Excerpt of Lies that Bind by Kathy L Wheeler

. . .Kelly slid under the water to rinse the conditioner from her tangled hair. Let the heat seep into her sore muscles. She stayed under until she was forced to rise for air.

“Comfortable?”

“What the f…”

“Uh- uh-uh,” Alex reprimanded, wagging a finger.

She sputtered water. “Where’s Taylor?”

“Happily, cleaning the kitchen, on her own.” He grinned, turning her insides to mush.

“You bribed her?”

“Of course not. I told you, she’s happy to do it.” Alex sat on the closed seat of the toilet, legs stretched before him crossed at the ankles, arms folded, holding a piece of paper.

“You should respect my privacy.”

“I am. I’m sitting over here, aren’t I? When I’d rather be in there.” He pointed. “With you. Besides, I brought you more coffee.”

“You did?” She’d forgive him anything for that. Her irritation shifted to gratitude.

Alex handed over a new cup to her outstretched hand. One glance, showed he’d doctored it. Most likely perfect. His eyes, burning with heat, never lifted from the water.

“Did you want something, barging in here?” She eyed the paper he held warily.

He looked up quickly, clearing his throat. “Oh, yes. I…I wanted to ask if you were all right?”

“I’m fine,” she said. “Thank you for asking.”

“And I want to talk to you about Sa…”

“We don’t have to talk about sex.”

“Sex?” he echoed. Alex shook his head, drawing a quick smile from her. Apparently, he’d been as affected as she.

“No, I want to talk about Eckert, as in Samuel Eckert.”

“Now?”

“Can you think of a better time?” He leaned forward and dropped a kiss on her lips. “You’re naked, warm.”

Her cheeks flamed. “What’s that in your hand?”

“This?” Alex waved the paper in the air. “Colorado marriage requirements. I just printed them. Off Colorado’s state site.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” she snapped. “We are not getting married. I told you last night, we could just say we did it back then.”

“Did it?” he repeated, narrowing his eyes on her.

That bland tone might land him in the lake, she fumed. Or the creek. It didn’t matter to her.

“Kelly, think of Taylor. If Eckert saw you with her, he might put the timeline together. Maybe demand a DNA test. If we were married, no one would question anything. No one has to know we just made the union legal. People will think what we want them to think. Even that bastard. Better yet, Taylor can’t slip up and say we aren’t.”

Damn it, he had a point.