Inked in Lies (The Fallen Men 5)

“Fuck off!” she cried. “Are you serious right now?”

“As a biker with his Harley,” I promised.

“He kissed you? What the hell, Li? You’re engaged, does he not get that?”

I winced again. “He did it in front of Jake. He might had goaded him into basically daring us to kiss to prove there was nothing going on between us.”

“And?” she gasped, eyes enormous in her head, so round they were comical.

“And…it only proved that Jake’s an idiot, Nova’s worse, and I’ve been kidding myself the last two years thinking I could get over him.”

That shut her up for a minute, her gaping mouth closed as she averted her eyes to the passing of historic downtown as we drove into the suburbs.

“You know,” she murmured, soft and thoughtful. “I always thought you’d end up together. Not because it was the obvious choice, but because there was always this intangible softness between you, even when we were kids. Nova’s always been the pretty boy, the affable, unflappable jokester. But around you, he had this depth, like this secret compartment in his personality only you could unlock.”

“Pretty,” I whispered, meaning to tease her, but failing because I was too moved by her words to joke.

It had always felt that way to me as well. That whatever Nova and I might have been separately, we were something different together. Something more that could have been as beautiful as a wildflower meadow if only he’d let it grow.

“Doesn’t matter now,” I muttered, fiddling with the engagement ring on my left hand as I palmed the wheel. “I’m marrying Jake.”

“Lila…I didn’t say anything when you got engaged because I was kinda in the middle of my own shit storm, and I didn’t really know Jake enough to say anything, but c’mon…you’re not going to marry him.”

I shot her a look, angered by her assumption only because it was so accurate, and I wasn’t quite ready to give up on the normal, stable family life marrying Jake represented.

“We’re taking a…beat after what happened. I was, no, I am angry with him for forcing the issue and dredging up stuff that was in the past. He’s been dealing with a lot of stress at work, so we’ve only seen each other a few times in the last month.”

And I’d barely noticed, if I was being honest.

I missed the sex, because once I’d discovered it, I found I had a serious affinity for it. The press of bodies, the slick slide of hard flesh into soft, wet openings. My own sexuality had evolved with a rapidity that surprised both Jake and I. I wanted it constantly, in ways we’d explored and hadn’t.

Like all things in my life, I was always looking to push the boundaries, discover what might be on the other side of the horizon.

“I’m just saying,” H.R. continued, oblivious to my thoughts as we pulled up in front of the Booth’s because my girl was coming for dinner. “Marriage is serious shit, and divorce is a reality for way too many people. Just…think about it.”

“Harleigh Rose cautioning me to think before I act?” I gasped, hand over my heart. “I never thought I’d see the day.”

She rolled her eyes at me then laughed as we exited the car and she started up the stairs to the porch.

“Coming?” she asked when I moved around the side of the house instead of following her.

“In a second, just going to drop my stuff.”

I rounded the house to the backyard and grinned as I always did when I trailed my hands over the tall, swaying grass and flat, glossy leaves lining the walkway to my converted greenhouse.

The smile slid and crashed to the ground when I opened the door to my house and there was nothing inside but my purple sofa, crate coffee table, and empty bookcase. My bag dropped through my numb fingers as I quickly raced to the bedroom then the bathroom and found all of my essential things missing.

What. The. Actual. Fuck?

I sprinted out the door and bounded up the stairs through the backdoor of the Booth home. Out of breath, I careened to a halt in the kitchen where my entire family and Harleigh Rose were gathered around the kitchen island facing me with identical expressions of caution mixed with glimmers of amusement.

Only Nova seemed unfazed, the heavy weight of his muscled body leaned up against the counter, his booted feet crossed at the ankles, a smile as sly as a curl of smoke affixed to his beautiful face.

“Who the hell raided my house?” I demanded in a low, cold voice of fury.

I shouldn’t have asked the question, not when I already knew the answer.

As one, the family looked over at Nova.

Who clearly didn’t care about his personal safety, because he removed the toothpick dangling from the corner of his mouth so he could smile hugely.