Filthy Beautiful Forever (Filthy Beautiful Lies 4)

Soph and I are at Platinum nightclub, and Tatianna is here—dancing with another man—some dickhead who thinks he’s god’s gift to women. WTF.

Tatianna is supposed to be in New York, not dancing with God knows who. Even more troubling than that is Colton bothered to message me in the first place. If she was dancing innocently—something good-natured and fun—he wouldn’t be texting me. It means that he’s alarmed enough by what he saw tonight to alert me. Unease churns inside me.

I stuff my phone back into my pocket as the driver pulls to a stop beside the curb. I’m frustrated and confused, but Mia and I have just shared a great night. I don’t want to take this out on her. I hand the driver a wad of money and help Mia from the car.

“Is everything okay?” she asks, sensing the shift in my mood.

“Everything’s fine.” At least I’m trying to pretend it is.

She smiles up at me, trying to get my happy mood to return. “We should be celebrating your big deal. Are you sure you don’t want to go out?” she asks.

“I’d rather just go back to the room.”

She nods. “Me too.”

God, what I want to do to her when we get back to the room. It’s like a sweet-torture imagining what she will feel like. But if I fuck Mia tonight, I will be no better than Tatianna, with her lies about being in New York. I have to remind myself that I need to handle one thing at a time. I have to end things with Tatianna, because if and when I take Mia, it will be with a clear conscience.

When we enter the hotel room, the mood is quiet and subdued.

I turn on a lamp, which casts a dim glow in the room, then loosen my tie. Mia bends down and removes her black high heels one at a time, giving me a glimpse of the cleavage that’s taunted me all night. All thoughts of Tatianna and the baggage I need to deal with back in LA are pushed from my mind. It’s just me and this stunning woman, with whom I share a deep history, alone in a hotel room halfway across the world.

“I’m going to change,” she says, grabbing her overnight bag and heading into the bathroom.

I don’t know if it’s intentional, but she leaves the bathroom door open just a crack and I’m treated to an erotic show as her fingers slide the zipper slowly down her back and she steps out of the dress. I walk three steps closer to the bathroom, then force myself stop. I want to go to her, but I know I can’t. My line of vision is obstructed, but I can see just enough. The push of her breasts over the cups of a lace bra, the string of black silk between her ass cheeks when she turns around. She undoes the clasp of her bra and lets it fall to the floor, then she steps out of the panties, drawing them down her hips slowly, like she’s performing a strip tease just for me. My cock hardens and grows in my dress pants, pushing against my zipper. Mia is so beautiful, and she doesn’t even know it. A quality that makes her all the more tempting.

She pulls a T-shirt over her head and rejoins me in the bedroom. My head won’t let me forget the fact that she doesn’t have anything on under that thin T-shirt. I remove my jacket and cufflinks while Mia sits down on the edge of the bed and watches me. The room is too quiet, too full of desire. When I look at her big green eyes, she takes my breath away. They are full of such honesty, I can read her like a book. She wants more. She wants me. I’m taken back to that night fifteen years ago when those same emerald eyes were wide and unblinking when she asked me to be her first. It doesn’t matter who she’s been with since then. I was the first man to be inside of her, and that thought fills me with a strange sense of pride.

“Are you sure this is okay?” I ask, looking from her, to the bed.

She shrugs and offers me a shy smile. “We used to have sleepovers all the time, remember?”

“Of course I remember. But your mom stopped letting you sleep over the year we turned twelve.”

She laughs. “Too bad she didn’t know that we’d be playing I’ll show you mine if you show me yours since we were seven.”

I chuckle. God, the things that come out of her mouth kill me. “That was only once if I recall.”

“Yes, but I remember you asking several times. I only gave in because I was curious. I didn’t have brothers. I didn’t know what a boy looked like down there.”

“Did I disappoint?”

She smirks, tugging at something inside me. “I’m quite certain you’ve never disappointed a female in your life.”

The room is silent for a moment, and I continue undressing, toeing off my shoes and removing my socks.

“You were my first in so many ways,” she says.

I glance over at her, where she’s laying back on the bed. “And you were mine,” I say.

She sighs, wistfully. “It was a lifetime time ago.”

It feels like just yesterday. I turn away from her, so she can’t see the longing in my eyes. I remove my dress shirt and cotton undershirt, leaving me in my boxer briefs momentarily. I grab a pair of loose athletic shorts from my bag and tug them on, then I join her on the bed.

“Thank you for tonight. I’m glad you came with me.”

“You’re welcome,” she says. “I’m glad I’m here. With you.” She reaches out for my hand, it’s an innocent gesture, but given the circumstances—her with her bare pussy under that T-shirt, and me shirtless, it’s all the invitation I need. My cock hardens visibly, tenting the thin shorts I have on.

“Mia…” My throat constricts, and I fight off a wave of desire. “I… fuck.” I squeeze her hand and let it go.

Her eyes widen as her gaze travels down my bare chest to my lap, and she chews on her lower lip. “Collins…” The emotion and longing in her voice are unmistakable. Why in the fuck I thought I could share a bed with this woman, I have no idea. It’s our first night here, and I want to ravage her—fuck her senseless in a thousand different positions until she can no longer stand.

She places her hand flat against my belly and meets my eyes. “You’re aroused,” she says. Her touch is gentle, but I can still feel the heat of her warm palm against my skin. Her honesty is beautiful. Her words are simple, but she always speaks the truth.

“Yes,” I say, hoarsely. “I’m in bed with a beautiful woman.”

She blinks and her eyes fall from mine. She’s never been great at taking a compliment. Placing two fingers under her chin, I lift her face so she’s looking at me again. “You’re incredible. The way you were tonight.” I swallow. I have to take a moment to compose myself, otherwise I’m going to admit things that are better kept quiet. “You’re amazing. And I can’t lie, you turn me on so much.”