Innocent Lies (2 page)

“Well, hi, blue eyes.” His smirk
grew into a full fledge smile. “What color blue are they? They’re
breathtaking.” He moved in closer and examined me. I glanced down
being a shy person by trait.

“I’ve been told
aqua.” I squirmed on the bench I was sitting on. The oddity of my
auburn red hair and my dodger blue eyes made me standout in a
crowd. I didn’t want to standout. I wanted to be a
wallflower.

He tapped the butt of a cigarette
on the table, trying to hold my gaze. His confidence rolled off of
him in a nearly-tangible wave. “You know most girls beg to have me
sitting with them. You didn’t even have to ask, and I still can’t
get a smile from you.”

He ticked me off royally, but it
was something else that had me flustered. He made my blood boil at
the same time he caused my heart to freeze still.

“I don’t even know you. And I hate
to break your little heart, but you really don’t impress me.” I was
unable to look away from his piercing brown eyes. His arrogance was
flustering, but those eyes. They really were incredible.

“Ethan Asher, assistant district
attorney, heartbreaker, and eternal stud.” He grasped my hand,
bringing it to his lips, and placed the lightest kiss on it. A
self-absorbed lawyer. I was right. They were a group of
bloodsuckers.

“
Well, you don’t know me.”
And you more than
impress me.
I jerked my hand
back and started packing my papers in my backpack.

“Dylan Elizabeth Summers, stunning
ginger, perfect lips, nineteen, a psychology major at UT, lives in
Apartment B twelve at three sixteen South Jefferson.”

“How . . . How did
you know?”

He thumped my keychain that
clearly displayed my student ID. “You really should hide that.” He
leaned across the table bringing his face within inches of mine. “I
would hate for the wrong person to see it.” He stood up, lit a
cigarette, and licked his lip. “I’ll pick you up Friday at seven.”
He turned to walk off.

“For what?”

He glanced over his shoulder.
“Stargazing,” he said as if it were obvious. “Look
nice.”

What if I don’t want to
go?”

“Oh, but you do,” he said with an
annoying, little wink.

Friday, September 20,
2013

“Damn,” I mumbled
to myself as I threw another blouse. Half my closet was strewed
across my bed. The other half covered the floor.

I kicked a pair of heels across
the room, hating the fact I even cared. But I did care. Ethan Asher
would have been there in less than an hour, and I wanted to knock
him off his feet.

I glanced over at my laptop that
was still open to his biography. His picture smiled back at
me.

I couldn’t stop
myself and did a
Google
search on
Ethan. He was quite accomplished for a man only twenty-six years
old. He had graduated from the University of Mississippi’s law
school at the ripe young age of twenty-two and was immediately
offered a job in the D.A.’s office. He had already won one of the
biggest cases the D.A. had presented in the past decade. I found
myself proud of a man I barely knew and tried to absorb the fact
that I was mere moments from being with him again.
Wow Dylan, you finally found a guy
that gets you pumped.

Sarah came in and dive-bombed onto
the pile of clothes tossed across the bed. “What’s got your panties
in a wad?” She asked and rolled over, fluffing the pillow with her
hand until she got it just right, a huge lump.

I blew a puff of air
out, fanning my bangs across my face, and sat down beside her. “A
man,” I informed, not expecting her to tackle me into a
wrapped-her-entire-body-around-me kind of hug or the loud screech.
I wiggled my finger in my ear, unsure if I would ever hear out of
it the same again. I had never seen Sarah that elated.
Was she really that worried about my
lack of lust?

“For once I might
believe lust is one of the best sins. He’s . . .” I turned back to
her and mouthed, “Wow.”

She laughed and raised an eyebrow.
“I know it is. Nothing is better than a good romp in the hay.” She
scooted on the bed until her back was against the headboard and
crossed her legs. “Dylan, be careful. I know you’ve been hurt in
the past and I understand you don’t want to share it. But sweetie,
I seriously believe you’ll break if you get hurt again. Guard your
heart.”

I didn’t realize it was that
obvious I was broken. Sarah had two things right. I couldn’t share
with anyone what I had been through, not even with her. But the
thing she was most correct about was I couldn’t take much more. I
fell back against the headboard.

She tucked a piece of hair that
had escaped my bun behind my ear. “I’ll help you look beautiful.
Who am I kidding? You don’t need any help. You’re gorgeous. He’s a
lucky son of a bitch.”

Sarah did my make-up and helped me
settle on a black halter dress and a stunning pair of red six-inch
heels. “He must be something; I have never seen you this nervous.”
Sarah said. I tossed a pillow at her head. She ducked, and I
missed. Hearing the doorbell ring, Sarah waved, leaving me alone to
greet him.

I threw a shawl around me before
answering the door. Suddenly, the low-neck line and tight fit of my
dress seemed a little too revealing. After all, it wasn’t like I
wanted to give him any ideas. Heck, who was I kidding? Maybe I
finally found a man that I would have enjoyed being
around.

Ethan stood in the hallway for
longer than was comfortable. His gaze moved up and back down my
body more than once. I fiddled with my shawl trying hard to hide
the fact his mere presence made my whole body go
berserk.

I noticed his outfit and suddenly
wanted to change. He’d worn a faded tee-shirt with some rock
group’s emblem on it and a pair of blue jeans with a small rip on
his left knee. He was mouth-watering, and I felt the attraction
deep in the pit of my stomach.

“Damn Dylan, I
don’t think a girl has ever been more beautiful.” He lightly pushed
a stray hair off my forehead, and molested me with his eyes. My
breathing stopped as he placed a light kiss on my right
cheek.

“Breathe,
beautiful,” he whispered in my ear. He took two steps closing the
gap between us. My stomach quivered at his close proximity. His
eyes darkened as they swept over me one more time. I wanted to ask
him if I needed to change, but putting so much effort into
breathing, I couldn’t manage to speak.

He fingered a loose strand of hair
that had fallen out of my bun. “This is more than I bargained
for.”

“What did you bargain on?” I
asked.

“Not feeling like
this,” he answered, sliding his arm around my waist and stroking
his hand down my lower back. That was when I usually pulled away. I
couldn’t pull away from him. It felt too good. I felt the warmth
pouring off his muscular chest; smelled the intoxicating scent of
his aftershave.

“Ethan, we need to go.” I
reluctantly squirmed out of his arms. I started to switch off the
lights when his hand held mine.

“Leave it on. You never know when
you might need to see what you’re walking into.”

I’d never left a light on. An
upbringing of never knowing if or when you will eat, much less
live, made one very economical. However, something about the way
his eyes went suddenly cold left me with a dread of coming home to
the dark. He tightened the grip he had over my hand and pulled me
into the hallway. He took the keys from my hand and locked the
door. After checking if it was locked twice, he placed the keys in
his back pocket.

“Are you planning
on giving me back my keys?”

“Maybe, if the night goes as
planned, you might not need them.”

I backed away from him, needing
them right then and there. It was quite obvious he had me wrong. I
was not the type of girl that dropped her panties for every guy
with a dazzling smile and charming personality.

“Ethan, I think I need those keys
now. I’m not the girl you think I am.”

He gripped my wrist and pulled me
taut against him. “You have no idea what I think.”

He released my hair from the tight
bun it was wrapped in. My heart skipped more than one beat. He
smirked and started gingerly wrapping my hair around his hand. I
broke out in a sweat. I had not had a man handle me like that,
well, ever. He was tender and had an extra softness to his touch. I
tried to remind myself he was not one of the men who had hurt me
beyond repair. However, there was something in his face that
reminded me so much of the one who had hurt me the most.

A tear fell down my cheek. For
some reason, my emotions were hardwired to my tear ducts. I always
cried when I was scared or frightened. One of the many humiliating
facts I hated about myself. After slowly winding my hair around his
hand and wrist, he tugged on my hair, bringing my eyes up to lock
with his.

“I think you’re a beautiful lady. I
have daydreamed about how your lips taste.” He tickled his
fingertips down my arm. I shivered. “I love how responsive your
body is.”

“I’m not sleeping
with you.” I shoved him hard, almost making him tip over. He
stumbled against the wall. I reached in his back pocket and pulled
out my keys. I fumbled with the keyring trying to find the house
key. When suddenly, he pushed me against the door with his body. I
felt his breath on my neck, his hand trailing down my waist. My
heart raced as my breathing quickened.

“Calm down,
beautiful, I’m not here to bag you. There is something so appealing
about you. I just want to know you.” He lightly kissed my cheek.
“Have I asked you to sleep with me?”

I shook my head no.

“I’ve gone back to that pizza place
every day since I saw you, wanting to meet you. Yes, I’m a touchy
person and a little overbearing when I see something I want. And
oh, babe, I want you. I won’t touch you again tonight. I set up a
telescope in an open field right down the road. Tonight, the sky is
perfectly clear, and I wanted to share this with you.”

Something about him made my
overactive self-preservation malfunction. Hell, I wanted him
touching me more than I ever wanted to be touched before. So
against my better judgment, I unlocked the door and invited him in.
“Have a seat. I’m going to change into warmer clothes.” I motioned
to the couch. He smiled. He had a warm smile, which made me feel
safe. “You promise me hands off?”

He held up both his hands in the
air and wiggled his fingers. “As much as they love touching you, I
will keep them to myself.”

I nodded to him and headed to my
room. I threw on a green sweater, green has always been my color,
and a pair of jeans. I sat at the vanity and fluffed out my hair
that he had released from its tight bun.

I noticed my cheeks
had a rosy glow.
What is this
guy doing to me?
Hearing a
tap at the bedroom door, I turned to find him resting against the
door-jam, one leg crossed over the other, watching me. His eyes
held an unrecognizable look. I couldn’t tell if he was happy, mad,
or unsure of me. I stood up and smoothed my sweater
down.

“I’m sorry for being so forward
earlier. I’m a forceful person. I’m used to getting what I want. I
hope I didn’t scare you.”

I shook my head and lowered
it.

“See, I’m not all
bad.” He took six even, but long steps across the room until he
hovered over me. His stance had an unsettling air of confidence. He
cupped his hands around my face, the tips of his fingers caressed
along my cheekbone. Raising my head, he forced me to look up at
him. “I won’t touch you again. At least not until you beg me.” He
smirked. “But beautiful, you need to realize what a tempting force
you are.” He stroked his thumb over my lip before letting his hands
slip away.

I wanted to place them back on my
face. I also wanted to kick myself for letting him affect me that
way.

Ethan was quiet the
entire ride. He seemed to be mulling over something. There was
something seriously off with him.
So what?
I found that
for once in my life I didn’t want to go numb. Something about being
near him made me want to live. He pulled off the road near a large
wheat field, slid out of the car still without a word, and came
around to open the door for me. There was not a tree within acres
to block the view of the clear night sky.