Tangled In Lies (Tangled & Torn #1)

Deleted Scene #1

On the rooftop of the house on Angel Island at the end of Chapter 35 after Phoenix asks Eve if she wants to end the engagement.

PHOENIX

“How do you feel about a long engagement?” Eve goes back to chewing on her lip.

“A long engagement?” I repeat the words, my brain trying to understand what that means. My nerves are still frayed from asking her directly if she wants to end the engagement, and instead of getting a straight reply, she asked me a question.

“Yes. A long engagement.” She gets out of her chair, and a breath later, she lowers herself on my lap, with one leg on each side of mine.

My hands automatically move to her lower back to keep her secure. I gaze into her warm eyes, still wondering if I understood her correctly.

Eve brushes her hands through my hair and tilts my head back. “So, was that a yes to my proposal?”

I quirk a brow, my heart working extra hard at that word. “Your proposal?”

She grimaces. “I meant my idea for a long engagement. So much happened in the last few years, and it’ll probably take a lot of therapy to get to a healthy place, so I thought slowing things down could help. But I want you by my side, even if things won’t always be easy. Only if that’s what you want too, of course.”

I want to tell her I’d marry her right now if she agreed, but I don’t want to scare or pressure her.

So I stare into her eyes, not wanting to miss a single moment. “Yes, Angel. I’ll always say yes to you.”

Her lips descend on mine, and the relief over still being able to call her my fiancée—truly mine—is so overwhelming that my instincts take over, and I pull her as close as possible.

She moans into my mouth when her core collides with my dick through the thin layers of our clothes.

When she draws back, her eyes are glassy. “Will anyone disturb us up here?”

“No.”

She licks her lips. “I know there are probably still a million things we need to discuss, but right now, I just want to be with you and get lost in us.”

I push my hips up in place of an answer.

Her mouth transforms into an amused grin. “Since you said you’ll always say yes to me, there’s this one scene that involves a pool edge and?—”

“Yes, yes, yes.” I grab the back of her neck and haul her toward me again.

She laughs into my mouth, and it’s the best sound in the world.

My hands find purchase at the edge of her shirt, and I yank it off her. Her bra is next, and then my mouth is on her gorgeous tits, sucking on one of her taut nipples while massaging the other. Eve pulls me closer, her head rolling back in pure ecstasy. Her hands are already tangled in my hair, and I don’t think I’ll ever cut my hair short again if it means she’ll do this forever.

“Phoenix, I need you.”

Reluctantly, I let go of her to watch her push off her skirt alongside her underwear. The sun is low on the horizon, bathing her in a soft light that makes her skin glow.

My clothes join hers on the floor.

“You’re breathtaking.” I close the distance between us, cup her face, and stare into her eyes. “And you’re all mine.”

Knowing exactly what I need from her, she nods and says, “I’m all yours.”

We kiss until we have to breathe, and then I listen with rapt attention as Eve tells me everything about the scene she wants us to play out. I lead her to the far end of the water, where I prop her on the pool edge to fulfill every part of her fantasy.

And I plan on doing nothing but that for the rest of my life.