Page 138 of Sweet Temptation

I looked at her.

“Relax.” She smirked at me. “Come meet Justice.”

I shadowed her around as she said hello to a few people. They were arriving in a gradual, steady flow. Some through the house, others straight around the house from the driveway. And it took us a while to make our way across the yard.

Summer introduced me along the way, and almost every person I met gave me a lingering, gentle hug. They were all welcoming, and they all had made-up names like Sparkle and Talula.

Even the dudes.

But despite the warm welcome, I couldn’t shake the first impression I’d had when we arrived on the property. It was an unsettling feeling, and it wasn’t just the sass Summer was serving my way or the fact that she was pissed at me about this morning.

I wasn’t sure why, but I felt my instincts prickling. Like something wasn’t right here, even though I had no reason to feel that way.

“Your brother makes speakers?” I asked her, as I followed her over toward the tree line, where people were gathered by the ladders up into the trees.

“He designs sound systems,” she informed me, leaning in so I could hear her well. “And they are killer. As you can hear. Everyone wants my brother’s sound. His systems are on tour all over the world right now, with some of the top bands and EDM artists.”

“EDM?”

She gave me a strange look. “Electronic dance music. You really don’t know much about music, do you?”

“I know what I like when I hear it,” I said.

“Good.” She stopped, and studied me a moment. “Then that’s really all you need to know.” She gave me a small, genuine smile… and something happened. I felt warm all over.

My body responded to this woman in ways I couldn’t even control. This wasn’t normal for me, and it put me on edge.

“You won’t know it, trust me,” she said. “But this asshole is a genius.” Then she hooked her arm around a man standing behind her. He had his back to her and spun around. When he saw Summer, he threw out his arms and enveloped her in a bear hug.

“Summer!” He lifted her off her feet, then put her down and kissed the top of her head.

I was really hoping this guy was her brother.

“This is my baby brother, Justice,” she told me with a smirk.

When he realized she was talking to me, he looked at me.

“Heyyy. Welcome,” he said, and threw out his arms. Then he gave me a hug.

I returned it stiffly. “Hey. Ronan. Nice to meet you.”

The guy had a huge smile and looked not much like Summer at all. And not much like what I’d pictured. Maybe because she’d described him to me as her “baby brother.” He towered over her, pretty much at my height, with medium-brown hair, a more angular face, and some beard scruff. Slim build, but strong, like he did a lot of physical work. Maybe he built these giant speakers himself?

He wore a pair of baggy brown cargo-like pants with a million pockets on them and a long-sleeved T-shirt that said BASS SLUT.

His eyes glittered like he was intoxicated, and he just kept grinning at me. He was fucking happy, for sure. “This is my wife, Mia-Bear,” he said, pulling a woman over to us. She had an Aboriginal-meets-South-American look about her, and she was dressed like a forest nymph, with a flowered headband thing, a gauzy gown and a furry vest.

“Summer!” she said, and swept Summer into a hug. Then she looked at me. She extended her hand to me with a smile. “Hi, there.”

Finally, someone who knew how to shake hands.

“Ronan,” I said, shaking her hand.

And then she gave me the hug.

“We’re so glad you could come,” Mia said, and she seemed to be talking to both of us, even though I was pretty sure she only found out I existed three seconds ago.

“Ronan’s friend Andre is here, too,” Summer said. “I think we lost him in the kitchen.”

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