The Lies Behind Her Marriage novel Chapter 255

The Kiss Marks

Noelle woke up to the feel of a man’s strong, warm embrace. Her bare back was against his chest, and she felt his breath tickling her neck.

She turned to him and said, “That tickles.”

But when she looked, Silas was still in a deep sleep.

Seeing his gorgeous face and how they were skin to skin, she flushed.

Images of their lovemaking permeated her mind.

‘Really, Noelle? Five rounds? That wasn’t a night—that was a full-time job!’ Noelle did not know she was that capable.

‘And where, exactly, was your dignity? Did you misplace it? Leave it somewhere between the second and third rounds?’

‘You couldn’t even pretend to be tired after the third round?’

But after she peeked under the blanket, she understood why.

She studied Silas’s sculpted body and decided her dignity had been a fair and necessary sacrifice.

Then, Noelle noticed the red marks on Silas’s skin.

He had a lot of marks.

Maybe over thirty of them.

She gasped. “Oh, my God! I did this?”

In her head, she asked the heavens, ‘Who gave me permission to misbehave like this?’

Last night, Noelle got lost in the moment.

Then in the next moment.

And the next.

She followed what her heart wanted… and what her body clearly had strong opinions about.

Because, frankly, Brian had never made her feel anything like that.

Not even close.

With the dim light and the haze of alcohol, she hadn’t fully realized just how badly she had misbehaved.

“Mmmm,” Silas groaned.

When Noelle looked at his face, she gave him a guilty look.

“Good morning.” He smiled. It was the kind that made her core tingle.

Silas Vander was truly a work of art.

And she was the lucky lady sleeping next to him... naked.

“Good morning?” she responded shyly. Then she blurted out, “I’m so sorry about the hickeys. I didn’t know I had done too much.”

Silas inspected his body, then turned to her and smiled. “That’s alright.”

He leaned in and kissed her lips. “I love your marks on me.”

Then, he rested his face on his fist. “But I agree. Noelle, you should really control yourself next time. You don’t want your fiancé looking like he got caught in a very aggressive mosquito attack.”

Her mouth fell open when he said that. She wanted to contest it, but decided against it. Moreover, Silas said he had a surprise for her.

“I’m taking you somewhere. Let me just make a phone call to confirm everything. You can shower ahead of me,” Silas said.

He kissed her again before getting off the bed.

Noelle lazily made her way to the shower, limping slightly as she walked, her back arching with every step.

Her entire body ached.

“How did he manage to make me feel guilty,” she muttered, squinting at her reflection, “when he clearly committed the greater crime?”

***

Two hours later, Noelle sat in the passenger seat of Silas’s car, fully covered—long sleeves, high collar, and a scarf wrapped tightly around her neck and head like she was avoiding public recognition.

Because, frankly, she was.

Silas held in his amusement the entire way until they arrived at their destination.

For that trip, they left Theo behind.

Either way, their son was enjoying playing at Nathaniel’s playground, so Theo didn’t mind being with his cousins.

“Where are we?” Noelle asked dryly, but when she saw the gates to their former high school, her jaw dropped. “Oh, my God.”

She chuckled. “Oh, my God!”

“Come on,” Silas said as he parked the car and opened the door. “Let’s walk down memory lane.”

It was a Sunday, so only the security guard was around, and perhaps a few members of the faculty—some of whom knew Silas.

Silas put his arm around Noelle as they found their classroom from their first year of high school.

The classroom was open. Silas walked in and found his seat. He smiled at the seat next to him and said, “That’s your seat right there.”

Noelle’s eyes narrowed at the door. She said, “Funny how you never noticed me until our first math quiz.”

“So you noticed me before that iconic math quiz?” Silas asked.

Noelle walked in and took her seat. She turned to him. “I thought you were handsome—but arrogant.”

Silas hissed. “I was so much better than Brian. He was arrogant too, but just average.”

A laugh escaped Noelle’s lips. She averted her gaze and said, “Well, how was I supposed to know my average self would catch your attention?”