Page 170 of Beyond the Temptation: Vol 2

I yelp as he pulls me back into bed with him, my sound of surprise quickly fading to a quiet moan as his mouth meets the sensitive slope of my neck. His hot kisses send little pulses of pleasure through every nerve in my body. His warm palm creates a trail of goosebumps across my skin as he glides it from my hip, moving across my belly and up toward my breasts.

Deacon circles my sensitive nipple with his fingertips, and I sink into the sensation, only to have it slam to a halt when my phone begins to buzz again in my hand.

It's my turn to groan when I open my eyes and see my brother’s name on the display.

“Hold that thought,” I whisper to Deacon as I swipe the screen to answer my brother’s fourth call. “Good morning, Ryker.”

Deacon’s entire body goes tense behind me, but I don’t have time to question it. Not with my brother’s voice booming into my ear. “Good morning? That’s all you have to say, Leila? I wake up to find you gone, you won’t answer your phone, and all you have to say when you do is ‘Good morning?’ What the fuck?”

Sighing, I pull out of Deacon’s hold again and sit up, wrapping the loose sheet around my body. He mutters a curse and climbs out of bed, disappearing into the bathroom.

“I don’t know what you want me to say, Ryker. I’m sorry,” I murmur, biting at my bottom lip. I don’t know what to say. It’s not like I can be honest. I’d like to remind him that I’m an adult, but it’s not going to help the situation. Not when I know his anger is coming from a place of concern.

“Where the hell are you?”

“I’m…” I hesitate, trying to come up with something to say. “I’m at a friend’s place. We were hanging out last night and I fell asleep.”

There. Close enough to the truth.

“A friend? What friend? You don’t know anyone here other than me.”

I sigh again and run my fingers through my unruly hair. “I couldn’t sleep last night, so I decided to go for a walk to clear my head. I met a couple people…”

A couple… because the bartender counts, right?

The bathroom door opens, and Deacon reappears. He looks mouthwatering in nothing but gray sweats, leaning against the frame with his arms across his chest. He watches me, and I get lost in his intense gaze as I finish explaining last night to my brother.

“...we ended up coming to his place to hang out.”

I don’t realize what I’ve said until the word is already out of my mouth and Ryker’s sharp reply reaches my ear.

“His? You stayed the night with a—never mind.” I hear him curse under his breath. “I don’t wanna know. I’m not even gonna ask where you met a guy in the middle of the night. It’s not my business and… just… don’t tell me. I don’t need details.”

I can picture him cringing and I have to press my lips together to keep myself from laughing.

“But you’re safe? You’re okay?”

“I’m good, Ryker. Promise,” I assure him. “And I really am sorry. I didn’t mean to worry you.”

“It’s fine. Just leave a note or text or something next time. I know you’re an adult, but you disappeared on me, and I didn’t know what to think when I woke up and found you gone.”

“I get it,” I tell him. “I didn’t plan to be gone all night or I would have let you know.”

“You, uh, planning on coming home soon?” he asks awkwardly, almost making me laugh again. “I figured we’d get lunch, and I could show you around town, maybe introduce you to some people since we got in too late to do it yesterday.”

“Sounds fun. I’ll head home shortly.”

“Need a ride?”

This time, I do laugh. “Appreciate the offer, but I’m a big girl. I got myself here, I’ll get myself home.”

He tells me to let him know if I change my mind and we end the call on a much better note than it started.

“Sorry about that,” I say to Deacon, setting my phone on the nightstand. Before I can turn back to him, he speaks.

“That explains your reaction last night when I told you I’m a tattoo artist.”

I didn’t realize I’d reacted when he told me that.

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