Prelude of Lies by Victoria Smith Read Free Book Online Page B

Sydney’s type.
    “Definitely. She doesn’t appreciate the deceit. She’s pissed at Marshal, too, if that makes you feel any better.”
    “I think she’s madder at me. She hates me.” Was he pouting?
    “You’re probably right. She does hate you.” She watched the monitors, hoping something interesting would happen soon.
    Graham seemed to want to say something, but when the silence stretched, she figured he either chickened out or decided he was talking to the wrong sister. Daisy didn’t know why that hurt. It wasn’t like she was interested in Graham except to think about what he’d look like dirty and naked.
    Ten minutes later, Daisy wished she’d been able to sleep when she tried to nap earlier. Concentrating on the equipment was putting her into zombie mode.
    “Hey.” One of the radios crackled to life. “What is that?”
    Daisy leaned forward, watching the video of what Sydney said was fog. Figures swirled on the surface of the water.
    “Can you hear that?” Marshal whispered.
    The faint sounds of music drifted through the speaker.
    “Something’s going on at the pond.” Graham leaned forward and she almost drowned in the masculine smell of his aftershave.
    “Are they really dancing?” Sydney’s whisper.
    Daisy watched the wispy outlines on the screen, convinced they were dancing. But, then, maybe not. “They’re not dancing. They’re ice skating. See?” She pointed as one of the smaller shapes fell, sliding on imaginary ice.
    “What’s with the music then?” Graham’s concentration stayed on the screen. “They’re in tune with it.”
    Daisy didn’t answer. If he stayed in his position nearly over top her much longer she was going to lick his neck. He didn’t smell like a priss, he smelled like a man. And, God help her, she liked it.
    Sydney watched from the edge of the pond, trying to stay out of the way. The vision in front of her was incredible. The water at the edge of the pond, not two feet from her, appeared frozen solid, but she wasn’t cold. The misty figures swirled and skated. They had no distinguishable features she could see, but their disembodied laughter echoed through the odd silence surrounding them.
    She glanced over at Marshal, his excitement visible, and suppressed the urge to smile along with him. Her attraction had to be kept to herself. It was bad enough Daisy knew she thought Marshal was drool-worthy. The last thing she needed was for him to figure out he made her knees weak.
    Sydney had thought long and hard about what she wanted to do when she was supposed to be resting up for tonight. As much as she’d love to break free and do something outrageous, she wouldn’t. She’d done that once and the result had been disaster. It didn’t matter that she’d only been sixteen and delusional about love and relationships. She hadn’t been thinking short-term when she agreed to park with Duff. She hadn’t been thinking, period. When Duff said he loved her and wanted to marry her, she’d willingly opened her legs, dreaming about the future through his awkward lovemaking.
    Hell, what had she known?
    Maybe the pregnancy scare and the terrible rumors Duff had tried to spread about her were responsible for her attitudes about sex with no consequences. When she’d told Duff her suspicions, he denied they’d been together. Then, he told the rest of the football team he’d tried because she’d come on so strong, but that she’d ended up being too afraid. The team had made a bet on who could get her to follow through.
    Lucky for her, Daisy had overheard some of the conversation and Sydney had turned down every one of them when they’d asked her out. And every other guy, too. She couldn’t take the chance they knew the things Duff said about her.
    She hadn’t had sex again until her sophomore year of college. He was gentle and thorough and she’d come away with a new appreciation for lovemaking even though the relationship had only lasted two months more, until he