Lie Next to Me Page 17

  “I thought you left,” I said as I walked past him.

  Ian reached out and lightly grabbed my arm. “Why are you crying?”

  I wouldn’t turn around and look at him. I looked down at the ground as I replied. “That song always makes me cry. No big deal,” I said as his grip softened, and I walked away.

  ****

  I lay down on the couch and fell asleep. My mind wandered back to that house. The house where I spent the last thirteen years of my life. Images of my aunt haunted my dreams. The men she brought home, the alcohol she drank, and the drugs she put into her body had a tight grip on my mind and I couldn’t escape from it.

  “Rory, wake up. You’re having a nightmare.”

  My eyes flew open at the sound of Ian’s voice. I looked at him as I sat up and threw my arms around him. He softly rubbed my back, telling me that it was okay. No, it wasn’t okay. It would never be okay. My past would always haunt me and I needed to figure out how to stop it.

  “What time is it?” I asked.

  “Eight o’clock.”

  “Why are you home already?”

  Ian looked at me strangely before he replied, “Why would you ask that?”

  “I don’t know. I’m sorry. I’m just not thinking clearly right now.”

  “Have you eaten dinner?” he asked as he pushed a strand of my hair behind my ear.

  “No.”

  “Come on; let me make you something.” He smiled.

  “I’m not hungry. In fact, I’m just going to go work out for a little bit,” I said as I started to get up from the couch.

  Ian grabbed the back of my pants and stopped me. He placed his hands on my hips as his thumbs hooked into the waistband of my pants and panties and he took them down. He pulled me onto him. “Would you like a workout partner? I have some new moves to show you,” he said as his lips touched mine.

  That was all he had to do to pull me back in and forget about everything else. I didn’t resist him when his fingers pulled my shirt over my head. He reached behind me as his fingers unhooked my bra, sending shivers throughout my body. He took my breasts in his hands as he stared at me, giving me that look of hunger. The look that screamed, I’m going to devour every inch of you. He leaned forward and took my nipple in his mouth as my hands raked through his hair. I let out a moan at his powerful sucking and nipping that ignited the fire between my legs. I pulled his shirt up as he lifted his arms and tossed it to the side.

  “Wrap your legs around me and hold on,” he whispered.

  He picked me up and carried me up the stairs. As soon as we got in the hallway, he held me up by my ass, pressing my back against the wall. His eyes gazed into mine. Once I undid his belt, I unbuttoned his pants and took them halfway down, releasing his throbbing cock. He held me up by one hand and his other took his pants down all the way. His finger played around my slick area as he gasped.

  “You’re ready to be fucked and I can’t wait any longer.”

  He pushed into me and I let out a moan. “That’s right, sweetheart. Let me know how much you love it when I fuck you.”

  I licked his lips as he thrust into me, deeper and harder with each one, hitting the right spot that sent my body into pure bliss. His body was tightening and I could feel him getting ready to explode.

  “Fuck, sweetheart, you’re coming and you’re making me come,” he said, exasperated, as his last forceful thrust took me.

  I dropped my head on his as he held me in place, squeezing my ass as he poured every last drop into me. “That was amazing, Rory,” he said with an exhausted breath. “I’m going to put you down for a minute so I can take my pants off.”

  I unwrapped my legs and he gently lowered me down. As soon as he stepped out of his pants, he smiled and told me to wrap my legs around him again. I did what he asked as he held me up and kissed me. He carried me to the bedroom and gently laid me down on the bed, falling onto me as he continued to explore my lips. He broke our kiss and rolled off of me. A few things had started to bother me. Why he never took me into his bed and why he never mentioned that room. I rested my head on his chest as he brought his arm around me.

  “What’s in that other room, down the hall?” I asked.

  “It’s just another guest room,” he replied.

  “Why do you keep the door locked?” I couldn’t help it; I had to ask.

  “There’s some private things I keep in there.”

  “What kind of private things?”

  “Nothing you need to worry about, Rory.”

  “Really, because I’ve seen you take women into that room.”

  “Is that so?” he asked. “Do you want to start an argument, Rory? Because I can guarantee you’ll lose.”

  A nerve inside my body went ballistic when he said that. I sat up and looked at him in disbelief. I turned away and climbed out of bed, grabbing my workout clothes from the drawer.

  “Where the hell are you going?”

  “Avoiding an argument that you can guarantee I’ll lose and to do what I should’ve done instead of letting you fuck me: work out.”

  “Too late, Rory. The argument already started,” he yelled as I walked out the door.

  “Fuck you, Ian,” I screamed from the hallway.

  I headed downstairs to the gym. I finished putting on my clothes and wrapped my hands. I put on the boxing gloves and stood in front of the punching bag. Jab. Jab. Punch. My mind went back to the days when my aunt’s drug dealer taught me how to punch the bag properly.

  “Focus all your energy into your hands. Let it build and then focus on the bag.”

  Jab. Cross punch. Punch. Punch. Round kick.

  “How long do you plan on staying down here?” Ian asked.

  I couldn’t believe he had the nerve to come down and talk to me after what he said. “I don’t know.” Punch. Punch.

  “Suit yourself. I’m not playing games,” he said as he turned and walked away.

  “I’m not either,” I yelled.

  About an hour later, I finished my workout and went up to my room. Ian wasn’t in there. I looked down the hall at his bedroom. His door was shut, but I could see the light shining from underneath the door. I took a shower to wash off the sweat I built up from the workout, and when I was finished, I climbed into bed. I didn’t want to sleep alone. I had gotten used to Ian holding me at night. When I was with him, I didn’t have the nightmare. I took my phone from the nightstand and sent him a text message.

  “You suck.”

  “So do you.”

  “I’m sorry,” I wrote.

  “Apology accepted.”

  Seriously? Was he not going to apologize to me for what he said?

  “You’re not going to apologize to me?”

  “For what? I said nothing wrong.”

  “I take my apology back.”

  “You can’t.”

  “I just did. Goodnight.”

  He didn’t reply back. I turned off the light and rolled on my side. I tucked my hands underneath my pillow and closed my eyes. Later that night, I awoke and felt his arm around me. I looked at the clock and it was four a.m. I didn’t hear him come in the room or climb into bed, but I was happy he was there. I slowly rolled over and cuddled into him. He kissed the top of my head and I drifted back to sleep.

  ****

  The morning air was cold when Ian and I stepped outside for our run. We didn’t talk about last night. I guess we both kind of silently called it a truce and moved on.

  “I’m surprised you wanted to run this morning after your vigorous workout last night,” Ian said.

  “There’s nothing like a good run in the fresh open air.”

  “True.” He smiled.

  I couldn’t let it go. I needed to tell him that I saw the room and I knew what was in there. “I was in the room, Ian. The door was unlocked. I was looking for you the night you left. I thought it was your bedroom, so I turned the knob and walked in. I’m sorry, but I just had to tell you.”

  Ian stared str
aight ahead as we ran and cleared his throat before he began to speak. “What did you think when you saw it?”

  “I don’t know. At first, I was freaked out a bit, but it’s your business, not mine. The only problem I have is wondering why you never took me in there.”

  He turned his head and looked at me. “Do you want me to take you in there? Do you want me to do those things to you?”

  “I don’t know,” I said.

  “I don’t want you in that room. If I did, I would’ve taken you there. I can’t and don’t want to explain to you about that room. I have no desire to do those kinds of things with you.”

  That’s nice. Was that supposed to be a compliment? I couldn’t help but wonder.

  “I like what we have, Rory.”

  “What do we have, Ian?” my big mouth spit out.

  “A close friendship,” he replied.

  “Like you and Adalynn?”

  “Sure, you could say that.”

  “Nothing else?”

  He stopped in the sand and I stopped with him. He looked at me and put his hands on each side of my face. “I told you there would be nothing else, remember? We talked about this.”

  “I remember,” I said as I looked down.

  He lifted my chin with his finger. “Let’s not make this complicated.”

  I couldn’t do anything but agree with him because I wasn’t going to fight with him again. This was what Adalynn had warned me of, and I knew full well what I was getting myself into. My name is Rory Sinclair, and I’m Ian Braxton’s friend with benefits.

  “No complication here,” I said as I began running.

  My feelings were hurt and I just wanted to collapse on the sand and cry. I felt like a call girl. Ian Braxton’s own personal call girl. Is that what I’ve resorted to now? Is that what I’ve let myself become?

  Chapter 20

  I walked down to the kitchen, grabbed a cup of coffee, and headed straight to Ian’s study to start the day. I hadn’t seen him since we had sex last night and, when I woke up this morning, he was gone. I was still bothered by the fact that he hadn’t taken me to his bed, but that was another argument I was saving for later. When I walked into the study, I noticed a yellow post-it on the computer screen.

  “I had to go to the office early for a meeting. I’ll be back later. Revise the contracts I left and then I need you to drop them off to Adalynn at Prim. Talk soon ~ xo Ian.”

  My phone beeped, reminding me that I had an appointment with Dr. Neil this evening. I dismissed the alert and began working on the contract revisions. Mandy was kind enough to bring me in a fruit cup and a chocolate chip muffin.

  “Umm, Miss Sinclair, I just thought you should know that Mr. Braxton’s father is on his way over to pick up some papers.”

  I sighed and rolled my eyes. “Thank you, Mandy, for the warning. I can’t stand that man.”

  Mandy let out a sigh of relief and put her hand on her chest. “Oh good, because I can’t stand him either. Can I tell you something privately?”

  “Of course you can, Mandy. You can tell me anything.”

  “Mr. Braxton’s father is always grabbing me and hitting my butt, and he says things to me.”

  I looked at her with knitted eyebrows. “What does he say to you?”

  I could tell she was nervous by the way she was wringing her hands. “He says he wants to take me to bed and have sex with me, but he doesn’t say it like that. It’s much dirtier.”

  I sat there, shaking my head, and then I got up and hugged her. “You are to ignore that pig and don’t even look his way.”

  “I try to hide every time he comes around, but sometimes I can’t.”

  “Have you told Ian about this?” I asked.

  “No, and please, Miss Sinclair, don’t tell him. He’ll fire me and I need this job so bad. I’m a single mom and I need to provide for my daughter.”

  My heart sank. I didn’t know Mandy was a mother. “I didn’t know you had a child. How old is she?”

  “She’s two.”

  “What about her father?”

  “He took off when he found out I was pregnant. I don’t know where he is,” she said as she looked down.

  “Don’t worry. I won’t tell Ian about it. Mandy, please call me Rory. We’re friends and you don’t need to call me Miss Sinclair.”

  A smile graced her face when I said that. Just as she was about to walk out the door, she stopped and turned around.

  “I’m really glad you’re here, and I’m happy you’re doing so much better. I was here the night Mr. Braxton brought you home.”

  I gave her a smile and she left the study. I finished up the contract revisions and, as I was sending a text message to Adalynn, Richard came blowing in.

  “Well, well, well. Good morning, Rory.”

  “Good morning, Richard.” I smiled. “What can I do for you?”

  “Since you asked, you can start by giving me a blow job.”

  Calm. Deep breath. Handle him. “Oh, Richard, I’m sorry, but I don’t blow old men with wrinkly dicks.”

  “You stupid trashy little bitch,” he said as he glared at me.

  “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have things to do. Get what you need and leave,” I said as I walked out of the office.

  I went upstairs to my room to grab my purse. I fumbled through it, trying to find my keys. As I was walking downstairs, I saw Richard talking to Mandy. She looked uncomfortable. As he was talking to her, she kept backing up until her back was against the wall. Richard took her hands and lifted them over her head.

  “Let her go, NOW!” I commanded.

  “Don’t you have somewhere you have to be, little girl?” he smirked.

  “I said ‘let her go.’”

  “Who the fuck do you think you are?” he said as he let go of Mandy’s arms and turned towards me.

  “Richard, please, just leave.”

  “Not until you tell me who you think you are,” he said as he inched closer to me.

  I took off my heels and tossed them to the side. I gave him a seductive look before grabbing his balls and pushing him up against the wall. He let out a yell and Mandy stood there in shock.

  “I’ll tell you who the fuck I am. My name is Rory Sinclair and I come from a family of crazies. My brother is a schizophrenic who’s locked up over at Hudson Rock Psychiatric Hospital. Did I mention that my brother is also my twin? So I guess that makes me a schizophrenic too,” I spat as I tightened the grip on his balls. “You will never speak to or look at Mandy again. Do you understand me? Because if I so much as even see you walking near her, I’ll rip these babies off. Do you understand me?” I yelled.

  “YES!”

  “Oh, and that also goes for me or any other female in this house. I wouldn’t tell Ian about this if I were you. You’d just make yourself look stupid,” I said as I let go of him and walked over to where my shoes were.

  “You’re a fucking crazy bitch. You’re fucking crazy!”

  “I know. It runs in the family.” I smiled. “Now, if you’ve gotten what you came here to get, then you need to leave.”

  Richard walked out the door and Mandy hugged me. “Thank you. Thank you so much, Rory.”

  ****

  The thought of Richard burned through me all the way to Prim. He was such a vile and disgusting human being. I rode the elevator up to the eleventh floor where Prim was located. As I walked through the large, glass double doors, the receptionist showed me to Adalynn’s office. When I walked in, I saw a very handsome man sitting in the chair across from her desk.

  “Rory! Welcome to Prim!” Adalynn said excitedly as she walked over and hugged me.

  “Hello, Miss Sinclair.” He winked.

  “Hello, Mr. Braxton.” I smiled.

  I handed Adalynn the folder with the contracts in it and sat down next to Ian.

  “I didn’t know you were going to be here,” I said to him.

  “I was in the neighborhood, so I thought I’d drop in and see how things we
re going. I just invited Adalynn and Daniel over for Thanksgiving.”

  “Shit. That’s this week, isn’t it?”

  If Ian was having Thanksgiving at his house, that meant Andrew and Richard would be there. Oh God, there was no way I could deal with the two of them, especially after what had just happened with Richard.

  “You are going to be there, right?” Adalynn asked me.

  “Of course she is. She lives there. Where else would she go?” Ian replied.

  I didn’t want to talk about Thanksgiving. Holidays were not a pleasant subject for me. I looked at my phone and saw the time.

  “I have to go. I have an appointment with Dr. Neil,” I said as I got up from my seat.

  Ian followed me out of Adalynn’s office and into the elevators. “Are you okay?” he asked.

  “I’m fine.”

  He pushed the stop button on the panel and the elevator came to a halt. I should’ve seen this coming. “Let me guess. We’re going to have sex in the elevator.”

  “You’re a smart woman. I knew I hired you for a reason.” He smiled. “I’m already hard and I bet you’re already wet,” he whispered as he leaned over and kissed my neck. His hand wasted no time traveling up my skirt as his fingers pushed my thong to the side.

  “I knew it. I knew you were wet. I bet you were thinking about it too, weren’t you?”

  “Thinking about what?” I asked breathlessly as his fingers moved inside me and his hot tongue took over my neck.

  “About me fucking you in this elevator. I’ve thought about it since you walked into the office.”

  I wasn’t going to lie; the thought did cross my mind as I rode up to Adalynn’s office. “Yes,” I whispered.

  He had his hold on me again and I couldn’t break free. “I thought so. You’re so hot, sweetheart. I can’t wait to get my cock inside you,” he said as I unbuckled his belt and unzipped his pants.

  I took them down and stroked his erection, gliding my thumb over his slick head. He moaned.