Page 99 of This Beautiful Lie
His breath grew heavy, as he mouthed the words. “Come with me.” And then he tugged me toward the rush.
Before I could question it, I held my breath, and we both pushed through the pounding sheet of water until we were gasping for air on the other side.
I wiped over my face, finding a different world on the other side. One that was dim, magical, and private.
Mist swirled like smoke around us, and a flat stretch of rock jutted just far enough from the cliffside for us to climb up and lay upon.
I scrambled up beside him, breathless, heart hammering, adrenaline pumping through every inch of my body. The water thundered only a foot away, but here behind it, the noise became white, almost softening, like we were cloaked in our own secret world.
Dean leaned back on his elbows, chest rising and falling, eyes closed as if he belonged right here in this very moment.
“This is…” I shook my head, still working to catch a full breath. “It’s unreal.”
His mouth curved in a relaxed smile. “I found it the summer I turned sixteen. I thought it was the coolest thing I’d ever seen.”
I tried to picture him, then—young and tan. Climbing rocks until he stumbled upon this space.
“I bet you brought all the girls here, didn’t you?”
One eye cracked open, mischief tugging at the corner of his mouth—but then his expression shifted, softening into something achingly serious. “You’re the first one.”
The words hit me like a stone tossed into water, sinking deep, sending ripples through every part of me I didn’t even know existed. I drew in a sharp breath, stunned at the way simple words could unravel me so completely.
Before I could form a response, his hand reached for mine, tugging gently until I lowered beside him on the smooth stone. The waterfall thundered in front of us, throwing mist into the air, but all I could feel was him—his gaze lingering on my face, then my breasts, which were covered by my lace bra, then lower. With steady hands, he pulled me closer, and I didn’t try to stop him.
I searched his eyes looking for answers, for some indication of what we were doing. What this thing between us even meant. But all I found was raw, unguarded honesty. And God help me, that was enough.
I couldn’t fight this any longer. I couldn’t keep clinging to the rules I’d built for myself. I would surrender—to him, to whatever this was, for these fragile few days we had left. Because I couldn’t bear the thought of anything else.
He unclipped my bra with one hand—while his other palm cupped my breast. A shudder rolled through me and my back arched into his touch.
The heat of him unraveling something sharp and guarded inside me, and I let my head fall back.
His mouth found my neck—peppering soft kisses there. Then things grew deeper, hungrier. Each kiss felt like another steppingstone that led us closer to the edge of a cliff we’d been inching toward for weeks.
The water roared in my ears, wrapping us in a cocoon of sound and heat, and for a heartbeat, I swore it felt like a scene stolen from a movie.
Too magical.
Too impossible to be real.
But Dean’s touch was real.
His breath was real.
The way he kissed me—like he’d been waiting for me his whole life—feltreal.
I let myself sink into him. Into this moment. Into the hands that moved over me like he’d been memorizing me long before he ever touched me.
I pushed him to his back and climbed on top of him, my legs straddling his thighs. My hands roamed greedily over his body, tracing his shoulders, his chest, his abdomen…then lower.
I pushed down his boxers, then wrapped my hand around his length.
“Em,” he groaned, voice ragged.
The sound alone made my hips roll. I moved closer to him without thinking, guided him against my heat, desperate to feel him inside me again.
Then I realized what I was doing, and something cracked inside of me like glass.
