Beneath The Lies Read online

  My brows shoot up. “Mrs. Perkins?”

  “Mrs. Perkins is not as young as she looks. But don’t let her hear you say that.” He raises his hands naughtily.

  “And was your brother with you during these escapades?”

  His face immediately shuts down and his finger absently runs circles on the rim of his glass. “Most holidays they sent me alone to visit here with Aunt Sylvie. She was my mom’s elder sister and a widow. Having no kids, she was quite fond of me and was like a mother to me. I loved visiting her during Christmas and when I was old enough, I would invite friends over. The Christmas parties here were legendary, especially because Aunt Sylvie welcomed any and all of my friends and let us do what we wanted, mostly.”

  “So you didn’t celebrate Christmas with your family?”

  He takes his time to reply. Damien leans forward to refill my empty wine glass. He fills his own as well and takes a rather large sip.

  “My brother and I never got along,” he explains after a prolonged silence. “And as we grew older, we couldn’t stay in the same house without breaking into a fight. Initially he used to fight with me every Christmas because he wanted whatever I got, even though my parents would gift him something bigger and better than me. My parents indulged him when we were little, but as we grew older, our fights got worse. Fed up with the situation, my parents packed me off here one holiday and I never spent a Christmas again with them.”

  My eyes flicker to his as my heart aches for him. How could his parents treat him like that? What kind of an upbringing did he have?

  I finally ask, “How old were you when this happened?”

  “Thirteen.”

  “I’m sorry, but what they did was just terrible.” I shake my head, my lips twisting in disgust.

  “Hey, it’s all in the past and I did have a blast with Aunt Sylvie, and later with my friends when they came over. I was so popular in school and a Christmas invite to my place was most sought after. So, it wasn’t all that bad.”

  He makes light of the situation but I can see the darkness in his eyes. What horrible parents! How terribly did they impact his life that he left them all and moved to India? And he did not even tell me about them?

  I will be a good father to you, I promise.

  Damien’s whispered words when he held our son in his arms for the first time flash through my mind. At that time, I hadn’t paid any heed to them. But now I understand, all too well.

  I’m so lost in my own thoughts I don’t even realize when the dinner plates have been cleared and dessert is placed in front of me. I look at the dessert and exclaim, “Strawberry tarts! Your favorite!”

  “How do you know that?” he questions and I want to slap my forehead for speaking without thinking.

  Bloody hell! The three of glasses of wine I’ve consumed have loosened my tongue and blurred my mind to blurt that out.

  “Oh! I must’ve read it in some magazine,” I say by way of covering up my blunder. “After all, the media hasn’t been able to stop talking about you.”

  His face clears of any doubt and I breathe out a sigh, thankful that he’s taken my words at face value.

  We finish our dessert and move to the golden parlor to catch up on the weather situation on TV. The forecast for tomorrow still shows snow, though they predict the storm to pass over.

  Damien mutes the sound and saunters to where I’m curled on the couch.

  “So, you’ve been reading up on me?” he queries with a wicked grin as he seats himself beside me.

  “Me and the whole of England probably,” I snort out.

  “I’m quite interested in what you think.”

  Uncurling my legs from beneath me, I walk over to the fireplace where a fire is burning, the flames crackling. Damien rises, watching me, waiting for me to speak.

  “The media paints you to be a mystery, an enigma. The second son who was never supposed to inherit. Everyone is waiting with bated breath to see what furor The Devil Duke will create next. But…”

  “But what?” he takes a step closer to me.

  “What they don’t understand is the trauma that you must’ve gone through. How lost and alone you must be! I read somewhere that your accident caused the memory loss. I can’t even begin to imagine how devastating that is. Questioning each and every person and their motive in your mind, trying to recollect every face that you see. It must be horrible.” I cup his cheek gently. “And you never expected to inherit this title and all the legacy behind it, which I’m sure I don’t even comprehend fully. Added to that, you have someone shooting at you. It’s all too much for one person to deal with it. Is that why you hardly smile? Is that why you’re so serious all the time? You've changed, haven’t you?”

  He rubs his cheek into my hand, but before he can say anything, my phone rings. I shut my eyes and sigh, annoyed at the intrusion. Damn this phone. I ought to start putting it on silent.

  I lift it from the table where I’d left it and see the caller ID.

  Damien

  “I’m fine, Jonathan!” Aaliya speaks into her phone, her eyes on me. “Damien is taking good care of me, I promise!”

  My lips purse on hearing her convince yet another man to not worry about her.

  “Don’t be ridiculous,” she chuckles. “It’s horrible weather. You won’t be able to reach me no matter how hard you try. So, relax okay!”

  Bloody hell! If Jonathan was in front of me right now, I swear I’d have punched his face.

  She twirls a strand of her hair around her finger. “Yes, of course, we will catch up in London, whenever you say.”

  I tune out of their conversation and stare into the fire. That Christmas story is one I don’t recall telling anyone ever except perhaps Gabe or maybe Jonathan. I surprised myself by opening up to Aaliya. She’s practically a stranger to me, yet my soul senses a connection to hers. How can this woman understand so much about me in such short an acquaintance?

  I exhale a tortured breath. How does she know exactly how I feel? How does she understand I feel lost and so alone? And I have changed. That I’m not the same man I was five years ago. I woke up from the accident knowing I was different. There’s a void in my mind that screams inside me like a raging storm. But somehow, being with her makes that vacuum quiet. She calms the tempest in my mind by making herself the focal point of my attention. She calls to something deep within me that I can’t even explain to myself.

  I observe the play of emotions on her face as she speaks and suddenly her eyes flash to mine. Need roars inside me, beating like a drum through my blood and I know in that moment that I’ve never wanted another woman as much as I want her.

  She ends the call with Jonathan and walks back to where I’m standing near the fireplace.

  “Sorry about that. But Jonathan has this misguided notion of being my protector.” She gives a half shrug.

  “You do have a fan following. First Gabe and now him,” I shoot back at her, nettled.

  Amusement shines on her face at my angry rant. She calmly says, “Gabe’s a good friend and like I told you earlier, I can handle Jonathan.”

  I take a step closer to her. “Jonathan Wright is wicked as sin. You should know better than to entertain him.”

  “Maybe I like wicked,” she says, tilting her head up to look at me.

  “Stay away from him, Aaliya.”

  She stands her ground. “Why? Are you jealous?”

  “Never! I’ll never be jealous of Jonathan Wright. He’s an arrogant prick who has way too much money than he knows what to do with.”

  “Oh! Judgmental and jealous! Very well done of you, Damien.” Her eyes sparkle and her lips curve into a cheeky smile.

  “I’m not jealous.”

  She shrugs her shoulders, laughter still dancing in her eyes. “If you say so.”

  “You are nothing but trouble,” I tell her, closing the distance between us.

  “And yet you can’t seem to stay away.”

  “You’re far too tempting and�
�” I pull a strand of her hair and draw her towards me. “I don’t want to stay away any more.”

  “Words. All I hear are words, Damien,” she puts her hands on my shoulders. “Kiss me and show me exactly how I make you feel.”

  “Fucking finally! Finally, she asks.”

  That was all the permission I needed from her. I draw her body close to mine as I tear at her mouth and attack her lips, those soft pink lips that have been taunting me since the beginning.

  Aaliya

  Damien’s mouth crashes into mine and he kisses me like a man possessed. His tongue steals inside my mouth as his hands tilt my head, angling it the way he wants to gain better access.

  The kiss is raw, wild, pure chaos. It strips away my doubts, my fears and gives free rein to my desire. He lifts me up, drawing me tight against him and my legs instinctively wrap around his waist. With my arms clasped tight around his neck and his chest pressed against mine, he owns my mouth, taking it over and over again. There’s no skill involved, no finesse, it’s just a pure mating of mouths and tongues and lips fueled by want.

  My core throbs and I rub myself against his raging hard on, gaining as much friction as I can. He pulls his mouth from mine. “If you continue like this, I will take you on the floor or against the wall. It will be fast and hard.”

  “I like fast and hard,” I say, dragging his lips back to mine, whimpering as he pulls back.

  He gives me a sinful smile. He knows I’m losing control. He leans forward and whispers in my ear, “I need you on a bed.”

  “Later,” I mumble and pull his head towards me but he resists, shaking his head.

  My teeth nibble on my bottom lip and his lips latch on to it, tugging it free of my mouth, sucking on it. His tongue delves inside, running soft circles around every inch of my mouth. I arch into him, clasping his neck with my hands to hold him to me while he takes over my mind completely.

  One moment we were kissing in the golden parlor and now we’re in my room.

  When did we reach here?

  Damien pulls me down on the bed and we topple on it, preventing any more thoughts. Satisfaction sings through my blood as his heavy weight lands on me. His familiar scent wafts over me making me dizzy with need.

  I need this.

  I need him.

  This is where I belong.

  I struggle to touch his skin, but Damien beats me to it as he shrugs off his sweater in one swoop and plants his mouth back on mine. My hands roam freely across the wide expanse of his back while he tugs down the neck of my sweater. I murmur something unintelligible as he bites my shoulder, marking me. His tongue rubs soothing circles on my skin, taking the sting away, making me moan in ecstasy as he suckles his way up my shoulder into the crook of my neck.

  “You make me fucking crazy, Aaliya,” he growls as he lifts my sweater off me and tosses it behind him. My leggings follow the same path. I have no spare underwear so I’m wearing none right now. His eyes light up with desire, the green overtaking the grey in his gaze, seeing me spread before him. His chest heaves with uneven breaths and his eyes lock onto mine.

  “Do you trust me?” he asks.

  I frown. “Yes…but…” He puts a finger on my lips as he reaches forward and lifts something.

  His lips find mine and I grab his arms, lifting my hips to press against his erection once again. I need more and I need it now. Damien moves my hands from his biceps and raises them above my head as he continues to kiss me. I need to touch him, to run my hands on his skin. I try and move my hands but I can’t. A shudder runs through me when I realize that my hands are tied above my head, my wrists knotted together in my red shawl.

  “Damien…what…” I start to say but he cuts me off.

  “Fuck! You look beautiful. I’ve imagined you just like this, all nude and perfect with your wrists tied up in this red silk.”

  Fire leaps under my skin at his hotly whispered words.

  To know he’s been thinking about me like this, makes my heart soar. His hands roam a slow torturous path down my body, setting my skin ablaze. His finger swipes through my center and a moan escapes my mouth.

  “Oh, Aaliya! You like this, don’t you?”

  I nod, incapable of speech right now. How is it that I never knew this side of him? We’ve never indulged in this kind of play ever and now to be lying beneath him like this, completely at his mercy, unable to move my hands, watching him look at me with lust filled eyes, all of it makes my body burn hotter than the fires of hell.

  I like this unknown side of him.

  No. I love it.

  His body settles over mine, making it impossible for me to move. His mouth captures one breast and he suckles it, scraping his teeth across my nipple over and over again. My head thrashes on the bed from side to side at this exquisite torture. Need slices through my veins, but there’s no surcease from this delicious torment.

  “Please…” I’m begging him now as he lavishes the same attention to my other breast.

  “Damien…oh, I need you.”

  “No, not so soon. You’ll take all the pleasure I give you and more.”

  His fingers find my center and he plunges one inside, curving it inside me. And then the sensations double as a second finger joins the first. I’m squirming under him, keening cries escaping my lips until lightning shoots down my body. He captures my scream with his mouth, kissing me until I’m boneless beneath him.

  I hardly have a second to come down from my high when Damien tears down his jeans and tosses them behind. He rolls a condom before positioning himself right at my entrance, entering me in one sharp thrust. I cry out as he buries himself inside me to the hilt. My tied hands lower to touch him but he pins them in place, above my head. His mouth finds mine as he drives relentlessly inside me.

  His dominance is unquestionable. I’m mindless to his wishes as he thoroughly lays siege to my body and my soul. Trapped under him in all ways, I’m helpless to his possession. I have no choice but to surrender to him. His each stroke inside me drives me more and more to the edge until the pleasure radiates from my core to every inch of my skin. Just as I’m about to detonate, he slows his strokes, torturing me, bringing me back from the edge. I scream in frustration as he repeats this over and over again, making me insane. Desire plays like a cacophony in mind, screaming inside my head until I can’t take it anymore.

  “Damien now…please,” I beg.

  He rocks inside me harder and I shut my eyes as my body explodes, igniting each and every cell inside me. He thrusts inside me, once, twice, and then he moves his mouth from mine, and roars as release washes through him.

  Damien

  She fucking destroyed my mind!

  I struggle to catch my breath, still coming to terms with how every inch of me was set afire by her. Absolute fulfillment, contentment and sheer bliss sail through me as I lay on top of this gorgeous woman, my body still joined to hers. I’m not sure if it’s because I haven’t had sex in at least two months or it’s just her. I raise myself and there she is, lying beneath me, her hands all trussed up, looking perfect. The reality of her like this is way better than any fantasy I’ve had.

  She breathes unevenly and her eyes open finding mine.

  “Hello, again, Aaliya.” I smile down at her.

  She bats her eyelashes at me. “Hello, again!”

  This has become like a thing between us. I untie her hands and rub her wrists. “Are you okay?”

  “Um…I’m great. That was…that was unbelievable,” she says stretching her hands.

  I move off her to use the bathroom and when I return, she is snuggled under the sheets, fast asleep. I turn to pick up my clothes and her eyelids flutter open.

  She yawns and catches my hand. “Stay.”

  “Please…” she whispers. Without another thought, I get in beside her. She turns towards me and wraps her body around mine. She puts her head on my chest and falls asleep in seconds. I hold her warm body in my arms and decide to stay with her for just a few more
minutes.

  It’s still dark when my eyes open again. I wake up with her tantalizing fragrance enveloping me and her body entangled with mine. This is the longest I’ve slept ever since the shooting.

  Her back is snuggled into my chest and as I hold her close, a knot unwinds inside me. Being with her like this silences my mind. Peace has eluded me for so long and it’s strangely comforting to find it like this, with this warm woman in my arms. These emotions are novel to me because in the past I’ve never stayed back to sleep with any woman I’ve had sex with.

  Aaliya stretches in her sleep and her bottom pushes into my hardening body. My hand finds her core and she’s wet. I position her such that I can slide into her easily. She moans and I know she’s woken up.

  “Damien,” she whispers, her voice hoarse from sleep. She pushes herself further into me.

  I shut my eyes as her velvety muscles fit snugly around me. We stay like this for several moments until she pushes her hips back.

  I capture a breast in my palm and squeeze while I slowly move in and out of her.

  “Faster…please…I need you,” Aaliya whimpers.

  My teeth scrape the side of her lovely neck and I slow down further. I rock into her lazily, exploring her body once again, caressing every inch of satiny skin that I find.

  Jumbled words escape her lips as I take my time with her. I slow my movements even further until she’s begging me and I know she’s almost there.

  “Now, Aaliya!” I order, thrusting sharply inside her.

  She screams and screams as she dissolves around me. Only then do I let myself go, my mind completely blanking out.

  She turns, kissing my chest, right over my heart before wrapping herself around me. Again, she’s asleep within seconds.

  My hand sinks in her hair and my eyes shut close on a sigh of bliss. Suddenly, I blink them open. What the fuck did I just do? I didn’t use a condom! I’ve always used protection. It’s the one critical rule I follow, always. How could I have forgotten this?