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“I, uh, assume there have been a lot,’” I said, my voice shaking. Dear God, why were my panties wet? What the hell was wrong with my body?

He grinned. “I have a way with women, yes. Does that upset you? It shouldn’t. You’ve got a way with me .” He lowered his voice even more, barely audible. “It’s like both sides of me want you.”

“ Both sides? What does that mean?”

Ignoring my question, he lowered his head, his nose grazing the side of my throat.

Nate took a deep breath, like he was smelling me.

It should have been weird, but I’d never experienced anything so hot in my life.

My knees were getting weak, and it was all I could do not to grab that towel and pull it off.

But the questions remained. What was he talking about?

And what was he hiding? I didn’t even understand all these secrets, and I was supposed to lie to my family and friends.

After breathing me in, Nate gave me a quizzical look like he’d discovered something interesting, but he didn’t say a word about it. Instead, he leaned in even closer, the heat of his body radiating into mine.

Summoning all my willpower, I pressed a hand to his chest, pushing him back.

“What aren’t you telling me? What are you hiding? Be honest,” I said. “I hate liars.”

His eyes darkened, and the muscles in his jaw clenched. That growl I’d heard in the alley rumbled in his chest again. That was a weird habit, for sure.

“I have never lied to you,” he said. “I just can’t tell you all the truths, but I haven’t lied.”

“Withholding information could be seen as a type of lying.”

My hand was still on his chest, and the feel of his skin against mine sent more unholy thoughts through my head. So many, I had a hard time pinpointing one in particular.

“That’s funny,” he said, a playful smile on his lips. “You seem to be the one lying about something.”

“Lying about what?”

“Don’t try to pretend,” Nate said. “I can feel it.”

A shuddering breath trembled from my lungs, and I knew exactly what he meant. As much as I didn’t want to say it, I wanted him. My kinky and dirty subconscious was screaming for it, demanding that this tall, dark stranger rip my clothes off, bend me over the counter, and fuck my brains out.

The two halves of my brain were waging war with each other.

One day ago, I was in what I thought was a long-term relationship.

If this had happened then, the decision would have been easy—shove Nate away and tell him to get lost. I wasn’t that kind of girl.

Now? Now I could do what I wanted. Could do who I wanted.

Nate’s grin turned to a knowing smile. The towel twitched in the periphery of my vision and began to rise. Oh, God .

Sensing some kind of weakness in me, Nate leaned forward, his lips moving toward mine.

For a quarter of a second, I imagined letting him kiss me, the hot warmth that would flood my pussy, and everything that would come after.

I didn’t want to do anything rash, but this was so intoxicating, like I was drunk and unable to make good decisions.

His lips brushed mine, sending electric shocks through my entire body.

There was a half second where I had one last chance to end this, but I let it fly past, and then Nate’s mouth was on mine.

I moaned into his mouth, my mind going blank.

All shame, all worry, and thoughts of anything or anyone else gone in a haze of erotic desire.

I couldn’t even think about how unlike me this was. It felt too good to question.

As Nate’s tongue slipped deeper into my mouth, I wished it was his cock gliding across my lips, pressing to the back of my throat. The mental image made me groan, and I pressed myself closer to him. Nate pressed his legs between my thigh, and I rubbed against it. The friction felt so fucking good.

He chuckled against my lips as I began to grind on him.

It was wrong—everything in my mind screamed at me that it was wrong—and I should stop.

Everything except the horny and insistent part of my mind that had taken over.

I pressed harder, finding the right angle to ease my aching clit.

My panties were soaking wet, and as Nate’s hands roved across my ass, pulling me harder onto his thigh, I could already feel an orgasm building.

Our kiss grew hungrier and more passionate as my climax neared. My hips thrust against his leg, sending pulses of pleasure through my body with each movement. Nate’s fingers dug deep into my ass, and he yanked me forward, increasing the friction on my crotch.

I moaned into his mouth as an orgasm exploded through my body.

Ecstasy shuddered through me, but even as it did, I wished it had been better.

In my mind, I imagined how good it could be to have him inside me rather than dry-humping him in the damn bathroom.

My legs would be spread wide, and his massive cock would be crashing into me, and?—

“Stop,” I hissed, pushing him back, some of my senses returning, a wave of embarrassment and shame washing over me. What the fuck did I just do? I barely knew this guy. This wasn’t like me.

Wiping at my mouth, I pointed at Nate with my other hand. “That never happened. You understand? We didn’t just do that. Got it?”

He grinned, looking pleased with himself. “See, sometimes we simply omit some truths to make life easier.”

He backed away, breaking the haze of lust that had consumed us. I sucked in a breath as he turned away from me to get dressed. My shame vanished as soon as I saw his back. Scars crisscrossed his torso, old and healed but looking unimaginably painful.

Before I could stop myself, I stepped forward and traced the raised skin. “What happened to you?”

Nate jerked away and turned a baleful glare on me. “That is another omission. It would make your life easier if you didn’t know what happened to me.”

The cold anger in his eyes was like a bucket of ice water drenching me. I nodded and fled out the door.

“Sorry,” I muttered. “I’ll let you get dressed.”

Closing the door behind me, I leaned against it, taking a steadying breath.

Away from the steamy heat and the strange magnetic attraction between us, it felt like I’d run a marathon.

My body and mind were drained, wrung out.

The discomforting blanket of sexual frustration weighed heavily on me.

The aftershocks of my orgasm still sizzled through me, reminding me of the shameful and moronic thing I’d just done.

The only thing that made me feel a little better was that I’d stopped it before it could go further.

Mom came stomping down the hall. She looked a solid ten years younger than her forty-five years.

In fact, she and I were often mistaken for sisters.

Her hair was longer than mine and hung down her back.

It was up in the ponytail she always wore for work.

She was in great shape, still fit and strong like me, and I hoped I looked as good when I was her age.

My mother was a gorgeous woman, fiery and passionate as well as capable.

She had always been a force of nature that men fell over themselves for.

The problem was that she fell equally hard and fast. Her beauty and brains were never enough to overcome her heart, which always led her into romantic trouble.

From the look in her eyes, Gael had filled her in on everything that had happened.

“Cameron,” she hissed and leveled me with a glare, “Gael says there’s a strange man in the bathroom. Why? Who is he?”

The accusation in her voice both embarrassed and irritated me.

God, if she knew what had just happened in there, I’d be in for a real lecture.

Yet, I couldn’t count the number of times I’d come home to find my mother entertaining a new lover with dinner.

Each one was supposedly the one . Every man my mom ended up clinging to was always the person who’d sweep her off her feet and give her a better life.

Now, she looked at me like I’d committed some mortal sin by even inviting another man into the apartment. Double standards, much?

Though, whatever indignation I felt faded. Perhaps I’d done exactly what I’d always chided my mother for.

“Mom, chill,” I said, keeping my voice low. I didn’t need Nate hearing this argument. “He’s a private investigator.”

She frowned, her face twisting into a mask of confusion. “Why is there a private investigator in our apartment?”

I ran through a hundred different excuses, but I had no time to sort out the pros and cons of each lie. Instead, I blurted out the first thing that came to my mind.

“He’s, uh, he’s been assigned to watch over us. Like a contract worker for the police.”

Mom put a hand to her chest, her confusion turning into fear. “Are we in danger? Why would the police need to give us protection? Is this about your attack last week?”

Shit.

“Umm, no, it’s not like that,” I explained.

“Not really. They, uh, they think that the guy who attacked me might be stealing from a bunch of people, and he may be from our area. He’s here to…

to, uh, well, I have contacts with the police department,” I added, quickly forming a new story.

“I heard about them wanting to search the area, and I offered our apartment for him to use for a sort of stakeout.”

“A stakeout?” Mom asked. She wasn’t buying it.

Gael came down the hall. “What are you guys doing? Why are you whispering?”

“No reason, sweetie,” Mom said.

“Trust me, Mom, it’s all going to be fine. No big deal,” I said.