Sex, Lies & Black Tie Read online

  “Look, Sam. You’ve always supported me in everything I’ve ever wanted to do and I love you more than you’ll ever know for it, but I don’t expect you to be fine with all of this. I expect you to lean on me.”

  I climbed out of the car and hurried to her side to open her door. Taking her hand, I gave it a squeeze. “We’ll do this together. Okay?”

  Leading her up the back stairs and through the kitchen, I thought of the guest list. I wanted to take a good long look at who was confirmed to attend after the change of locations. Were there other matches from our hacked list that matched the list of VIPs coming to Lone Oak tomorrow night?

  Escorting Sam to the staircase, I noticed the stillness of the house. It was quiet—too quiet. “Sam,” I whispered, tugging at her waist.

  She didn’t speak, but stopped and raised her eyebrows, silently questioning me.

  I placed a finger in front of my lips, and mouthed Shhh.

  I led her through the house and to the study. Without turning on a light, I opened the door to one of secret passageways inside the house that had been first used during the civil war. Essentially a bunker, the room held water and a few provisions, an unpublished land line and a lock box with guns and ammo. There was also a room with two small beds. It was nothing fancy, but still I was glad at this moment I’d kept the safe room ready. Samantha always joked we were ready for the zombie apocalypse, but I knew the passageways like the back of my hand and could navigate the interior of Lone Oak through the secret walls just like my father and his father before him. Dax was very good at knowing his way—already better than his mother.

  Once the door was safely shut behind us, a light came on and she followed me down the narrow and secret corridor.

  “Why are we in here? Are you worried someone is in the house?”

  “I’m worried someone is watching.”

  “Aren’t you maybe be a little paranoid? I thought you took care of all of that.”

  “This from the woman who had a meltdown after learning of a video of herself in the tub?”

  “I see your point.”

  “Besides,” I said, pulling her into the bunker with the small beds. “I may be tired and working on zero sleep, but I miss my wife and if I’m going to make love to her, I don’t want a video of it showing up in my inbox tomorrow morning.”

  She looked to the small twin beds and back to me. “You can’t be serious.”

  I kissed her lips lightly as I began unbuttoning my own shirt and kicking off my shoes. My shirt dropped to the floor and I stared into Samantha’s eyes without wavering. She said nothing.

  I placed my hands on her waist, and felt for the zipper at the back of her full skirt. Without ceremony or permission, I undid her and felt the fabric slip through my fingers as it fell to the floor.

  “Mac.”

  There was a hint of protest in her voice, but not enough to make me pause before unbuttoning my own jeans to push them and my boxer briefs to the floor before stepping out.

  I lifted her tank top, running my fingers up and across her stomach. She flinched and sucked in a quick breath at my touch. I leaned into her without saying a word and began kissing her neck, leaving a long warm trail of where I’d been.

  I pulled the tank top over her head, taking with it the matching sweater she had tied around her shoulders. I traced my fingers down her breasts before gently squeezing them with my hands. She moaned, not taking her steely gaze from mine.

  The corner of my mouth turned up involuntarily at the sound of her pleasure and I made quick work of her lacy beige bra. Freeing her aroused and turgid breasts, I circled my finger around a tender crest before capturing it in my mouth.

  Dropping to my knees, I slid my hands down her body, dropping the matching beige panties to the floor, before kissing my way back up between her thighs to linger there.

  “Oh God,” she whispered.

  Standing, I raised her knee, wrapping it around my body before cupping her perfect bottom with my other hand. Lifting her in the air, she wrapped her legs around me and I kissed her—needing her the way I needed the breath in my lungs.

  No words were exchanged. None were needed. I walked us both past the small bed, until her back was pressed against the wall of the room. She let out an unsteady gasp and I moaned as I shifted her weight and adjusted the backs of her knees to rest over my biceps.

  Pinning her to the wall, I pressed my straining sex against the sweet warmth of her soft flesh. Tenderly I entered her, melding into her body—her soul.

  I groaned in pleasure, suckling her full and throbbing lips—sweeping my tongue inside her hungry mouth as I moved inside her over and over.

  With ragged gasps I thrust my body upward, losing my footing and slamming us both into the wall.

  Samantha laughed.

  “Are you okay?” I hissed the words through a breathy gasp—my body beyond my mind.

  She nodded with a smile, tossing her head back in near delirium.

  I walked us to the bed. Laying her down without leaving her, she wrapped her legs tighter around my waist and I fought the urge to climax. Moving against her—hot, wet and abandoned, I prayed she was close. I couldn’t hold out any longer.

  In a slow and sensual rhythm, we rocked in unconscious time—our own beat of the world.

  In a groan of blissful agony, I cried out as Samantha shuddered uncontrollably against me.

  Samantha lay in the crux of my arm. We were naked, spent, and alone in a secret bunker deep inside the house. The glare from the industrial lighting cast an ominous shadow across the room and I rolled the events of the past week over and over in my head. I’d told Samantha everything—everything except Micah’s confession to me. Turning onto my back, I listened to my beautiful wife breathing against my chest. I couldn’t decide if what was in the past should stay in the past, or if I needed to tell her. I knew her feelings would be hurt. This wasn’t some random lay—it was Micah—a woman we were now harboring. A woman I’d put all our lives on the line for in order to rescue her sister. And then I thought about the truth of it. I never wanted anything between us—especially a lie. And not telling her the truth would be the same. It would bother me until my dying day if Micah knew something about me Samantha did not.

  “Sam, honey?”

  “Mmm Hmm,” she hummed against my skin.

  “I want to talk with you about something.”

  “What?”

  Suddenly she was wide awake.

  When I hesitated, she sat up from the bed, pulling the blanket from the foot to wrap up, no longer inside my warm embrace.

  “I need to tell you something,” I said, putting my arm behind my head to get a better view of her.

  “You’re scaring me.”

  Brushing the hair from her face, I ran my thumb across her bottom lip, but didn’t respond. This was going to be hard, but it had to be done.

  “What Mac?”

  “About six years ago or so, I came to Shadeland to check my mother into Autumn Valley. We packed up her things and she said a tearful goodbye to Lone Oak. It ripped me apart to move her from our home to the nursing home.”

  “I know, sweetheart. What’s this all about?”

  “The night I made it back to Washington, Micah picked me up at the airport to take me home. She stayed and we drank—we drank a lot. We messed around and I knew we’d kissed a little, but nothing more. We both woke up the next morning with terrible hangovers and promised we’d never speak of it again. We wanted to keep our relationship platonic—because we worked together—and because we really weren’t attracted to one another.”

  “You mean you weren’t attracted to her.”

  I took a deep breath. “Micah’s been having some problems with depression and her shrink told her to come to terms with the things she couldn’t control in her life. I guess one of those things is me.”

  “Okay,” Samantha said with a nod.

  “Recently she confessed that even though I don’t remember that nig
ht, she does.”

  “You slept with Micah.”

  She said the words without emotion, but I knew they were fueled with a whole range of emotion. I nodded and confirmed her fear. “I’m sorry. If I’d known it happened six years ago, I would’ve told you from the beginning of our relationship.”

  She stared at the wall behind me—not moving—silent.

  “Samantha, say something.”

  “What do you want me to say?”

  “I don’t know. Be mad at me, yell. Something.”

  “I don’t want to yell. If Micah’s shrink wants her to accept the things she can’t control, then maybe I should do the same,” she said, bringing her eyes back to meet mine.

  “It’s inconsequential,” I said. “But I didn’t want her knowing something that you didn’t. You know?”

  She quietly nodded.

  “Samantha, I’d never lie or do anything to hurt you. You know that, right?”

  Again she nodded.

  “Can we put this all behind us?”

  No words. Just another nod.

  “I need you to say something.”

  “I love you, Mac.”

  27

  SAMANTHA

  The newly risen sun was lost behind a bank of clouds when we pulled into Mimi’s driveway at seven. I needed to assess the situation with our new guests and then get back to Lone Oak. The catering service would be in full swing all day with deliveries and the final touches would be made just in time for the band to arrive and sound checks to take place. The executive director of North Star was going to make a few comments, as would the President of the United States. It was all a bit too surreal after everything that had transpired in the past few days—including finding out that Mac had slept with Micah.

  I was wearing a sundress that showed off my shoulders and a brave face, but underneath I was terrified. Three days ago, I was worried it would rain on the party. Now I only wanted to make it through the night without a homicide.

  We unlocked the back door and entered to find Mimi sitting at the kitchen table drinking coffee with Micah.

  “Good morning.” I tried to smile but Mimi knew me better than I knew myself. There was no way I was hiding anything from her.

  “Morning, sunshine. You’re a little flushed,” Mimi said with a wink. I couldn’t even keep the fact that I’d made love to my husband last night a secret from her.

  “Micah was just filling me in on the whole story we’ve got going on here.”

  “Anyone else up?” Mac asked walking past us, ignoring Mimi’s comment.

  “Jason is asleep in the front room,” Micah said. “Everyone else is still sacked out upstairs.”

  “Jason?” I asked, unfamiliar with the name.

  “Agent Fuller,” Mac said, giving Micah a side eye.

  “Sorry,” I said. “In all the confusion last night, I guess I just didn’t catch his first name.”

  “No,” Micah said. “I should’ve referred to him as Agent Fuller. I thought you of all people would like that I’m using his first name, Mac. Especially since you’re so hell bent on setting me up with him.”

  “Whatever, Micah,” Mac said. “You know, if you’d take that chip off your shoulder for a hot second, you’d see that man is crazy about you.”

  I popped my eyebrows, unable to hide my surprise. Maybe Micah was right. Was Mac doing his best to get her off of him and onto another man? If he was, I was completely on board with the idea. I shook my head as I watched her. What was appropriate behavior around a woman who’d slept with my husband and still carried a torch for him? I knew he loved her—as a friend. I’d long ago accepted the facts of his many indiscretions before he met me. I couldn’t parse her out from the others. And yet, he didn’t have a relationship with the others. I was walking a narrow path with this woman and I needed to watch myself. One smart comment from her and I didn’t know what might come out of my mouth. I felt like a rubber band that had been stretched to its fullest capacity—I could break or fly off at any moment. I physically shook the idea from my head, staying on task. “You’ll need a dress for tonight,” I said.

  “I don’t know about that.”

  “C’mon Micah,” Mac chided. “It’ll be good for you to wear something other than your usual gothic black. You could even try acting a little more—you know—ladylike.”

  Micah looked to Mimi, not me, as if my grandmother had an explanation for Mac’s comment.

  “Don’t look at me,” Mimi quipped. “I haven’t acted like a lady in years.”

  A wicked smile curled on Micah’s lips when she pointed unceremoniously at Mimi. “I like her.”

  “Good. She can pick out your dress because you’re going—just like the rest of us,” Mac said leaving the room.

  I took a deep breath and felt my cheeks flush. I was down to one good nerve and I’d be damned if anyone was going to stand on it—least of all her. I didn’t have all day, but I was willing to do what needed to be done. “Follow me, Micah. We can take a look in the closet upstairs. One of the best parts about Mimi is that she has an extensive ball gown collection. I’m sure we can find something you’ll enjoy wearing tonight.”

  “I’ll wear it,” Micah said. “But I don’t know how much I’ll enjoy it. Mac thinks if I wear a dress, I’ll be less of my abrasive self and magically turn into Cinderella or something.”

  “Look honey, everyone knows you have a thing for my grandson-in law. I know it, he knows it, I’m certain she knows it,” Mimi said pointing to me. “Why don’t we just save ourselves some time and awkwardness here?”

  “You two don’t really know me and I don’t know you,” Micah said. “Let’s keep it that way.”

  I physically took a step back. I had plenty I wanted to say to Micah, but now wasn’t the time. Still my mouth started working before I could stop it. “Micah, I know you care for Mac. And he cares for you. If you wish to continue with the graceless moments each and every time we have to be together then so be it. But understand, I know everything. Mac has told me about your night together—however many years ago it was.”

  “Samantha,” she began.

  “No—” I held my hand in the air. “Let me finish.”

  Micah stepped back, clasping her hands in front of her body and waited.

  “I agree he is an amazing man, Micah. But you’re short-changing your life if you don’t allow yourself to love a man who will love you back—you know—that way. I waited a very long time for Mac Callahan to come walking through my door and no one, including you, will ever be able to take him from me. We are completely and totally committed to one another. We know we have something special—something so special, one drunken night six years ago when we didn’t even know each other, could ever make a difference.”

  “I didn’t mean to cause a rift between the two of you, Sam. Really, I didn’t.”

  “That’s the thing, Micah,” I said placing my hand on her shoulder. “You didn’t. Mac and I have never loved each other more than we do today.”

  “Not to but in or anything,” said Mimi. “But I’m givin’ you my two cents whether you want it or not because that’s what old ladies do.”

  Micah and I looked to her and waited.

  “Micah, honey, you can’t catch a live fish with a dead one hanging on your hook. You might have your pole in the water and all, but you aren’t fishing and you aren’t fooling anyone—least of all the fish. Cut ties and put some fresh bait on that hook. You might be surprised what happens,” she said bringing her coffee cup to her lips for a sip.

  “Well,” I quipped, knowing there wasn’t anything left to be said after Mimi’s words of wisdom. “I’m going upstairs to look through the closet. Wake Frankie and meet me in fifteen,” I ordered. “I have to get back to Lone Oak.”

  Micah was noticeably stunned by my take charge attitude, but nodded. “Sure.”

  Breezing out the kitchen door and past Mac in the hallway, he trailed his finger across my bare shoulder before catching me i
n his strong grip to turn my body and kiss my exposed neck. “I love my wife,” he whispered into my skin.

  Shrugging off the chills he’d given me, I pulled his face to mine, quickly kissing him on the lips before walking on. “She loves you, too,” I said over my shoulder as I took the stairs and pulled my ringing phone from my pocket.

  “Samantha Callahan.”

  “Samantha, this is Agent Jackman. How are you this morning?”

  I stopped on the landing and motioned to gain Mac’s attention again. “I’m fine, thank you Agent Jackman. What can I do for you?”

  “I’m doing a security sweep on the grounds of Lone Oak this morning. I just wanted you to know I was on the property.”

  “You’re at Lone Oak to conduct a security sweep on the grounds?”

  “Yes,” he said. “Standard procedure. Everything looks great. You haven’t seen that handsome, no good husband of yours this morning have you?”

  “I haven’t.”

  “Still working on the Frances Reszke runaway case?”

  “I’m not sure, Agent Jackman. You know he doesn’t discuss work with me. I do know he will be at the party tonight. He’s made that promise to me.”

  “Excellent. I’ll just keep trying to find him.”

  “I’ll see you at the house soon.”

  Hanging up, I stared at Mac. “Jackman is back.”

  “Look,” Mac said placing his hands on each of my shoulders. “I’ve got this. Just get this crew ready for the party tonight and come home. We need to act as if everything is going to plan—even if it isn’t.

  I nodded and he squeezed my shoulders, trying to bolster my confidence. It wasn’t working.

  Micah walked out of the kitchen and into the front hallway, staring up at the two of us. “Sorry to interrupt,” she said.

  “You didn’t,” Mac replied, kissing me on the forehead before walking out the front door. It wasn’t until he’d left and the house was completely silent that I looked to Micah. “Let’s find you a gown, shall we?”

  It was ten in the morning when the bell rang and Mimi answered the door to find a pair of dressers from a tuxedo shop in Birmingham on the front stoop. “Y’all don’t look like the Grim Reaper.”