But there was also more to it. I cared for him on a deeper level, one that didn’t make sense but also did all in the same breath.
We stayed like that, tangled together, until sleep pulled us under, forbidden and perfect and terrifying all at once.
Chapter Nine
Lila
The secret became its own kind of oxygen.
We didn’t make rules or draw boundaries. We simply moved through the house like we always had, but there was always this underlying, primal chemistry between us whenever we were around each other.
Brushing past each other in the hallway, reaching for the same coffee mug, or exchanging glances that lasted half a second too long. It became a living entity.
But behind the normalcy, we were thieves. Stealing kisses in the laundry room when the dryer hummed loud enough to cover the sound. His hand sliding up the back of my thigh while I stood at the sink doing dishes, fingers teasing the edge of my shorts until I bit my lip to stay quiet.
Me slipping into the downstairs bathroom while he showered, dropping to my knees on the wet tile, and taking his enormous erection in my mouth until his fist clenched in my hair, coming with a muffled groan down my throat.
Every moment felt stolen from time itself, like we were characters in a thriller. Always one step ahead of being caught. Always one breath away from disaster.
The weekend arrived again, and when Marcus came home earlier than usual, still in his work boots and dust-streaked jeans, I was in the kitchen sorting through a box of old cookbooks. He walked in, keys jangling, eyes already dark with intent.
“Get changed,” he said. No greeting or small talk. “We’re going out.”
I looked up, surprised at the authoritative tone. “What? Where?”
He paused, voice dropping. “Lake. Just you and me.”
My pulse kicked in my neck. “What do you want to do at the lake? Fish?” I teased.
“I don’t plan on fishing.”
I didn’t argue or question anything else. I changed into shorts, a tank top, and sneakers, my heart already racing.
He drove us out of town, past the subdivisions and the strip mall until the road narrowed and trees closed in and the air smelled like pine and water. The lake was small and hidden, and there weren’t any parking lots or signs. It was just a gravel pull-off with a narrow dirt path through the woods.
He parked, killed the engine, and looked at me. “Come on, sweetheart.” He was out of the car and opening the passenger side door for me before I could move.
He took my hand, and we wound down the path, fingers lacing with mine tightly. The woods were thick with late afternoon sunlight filtering through leaves in golden shafts, birds calling from high above. Every step felt louder than it should have. Every rustle in the underbrush made my skin prickle with awareness… of how exposed we were and how anyone could round the bend and see us.
Our town was small, and I knew locals frequented the path. If they saw me holding hands with Marcus, my former stepfather, who knew how fast that rumor would spread.
He stopped in a small clearing near the water’s edge, scanned the perimeter once to make sure we were alone, then turned to me.
“Against the tree,” he said, voice low, all dark heat and pure dominance lacing it.
My back hit rough bark a heartbeat later. Marcus crowded in, hands already under my tank top, palms hot against my ribs. He kissed me as if he’d been starving for it all day. It was deep and claiming as his teeth caught my bottom lip, biting gently, then soothed the sting away with his tongue.
I moaned into his mouth, fingers digging into his skin.
“We can’t be loud, baby,” he growled against my throat. “Someone could walk by and hear us.”
The warning only made me wetter.
A second later, he shoved my shorts and panties down in fierce rough motion, not even taking them all the way off. He left them bunched around my ankles. His belt buckle clinked as he freed himself, cock already hard and leaking as he palmed himself.
In a swift shift, he got one of my legs free, lifted my left leg, and hooked it around his hip. He thrust in my pussy without warning, the motion deep, brutal, and stretching me open in one stroke.
I cried out, and he instantly clamped a hand over my mouth. “Shhh,” he rasped, hips snapping forward. “You want the entire lake to hear me fucking you against this tree?”
