Crown of Lies
Puzzle three: I have no idea what’s puzzle three.
“What am I doing, Sage?” I cuddled her close, drawing comfort from her warmth and familiarity. “I’ve slept with the guy once, and I suddenly can’t stop thinking about him? Is that normal behavior? No wonder love is frowned upon. It’s a workaholic’s nightmare.”
She purred, not even bothering to open her eyes and answer me.
A knock reverberated through my apartment. For a second, I thought it was the TV, but then it came again from behind me.
The door.
Someone is at my front door.
The only people who ever visited (make that person) was Dad.
No one else.
Don’t let it be him. Please.
The knock came again.
And again a few seconds later.
“This isn’t fair,” I breathed into Sage’s fur as I scooped her into my arms and climbed off the couch. Every step I took toward the front door sent my heart chugging a proverbial wine bottle until I wobbled with fake intoxication.
Looking through the peephole, Penn stood smart in different clothes than this afternoon’s lunch date. He’d put on light-colored jeans and a white long sleeve t-shirt that sent my libido melting.
“I don’t have anything to say to you.” I hoped he could hear me through the door. “Please, go away.”
“I’m not leaving. Open up.” He held up a brown paper bag with a gold embossed logo on the side. “I’ve brought dessert.”
Dessert?
It was ten p.m. on a week-day. Most normal people had finished eating by now and were winding down for bed.
Shifting Sage into one arm, I reluctantly opened the door. “Bribing me with sugar won’t work.”
“Are you sure about that?” He smirked. “You opened the door, didn’t you?”
I scowled as he stepped over the threshold uninvited. “Only to tell you face to face to go away.”
“Tell me after we’ve had a sugar fix.”
I grumbled under my breath and shut the door. Following him into my kitchen, I took pity on him this time and motioned toward the sheer wall where a simple push opened the cupboard holding the cutlery.
He found the utensils, grabbed two spoons, then skirted around me and headed toward the couch. Dropping his weight into the comfy white leather, he placed the brown paper bag on the glass coffee table and pulled out two containers of chocolate mousse.
The emblem of the bakery was from the Gilded Cocoa. A high market delicatessen that served the best pastries and confectionery in New York.
Fine, I would admit. He had good taste.
Sage decided she’d had enough attention and leaped from my arms. Landing on four dainty feet, she took off into my bedroom where no doubt she would claim my pillow like she did every night, telling me in no uncertain terms that my bed was actually hers.
“Are you going to have one of these, or are you going to make me a diabetic?” Penn glanced over his shoulder, eyeing my black maxi dress.
I’d made the mistake of showering when I got home—hoping it would relax me—then dressing in my comfiest piece of clothing.
With no underwear.
I didn’t want to eat mousse with Penn in my apartment with no underwear on.
“Sit, Elle. For fuck’s sake.”
“Don’t swear.” I shuffled around the couch and took a stiff seat beside him.
“Don’t tell me what to do.”
“Don’t turn up uninvited to my apartment.”
“Don’t fucking ask questions you’re not prepared to hear the answers to.”
We breathed hard, fists clenched, fire glowing in our veins.
Reaching for the chocolate, Penn shoved a glass container into my hand and jabbed a spoon into the other. “Eat. Then if my company is so goddamn repulsive, I’ll leave.”
“I don’t even want dessert.”
“Christ, you test me.” Shifting closer, he stole the spoon he’d only just given me, scooped up a decadent sized mouthful of chocolate, and pressed it against my lips. “Take it.”
I pressed my mouth together. The scent of rich cocoa and cream made my taste buds tingle, but I wasn’t refusing the sweet—I was refusing him for reasons I could no longer truly remember.
He smeared the chocolate over my lips, painting me with edible lipstick. “Open, Elle.” He couldn’t tear his eyes away, his chest rising and falling the more he teased me with the dessert. “Open, just once.”
His voice throbbed with sudden need.
I reacted to his lust, inhaling quickly, opening just enough for him to slip the spoon into my mouth. The moment the cold metal hit my tongue, and the richness of chocolate mousse sang on my taste buds, I moaned a little.
His jaw clenched as he withdrew the utensil, leaving the morsel behind for me to suck. I didn’t chew. I let it dissolve and infiltrate my blood with a rush of sweet, sweet sugar.
“Again.” His voice no longer resembled a man but a beast aching for sex. My nipples hardened beneath my dress as I obeyed without question this time.
The heat in the living room increased by a thousand degrees. He scorched me with every move, stare, and command.
Lust wasn’t just a word; it was an axe that cut all chains of propriety. It was the gun that shot common-sense dead. Lust was a kidnapper and killer all in one.
Gathering more chocolate, he sucked the spoon clean, his tongue flashing out to make sure he caught every last drop. The fact he shared my spoon, licked my spoon did crazy things to my tummy.