Shattered Illusions: Love, Lies, and Redemption

Remington scooped Lizetta into the back seat and then hopped in himself.

Cedric fired up the engine and, sharp as a tack, hit the button on the console to raise the partition.

The confined space was all man–scent.

The tingling at the base of Lizetta’s tongue was a not–so–subtle reminder of the recent events.

Her cheeks were burning up, and leaning against the window, she was almost pressing her face against the glass in embarrassment.

Remington glanced at her and couldn’t help but feel a bit helpless.

Lazing back in his seat, he looked pretty chill and in a good mood, giving the huddled Lizetta a sideways look.

“You carrying some germs or something?”

Lizetta scowled and shot back a glare.

“You’re the one with germs!”

What was he on about, saying she had germs right after they’d kissed.

“Why you keeping your distance then?” Remington raised an eyebrow.

“If I had germs, you’d be the first one to catch ‘em!”

Remington cracked a smile and suddenly leaned in close.

“How would you pass them on? Like this?”

He tilted his handsome face and his lips gently brushed against her rosy ones.

Lizetta froze like she’d been zapped.

Remington chuckled, “Seriously, was that your first kiss?”

Lizetta felt mocked. Of course it was her first kiss, but clearly not his.

His kissing skills were top–notch, nothing like a newbie’s, so good she couldn’t even kid herself about it.

When Lizetta thought that he might have honed those skills with Evelina, her blush faded, replaced by a sick feeling of disgust that almost brought her to tears.

She glared at him, her words dripping with sarcasm.

“Oh, how refreshing. Two years married and you’re asking if it was my first kiss. Don’t you feel like it’s a slap in the face to your manhood?”

Remington felt the sting of clear revulsion in her eyes.

His expression turned icy as he pulled her over to him, sitting her down on his lap.

“Yeah, your excuse for a kiss was pretty fresh too. No need to sugarcoat it.”

was quiet,

He leaned in slowly, cupping her face, kissing her swollen lips, her eyes glistening with tears. The kiss was tender, and lingered longer without the bar’s chaos.

Lizetta’s tongue was enveloped, her lips sucked gently, his hand threading through her hair, cradling the back of her head, as if he was controlling her thoughts just as easily.

When she was out of breath and pushed against him weakly, he finally let her go.

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His suit pants were all wrinkled from her grip, and Remington, breathing hard against her shoulder, was like a caged wild animal, radiating danger.

And boy, was his reaction obvious, and he seemed pretty stoked too.

Lizetta dared not move, afraid to set something off, her blush spreading from behind her ears

her neck.

Neither spoke in the silent car, just their uneven breaths filling the space.

After a while, Remington finally looked up at her flushed face.

“Dumb bunny, ever heard of breathing?”

Lizetta, feeling ridiculed, tried to slide off his lap, but Remington gripped her waist and leaned in for another kiss. Lizetta dodged and thought, “what’s with this guy, suddenly can’t get enough of kissing?”

Now that her head was clear, she wasn’t in the mood to play along.

She put her hand up to block Remington’s lips, “I’m not going back to Oakridge Heights.”

Before Remington could frown or get mad, she pushed him away and sat beside him, adding slowly.

“Let’s make a stop at the hospital first.”

Remington, still in a pretty good mood after seeing her kiss–bruised lips, decided to indulge her. © 2024 Nôv/el/Dram/a.Org.

He tapped his shoe against the partition.

Cedric lowered it.

“Change of plans, head to the hospital first.”

At the hospital, Lizetta got out and Remington draped his jacket over her shoulders.

The night had turned cold, and Lizetta, hugging the jacket close, hurried into the building.

After making sure Thaddeus was fine, they both headed back to Oakridge Heights.

The bedroom had indeed been redecorated; new sofa, new carpet, but Lizetta had lived there for two years. The sudden change was a constant reminder of Evelina’s intrusion that day.