Beautiful Liar (6 page)

Chapter Eight

Tanner
didn’t feel any better after spending a few days hiding out from the city and
the media. He’d been tucked away at his house, running the beach each time he
thought about Noah. And he didn’t want to stop.

Dropping
to the cool wet sand, he sat there, letting the ocean waves lap at his toes.
He’d been so guarded most of his adult life. Like so many in his type of
business they generally hopped from one relationship to another because there
was no real time to develop something good into something great. He didn’t know
what the hell he felt about Noah. It confused him. Made him doubt his decisions
and his ability to see past what he thought could be something great. He’d
known him such a short time and yet it felt so real, so right. It pissed him
off that he allowed himself to go that far. To unleash his feelings and get
hurt in the process.

An
escort.

He
lifted a hand full of sand and sprinkled the granules next to him. Noah seemed
arrogant about it, too. Nothing was between them and yet Tanner felt like he’d
fallen so hard. So fucking quickly. Nothing about it was smart or sane. And it
was clearly one-sided. He clearly wanted something Noah offered without even
consciously realizing it.

He
stared out at the horizon with the moonlight dancing on the surface of the
water. He decided he really didn’t want to go back to city. Not for a while. He
deserved a break. Maybe he’d even go to his island. Take a trip to Italy. The
business wouldn’t crumble if he took some time off.

“You
are not the easiest man to find.”

Tanner
frowned and glanced over his shoulder. Noah panted, bending forward as he
rested. The lights from the house behind him gave him enough illumination to
see his messy tuxedo that had seen better days. Tanner turned back to the
ocean. How the hell did he find him? Better yet, what the hell did he want?

“I’m
sorry.” Noah moved beside him. “It started out as a lie because of discretion
for my client. I didn’t want a big media spiel about so-and-so hiring an
escort. Some of my clients are married. It just wasn’t right for me to tell you
who I was and what I do.”

Tanner
lifted more sand to sprinkle. “Why do you think I care?”

“Because.”
He sat beside him. “I know you do. I felt it. It’s not easy to define, but it’s
there. It’s unique and it’s important.”

“Now
you suddenly have feelings?”

“You
and I aren’t all that different, Tanner. We both have been in meaningless
relationships most of our adult lives and we don’t know what to do when we
finally found something that’s real. Something that is wonderful and perfect
and passionate. We try to reason, yet reason doesn’t work. I can’t explain why
we connected so deep, so fast. It’s not just lust. Not for me. I fell for you
and I fell pretty damn hard.”

“You
don’t know me.”

“Yes,
I do.” He felt Noah watching him until Tanner finally looked over. “Your smile
is the sexiest thing about you. You’re hard-working, passionate man who is
afraid to get hurt. I am. too. It’s why I date men for money. Everything has to
be spelled out for us. Black and white. But when we’re together the colors start
blurring the lines and there’s this huge gray are we can’t define. We don’t
want to define it, or at least I don’t.”

“What
do you want?” Tanner finally met his eyes.

“I
want to explore it. To see where it goes and what come of it.”

Tanner
licked his lips. “And the lies?”

Noah
glanced away. “Tell me what you want me to do. I can’t make you trust me, but I
can try. I want to try.”

Tanner
lay back on the sand and stared up at the clear blue sky. He didn’t want to
push Noah away. He was right. This gray area wasn’t something he was used to.
He didn’t like people who lied. He dealt with it every day, and every single
time, things would have been so much easier if the person had simply told the
truth. Things between him and Noah would have been so much better if he had
told him who he was from the beginning.

“If
you don’t feel the same way, please tell me.” Noah turned toward him. “I need
to know.”

Tanner
stared at his lover. “What’s with the tuxedo?”

Noah
glanced down and snorted. “I went on a date.” He lifted his head to meet
Tanner’s gaze. “He was fascinated that we dated. Thought he was real special
that he had me. I came highly recommended to him.”

Tanner
could hear the guilt and regret in his voice. He could see the discord he felt
toward his job.

“Did
you fuck him?”

“No.”
Noah shook his head. “I didn’t even stay for the meal. He was really pissed and
is probably filing a complaint with my employer.”

Tanner
found himself believing him. He pushed up on his elbows. “What do you want,
Noah? Why are you here?”

“I
want you.” Noah held eye contact for what felt like a long time. “I want to be
with you. Only you. I don’t want to go out with other men. I don’t want to have
sex with other men. I want you. I love you.”

Tanner
reached out and pulled him to him for a kiss. Yeah, he wanted that, too. He
tried so fucking hard to push it all away, but it lingered under the surface.
In such a short time, Noah had etched his way underneath Tanner’s skin and he
couldn’t just get rid of him.

Tanner
let him go and Noah smiled at him. “How the hell did you find me here?”

Noah
laughed. “Begged your production director. Then paid off the cabbie to tell me
where you lived. He said he didn’t know for sure, but gave me like five houses
it could be. I went to each one. I might be arrested later because I think one
of the homeowners thought I was a creeper.”

Tanner
shook his head before letting out a rough chuckle. “I can only imagine.”

“I’ve
missed you.” Noah smoothed his hands along Tanner’s thigh. “I don’t think you’d
believe how much.”

“Come
on.” He stood and held out his hand for Noah. “That tux looks ridiculous on
you.”

“Yeah,
well, I felt even more ridiculous at the restaurant. People know me now. They
know about us. Are you okay with that?”

Was
he? Tanner didn’t like secrets too much because like lies, they made things
complicated. He walked with Noah to the house and let him inside.

“I’m
fine with us being in the open. I’m not okay with you lying about anything to
me.”

Noah
turned toward him ready to apologize again and Tanner pressed his finger to his
lips. “It’s for future reference. Right now, you need to take that ugly tux off
and I’m going to grill us some hamburgers.”

They
parted ways and Tanner found himself feeling instantly better. That was
something he couldn’t quite shake about Noah either. Just simply being with the
man made him happy. Made him smile.

He
grilled food and they sat and talked for hours. It was like nothing happened
between them. Like everything fell into place because it was meant to. He could
analyze it to death or he could enjoy what they had. It didn’t really matter,
he wanted Noah too and that’s all that really mattered.

“So
tell me about your family.”

Noah
smiled at him. “They’re great. My parents live in Rochester. They moved a few
years ago when my dad got a new job. He’s a principal at a high school. My mom
is a nurse. Great people. Supportive and loving. I’d love to take you to meet
them sometime. I think they’d like you.”

“Yeah?”
Tanner grinned like a fool. Things were so easy with him. When in the past,
being with someone was generally difficult, Noah was the exact opposite. He
wanted to meet his family. He wanted to see what they were like and where he
came from.

“How
many pieces of property do you own?” Noah lifted his glass of wine to his lips.
“I know you’re in real estate, but it seems like you own nearly half the
world.”

Tanner
drank from his own cup. “I have twenty-seven residential properties. Five
commercial.”

“Wow.
Do you visit them all?”

“Not
all. Not all the time. I rent most of them out. I miss my villa right now. I
was actually planning to go there after I gained enough courage to leave the
Hamptons.”

“A
villa?” Noah’s eyes widened. “Wow. I can’t even imagine.”

Tanner
watched him and his enthusiasm. “You don’t have to. You’re coming with me.”

Noah
grinned. “Are you serious? We’re going to Italy, just like that?”

“Why
not? I mean, if you want.”

“Oh,
I want.” Noah leaned over and kissed him. “Are we okay, now? I don’t want
anything to be left out. I actually prepared myself to take you yelling at me.
You were really pissed when you left Brooklyn.”

“We’re
okay.” Tanner pulled him to him and kissed his cheek. “Better than okay.”

It
felt good to have him in his arms again. To feel him next to him. God, it was
all he thought about while they were separate and the more he tried to stop
thinking about it, the worse it got.

“I’m
fully prepared to beg and pled.” Noah smoothed his hand along Tanner’s chest.
“I’d do anything to keep you.”

Tanner
closed his eyes and pressed his forehead against the side of Noah’s head. “I’m
not into groveling. I am into make-up sex, though.”

Noah
sat his wine on the coffee table and turned toward Tanner. “And if I give you
what you want, are you going to give me what I want?”

He
stood and pulled Tanner up from the couch. Noah grabbed Tanner’s hand and led
him to the stairs with Tanner gently guiding him toward the master suite.

“What
do you want?”

He
knew what he wanted. His heart. Noah couldn’t quite put it into words so he
joked instead. “I want to know your fucking favorite color.”

Tanner
laughed and let Noah drag him into the bedroom. He held onto each other as the
made their way to the bed. Both had only shorts on and it didn’t take too long
to finally get skin to skin. Noah slid on top of him, kissing and licking at his
mouth while he linked their fingers.

“Tell
me.”

Tanner
stared into his eyes. “Blue.”

“And
restaurants?”

“I
order in more than I go out.” Tanner squeezed his hands. “I work too much.”

Noah
leaned down and circled Tanner’s nipple with the tip of his tongue. “I know,
baby. We’re going to work on that.”

Noah
licked his way down Tanner’s body. He rested his chin on his stomach and looked
up at him.

“I
just realized I don’t have a job.” Noah let Tanner’s fingers go. “Shit.” He sat
up and ran a hand through his hair. “Are you hiring?”

Tanner
sat up and smoothed his hand down Noah’s stomach until he wrapped his hand
around his cock. “Isn’t it a conflict of interest to sleep with your boss?”

Noah
shrugged.

Tanner
stroked him, leaning forward to press his lips against his lower stomach. “I
thought I was your sugar daddy?”

Noah
laughed. “I don’t know about that.”

“Oh,
why not? I could buy you pretty things. A nice gold cock ring to go on this
fucking perfect dick. Maybe put some diamonds in it.”

“No
fucking way.”

He
laughed. “Maybe get you a matching butt plug. Keep that hot little hole primed
and ready for me. I think I like that idea.”

“Not
going to happen.”

Noah
gripped Tanner’s face and leaned forward to kiss the top of his head. “I meant
what I said. I love you. I want you to know that.”

Tanner
gripped Noah’s ass with one hand, pulling him to him. “I love you, too.”

And
he did. More than he could explain.

“Really?”

“Yeah.”
Tanner stroked him with one hand while his fingers of the other hand played
between Noah’s cheeks.

“Prove
it.”

They
flipped places and Noah pulled Tanner on top of him. Quickly rolling on a
condom and smearing lube on his dick, Tanner filled Noah in one smooth thrust.
His ass squeezed around him and Noah’s hiss of pleasure filled the silence. Tanner
would vow to do just that, he decided, as he fucked Noah. For as long as Noah
wanted him, he would prove he loved him, over and over. There was no doubt in
his mind. He’d give this man everything he wanted, including his heart.

The End

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