Page 74 of My Temptation

I gestured behind me where Steve bartended. “Steve invited us. We met last night. Talked some at the bike rally earlier today. He mentioned a party, and that’s all April needed to hear.”

He chuckled. “Makes sense.”

I glanced at Mila, who was still talking, before shifting my attention back to the man beside me. “What does?”

He took a sip of what looked like whiskey. “Steve usually plans these things. He’s got good instincts on who to invite, especially if he extends that offer to an outsider.”

“I’m assuming you don’t get a lot of outsiders here, then,” I replied dryly.

“You’d be right.” He jerked his head toward the door. “Not a lot of people come out this way. It’s far enough from the lake that no one usually finds us.” His expression remained friendly, but I saw the skepticism in his eyes. Something was going on in this place that everyone was working hard to protect. “How did you find us?”

“Met Jenny and Carl at the festival. They invited us Friday night, but then never showed,” I shared, hoping he might know them, but when he didn’t respond, I figured he wouldn’t share any information, even if he had it.

He nodded slowly while he took another sip from his glass. Lifting the beer bottle to my lips, I did the same while my attention slid back to Mila. My eyes dropped to the dress she was wearing, the dress I hated but couldn’t deny it fit her perfectly. My eyes skimmed over the spaghetti straps and down to her cleavage, which was barely contained. Mila worked out a lot, and it showed by the shape of her body, but she wasn’t skinny. She had curves in all the places I liked, and she wasn’t afraid to show them off. She was one of the most beautiful women I’d ever seen. However, it wasn’t only her looks that made her sexy. It was her confidence and fearlessness that drew me in.

When my eyes slid up her body and settled on hers, I noticed she was staring at me with an intensity I'd never seen. Something was different about her tonight, something I couldn’t put my finger on, but I felt it in the way she watched me.

She said something to the person across from her before strolling across the room toward me. The subtle sway of her hips garnered the attention of everyone she passed. Her eyes never left mine while she walked. I heard the man next to me say something, but I ignored him. I couldn't stop watching her. When she finally stopped in front of me, she laid her hand on my knee and pushed it gently to the side. Swallowing hard, I spread my thighs so she could move to stand between them.

She laid her hand on my chest and put her lips next to my ear before whispering, “Trust me.”

Lifting my hand, I wrapped it around her hip and squeezed, deciding to go along with whatever she was thinking. I had little experience with this kind of shit, but she did, and something drove her to do this.

“Have I told you how hot you look tonight?” she whispered against my ear.

Sliding my hand along her lower back, I wrapped my arm around her, pulled her body closer to mine, and played along. “Yeah.”

She rubbed her nose along the side of mine. “Do you think I look hot?”

I took a deep breath and released it slowly. “You always look hot.”

Her eyes met mine, her eyelids heavy, and I had to give her credit. She was one hell of an actress because if I didn’t know better, I’d bet money she was attracted to me. “You really think that, don’t you?”

“I don’t think it’s any secret how I feel about you,” I replied, further blurring the line between playing along and honesty.

Her stare dropped to my mouth, and I didn’t fucking care anymore. Wrapping my hand around her neck, I blocked out everyone else and focused on her. If she wanted to play this game, then we’d play.

“Mmm...April, you weren’t wrong in the way you described him.”

She studied me a moment longer, but when her stare left me and she looked to the right, I closed my eyes. I heard her say something, but I had no idea what it was. I didn’t care. I was frustrated and not sure I could fake this relationship anymore. Two weeks felt like an eternity when I was fighting this attraction.

“You guys comin’ or what?”

I shook my head and looked to the right, finally focusing on the conversation beside me.

“You bet we are.” Mila looped her arm around my neck. “Is there alcohol down there, or should we grab another drink?”

“There’s a full bar down there.”

I studied the woman Mila was talking to, but I didn’t say anything until a man came up behind her and wrapped his arm around her waist. She leaned against him and smirked. “I’m so excited for tonight.”

Mila nodded. “Me too.”

“Then let’s go.”

Pushing away, Mila reached down and grabbed my hand when the other couple turned and started across the room.

Walking side by side, she smiled but, in a low voice, gave me some information. “Truly invited us downstairs to play.” Her eyebrows lifted. “I have no idea what that means, considering that’s all she said, but it seemed like she thought I’d know. If anything feels off, find the nearest exit, and we’ll get the hell out of here.”

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