Exquisite Betrayal (18 page)

We sit for a very uncomfortable five
minutes, then I excuse myself and go in the kitchen to cook. I can
hear the girls chatting for a bit before it sounds like they’re
moving up the stairs to the bedrooms. I know I should help, but I
think they need their privacy more, so I continue cooking
dinner.

Tilly walks in later and I’m not comforted
by the look on her face. “She’s not happy you’re here,” she
whispers.

“
No shit. She didn’t even want to come
inside.”

Tilly nods. “Ryland Thomas, I think we need
to tell her about us… who you really are.”

“
What?” I’m not prepared for
that.

“
If you have deep feelings for her,
this will open another door for you. You know, tell her that you
trust her with this… that sort of thing. We can tell her over
dinner and then I’ll discreetly disappear and let you two talk
things out. But one thing… keep your hands off her.”

“
What the bloody hell is that supposed
to mean?”

“
Exactly what you think it does.
You’re eye-fucking her. Not touching her will be hard, but don’t do
it. Not even on the arm. You want her to almost have to beg you to
touch her. Got that?”

I’m confused, though I agree. Why would I
touch her when she looks like she wants to stab me? I doubt she’ll
ever get close to begging me to touch her. The way I see it, she’ll
be begging me to stay away from her.

***

Fallon’s picking at her food, and Tilly
feels the need to kick me under the table.

I clear my throat. “So, Fallon, we have
something we need to talk to you about. It’s something that will
require your, um, promise to keep it close and not breathe a word
of it to anyone.”

She looks at me suspiciously. I kick Tills
and she continues, “Fallon, what Ryland is trying to say is that
there’s something we want to share with you and it’s something
important to us. Only one other person knows this, therefore can we
have your promise you won’t share it with anyone?”

She nods. “Yeah. But what’s so important
between the two of you that you… oh my God. Are you two
married?”

“
What? No! God no! Holy fuck! You
can’t think
that
. Ew!” Tills
is almost turning green now. The thought of us doing
that
makes me want to laugh, so
that’s what I do. I laugh. Really hard.

When I finally pull myself together, I look
at Fallon. “Fallon, she’s my sister. R.T. is my sister. And her
name is Tilly. Well, it’s really Rose Tilly.”

Now she’s looking at me like
who cares
and all that.

I go on. “Fallon, I’m the real R.T. My name
is Ryland. It’s Ryland Thomas.” I’m quiet for a moment so it can
all sink in.

Her mouth works around for a few moments and
then she says, “But I thought…” And then, “You’re not R.T.?” Then
points an accusatory finger at Tilly. Tills shakes her head.

“
I’m the stand in. I do write, as a
freelancer. Everything that Ryland Thomas told you is reversed. I
freelance and he’s the novelist. I do all of his public appearances
and only his agent knows that he’s the writer. Everyone else, even
the publisher, thinks he’s a woman.”

“
But how…?”

I answer this time. “The same way we did it
in Vegas. I wanted to keep my identity a secret because most women
don’t think a man is capable of writing heavy romance novels. So we
thought, since you and Tilly were so close, and that you and… well,
you know… we thought you should know the truth. And honestly, this
bloody facade was getting right confusing. I’m really sorry we
didn’t tell you sooner, Fallon.”

She nods and keeps looking between
Tills and me. Then her expression changes completely.
“
You
wrote
Lovers Between the Sheets
.” It’s a
statement, and from the tone of her voice, it’s difficult to tell
if she’s disappointed, shocked or disapproving.

I slowly nod and watch her shoulders slump.
This isn’t good news for me. We finish eating in silence and my
heart feels worse than it’s felt in weeks. I guess I expected her
to be neutral about this, yet her disappointment in me has forced
me to the lowest point in my life.

When everyone is done, I gather up the
plates in silence and carry them to the kitchen. There’s really no
need for Tilly to give us time to be alone because, at this point,
I have nothing to say. I tidy up the kitchen and fill a glass with
water. I decide today’s been enough for me and call it a night. As
I head towards the stairs, I hear Fallon call my name.

“
Ryland, may I speak with
you?”

“
Sure, and about my name. You can
either call me Ryland or Ryland Thomas, now that you know the real
me.”

“
Which one do you prefer?”

“
Actually, Ryland Thomas. I know it’s
a bit long, but it’s what those who are closest to me call me. My
folks called me that. It’s what Tilly calls me. I’ll leave it up to
you to decide.”

“
Okay. Ryland Thomas it
is.”

I follow her into Tilly’s den where we
sit.

“
Thanks for sharing your true identity
with me. So, you’re both R.T.’s, aren’t you?”

“
Yeah, we are. Twins, you know. Tills
was named for both grandmothers and I was named for both
grandfathers. Funny that they were both R’s and T’s.”

“
Pretty neat, I think. I always
thought it was strange how you seemed to be around her all the
time.”

“
I know. And that first day in my
house when you went to use the phone, I wanted to tell you then,
but I was afraid. And Tilly needed to be in on it, too, because
she’s been a part of it from the start.”

“
I can understand that.”

“
I hope you’re not too angry with us.
We didn’t hide it from you out of malice. It was a decision we made
at the start; that no one would ever know. When I wanted to tell
you, I couldn’t because we’re almost like a partnership in this…
Tilly and I.” I drag my hand through my hair.

Fallon nods. “I see that. I just want you to
know that I still think you write the best books, and just because
I know who you are now, won’t change that fact.”

It eases my heart somewhat, so I bow my head
in acknowledgment. We need to talk about us, however I’m not sure
if this is the right time. I look at her and she’s gazing at me
like she’s expecting something.

“
I’m sorry for everything, Fallon. If
I could change how I behaved that day on the deck, believe me, I
would. I swear to God I would. I was the biggest jerkass
around.”

“
I won’t disagree. I know there are
things we need to talk about, but my body is screaming for sleep,
so do you mind if we continue this tomorrow?”

“
Not at all. Do you need help up the
steps?”

“
Naw, I’ve got it.”

“
Okay then. Good night, Fallon. Sleep
well.”

I watch as she takes it one step at a time
and my heart feels the burden has been lightened somewhat. I’m
aware that I have a long way to go, but at least she’s willing to
speak to me now.

Ryland is R.T. and his twin sister is Tilly!
And she’s not the author. Good lord. What a night of surprises. And
he’s tripping all over himself, apologizing. Even R.T.—I mean
Tilly—said he was completely freaked about everything. I’m not even
sure what to think, but I do know this. I’m going to make that man
work for it. I will not cave into him at all. I don’t care how damn
hot and sexy he is. For right now, though, I’m so flippin’ tired I
can’t keep my eyes open. I barely make it into the bed before I’m
asleep.

I wake up and I’m burning hot… and no damn
wonder. Ryland—I mean Ryland Thomas—is wrapped around me like a
steaming hot crepe. His arms are holding me against his hard body
and I can feel his chest hairs brushing my skin. I’m incredibly
aware of him, flames fan across me like an inferno and that place
between my thighs aches with a need so strong I’m sure I’m going to
detonate any second now. How did he slip into my bed without me
knowing?

I try to move and I feel him shake as he
says, “Oh, no, you don’t.” Then hot lips are scorching my neck and
his tongue begins a descent that soon has me squirming. As if he
can read my mind, one of his arms lowers to my belly and his
fingers move to that place I want him to touch. When he finally
does, I moan and put my hand over his, trapping it there. I hear
his deep laughter again and his finger slides into me. Soon, I’m
coming apart all over him. He doesn’t stop, though. He doesn’t give
me a moment before he moves between my legs and spreads them
wide.

He looks up at me. “I’ve missed this so
much.” Then his tongue is on me, inside of me, licking and sucking
while my hands fist his hair.

“
Ryland Thomas, I need
you.”

He doesn’t stop, just continues to
relentlessly nibble and lick me until my head is spinning. The
orgasm that vibrates through me defies description. It begins in
small waves, but then crashes into me in epic proportions,
beginning at my core and radiating throughout my body, ending in
the arches of my feet. I’m like jelly. But no, he’s not finished.
Now he’s thrusting into me, pummeling me and I’m making that climb
all over again.

He slides his finger into my mouth,
whispering, “Taste this. It’s nirvana to me.” Forest green eyes
with the dark gold striations stare back at me as he touches his
forehead to mine. “It should always be like this. And it will
always be like this. I love you, Fallon.”

I unravel in his arms, deliciously,
deliriously and he joins me as he groans, calling my name. We’re
both tangled up in each other, our sweat making us slippery. It’s
beyond sweet.

“
God, I missed you,” he says as he
curls up against me, lacing his fingers with mine. “Don’t ever go
away again.”

I fall back to sleep, tucked into his neck,
breathing against his skin and trying to absorb what’s just
happened between us.

When the sun awakens me, I stretch out my
arm, trying to touch Ryland Thomas, but I only find an empty space.
I sit up to find I’m alone. Lifting the covers, I check to see if
I’m wearing the PJ’s I put on last night and sure enough, I am.
Holy shmoley! Was that a dream I had? If so, it was some kind of
dream. I slip my hand down the front of my panties to find them
damp. I’m dripping as well. I’ve never had a wet dream before. The
damn thing was so real! I lift up my shirt to find my nipples
looking like they’re getting ready to head for the moon. Jesus, I
need to get a grip here.

My head takes me back to that dream, and
images zoom before me… images that I want to be real. Before I know
it, my hand is back in my panties and my hoo-hah is getting some
relief because there’s no way in hell I can walk around like this
all day. Dayum. I’ve got to pull it together.

Knowing I need to get up, I head to the
bathroom and the first thing I do is plow into Ryland Thomas. I
almost land on the floor, but he saves me in time by grabbing my
hand… my damp hand with its wet fingers.

“
Good morning, love. You look quite
adorable this morning.”

“
Um, I’m sure.” My hair probably looks
like a herd of squirrels are living in it.

Then, to my utter horror, he lifts my hand,
takes my fingers, slides them into his mouth and sucks them. Fuck
me running!

“
Mmmm.” He releases me, winks and
walks away.

I can’t move for a few minutes, yet when I
do, I haul butt into the bathroom, my heart doing the fifty-meter
dash and setting a world record. This is so embarrassing. I can
only imagine the looks he’ll be giving me today.

As I shower, I keep going back to that
dream. Who dreams like that? I mean it was so damn vivid. I could
have sworn it was real.

I’m finally dressed and heading down to join
the others. It’s Christmas Eve today and I’ve no idea what they
have planned. I still want to talk to Ryland Thomas because we
certainly have piles of unfinished business between us.

As I enter the kitchen, Tilly is at the
table drinking coffee and working on her email while Ryland Thomas
is cooking something.

“
Good morning,” I say to
them.

Tilly mumbles back and Ryland Thomas flashes
me a wicked grin. I grab some coffee and ask if he needs help. He
merely raises a brow.

“
What are you making?” It smells so
yummy. My stomach gives a rumble.

“
French toast. Do you like
it?”

“
It’s one of my favorites.”

“
Excellent.”

Watching him cook, I remember how he has
quite the knack for it. He plates everything up and hands me mine
while he carries his and Tilly’s.

We sit and eat. It’s so delicious I can’t
help from grinning.

“
What?” he wants to know.

“
Mmmm. This is so good.” I shove in
another forkful. “I mean really, really good. How’d you learn to
cook like this?”

“
My mum taught me.”

I harrumph. “Lucky you. My dad was a crummy
cook. Oh, he tried, but never could get the hang of it. And my mom,
well, she was only worried about her things and such, so I never
had a teacher. I’m okay I guess, but I can’t make this kind of
stuff. You know… family recipes that are passed down.”

He looks at me and then says, “I can teach
you. It’s easy. If you’re interested, that is.”