Page 144 of Ly to Me

Maybe there really was something hot about being surrounded by metal.

When Car was done on his phone, he came back up to the fence, resting his forearms along the top. “Havin’ a good time in there, sweetheart?” His wink sent flutters through my stomach.

I raised my voice so he could hear me across the ring. “Can I go faster?”

His smirk made those flutters worse. “Course you can. But we’ll try that on Bee. Together.”

I dropped the reins, and he shook his head in his hand. “What happened to liking my independence?”

“You’ve got a lot to learn, one of those being to not get so comfortable to where you drop the reins on day one.” I stuck my tongue out at him as I picked the reins back up.

“What else are we doing today? Do you have to work?”

“Not gonna ask me about the cop?”

I cocked my head. “Do you want to tell me about the cop?”

He covered his grin with a finger. Right as Nora and I were about to pass him, he climbed up the fence, straddled it, then clicked his tongue and reached for her bridle, stilling her almost instantly.

“Turns out Jamie really wants me to suffer from winning that poker game.” His fingers were quick to thread in my hair, and then his lips found mine, devouring any chance of a remark. Wasn’t even sure I had one as his tongue swept in, keeping me pleasantly silenced. Jamiewho?

Oh, right.

“Car, wait.” I pushed my hand to his chest, and he groaned. “Did he try to get you arrested? What for?”

“Wrongful termination and battery.”

“He really thought—” I stopped myself from finishing that sentence. I didn’t want Carver to know how far Jamie went. I didn’t want him to worry about the way his words had affected me to the point I was near comatose when I got back home. And I certainly didn’t want him to know that Jamie thought I’d be backing him instead of telling my husband the truth, which would include the certain word Jamie had used when relating me to the monster that was Chet Walker.

Even though I’d told Car the part of my past that plagued me the most, I was still trying to hide parts of the truth at every turn. It was like a disease.

Maybe Iwascrazy.

“What did he really think, Lyra?”

Silence.

An intense pop of his jaw.

Then, a wide grin.

“Slide off Nora.”

“I—” I went to protest, but he crossed his arms. “Okay.”

I did as I was told. Again. Something he loved way too damn much.

After eyeing both sides, I finally figured a way down. He hopped down from the fence, and in seconds, I was turned and pinned to the fence by the throat. “You know what I really can’t get off my mind lately?”

“What?” I croaked, though his fingers were rather loose, not blocking enough air to cause that sound.

“The way you ran from me. The way I fucked you with my fingers and got you to talk.” His lips brushed over the shell of my ear as his voice lowered. “The way you felt right before I denied letting you come.”

Shit. I’d gone through one day of edging. One day of making my body hypersensitive, begging for release. I’d be lying if I said I missed it.

I shook my head furiously. “Don’t.”

He tsked. “You still won’t tell me everything.” His hand slipped down the front of my jeans, skilled fingers brushing my throbbing clit. I shuddered. “So fucking ready for it, aren’t you?”