Lie To Me

Lie To Me-Chapter 121

After horribly loosing yet another splash-fight, Harry took my hands, guiding us over to the side where he rested on a ledge seat that spanned the length of the pool.

"I think I'm getting too old for this..."

I laughed, the water gently lapping at my shoulders as I stood in front of him, my arms crossed over my chest. "Do you need me to get your walker?"

Lifting his head from the edge, he stuck his tongue out at me. "Brat..."

With a laugh I moved closer to him, reaching up to remove a wet lock of hair that had gotten stuck along his temple. His eyes met mine, and he covered my hand, interlocking our fingers together and pulling it between us.

"I miss this, you know..."

Breathless simply from his touch on my skin, I shuddered, "Miss what?"

The sparkle that had been in his eyes just moments ago, took on a darker hue.

"You... Us... It feels like everything has been so crazy lately, so emotional, so...uncertain. This was supposed to be our getaway. Our escape. But, it's all gotten so twisted around and chaotic. I just...don't quite know where I went wrong."

I shook my head. "It's not your fault, Harry. These things happen to everyone at some point. Friends get in the way, exes pop up from the past, insecurities and uncertainties come out into the open... In a way, it's like a cosmic test."

"A test?"

"Yes," I untangled our fingers, moving back a step. Away from the warmth radiating from his skin. Away from the emotion held in his eyes. Away from the pain held in mine. "If a couple can't weather the most common of storms, then maybe... Maybe they just aren't meant to be together."

He stood up, his chest rising and falling with sudden rapid breaths, the panic evident in his voice. "Wait a minute, Riley. What are you...? What are you saying?"

"I'm not really saying anything. I just... How we get through all of this says a lot about us. Individually, and as a couple..."

With a loud sigh, he fell back to his seat, pulling me up against him so that I had little choice but to straddle his lap, my knees setting on the ledge outside his thighs. Holding me tight, he wrapped his arms around my back, resting his cheek against my chest, my heartbeat sounding in his ear.

"Don't scare me like that. I thought you were saying that you... That we..."

Instinctively I held him back, my fingers stroking his hair, my cheek coming to rest against the top of his head. "I'm not giving up, Harry. But, I just can't stop myself from wondering. Are we just kidding ourselves?" I took a breath before continuing, tearing a hole in my heart by saying the one thing I couldn't get out of my head, "I'm not even your type... That fact puts up a pretty big argument, and you can't deny it's the truth..."

In a flash he lifted himself from where he'd laid against me, his hands coming up to cup my checks as he scowled. "Stop it."

"But, it's the..."

"Truth? No, it's not. Why do you think it never worked out with those other women? Why do you think they never lasted for more than a few weeks?"

"I don't..."

"Because I didn't love them, Riley. Not the way I love you." He reached down for my hand, pressing it against his chest. "Do you feel that?"

"Your heartbeat..."

"Yes. Do you feel my pulse racing? That's what happens to me every time you enter the room, every time you smile at me, every time I hear you laugh, every time I feel your touch. That never happened before you."

Letting go, he moved his hands down to cup my ass, pressing me hard against his lap, against his heated length. "Do you feel that, Riley?"

Oh, God, did I feel it...

"Harry..."

"That's what happens every time I hold you in my arms, every time I kiss your sweet lips, every time I feel your body pressed against mine. No other woman has ever affected me the way you do."

My body shook as he rocked me against him, his physical and emotional assault tearing me apart. Even my snarky subconscious stood silent in the corner, unsure of how to react.

"Harry, I..."

His voice lowered as he continued, "You stand naked before me, and my mouth goes dry. Your fingers brush my skin, and it takes all the strength I have not to bury myself inside you right there. You make that little sound of pleasure, and I feel like I'm going to explode..."

"Harry, please..."

It was too much, too raw, too real.

My head fell to the crook of his neck as tears gathered in my eyes. I wanted to scream, I wanted to cry, I wanted to beg him to take me...to fill me up and make me feel whole again.

"I love you...like I've never loved anyone. I want you...like I've never wanted another person on this planet. Please stop questioning that. What we have is real... Real, and right, and true."

Unable to control the tears falling down my cheeks, I let a broken sob caress his skin, my arms curling around him, holding on tight to the only thing keeping me from falling apart.

"I love you, Harry..."