better.” He smiled.

“Your obsession with blueberry muffins is starting to worry me.”

“Is that so? Well, I have another obsession,” he said as he picked me up and carried me through the kitchen and up the stairs to our bedroom.

Chapter 5

Ian

“As much as I don’t want to get out of this bed, we do need to get cleaned up to meet Adalynn and Daniel for dinner.”

“I know,” Rory whined as she rolled on top of me. “But first, I need to kiss your lips,” she said as she kissed me. “Then I need to kiss your sexy chest.” She smiled as her lips traveled to my bare chest. Then I need to kiss your—”

“Whoa,” I said as I stopped her. “Sweetheart, do me a favor and save that for later tonight. If you do that now, we won’t be meeting Adalynn and Daniel for dinner; that I can promise.”

“You’re no fun,” she whined.

I kissed her soft lips as she stared into my eyes. “I’m so in love with you, Rory, and I need you to believe that. No matter what you want to do about your father, whether it be find him or forget about him, I’ll be here for you, and I’ll help you get through it.”

“I do believe you love me, and I’m so in love with you too. We’ll be here for each other.” She smiled.

I pulled her down onto me and held her tight. “I’m happy; so happy and I don’t want anything to ruin it.”

“Nothing will, Ian. I promise,” she whispered.

Somehow, I got the feeling that all was too good to be true and something was coming our way.

We both got up and got dressed. Rory freshened up her makeup and we headed to Cabot’s for dinner. Joshua had the night off, so I drove. We were stuck in typical Los Angeles traffic and when I looked over at Rory, I noticed she’d been staring at me. I took hold of her hand and softly kissed it with a smile.

“You’re beautiful. I want you to know that.”

“You’re sexy, and I want you to know that.” She smiled.

We pulled up to the curb and I had the valet park the car. As we walked into the restaurant, the hostess took us over to our table, where Adalynn and Daniel were sitting.

“It’s about time!” Adalynn said as she hugged me and then Rory.

“Traffic was terrible,” I said as I shook Daniel’s hand.

“Somehow, I don’t think the traffic had anything to do with it.” She smirked.

After we looked over the menu, we placed our dinner order and then Adalynn began talking about the wedding. She took hold of Daniel’s hand as she looked at both of us.

“We set a date!”

“When?” Rory asked in excitement.

“April 19th.”

“That’s in three months. Is that enough time to plan a wedding?” I asked.

“That’s what I asked.” Daniel chuckled.

“I’ll have plenty of time, plus now that you’re not going to be Ian’s slave anymore, Rory, you can help me, since you’ll be my maid of honor. You will be my maid of honor, right?” she asked.

I looked over at Rory and she was glowing with excitement. “Are you serious, Adalynn? You really want me to be your maid of honor?”

“Yes, Rory, I do,” she said as she reached over and patted Rory’s hand.

“And I would like you to be my best man, Ian,” Daniel said.

I looked over at him and felt honored. “Thank you, Daniel. I’d be honored to be your best man.” I smiled.

Rory hooked her arm around mine and laid her head on my shoulder. “This is so exciting, Ian. I’ve never been in a wedding or even been to one.”

Adalynn and Daniel sat across the table and smiled as I kissed Rory on the head. “I’m happy you’re happy.”

The truth was I was a little worried. Marriage wasn’t my thing. It’s only a little piece of paper that officially states that you’re a couple. Who needed that? From what I’d seen in the world, relationships were perfect until that little piece of paper came into play. Then everything went to shit. There was no reason why two people needed to get married. I was happy living and sharing my life with Rory as we were. I was concerned that all this wedding planning with Adalynn would make Rory want to get married. I couldn’t do that. I wouldn’t do that.

Adalynn and Rory continued to talk about the wedding during dinner, and Daniel and I talked business and politics. It was nice to be out as a couple. After enjoying our dinner and having a few drinks, we called it a night. All I kept thinking about was getting Rory home and into bed.

“After you, Madame,” I said as I opened the passenger door for her.

“Thank you.” She smiled as she stepped in.

“Dinner was great, and I’m so excited to be a part of Adalynn and Daniel’s wedding. Aren’t you?” she asked.

I took hold of her hand and kissed it. “Of course I am. I couldn’t be happier.”

God, I had to keep praying that she didn’t mention marriage to me. I felt that she wouldn’t yet because it was too soon in our relationship for any kind of talk like that. The less we talked about Adalynn and Daniel, the safer I’d be.

“So, tell me what Dr. Neil had to say about your dad.”

Rory looked at me strangely. “What made you think of that? We were just talking about the wedding and you instantly changed the subject.”

“I’m sorry, sweetheart. I’ve just been thinking about how upset you were when you came home earlier from your appointment. It really bothered me.”

She brought her hand up to my cheek and softly stroked it. “I don’t want you to be bothered by it, honey. She just asked me about what I would say to him if I met him.”

“Do you want to meet him? I can find him for you.”

“I don’t know, Ian. I’m just really confused about the whole thing.”

“Well, just let me know, sweetheart, and I’ll make some calls.”

We pulled up to the house and I got out and opened the door for her. As I took her hand and helped her out, I picked her up and carried her into the house and up to the bedroom.

“What are you doing?” She smiled.

“I’m taking you to bed because it’s all I’ve been thinking about all night.”

“Oh, okay!”

I kissed her lips before putting her down. “I want you to strip for me, but not until after I get undressed and get in bed.”

I took off my clothes as she carefully watched me. Just watching her watch me was getting me hard. I climbed into bed and smiled at her. “Your turn. Nice and slow, sweetheart. Go nice and slow. I want my own private show.”

She turned around so her back was facing me and she slowly unzipped her dress. She took the zipper all the way to the end so I could see her v-string. Fuck, she was hot and sexy. She moved her ass back and forth in a sexy tease that drove me wild. She slowly took down one strap of her dress and then the other, holding it up over her breasts. She turned around and faced me, letting the dress drop to the floor. She stood there with a sexy look on her face as she licked her lips in only her so-called panties and bra.

“Get over here and let me slap that sexy ass of yours.”

Her smile grew wider as she bit down on her bottom lip and walked over to me, bending over so I could slap her.

“God, sweetheart, I could come right now just watching you.”

I lightly slapped her on the ass. She loved it. I didn’t do it hard and I never left a mark. I would never physically hurt her, even if it was for play.

“Now go back across the room and take off your bra, slowly,” I commanded.

She leaned over and lightly licked my lips with her tongue before strutting across the room like I asked. Her back was turned as she unhooked her bra and slowly took down the straps as she turned to me and winked, letting it fall to the floor. I could no longer wait. I wanted her now.

“Get over here.” I smiled.

She took her hands and grabbed her breasts as she walked sensually over to the bed. She climbed on it and crawled up to me with a sexy smile on her face.

“That’s my girl,” I said as I grinned at her.

She rubbed my hard cock through the fabric of the sheet. “Now, where was I earlier?”

I looked at her and took in a deep breath as she pulled the sheet back and wrapped her mouth around my cock. She had me coming in no time and she had me feeling oh-so-good. My hands fisted her hair while her head moved up and down. I always let her know when I was about to come so she could decide how she wanted to handle it. This time, she surprised me and didn’t pull out. Jesus Christ, she was fucking hot, and I couldn’t believe she had just swallowed. I reached over and pulled her up to me as my mouth crashed into hers.

“I love you so much,” I said as I paused and broke the kiss.

“I love you too.” She smiled.

“I want you to lie back and let me pleasure you, sweetheart. I want to make you come all over this bed.”

And that was exactly what I did. I brought her to two orgasms before completely devouring her with my cock.

Chapter 6

Rory

After our morning run, Ian and I showered and he got ready to go to the office. We walked down to the kitchen, where Charles had omelets waiting for us. I said good morning to Charles as he poured coffee for Ian and me.

“Where are the blueberry muffins?” Ian asked.

“I’m sorry, Ian, but there are no muffins today.”

The look on Ian’s face was priceless. This was a change for him and it didn’t look like he was going to handle it well.

“You’re kidding, right? That’s really not funny, Charles.”

“I’m sorry, sir, but the blueberries I bought yesterday had a funny taste to them and I didn’t feel comfortable using them.”

I walked over to Ian and grabbed his hand. “Come on, love; it’s okay. You’re going to be okay. You don’t need a blueberry muffin every morning.”

“Sweetheart, yes I do.”

Just as he was whining, Mandy walked in with a brown bag and set it on the counter. “I picked up some blueberry muffins on my way over. Charles said he couldn’t make them today.”

Ian smiled as he walked over and opened up the bag. The air instantly filled with the aroma of fresh blueberry muffins.

“Mandy, you’re the best.” He smiled at her. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome, Mr. Braxton.”

I gave Ian a look as I shook my head. “What?” he asked.

“You’re spoiled.”

“You still love me, though.” He smiled as he bit into the muffin.

I rolled my eyes and took a sip of my coffee. I cut into the omelet that Charles made and Ian sat down next to me.

“I wish I could go with you to see Stephen, but I have so much work to do.”

“That’s okay.” I smiled. “I can’t wait to see him. It feels like it’s been forever.”

“Are you going to talk to him about your father?”

Speaking of fathers, Richard breezed into the kitchen.

“Welcome home, son,” he said as he patted Ian on the back.

Richard glanced over at me. “Hey,” he said.

I responded by holding up my coffee cup with a smile. Ian looked at me and mouthed, “Be nice.”

It irked me to no end how he was always telling me to be nice, but I never heard him say that to Richard.

Richard poured a cup of coffee and sat down at the table with us. “How was Paris?” he asked Ian.

“Paris was great. Why don’t you ask Rory about it?”

“No need, Richard. Paris was wonderful. Ian and I had the best time and now we’re back home and everything is perfect.”

He looked at me and tried to crack a smile, but he failed miserably. I leaned over and kissed Ian on the lips before I got up from my chair. “I’m going to go get ready and then I’m leaving.”

“Oh, no need to leave on my account,” Richard said.

“Trust me, Richard, I’m not. I’m going to visit my crazy brother in the looney bin.” I smiled.

“Rory,” Ian said.

“I love you, honey. I’ll see you later,” I said to him as I walked out of the kitchen.

That man was still an asshole. I had an ounce of hope that when Ian told him that he was in love with me, his attitude towards me would be different. I was wrong. He’d always be an asshole.

* * *

I walked through the double doors of Hudson Rock, signed in, and headed straight to the visitors’ room. As I walked in, Stephen looked up from his book and smiled. He stood up and I ran over to him, wrapping my arms tightly around his neck.

“I missed you so much, Stephen,” I said as a tear fell from my eye.

“Rory. You look beautiful. I missed you too.”

He led me outside to the courtyard, where we always had our visits. We took a seat at our usual little table under a tree.

“You look amazing, Rory. I can tell you’re really happy.”

“I am, Stephen. You look great. How is it going here?” I asked as I held his hands.

“Things are okay. Therapy is going good. My meds seem to be working, and I’ve made some new friends. The doctor said that maybe I could get out of here one day if I keep showing signs of improvement.”

“Good. That’s what I want to hear.” I smiled.

“How are things with Ian?”

“Things are really good. In fact, things are perfect.” I smiled as I gently squeezed his hands.

“He’s a good guy, Rory. You’re lucky to have him. He came here and talked to me before he left for Paris.”

“I know. He told me all about your visit. There’s something I’ve been wanting to tell you for a while, but then all that stuff happened with Ian and I left for Paris—”

“What is it, Rory?”

“Remember when I went back to Indiana to put closure on the past right before Thanksgiving?”

“Yeah, I remember.”

“Aunt Nancy told me that our father was her boyfriend and that him and Mom slept together one night while they were both drunk.”

“Are you serious?” he asked with concern.

“Apparently, he wasn’t happy Mom was pregnant and took off, leaving all of us.”

“What an asshole. How could he leave his own children?”

“How would you feel if I searched for him?” I asked.

I could tell that bothered him by the way he got up from his chair and pulled a leaf from the tree. “Why would you want to do that, Rory?”

“Because I want answers. I want that bastard to tell me why he abandoned our mother and us!”

Stephen turned around and looked at me. “You always wanted the answers to everything, Rory. I think some answers are better left not knowing.”

I closed my eyes and slowly got up from the table. I walked over to Stephen and looped my arm around his, laying my head on his shoulder.

“He’s our flesh and blood. He’s a part of us and I want to know why he did what he did.”

Stephen wrapped his arm around me and pulled me into him, kissing the top of my head. “If it means that much to you, then find him. But I don’t want to know him and I don’t want you bringing him around me. Okay?”

I nodded my head as I hugged him tightly. Visiting hours were over and it was time for me to leave.

“I wish we had more time,” I said.

“Me too, sis.”

I gave Stephen a kiss and waved goodbye. Even though I knew he was okay and doing well, my heart ached every time I had to say goodbye. Guilt settled in deep inside and I couldn’t stop it. As I walked out the doors of Hudson Rock and over to the parking lot where I parked my car, I looked up and smiled at the handsome man in a dark gray suit who was leaning up against my car.

“What are you doing here?” I asked as I kissed Ian’s lips.

“I came to drive you home. I had Joshua drop me off.”

“How long have you been standing out here?” I asked as I hugged him.

“Just a few minutes. How is he?”

“He’s doing well,” I replied.

“What’s wrong, sweetheart? You look sad.”

I took in a deep breath as I looked into his eyes. “Guilt. Every time I leave here, I can’t help but feel consumed with guilt.”

Ian placed his hands on each side of my face before softly kissing me on the lips. “I understand the guilt, but I don’t think Stephen would want you feeling that way. He knows you had no choice.”

“I know and you’re right. Let’s go home.” I smiled lightly before kissing him.