Beloved Liar (The Reed Rivers Trilogy 3)

To my relief, Isabel takes the paper. But, again, she says nothing.

I say, “If Howard’s got you brainwashed into thinking you’re nothing without him, he’s dead wrong about that. You’re a brilliant actress, Isabel. And everyone knows it. I know for a fact my buddy Ethan Sanderson—you remember him, right? I know for a fact he’s got at least four films in the pipeline he’d kill to hire you for. Wouldn’t you rather do movies you can sink your teeth into, anyway? That’s what you always used to dream about when we were young and poor—not doing superhero movies. Chase your real dreams, Isabel. Fuck Howard.”

After stowing the scribbled paper in her purse, Isabel stands, throws back the entirety of her second martini, and says. “I’ve got to go.”

“Take Georgie’s article,” I say.

Isabel pauses and eyes the pages on the table. But she doesn’t move.

“As a favor to me,” I say. “If you ever truly loved me, as you claim, then take that article and read it tonight. It’s the only thing I’ve ever asked of you.”

Nodding, Isabel picks up the pages and folds them into her purse. She holds my gaze for a long moment, her blue eyes full of longing and regret, and, finally, leaves the room without saying another word.

The moment the door of the private dining room closes, Georgie melts into her chair. “Holy crap, that was intense.”

“You were amazing.”

“I was?”

“A superhero.”

She smiles from ear to ear. “So were you. We’re a dynamic duo.”

“Let me take you somewhere, Georgie. Some place where we can relax and fuck and eat and think of nothing but each other.”

“Sounds amazing. When?”

“As soon as possible. Your internship is officially over at the end of the week, right? So, let’s pick up and go then.”

“Where?”

“St. Barts... Santorini... the Amalfi Coast? You pick. Anywhere, as long as it’s got sun and beaches and is easy to get to from the East Coast. We’ll stop in New York, on our way, pay a quick visit to my mother, and then head to paradise.”

Her face is glowing with excitement. “I’ve still got one more article to finish up. A secret something I’ve been working on as an ‘audition’ piece for Dig a Little Deeper. I should be done with it on Friday.”

“We’ll head out on Saturday, then. That’s actually perfect timing. Several of my bands are performing in New York at a big charity concert this coming week. Why don’t we add a few days in New York to our itinerary before we fly to paradise?” My wheels are suddenly turning. “Actually, you know what? I’ll fly Alessandra to NYC to catch the charity show with us. And the next day, we’ll shoot a simple little music video for her upcoming single.”

Georgina shrieks. “What? Oh my God!”

“Don’t get too excited. The video won’t be anything fancy or complicated. Just a simple little ‘performance’ video we can throw onto YouTube, to show people how cute Alessandra is. I’ll ask Maddy Morgan if she’s available to fly in and direct the thing for me. I’ve always wanted to give her a shot. This is a perfect opportunity.”

“Oh my gosh! This is so exciting!”

“And after all that, we’ll swing by Scarsdale for an afternoon, and then jet off from there to paradise to relax.” And get engaged.

“Amazing.”

“Now come here, my little kitten.” I coax Georgina out of her chair and bring her to my lap, where I kiss her passionately. And, soon, it’s clear our kiss is barreling toward something a whole lot more than that.

“We can’t do it here,” Georgina whispers playfully, but she’s purring as I reach underneath her skirt and massage her clit. “Reed, the waiter might walk in on us.”

“Oh no,” I say with mock horror, my fingers making her swollen and wet. “That would be terrible.” I skim her lips with mine, as my fingers continue making her eyelids flutter. “Relax,” I coax. “Isabel put the fear of God into the waiter. He won’t come back, unless called.”

“But what if he does?” she groans out, her pleasure apparent.

“Oh no,” I say softly, my voice low and oozing with arousal. “Whatever would we do?”

Georgina groans and gyrates into my fingers. “You’d love for us to get caught, wouldn’t you?”

I suck on her lower lip. “So much.”

With that, I guide her belly against the table, pull off her panties, unzip my pants, and enter her from behind. And then, I proceed to fuck her, hard. She’s the woman I’m going to ask to be my wife. The woman who’s most likely going to have my baby one day—Jesus fucking Christ! The woman I love. I fuck her without mercy, while continuing to massage that hard, swollen bundle of nerves. Until the sounds of her pleasure become so loud, I have to shove a linen napkin into her mouth to muffle them. Finally, Georgina comes. As her body milks mine, I release and growl loudly and then collapse into her back, seeing stars.