Deception Read Online Free Page B

bulged open and both Julian and the gator sat as still as a reed in swamp water as they sized each other up. Hissing cicadas could be heard interspersed with the loud rhythmic thumping of Julian’s heart muscle against his chest. In one swift move Julian erupted from the swampy forest floor, throwing himself onto the road. He rolled in his haste and frenzy to get away from the gator. To his utter relief the beast was not following, nipping at his heels. Julian leaped to his feet, chilled to the bone with fear.
    “Jesus Christ!”
    Shaking off his ordeal he jogged slowly back to the house. He blamed Maura for his lack of focus and the tumble down the hill. He realized he’d been blaming her for most of his unrest these days.
    Julian had seen the frustration on Maura’s face when he’d teased her about the shrimp. If Maura Douglas thought he was going to make this easy on her then she was in for a huge surprise. He’d been filled with intense yearning for her before the moment that shattered any prospect of a future with her. He’d desired to know every detail about her, both internal and external. He’d wanted to know her body as well as he knew his own. He’d wanted to know what made her happy and what would bring her to tears. What excited her and what dreams she had.
    Now he just wanted to know what had compelled her to lie to him. Their intimacy had been intense—both of them needing the release they sought from one another. He’d never felt such a raw force of energy with a woman. As cliché as it was, it seemed there was something in the air, in the universe—some energy that existed to push them together. That energy had been strengthening with every breath and glance and touch that transpired between them, but he’d been reluctant to have sex without first getting her reaction to his past transgressions. Transgressions he felt in his heart she’d be able to overlook. However, the horrid things he’d done were borne from great deception and he just couldn’t risk going through that all over again.
    What had pissed him off most was Maura’s nonchalance about her situation, gamboling about as if she didn’t have a care in the world, as if she were available, completely unattached. It wasn’t as if they were hanging out as friends. Every touch of her fingers seared his skin. Every press of his lips marked her flesh. They’d both been so astonished by their physical reaction to one another they’d acted as if they were exploring their bodily senses for the first time—gliding fingers across one another’s skin just to bask in the sensation.
    The run had done nothing to clear his head of a particular chestnut-haired beauty with hazel eyes and glowing skin. He’d already developed feelings for the woman when he’d found out she shared a bed with her ex. If she’d simply told him she was still connected, quite physically, to her ex-husband, all of the hurt feelings could have been avoided.
    The mysterious electric notes of U2’s With or Without You pumped into his ears from his wireless headphones—how appropriate. Something in his gut told him he’d be struggling to live with her, but he’d be tormented to try and live without her. Fuck it all! He stripped out of his shirt, grabbed a towel, and headed down the hall to the bathroom for a shower. He entered the guest bedroom, musty from disuse, and padded to the shower.
    Standing toe to toe with Maura he watched as her body swayed ever so slowly to whatever music she listened to via ear buds in her ears. Eyes closed, she seemed to be in another time and place. Naked except for the unbuttoned silk shirt she wore, sticking to her skin from the steam in the bathroom. The movement of her hands performed an erotic dance across the skin of her abdomen and then her right hand traveled ever so slowly to her beautiful full breasts where she lightly cupped herself. Her head floated on her neck across to the other side and then her eyes rolled beneath their