Sweet Poisons (Pretty Lies, Ugly Truths Duets Book 1) Read online

  “Yours,” I moaned, clutching his biceps.

  “Whose dick is inside you?”

  A knock came on my front door, he continued to pound into me.

  “Rhett,” I breathed, unable to move.

  “Answer me,” he growled like an animal. “Whose dick is inside you.”

  “Yours,” I whimpered, and then bit down on my lip. I was going to come; he was pushing me closer and closer to that coveted free-fall.

  “Whose are you?” he rasped, digging his fingers into my flesh.

  “Yours!” He lurched down and cut off my scream, capturing my mouth. My pussy contracted, I spasmed around him, arching off the couch as I came harder than I ever had in my life.

  He bottomed out, fucking me without restraint until he found his own release, emptying his cock inside me. I was still floating somewhere in the sixth dimension when his phone rang.

  He pulled out then, redressing and palming his hair. Looking just as he had when he came in, he helped me up.

  “I have to go,” he stated casually when his phone started ringing for the second time.

  “No.” I grabbed hold of his arm, digging my nails in.

  “Nova.” His voice held a warning, one I refused to heed.

  “You can’t just leave.” The barrage of emotions coursing through my chest made my voice crack. I didn’t know what the hell was wrong with me, or how he could make me forget who I’d been pretending to be in a matter of days, but he’d done it. I wasn’t ready for this, any of it, but here we were.

  “I’m sorry.” He placed a kiss on my forehead and pulled away, leaving me with his skin beneath my nails and come dripping down my legs.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  RHETT

  I didn’t want to leave her like that.

  She deserved more, but until I was done in Legacy Falls, I couldn’t give her too much than I already was.

  I shut the front door behind me, catching the attention of Annika. She was halfway to her car and turned her ass right back around. Her heels moved up the driveway at the speed of light. I ignored her almost completely, not in the mood to deal with her shit.

  “What do you want with Nova?” she asked as I brushed by her, as if she fucking cared.

  “What happens between me and Nova, is none of your business.”

  “It is when I know you aren’t who you’re pretending to be,” she called after me.

  I was too controlled to take this bitches bait and incriminate myself, but as for screwing with her and letting it be known who really had the upper hand…

  I turned and walked the few steps to where she was standing, grabbing hold of her throat. There was no reason for me to pretend I was a decent guy, not with her. I’d gotten my in, and that’s all she’d been good for. I didn’t squeeze, not wanting to leave a mark on her that Nova could see. The threat was palpable without it.

  “You’re not who you say you are either. So, why don’t we do this? You spill your truths and I’ll spill mine?”

  “ How do you think Nova’s going to react when she learns you’re the one who was fucking her dad?”

  She swallowed, brown eyes widening in fear. “No?” I asked softly.

  A slight shake of her head.

  “I’m sorry, I can’t seem to hear you.”

  “No, she can’t know. Do You have any idea what she would do to me?”

  That was a curious response. I released her, making sure she saw my look of disgust before I turned away. Little did she know when I laid out all the truths, hers would be among them, and whatever happened to her afterward. Well, that wasn’t my fucking problem.

  Hitting the unlock button on my key-fob, I pulled open my car door and gave her my signature grin before I got in.

  It was all four of us this time.

  Three of us watched the Tuscan styled house from the Expedition Tripp had hot-wired from someone’s backyard. A few feet away Evie pretended to be a jogger, a brown wig covering her fiery red hair.

  “Four minutes,” Angel stated, pointing out the time.

  “Go,” I told Tripp.

  He pulled his mask on and got out of the truck, lingering just behind it.

  Angel climbed into the front seat to take his place.

  She was on lookout and getaway duty. Callum moved up and positioned himself by the rear door.

  “There she goes,” he stated.

  Right on schedule Mrs. Parker came strolling down her driveway with not a worry in the world. Just as she reached her mailbox Evie jogged by and stopped, engaging her in conversation.

  Tripp came in fast.

  When the woman finally noticed him approaching, he was on her. His hand over her mouth to muffle any screams. Within two minutes he had her dragged back up the driveway, him and Evie walking right through the front door of her house like they lived there.

  I waited a few minutes and checked our surroundings. Not a single neighbor had been disturbed. Once I slipped from the truck Callum followed.

  We hurried up the drive and entered the Parker household just like Tripp and Evie had, shutting the door behind us.

  A houseplant right inside the entrance had been knocked over, leaving a pile of soil and leaves on the polished hardwood. We went straight to the kitchen finding Mr. Parker and his wife already on their knees, willing to do anything to stay alive.

  “Sweep upstairs,” I told Tripp.

  He nodded and brushed past me. That left Callum, Evie, and I to handle the fun part.

  “Did we interrupt dinner?” I asked, taking in the kitchen. There was a pot of water boiling on the stove, and a can of spaghetti sauce beside it.

  “Please, take whatever you’d like. Just--.”

  “Don’t hurt your fuckin family. We’ve heard this spiel plenty of times no need to waste your breath,” Callum drawled.

  “All we really want is a flash drive and we’ll be on our way. It’s the one I’ve learned Martin sometimes shares with you.”

  The expression on his face confirmed all I needed to know. He knew exactly what I was referencing. My father had told us as much. He may have even been the one to of paid Martin a visit before I could.

  “Its not here,” he stated, voice trembling.

  I didn’t really have the patience for him right then.

  I searched the kitchen for oven mitts, spotting two Rooster themed ones near the sink. I removed the boiling pot of water and carried it to where Lance’s wife was kneeling.

  Callum leveled his Glock at him, Evie moved closer to the wife.

  “The flash drive.”

  He shook his head and started to plead. I heaved a sigh and tilted the pot.

  Steaming water singed through the air, landing directly on top of his wife’s head. Her scream was cut short when Evie knocked her out, slamming the butt of her gun into a pressure point. She fell forward, her scalp an ugly red from being burned, brunette hair wet and steaming.

  “Do you know how painful it is for the brain to be boiled?” Callum asked. “Where’s the flash drive?”

  “I swear I don’t have it!” Lance yelled, waving his hands for emphasis. “Martin had it. I swear to God he did!” Spittle flew from his mouth, leaving a trail of drool on his chin.

  “Uh. Guys!” Tripp called from upstairs.

  Lance’s eyed widened, nostrils flaring. I grabbed a knife from the butcher block and gave Callum a look. He grinned sadistically and lowered his gun.

  “Please. My fam--.”

  With a ribbed steak knife lodged in the side of his throat, he choked.

  Callum wrapped his gloved hand around the shiny red handle and pulled it out, jamming it back in an inch higher, going deeper, wiggling the blade back and forth as if he were really cutting apart a piece of rare meat. Blood sprayed out, staining the man’s light blue dress shirt, and the floor.

  I dumped the remaining water onto the wife’s head and then dropped the pot, watching it bounce off with a small clang, falling onto its side with a clatter and landing in he
r husband’s growing pool of blood.

  “Check down here,” I told Evie and Callum.

  I moved from the kitchen towards the stairs, passing multiple family pictures hanging on the wall. At the top, I could hear muffled screams coming from the room at the end of the hall. It turned out to be a bathroom. Tripp was soaked, holding onto a struggling girl still covered in suds from her bubble bath.

  A cellphone and earbuds floated in the water indicating she hadn’t heard a thing when we came in.

  “Melody Parker,” I said, remembering her from when I’d first arrived in town. She was Mickey’s girl. The one he was trying to use to get over mine. She was a cute lil thing if you were into blondes with no owl features.

  “Want me to drown her?” Tripp asked.

  She made a sound, writhing her naked body like a snake against his front. I debated what use I would have for her, a plan piecing itself together the more I thought about it, one that took pressure off a future endeavor.

  “Nah. Knock her ass out and then bring her down to the garage. I’ve got something we can use her for.”

  “Will do.”

  I left him to it, going room to room in search of this fucking flash drive.

  I thoroughly trash the entire upper level, knocking all the pictures off the wall on my way back downstairs.

  This was house two of two. That only left one more to search. Fortunately this time around, I was fucking the girl that lived there.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  RHETT

  My time here was dwindling down quicker than I expected. As soon as I cleaned up a few loosed ends I’d be on my way home, adjusting to the major change that was going to bring.

  I stepped out onto the deck, slinging my duffel bag over my shoulder.

  “You heading out?” Tripp asked from behind the grill.

  “Yeah, I’ll be back for what we talked about. Where’d you stick her?”

  “Some place these shitty come will never find when they realize she’s missing.”

  “Good.”

  I looked to Callum. His attention was trained on the water. I knew he has his own shit going on. There wasn’t too much the three of us didn’t share with one another, so I flat out asked.

  “Are you okay?”

  “Of course,” he replied, turning around to face me.

  “I was just thinkin, earlier you said Annika would be a problem. What do you want to do with her?”

  “What I want to do is toss the little bitch into the falls, but that’s not exactly subtle, is it?”

  Callum laughed and ran a hand through his hair. “No, not really. I say let her hang herself. She’s got enough rope to do it.”

  “Then we’ll wait and see how that pans out.” We dapped up, and I split, taking my Porsche and leaving the Challenger behind.

  The engine was as quiet as a dream compared to that one so I didn’t have to worry about disturbing the neighborhood, and Emery would be warming Callum’s bed.

  I made the drive across town in record timing thanks to the hour, pulling into Nova’s driveway at exactly two-fifty-two. All the lights in her house were off, both her cars in the garage. She’d been ignoring my text since I’d left her naked and freshly fucked. I guess we needed to go over a few more things, I couldn’t stand being ignored.

  I entered her house the same way she had the day I picked her up, going through a door that led into the kitchen. The place was immaculate if you didn’t count the three empty bottles of Vodka sitting by the trash-can. I sat my duffel on the shiny island and unzipped it, removing what I needed.

  I started in the basement and worked my way up through the first floor.

  I examined every nook and cranny. I didn’t find anything, so I moved on.

  Upstairs was even cleaner. Emery’s room was empty. A bathroom sat beside a linen closet. Another room at the end of the hall looked as if it hadn’t been touched in quite some time. This had to of been her parents’ room. I stepped in, noting she hadn’t tried to dismantle it. Clothes still hung in the closet; the bathroom still had a hamper partially full of dirty clothing.

  On one side of the bed was an assortment of pills, I read the name of each. Some I recognized, a few I didn’t. Mrs. Morkav clearly had a variety of issues. I put everything back as I found it and left that room behind, there wasn’t anything of importance in there either.

  Aside from Nova’s room there was only one place left to check. I eased open the door and after listening to make sure she hadn’t stirred, I went in.

  Various paintings hung on the walls, a few more were stacked. All of them were morbid and macabre. Not even one depicted what a girl like Nova should have been painting.

  Everyone in this town described her as shy. Introverted and sweet. None of those qualities matched with what I was seeing in this room or the Nova I had met. I’d already known that was all bullshit before we said one word to each other, but my growing pile of proof was nothing to sneer at.

  When you were a monster, someone who did abhorrent things, it was easy to recognize that same darkness in other people. My girl definitely had it.

  One painting caught my eye. It was on an easel, so I figured it had to be the most recent. A wounded rabbit running away from a wolf. Its silver eyes stared out at me, tinges of black and blue mixed in their centers. The wolf was me.

  I didn’t know what to make of this. Was it accurate?

  Predator and prey.

  Hunter and hunted.

  Me and Nova.

  Yeah, I’d say that was pretty on point.

  I left the room after that, leaving everything the way it when I found it.

  Her bedroom door was partially cracked which allowed me to slip in without waking her up. She was halfway beneath a dark lavender comforter, wearing an oversized Lakers shirt, nothing underneath.

  Unsurprisingly, a butterfly dreamcatcher was hanging above an all-white desk. I watched her sleep for a minute, like I had the night before. I could look at her for hours on end, and the more I pieced together about her, the stronger my conviction grew to get her out of here.

  I tossed my bag down, making sure it made a sound.

  Two discolored hues were revealed slowly. She blinked, jolting into a sitting position when her brain registered someone else was in the room.

  “It’s me,” I said, pressing a hand over her mouth to muffle her scream.

  Her fear turned to anger before my eyes. She shoved my arm down, freeing her perfect lips.

  “What the hell are you doing in my house?”

  “I came to see you.” I kicked off my boots and chucked off my leather jacket.

  “Earlier wasn’t enough.”

  I pulled my shirt over my head, and then sat at the foot of her bed. “That’s not what I’m here for. I wanted to be with you.”

  She scooted up so that her back was pressed against the headboard of her bed, crossing her legs before I could see too much.

  “You just…left me.” The softness in her tone hit me like it had earlier, when she told me not to go.

  “Come here.” I reached back and held out my hand. “Nova.”

  That got her compliance. She crawled down the queen-sized bed to the end where I was sitting. I wrapped my arm around her, placing her legs over mine so she was sideways.

  This wasn’t my area of expertise; I didn’t comfort women I fucked. Never cared to. With Nova, I needed her to feel secure, knew she needed it. “A lot of things are complicated right now. There are certain things I must do and at specific times. I didn’t want to leave you anymore than I had to, especially like that. I promise I’ll tell you everything, eventually. For right now this is how it has to be.”

  “Okay,” she said after a minute, laying her head on my shoulder.

  “That’s all you want to say?”

  “I’m still mad at you, but you said you’d tell me, just not right now. I can live with that. I know what complicated is Rhett.”

  There wasn’t any third degree or demand
ing to know why the fuck my phone rang so much. I knew she had a million questions, but I didn’t hear one. We sat there in silence, not discomforting. After another minute or so she yawned and eased off me, climbing back up the bed.

  “Come lay down.”

  I didn’t need to be told twice, I was at the end of my rope, fucking exhausted from days of no sleep. I removed my jeans and settled in beside her, leaving space so she could curl into me. It was the most domesticated shit I’d ever done. She laid her head on my chest, tracing the outline of my Kali tat.

  “Rhett?”

  “Hm?”

  “Will you please fuck me?”

  Not often did I find myself surprised, but after earlier this was the last thing I expected to come out of her mouth. But as tired as I was, my dick was already rising to the occasion. Nova’s pussy was the gateway to heaven, but I couldn’t go there right now. She had to be sore as fuck.

  I rolled out from under her, dragging my pillow with me. “Lift your hips,” I demanded.

  She complied quickly.

  I slid my pillow under her so that she was slightly raised off the bed. Easing her legs apart, I leaned down and kissed her, keeping it gentle. Her tongue skimmed over mine and she sighed, relaxing a little more.

  We broke apart and I moved down her body, dragging my tongue across her puffy slit as I hooked both her legs over my shoulders. When I went even lower, she protested for all of sixty seconds.

  “Every fuckable hole, Nova.” I reminded her. I placed my lips at her ass, gently teasing the rim with my fingers. She fell silent. When I added my tongue moans of pleasure started coming in earnest.

  Any man who was good at eating pussy had been here at least once. If not, they needed to re-evaluate their technique. The sounds she was making seeped into my brain and turned my dick to stone.

  I would have stayed there till sunrise if her pleas for me to fuck her hadn’t grown so consistent. I rose up leaving her legs as they were. Repositioning her so that I had a better angle.

  When the head of my dick touched her asshole, she sucked in a small breath. I eased in, pushing past her sphincter, and then easing back out. I continued doing this, going deeper every time until my dick was fully in her ass. Her breathing was shallow, hands tangled in the sheets.