Chapter 32
DAREK
Iled her through the house. My heart was pounding, not from nerves but from pure desire. The champagne had given me a pleasant buzz, but that wasn’t what had my blood racing. It was her. It was knowing that after the hell of the past few months, I finally had something good and pure and real.
We made it to my bedroom and I closed the door behind us, locking it out of habit even though Daisie was sound asleep down the hall.
I cupped her face in my hands and kissed her slowly, savoring the taste of champagne on her lips. “You’re incredible,” I murmured between kisses. “Do you know that?”
“You might have mentioned it once or twice today.”
“I’ll keep mentioning it.” I kissed along her jaw, down her neck, feeling her pulse quicken under my lips. “Every day for as long as you’ll let me.”
Her hands slid under my shirt, her fingers tracing the muscles of my back. I pulled away just long enough to yank the shirt over my head and toss it aside. She did the same with hers, and then we were skin to skin. I couldn’t think about anything except how right this felt.
My hands explored her body even as we moved to my bed. She sat down and looked up at me with those bright blue eyes that had captivated me from the start.
“Come here,” she whispered. I didn’t need to be told twice.
I knelt in front of her, my hands sliding up her thighs as I kissed her again. She wrapped her arms around my neck, pulling me closer as our tongues danced.
“I need you,” I said against her lips. “God, Liza, I need you so much.”
“Then take me.”
I reached behind her and unhooked her bra, sliding it off her shoulders. My mouth found her breast. I could feast on the woman for days if time allowed. I wanted to know the taste of every inch of her body. Her fingers tangled in my hair as I used my teeth to pull her nipple into my mouth.
“Darek,” she breathed.
I would never get tired of hearing her say my name. It was like hearing your favorite song on the radio. I wanted to blast it and play it over and over.
I laid her back on the bed and worked at the button of her jeans, sliding them down her legs along with her panties. She was beautiful in the moonlight, all soft curves and smooth skin. I took a moment just to look at her and appreciate just how beautiful she was.
“You’re staring,” she said with a small smile.
“Can’t help it. You’re gorgeous.”
I stood long enough to shed my own jeans and boxers, then grabbed a condom from my nightstand and placed it on the bed for easy access. I wasn’t quite ready to be inside her.
I started at her ankles, pressing soft kisses to the delicate bones there before working my way up her calves. Her skin was warm and smooth under my lips. I took my time, exploring every inch. When I reached her inner thighs, she shifted restlessly, her breathing already uneven.
“Darek, please,” she whispered.
“Not yet,” I murmured against her skin. “I want to savor this.”
I kissed higher, deliberately avoiding where she wanted me most. Instead, I moved to her hip, tracing the curve with my tongue. She made a frustrated sound that went straight to my cock, but I ignored my own need. Tonight was about her.
I kissed across her stomach, feeling the muscles quiver beneath my touch. Her hands were fisted in the sheets now, her body taut with anticipation. I loved seeing her like this, completely undone, desperate for me.
“You’re torturing me,” she breathed.
“Good.” I kissed the underside of her breast, then the valley between them. “I want you to remember this.”
I took my time with each breast, circling the nipple with my tongue before finally taking it into my mouth. She arched into me, a soft moan escaping her lips. I switched to the other breast, giving it the same attention while my hand slid down her body.
When my fingers finally slipped between her thighs, she was already soaking wet.
“God, you’re so ready for me,” I said, my voice rough with desire.
“I’ve been ready since we left the courthouse,” she admitted breathlessly.
I stroked her slowly, watching her face as pleasure washed over it.
Her eyes fluttered closed, her lips parting as I found that perfect spot that made her gasp.
I worked her with my fingers while my mouth continued its exploration of her body.
My tongue ran across her collarbone and then the hollow of her throat before finding that sensitive spot behind her ear.
“Darek, I need you inside me,” she whimpered.
“Soon,” I promised, though my own control was hanging by a thread.
I kissed my way back down her body, this time not stopping at her thighs. When my mouth finally found her center, she cried out, her hips lifting off the bed. I gripped her thighs, holding her in place as I tasted her. She was sweet and everything I craved.
“Oh god, oh god,” she chanted, her fingers tangling in my hair.
I used my tongue in long, slow strokes before focusing on her clit, circling it with just the right amount of pressure. Her thighs began to tremble. I knew she was close. I slid two fingers inside her.
“Come for me,” I commanded against her skin. “Let me taste you.”
She shattered a moment later. Her body trembled and arched. I couldn’t wait another second. I ripped the condom open, slipped it on, and slid inside her with one hard thrust.
Her eyes were closed, her lips parted, small sounds of pleasure escaping with every jerk of my hips.
“You feel amazing,” I groaned. “So perfect.”
My body was demanding release. I increased my pace, thrusting into her with more force. The sound of our bodies coming together filled the room, mixed with our ragged breathing and her soft moans. I shifted the angle slightly, pushing up on my arms and letting my hips do all the work.
“Right there,” she breathed. “Don’t stop.”
“Look at me,” I commanded. “I want to see your face when you come.”
Her eyes opened, locking onto mine. The connection was intense, more than just physical. It felt like I could see straight into her soul, and she could see into mine. There was nothing hidden between us in that moment.
She let out a low keening sound.
“Come for me, Liza. Let go.”
Her orgasm hit like a wave, her body clenching around me so tightly I nearly lost it. She cried out, her back arching, and the sight of her coming undone because of me was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen.
I couldn’t hold back any longer. A few more thrusts and I followed her over the edge, burying myself deep as my release tore through me. I groaned her name, my body shuddering with the intensity of it.
I collapsed beside her, both of us breathing hard. I pulled her against my chest, not wanting to let her go. My heart was still racing, my body still humming with the aftershocks.
I pulled the covers over us. We didn’t need to talk. I didn’t have to ask her to stay in my bed. She wasn’t going anywhere.
The next morning, I woke at dawn like always. Liza was still asleep beside me, her hair spread across the pillow, one arm thrown over her head. Beautiful. Peaceful.
I lay there for a while just watching her, still half in that happy bubble from yesterday’s victory. Then I carefully extracted myself from bed and started getting ready for the day.
I was in the bathroom brushing my teeth when I heard her phone buzz on the nightstand. Once. Twice. Three times in quick succession.
I ignored it at first. It wasn’t my business. I wasn’t the kind of person who checked other people’s phones. But then it buzzed again. And again. Someone was really trying to reach her.
What if it was important? What if something had happened?
I walked back into the bedroom and glanced at her phone. The screen was lit up with notifications, all from the same sender.
Della.
My stomach dropped.
I told myself to leave it alone. To wake Liza up and let her check her own messages.
But my hand was already reaching for the phone, already swiping to read the preview text that was visible on the lock screen.
If it was the agency, it concerned me. I needed to know if our little secret was out of the bag.
Hi Liza! Hope the Sullivan job went well. I have another opportunity for you.
The preview cut off there, but I could see there were four more messages.
I stood there, phone in hand, feeling like the ground had opened up beneath me.
Liza was already lining up other jobs. Already planning her next fake relationship. She was already scheduling a new gig that would start two weeks after our contract ended.
Two weeks.
I let myself believe we had a future together. And she had been treating this like any other job. It was a job. I almost forgot I was paying her.
I felt like an idiot. A complete and utter fool.
I should have known better. Should have kept the boundaries in place, should have remembered that this started as a business arrangement and no amount of real feelings on my part could change what it fundamentally was—a transaction.
She was here because I was paying her. And when the money stopped, so would she.
She’d be moving on soon. I would be left here alone again with a giant hole in my heart where Liza used to be.
How could I have been so stupid? How could I have let myself fall for someone who was literally paid to be with me? How could I have confused her professional performance for genuine feelings?
I set the phone down carefully to keep from waking her. I needed to think. I had to process this away from her. I didn’t want to say something I would regret.
I got dressed quickly and quietly, then headed out of the house toward the boathouse.
I had at least an hour before I needed to make breakfast for Daisie.
Working on my old boat was like meditation for me.
It centered me, gave me something to focus on besides my own spiraling thoughts.
I couldn’t be around Liza right then. I was afraid of what I might say.
I would lash out and make myself look like a damn fool.
The boathouse felt like a refuge. I pulled on work gloves and grabbed sandpaper, attacking the hull of the boat like it had personally offended me. How had I gotten here? How had I let this happen?
I had hired Liza to avoid this kind of emotional entanglement. The whole point of using Faux was to keep things clean and professional. I had a contract with clear boundaries and a defined end date. No messy feelings, no complicated breakups, no risk of getting hurt.
I had started imagining a future with her. A real relationship and maybe even more children.
But it wasn’t real. Not to her. It was just another job. I was a paycheck.
I was going to be stuck trying to explain to Daisie why another woman she’d gotten attached to had left. I was doing to Daisie exactly what Sasha had done, except this time I couldn’t even claim ignorance. I had known this was temporary.
I just hadn’t expected it to hurt this much.
I didn’t know how long I’d been out there when I heard footsteps behind me.
“Darek?”
Liza.
I kept sanding, not trusting myself to look at her yet.
“Hey,” she said, coming closer. “What are you doing out here? I woke up and you were gone. Is everything okay?”
Everything was not okay. Everything was the opposite of okay.
“Just working,” I said, my voice flat.
“At six in the morning? Darek, talk to me. What’s wrong?”
I kept working. If I looked at her, I was going to break. I willed her to go away. I needed to be alone.