Page 87 of Beautiful Lies

“See you.”

The line clicks dead.

Silence settles over the room again, thick and heavy. I exhale and lean back against the wall, scanning the office.

I can still smell her in here. The scent of her honeyed perfume and her sweet pussy.

The sound of her voice is still echoing through my head with her moans and the way she whispered my name right before I made her come apart.

For a man who prides himself on control, I certainly lost every ounce of it.

And judging by the state of my cock, control won’t return to me tonight.

Which means, if I’m playing it safe—which I have to—I need to sleep here in my office.

I can’t use one of the guestrooms because the staff will talk. And I can’t use my room, either. If I lie next to Isla Monroe with my cock like this, Iwillfuck her.

She looked at me like she couldn’t believeshe’dcross the line, but she wouldn’t know how far I’d leaped over it.

She wouldn’t know that while she unraveled in my arms, I was thinking of how many condoms I had stashed away in my wallet, or how many ways I planned to fuck her.

She wouldn’t know.

I tell myself I’ll forget the taste of her by morning, but I already know that’s a goddamn lie.

I didn’t sleep a wink.

At sunrise, I decide to get up. I can’t lie around my office thinking anymore.

Thinking abouther—Isla, upstairs in my bed, naked.

I kept wondering if she slept naked like she usually does or if she kept her clothes on because she knows I’m here.

Or maybe she really did take them off, hoping I’d come to bed and finish what we started in here.

Fucking fuck, listen to me.

I sound like my mind is fucked. I scrub a hand over my face.

I need to get my head straight. I need to pull my head out of my ass and get my act together.

Last night was last night and changes nothing.

There’s more at stake here than my sanity or a hard-on that won’t quit.

This marriage is a deal. Isla Monroe is just a wild card I can’t afford to let win.

The game’s not over. I just need to remember the rules.Myrules of control. Always control.

With that in mind, I get dressed. I’ll grab some coffee from the kitchen then head to Vale Global. It’s early but not that much earlier than the time I usually leave.

I make my way down the hallway, thinking of everything I need to get done before the end of the week. With the wedding approaching so fast, I want to get as much work done as possible.

The house feels different in the morning light. Less like a battlefield and more like the sanctuary it's supposed to be.

The scent of the salty sea and the fresh coffee Sheila always has brewing fills the air.

Sunlight spills across the floors in streams of gold, creating that sense of peace I like before I start my day.