Between the Two [COMPLETE]

10~Liar, Liar

Asher pressed his lips to mine viciously, his finger greedily pushing the hem of my panties aside. I moaned against him, feeling his fingers slip through the wetness of my core. Passion. Savageness. They both took over, my fingers running through his hair, the tie falling to the ground. His dirty blond tresses fell to his shoulders, framing his angelic face. Staring at him within the illumination of the night, his beauty only accelerated my ravished heart.

He kissed my cheek, another sultry moan leaving my body when he pressed deeper. “I’ve wanted you so badly,” he whispered in my ear. Licking my earlobe, he kissed down my neck, pressing me further into the leather cushions. “God, you feel like heaven.”

A rupture of pleasure cascade down my body, his fingers caressing deeper inside me. I’d never willingly given my body to a man and all I wanted to do was feel every imaginable indulgence Asher had to offer. He made me forget who I was, where’d I’d come from. Feeling an abundance of passion, my hips thrust against his fingers, his lips swallowing my cries of delight. His arms were my haven away from the pain of life. And I basked in every moment of it.

Then he stopped, breathing heavily against me. Pushing a few strands away, he kissed my forehead delicately before pulling his finger from within me. His eyes captured mine, words spilling reluctantly. “We need to head home before they kill us.” Deliberately, he licked his fingers that were just inside me with a smile. “You taste sweet.”

“I can taste the sweetness inside you.” Ezra deep vibrato voice coiled around my body like a snake, squeezing the contentment I’d barely basked in. This isn’t what good girls should be doing. “You are, Lilah, so pure.” Filth and contempt coated my skin before I brushed them away, adjusting my clothing and hair.

Catching my breath, I regained my sense of reality as dread replaced the once pleasurable sensation. “I’m sorry, Asher,” I murmured while he started the car. This tardiness rouse was my plan at getting to Ezra, yet I brought Asher with me. I didn’t want him to suffer the consequences.

“What for? This isn’t your fault.” Turning out the parking lot and into the streets to head home, he placed a hand over mine. “Sometimes I need to break the rules just to feel human again.” His eyes pressed into me. Tender and warm. “I understand you more than you think.”

I didn’t question, correct, or deny his words. They comforted me, the loneliness inside breathing him in. “Thank you.”

He held my hand with one hand on the steering wheel until we pulled through the gates of the house, lights lucent against the darkening landscape. Gravel scratched at the tires like ravenous claws, filling my racing heart with fright as we approached closer. A gulp caught in my throat. Asher cut the engine, headlights dimming along with my fortitude.

I feared for Asher more than myself.

He turned to me, the palms of his hands holding my face. His expression calm and reassuring. “We’ll get through this. I promise.”

I nodded. Although I knew his words were meant to cool my nerves, it did the opposite. I’ve dealt with pain before and this would be no different. I shuddered at the thought of past encounters with my mother's wrath. “Let me do the talking,” I told him.

Asher made no indication on this agreement or disagreement to let me do the talking. He touched my hand one last time, placing a delicate kiss on my forehead, before opening his door and jumping out. I did the same, approaching the staircase and towards the door. Taking a deep breath, Asher unlocked the door, and overwhelming panic took a hold of us both.

Ezra’s looming figure against the dim lights of the foyer surprised all my senses, his arms locked across his chest. His grey eyes brimmed with enmity to our tardiness. Mom’s cold brown eyes pierced into me with a devious expression of ill intent, chills beading down my spine.

Asher opened his mouth to speak, but I wouldn’t allow him to take the blame. I had to stick to the plan. “It was my fault we were late,” I insisted, stepping forward. “I lost track of time--”

“You have phones for a reason,” Ezra stated, low and intimidating, stabbing me to the bone. His eyes scrutinized me from head to toe. I fisted the hem of my skirt nervously.

I steadied my tone before answering, forging confidence. I was a Reinhart after all. “I forgot to charge mine and Asher let me use his. I didn’t realize it got so late until Asher found me and immediately took us home. I’m so sorry.”

Silence engulfed the room, unspoken skepticism wafting in the air around us. Cold sweat started to form along by brow, anticipating their next moves. Mentally, I calculated each question he could possibly ask: Where? What? Who? I’d tell him we were studying in separate facilities, finishing up our assignments for class, most likely science. If he asked us with whom, I’d have to say Hazel. He liked Hazel. Maybe even add in falling asleep on my part, time speeding along during slumber.

Ezra stepped forward, the sound of his heavy boots thunderous through the stillness. He locked eyes with me, stern and unwavering. “What were you both up to that made you almost an hour late?”

“Finishing up science projects. I’d fallen asleep in one of the study rooms and Asher found me.”

The silence stormed in once again, leaving unease and trepidation in its wake. Mom’s eyes hovered over me, trying to decipher the lie in my vague tale. At her side, her fingers itched to smack me and wrap her hands around my throat. If we were back at Reinhart, she’d do just that whether I spoke the truth or not. However, here, even she had to abide by her own internal rules of deception. Ezra wasn’t ready to meet the real her.

Ezra’s eyes darted to Asher at my side, his face expressionless with his hair falling along his shoulders. An ominous smile tugged at the corner of Ezra’s lip. “You know, if she’s lying, that’ll be two rules you’ve broken at once.”

His words were a perceptive threat, shooting into Asher with little to no effort, his face wincing for a split second. Then a cunning grin took hold, taking Ezra aback with a scowl. “Are you calling Lilah a liar, dad? That’s not nice.”

His nostrils flared in agitation, a vein along his neck throbbing at Asher’s defiance of relinquishment. With eyes flitting between us, the expression melted away with a sigh, running a hand through his mahogany hair. “Dinner has already been served. You can both go to bed hungry tonight.” He waved us off, defeatedly. “Go to your rooms.”

A relieved breath left my lungs, heading towards the staircase along with Asher. Mom granted Asher a heartfelt grin, patting him on the shoulder when he walked by. As for me, she continued with the smile but her eye prayed for a worse fate than starvation for the night. If it were just us, I would have laughed victoriously, memorizing the creases on her face aching to sulk.

When she grew closer, her frail hand touching my shoulder. Her voice was like thin sandpaper, grating mercilessly against my skin. “Tomorrow's your birthday, isn’t it?” My arms wrapped around my waist. Light as a feather, stiff as a board. “Well, happy early birthday...sweetie.”

Before I could complete a breath, Ezra’s voice penetrated the cool air surrounding us. “Lilah, can I see you in my office?” he asked, notes of firm insistence rattled in his tone.

My eyes never left my mom’s gloating gaze as I stepped back from the stairway. I refused to grant her satisfaction, pressing my tongue to my inner cheek to keep composed. Above, Asher froze, turning to look down, realizing Ezra had called upon me. His face went flush white beneath the rims of his hair. We weren’t out of the clearing just yet. At least he was safe. Catching his eyes, I gave him a reassuring grin before turning away and following Ezra to his office.

This was what I wanted in the first place. To gain his trust, I needed to be within his office, his sanctuary of secrets.

His office was colder than I expected, the A/C on full blast despite the already cutting chill of the night air seeping in. I rubbed my arms out of instinct, walking further inside before he shut the door. His steps towards me were purposefully drawn out. He likes to taunt. Makes him feel in control.

Ezra circled me like a lion capturing its prey before it pounced upon its flesh. “Lilah.” His voice was husky and smooth in my ear. “It would be so much easier to tell me the truth. I have the ability to tell truth from fabrication. And something tells me you’re lying.”

Dropping my hands to my side, the cold air stiffening my lungs, I captured his gaze with confidence. There would be no turning back from this. “I did lie,” I admitted, a smile curling at my lips.

An eyebrow craned at the confession, pausing his steps with crossed arms. His body was a towering figure, his collared shirt tight enough to see the flex of his muscles. He was trying to hide his confliction of my early confession, wishing to pry it out of me by his own abilities. “Why?”

I matched his stance, head raised upwards to meet his fiery gaze. “I purposely wanted to be late.” His eyes asked the same question of why I would do something like that so I answered before he could ask. “For you.” He licked his lips darkly, fingers playing at his chin. “I needed a moment of your time and you’re extremely hard to get a hold of.” This was true. I’ve tried getting his attention subtly which only made my mom question my intentions. I had to do it this way to diminish suspicion. If he called upon me, it’d be a different story. A painful story. “What you said about cleansing me…? Do you believe I’m redeemable? Because I don’t.”