Page 105 of Cruel Lies

"I can't," I whisper. "But the kids will hear…"

"Then bite the pillow,kotyonok." He grabs the throw pillow and hands it to me. "But I'm going to make it very hard for you to stay silent."

His mouth goes back to work. He drags his tongue up the length of me and I have to shove the pillow against my face to catch the noise that demands out.

"Fuck, you're such a sweet thing," he purrs against me. "So sweet. So responsive." He teases my clit with the very tip of his tongue. "You have no idea what you do to me."

His hands spread my thighs wider. He holds me open like he's got all night, like there's nowhere else in the world he'd rather be than kneeling on my living room floor with his face buried between my legs. His tongue circles me and I buck up against him, so he presses a heavy forearm across my hips to hold me down in place.

"Stay still for me, pretty girl. Let me take my time." His eyes flick up to mine.

He seals his mouth over me and sucks. My back arches off the couch as I bite the pillow. Hard.

"Fuck," he snarls. "You taste like every night I've been thinking about you."

He works two fingers inside me while his tongue keeps moving. The pressure builds fast, too fast, a coil winding tight in my belly.

Pillow in my mouth or not,quietis quickly becoming an impossible ask. I can't. I can't be quiet when he's doing this to me. He's unraveling me piece by piece, patient and merciless, and I'm so close, so close, my fingers in his dark hair and my heels digging into the cushion and his hands holding my hips like he's afraid I'll float away, I'm there, I'm there, I'm almost?—

"Mom?"

I freeze.

Ronan freezes.

Isabella is standing at the bottom of the stairs in her nightgown, rubbing one eye with a small fist, Doctor Fuzz's shoebox clutched against her chest.

"I had a bad dream."

28

RONAN

I'm off the floor and reaching for the throw blanket before Cali can even sit up.

I drape it over her fast, so Isabella won't see anything she shouldn't. Then I'm on my feet and moving toward the stairs like this is the most normal thing in the world. Cali makes a strangled noise behind me, clutching the blanket to her chest.

"Hey,malyshka," I say to Isabella in a reassuring voice. "Bad dream, huh?"

She nods. Her lip is wobbling, the calm before the storm of tears that is to come if I don't intervene. She's got the caterpillar's shoebox pressed against her chest, and her hair is stuck up on one side.

"What was it about?"

"There was a big fish," she whispers. "And it ate Doctor Fuzz."

"A big fish." I crouch down in front of her. "That sounds scary."

"It was really big."

"Well." I hold out my hands. "Doctor Fuzz is right here. Safe and sound. See? The big fish didn't get him."

She looks down at the shoebox. She peers inside, checking. Then she nods, satisfied.

"Come on. Let's get you back to bed."

I scoop her up. She's light, and she smells like strawberry kid shampoo and sleep. She wraps one arm around my neck and holds the shoebox with the other. I carry her up the stairs while Cali scrambles for her dress behind me.

Isabella's room is dark except for a nightlight shaped like a seashell. I lay her down in her bed. She wriggles under the covers, and I set the shoebox on the nightstand where she can see it.