Bound by Lies: Bound #1 (Adult Romantic Suspence) (11 page)

I deserve to know about him. He won’t let me in, but I need
to know.

My gaze draws to the forgotten pair of pants twisted in the
sheets on the floor. I look over to the bathroom door, biting my lip.

Do I dare? Or will he remember his pants and come back out
to retrieve them? I listen intently for the noise coming from the bathroom to
try to determine what he is doing and whether it is safe for me to go through
his pockets.

I don’t dare to think what he would do if he found out I was
trying to pry into his life. Not that I think he would hurt me – no. Caden
would never, ever hurt me. But… would he let too long go between visits to
punish me? Would he stop wanting me as much as he does? Would his messages
stop?

These thoughts chill my bones. But just as strong in my body
is the throbbing curiosity and need to know more about him.

I sit, my nerves ablaze for a few tentative minutes. Then I
hear the shower turn on. I’m on my feet quickly and quietly. I first go to the
bathroom door. When I hear the noises of water hitting skin I know he has
stepped into the shower. I have maybe two minutes if I am lucky. I tiptoe to
his pants, half hidden where they lay. My heart is thumping like a warning in
my chest.

I slowly draw the pants from the twist of blankets. I slip
my hand into the first pocket. Nothing. Then the second. Again nothing. I feel
myself slipping down this wall. Maybe I won’t find anything here?

I slip my hands into a back pocket and my fingers find
something hard and leather. I glance again at the bathroom – door still locked,
shower still going – before I pull it out. It’s his wallet. I frown. This
wallet is battered and the fake leather is peeling along the crease. This
doesn’t look like a wallet that Caden would carry.

I drop the pants and focus solely on the wallet, a window
into Caden’s life. I open it. Inside, the card section is sparse. First I pull
out a driver’s license with the name Caden Thaine on it. The picture of him is
him but… it looks somehow different. This hair is longer and more unruly and he
is scowling at the camera. There is a bank card also with C Thaine stamped
across it. I turn the card over and note his hurried signature.

I separate the money section. There is cash in there. A lot
of cash. In fifties. I count them quickly. Holy Jesus. Five hundred dollars. He
has five hundred dollars in his wallet.

What the hell is Caden doing with all this cash?

I am about to close the wallet back up when I notice another
section tucked in behind the cards. My fingers probe this section. My heart
skitters when I feel the edge of something flat and plastic.

I glance towards the bathroom door before I pinch the edge
of this hidden object and pull it out. It’s a photo, creased and faded. It
shows a close-up of a little girl’s face, perhaps only three or four. She is
smiling at the camera with her light brown hair and green eyes. I recognize
them instantly. Those are Caden’s eyes.

Who is this girl? She is obviously related to Caden. But the
photo is old and faded, so who knows how long ago it was taken and how old the
girl is now. Is she his sister? His mother? Or… his daughter? A knot forms in
my stomach. If he has a daughter, is he married? No. Caden doesn’t have a
wedding ring on his finger nor does he have a tan line indicating he has been
wearing one – I checked on our first date.

I hear the water turn off in the shower. Shit. I shove the
card back in the compartment and grab the pants from the floor. My fingers
probe for the back pocket. The back pocket, where is the back pocket? I find
it. And shove the wallet in but… it won’t go in. What the hell?

Then I realize I was trying to shove the wallet into the
second back pocket. A second back pocket with something else in it. I missed
something. I slip my hand in and flinch when I pull out… a second wallet.

This one is made of black weaved leather. I can’t see the
brand label, but I can already tell by the softness of this leather that it is
expensive. Why is Caden carrying a second wallet?

A noise from the bathroom alerts me that Caden is coming
out. Shit shit shit. I don’t have time to find out. I shove both wallets back
into their respective pockets and stuff the pants back under the blankets. I
slip under the bed sheet and feign sleepiness.

Click.

Just as the door unlocks. I watch it open through the slits
of my eyes. I have to pretend that my head isn’t rushing around with questions.
Who is the girl? What’s in the second wallet? I steady my breath and count
backwards from ten to try to slow my racing heart. Calm, keep calm.

When Caden steps out of the bathroom he is already dressed
in dark blue pajama bottoms and a dark t-shirt. Out of the corner of my
almost-closed eyes I watch him place his bag down on the bag rack near the
door. Then he moves towards the bed to pick up the blankets and throw them over
me. I hear his pants drop on the carpet when they fall out of the mess of
blankets.

He frowns when he sees his pants. I close my eyes fully. I
feel his gaze move over me. I hear him move back to the bag rack. Only then do
I take another peek. He folds his pants and shoves them into the top of the bag
and zips it up.

I close my eyes again as he turns.

I don’t make a noise as he walks over the carpet. The
mattress shifts behind me and my heart patters as he slips under the covers. The
bedside light clicks off and we are submerged in darkness.

He kisses the back of my neck and whispers goodnight and I
feel a few drops of moisture from his hair drop onto my skin. He puts his arm
around me like always. But for once I don’t want him to hold me. I shake his
arm off and scuttle further to the edge of the bed.

“It’s too hot,” I mumble. It’s a pathetic excuse but the
only one I can come up with. I can feel the tension behind me. Then it releases
and he settles on his back. Whether he believes me or not, he seems to accept
my lie.

For the first time ever, we lie in bed without touching. My
back feels cold and I curl tighter in on myself.

I can’t sleep. I lay awake, my mind whirring over and over
that little girl’s photo and the second expensive leather wallet. It is clear
that Caden has another life outside of me but… what is this other life?

Who is Caden Thaine? Who is the girl he carries around with
him? And where is she now?

And what is in that second wallet? Did he steal it? Is this
how he gets all his money? Oh God. Am I sleeping with a thief? Another
criminal? What is wrong with me that I keep picking guys like this?

No, stop jumping to conclusions. You don’t know yet what
is in that second wallet. Yet.

But I have to find out. I just have to.

I listen for Caden’s breathing to deepen. Slowly his breath
steadies and he seems to settle into sleep. I count to a hundred, then look
over my shoulder. His face is turned slightly away from me. I think his eyes
are shut. I hope his eyes are shut. I turn my head back to look towards the bag
rack and my resolve firms. I have to know what kind of man sleeps next to me. I
have to know.

I slowly lift the blanket and slide my feet out from the
side of the mattress. I pause. Hearing no change in Caden’s breathing, I pull
the blanket back even further. Then inch by inch I roll up to sitting. I place
my feet on the floor and push myself up to stand. I pause and check over my
shoulder. Caden hasn’t moved.

I tiptoe across the carpet, repressing the shiver that runs
through me. I tell myself it’s just the coolness of the air compared to being
under the blankets with Caden. But I know when I am lying to myself. I am
dreading what I might find.

I stop next to the bag rack. I know from seeing Caden’s bag
earlier that it’s a navy canvas boxing-style bag with two thick strap handles
and a zip that opens up three sides of the top panel. But in the dark I can only
faintly make out the shape of it. I feel around the top for the zip. It clinks
when I knock it and I flinch. My eyes dart to the bed.

Still no movement. I hold the zip firmly between my forefinger
and thumb and take in a deep breath. Shit, am I really doing this? I slowly
start to move the zipper around. Slowly, slowly so it makes as little noise as
possible, just a small clicking noise as the zip separates the teeth.

Finally, it is open wide enough to slip my hand in. I feel
around the folded pants material for the back pocket, one eye on Caden’s
sleeping form. I find the back pocket and slip my fingers inside. The wallet is
still inside and the familiar soft leather lets me know it’s the right one. I
pull it out, untangling it from the fold of material as I go.

My heart leaps into my throat when I hear the sheets rustle.
Shit. Shit. I snatch the wallet out and turn my head just in time to see Caden
rolling towards my side of the bed. I don’t have time to hide.

“Kitten?” His voice growls out to me in the dark.

“I’m just… bathroom. Just going to the bathroom,” I call
back as I stumble through the open door beside me. Crap. Did he see that I was standing
at his bag? Did he notice the wallet in my hand?

I close the door and lock it behind me. I fumble for the
light switch and blink as the fluorescent light bulb sears my eyeballs. Shit.
What am I doing?

My legs are shaking, so I sit on the lid of the toilet. The
ceramic toilet lid is cold under my ass, as is the marble under my toes. I
barely move as I strain to listen over the thump of my heart in my ears for
footsteps, for the rustle of material, for any noise that will tell me he has
climbed out of bed and found his bag opened and has caught me. Oh God. What
would he do if he caught me going through his things?

A chill settles over me. What would he do?

No
, a voice inside protests,
Caden would never
hurt me.

But do you really know Caden?

It takes another few long minutes of listening to silence
for me to convince myself that Caden hasn’t discovered his wallet missing. My
heart stops feeling like it is trying to break out of my chest. I turn my
attention to the wallet. I place it in my lap and wipe my sweaty palms on a
towel hanging on the rack near me. Only then do I pick the wallet back up and
open it.

“Bottega Veneta” is engraved into the bottom left of the
inside with “Made in France” underneath it. It smells of leather and wealth.
Whoever owns this wallet is very rich. I check the cash section first,
expecting another stash of hundreds. And am surprised when I only find a
twenty.

I turn back to the card section, which only has three cards
peeking out, and pull out the top one. It’s a platinum American Express credit
card. Damn. I’ve never seen one of these. I scan the name. H Lexington? Who is
H Lexington? And why does Caden have his wallet? An uneasy feeling creeps over
me.

I pull out the next card. A gold bank card. Also for H
Lexington.

One last card. I pull that out. It is a driver’s license for
a Harper Lexington. I swallow a gasp. In the picture is Caden. He is clean shaven,
and with a softer jaw he looks several years younger. His hair has been dyed
blonde with honey highlights and styled messily. But the self-assured smirk I
recognize.

Oh my God.

Caden didn’t steal Harper’s wallet. Caden is Harper. Or is
Harper really Caden? Whoever he is, what the hell is he doing with two sets of
identification? I roll this new name over in my head. No. I haven’t heard of a
Harper Lexington. The name sounds alien to me. Caden can’t be Harper Lexington.

So are these cards fake? Why does he need a fake ID? Where
would Caden even get a fake ID from?

Then my mind runs over the underground labyrinth of criminal
activity in every city, and I know it wouldn’t be hard for a man to become
someone else if he had the right connections…

A knock at the door startles me. “Kitten?”

My hands flinch. In slow motion I watch the wallet fumble
out of my fingers. Shit. I scramble to catch it. But I am too late. The wallet
lands on the marble tiles with a sharp clack. Shit. Did he hear that?

“Are you okay in there? You’ve been in there a while.”

I scramble for the wallet and shove the license back into
its spot. “Fine. Just finishing up.”

I stand. I pick up the toilet lid and let it drop so it
makes a noise, then I flush the toilet. I step up to the sink and place the
wallet on a dry spot on the side and turn on the tap to wash my hands. I stare
at the black rectangular leather like it is a bomb. What do I do now? How do I
get it back into the bag without him seeing me do it?

After I turn off the tap and dry my hands I still haven’t
come up with a plan. I’m going to have to wing it. I shove the wallet into the
front of my shorts and check myself in the mirror. Hmm, the bulge is obvious.
So I move it to the small of my back. Better but not perfect.

I unlock the door and open it. I jump back when I see
Caden’s figure leaning against the frame.

His brows furrow with amusement. “Not who you were
expecting?”

Oh my God, he knows. “I just didn’t think you’d be standing
outside the bathroom waiting for me to finish.”

His eyes rake lazily down my body and he reaches out to
finger the hem of my silky top near my stomach. Thank God I didn’t leave his
wallet in the front of my shorts. He pulls me closer to him by my hem and my
skin reacts by breaking out in goose bumps.

“This is new. Did I tell you earlier how much I like this
color on you?”

My stomach tightens. “No.”

I try to push through the gap between him and the door
frame, keeping my back to the frame. I stop when I realize that the space is
too small and he’s not moving aside. If I squeeze through, the frame will knock
the wallet from my back.

Now I am stuck here, forced flush against Caden’s side. He
slots his knee between my legs so that I can’t move back into the bathroom.
When I look up at Caden, his shoulders are positively looming over and around
me. His eyes are hooded from sleep, but from the way his mouth is quirked up I
know he has something else on his mind. Shit. I absolutely cannot let Caden put
his hands on me or he’ll find his wallet.