Page 29 of Beneath The Truth
“Last time you were home,” he finally said, “your hair was about four inches shorter.You had blond highlights that looked more like the sun had turned your red into gold.You had on a green dress I wanted to peel off you.Your heels were tall and black, and I spent the entire night trying not to look at you because I kept imagining what they’d feel like digging into my back.I went home and jacked off thinking about how good it would feel to comeinsideyou.”
Oh.My.God.
I didn’t realize I’d whispered the words aloud until Rhett glanced over at me, the heat in his gaze evenstronger.
“Don’t tell me I didn’t notice you.I noticed every goddamned thing about you.But because of your brother and the respect I have for him, I wasn’t about to let you know that I’ve been noticing you for longer than I want to admit.You think I don’t see you?I have to pretend I don’t, or I’d end up with my head mounted on Heath’s wall.He’s my best friend, closer than my own brothers, and I wouldn’t have disrespected himlikethat.”
Okaythen.Wow.
Rhett was attracted to me.For real.And I’d be damned if my brother’s existence was going to be a Rhett-proofchastitybelt.
“My brother doesn’t get to have a say in that part of my life.I’m anadult.”
“I know.He might not get a say, but he does deserve my respect.I’m going totellhim.”
My entire world shifted on its axis tonight.Rhett wanted me.And he had for years.It pissed me off that he’d held back because of Heath, but it also madesense.
Loyalty.Respect.Honor.Those were qualities Rhett had in spades, and without those, he wouldn’t have been the man I’d been wanting in my life forsolong.
And now when I was faced with photographic evidence of Carlos’s cheating, those things meant morethanever.
What would it be like to be with a man who prized his principles as highly as he prized hiswoman?
I had no idea.I’d told myself I was over Rhett, but I’d been making decisions with incomplete information, which basically meant I was making a different decision.I needed to analyze all these newfacts.
But the biggest question was—what am I going to do about ittonight?
My time for evaluating anything was gone because we’d reached the gate and Rhett had stopped next to the keypad mountedoutside.
“Code?”
Oh, good grief.I changed the code to every place as soon as I got there ...and this one wasembarrassing.
I rattled off “111723” and Rhett punched it in.It wasn’t until the gate closed behind us that hespoke.
“My birthday and footballnumber.”
Everything inside me cringed.Dammit, sometimes I forgot he was a gooddetective.
“Coincidence,Ari?”
I looked over at him and focused on my words.“Completecoincidence.”
“Your eyebrow justtwitched.”
15
Rhett
Get her inside.Do not fuck her.And for the love of God, don’t blow your load in your pants like a kid on hisfirstdate.
Before I could let this go any further, I had to clear it with Heath.Otherwise, I’d feellikeshit.
Although I had my self-imposed marching orders, I doubted my confidence to stick to them as I parked under the porte cochere and hopped out of the Jeep.Ari had her door open by the time I got there, her legs stretching for the ground and looking longer than ever in that short skirt.It wasn’t the first time I was glad my Jeep had those six extra inches of heightonit.
I reached out to grab her but she jumped at the same time, stumbling forward when her feet connected with the ground.My outstretched hands connected with herperfecttits.
Christ.I had no doubt they were one hundred percent perfect based on how damn good they felt in my hands.Instinctively, my fingers closed around them, and the nipples hardened against mypalms.
