White Lies Read Free Page A

. ”
     
    He snorted .“I’ m sure she keeps some for guests . ”
     
    “ Death before decaf ? ”
     
    “ I mean, if yo u’ re worried about staying up all night, I’ ll be happy to help you work out the energy . ” His hand cupped her breast, teasing at her, and her moan was much closer to a groan this time.
     
    “ Go take care of your sister , ” Zoey said, because the alternative was begging him to fuck her where she stood, and she honestly did n’ t know how much longer she could keep the words behind her teeth.
     
    He nodded .“ Do n’ t feel like you have to spend the time researching. Ther e’ s an eBook reader in the nightstand, and Sophia keeps a pretty up to date variety of books on the house account. Relax a little bit . ” That faint smile gave her shivers this time. His eyes seemed to see deep inside of her, and the crinkles around the edges made her think that he liked what he saw .“ I do n’ t think you do that a whole lot . ”
     
    “ Maybe not as much as I should , ” she said .“ Now go. And come back . ”
     
    “ I promise to do both . ” He brushed his lips against hers again, and then he was gone.

CHAPTER TWO
     
    In the living room, Claire was curled up in a corner of the couch, her entire body wrapped around a cup of tea .“ Sophi a’ s making sandwiches , ” she said, without looking up .“ She asked if yo u’ d want a drink. I told her that yo u’ d probably make it yourself, if you did . ”
     
    Two fingers of whiskey sounded delightful right now, but that was the best reason in the world to avoid it .“ What happened at home ? ” He sat down across from her. Claire studied the ripples in the surface of her tea; her hands were shaking .“ You said Aaron came over ? ”
     
    Claire nodded. Her mouth opened, but no sound came out.
     
    “ Claire, did he hurt you? If he so much as looked at you wron g —” He choked back the urge to threaten to rip the man to shreds. Aaron Schwartz was his mothe r’ s personal assistant, and there had been something creepy about the guy as long as Alex had known him. His eyes tended to rest on both Claire and Olivia in a strange way. It was n’ t as if he found them attractive, more jus t— disrespectful. His relationship with Alex had been adversarial since Alex hit junior high school and started to fill out through the shoulders. Of course, Ale x’ s relationship with his father had always been adversarial; he had n’ t realized there was anything particularly off about that until h e’ d seen his friend Leo with his father. The dynamic had been so different, and the young man Alex had been had wanted to be a part of that so very much.
     
    None of that had anything to do with Claire, or the suddenly panicked look in her eyes. She did n’ t need to hear how Alex would shred the man, strong and white though he might be. For her, Alex got a grip on his temper and forced it back and out of the way .“ You can tell me anything, Clary. What happened ? ”
     
    Claire wrinkled her nose at the nickname, but it was the first reaction sh e’ d really given him since he sat down .“ They were fighting. Aaron and Mom. They were screaming at each other. Olivia kept shrieking that he should n’ t have done it, that they should have found another way, and he was screaming at her to keep her voice down. He pushed her into a wall, Alex, like Daddy used to. I thought he was going to kill her. And then he saw me . ” Her knuckles were tight around her mug.
     
    “ Did he hurt you ? ”
     
    She shook her head .“ But I think he would have, Alex. I think he would have, if I had n’ t run. I did n’ t know where else to go. I’ m sorry you did n’ t see my message, I’ m sorry I ruined your dat e —”
     
    Tears were streaming down his siste r’ s face, and he reached out to her, taking the cup of tea and setting it on the table. She curled up in his arms, and cried quietly for a little bit. He stroked her curls and tried to