Page 83 of Tempting Fate

Grabbing my loofah, I scrub over my body until the blood-tinged water swirling at my feet runs clear. I shampoo my hair and rinse it out, then settle my back to Zeke’s chest when he snags the conditioner bottle from my hand and works it through my locks. He massages my scalp until I can’t keep a shudder from running through me, then moves under the water to wash while my conditioner soaks.

I watch the muscles in his back ripple as he soaps himself up.

Even though my head warns me that I shouldn’t be looking at him like he’s mine, that he’s a liar who can’t be trusted, I can’t stop myself from raking my gaze along his body. Wide shoulders, tapered waist, bulky thighs that show how strong he is. Every part of him calls to the woman in me. Knowing that he’s just another in a long line of men to betray me doesn’t help me ignore that fact. Rather, my battered heart tells me to believe his excuses and my disloyal head screams that he only seeks to protect me.

My stomach churns with the truth of our relationship.

Sometimes Zeke treats me with the same contempt Alex does.

They both believe I’m weak.

With Zeke, it might come from a good place, but it still tempts fate to do her worst as the knowledge of his disrespect destroys my ability to trust him completely.

Once he’s done washing away my brother’s blood, Zeke turns to face me. In his eyes, I see the misgivings that I’m battling. He’s in love, confused, angry, sad, and worried… just like I am.

“Don’t look at me like that… this’s a bump in the road, not the end.”

“I can’t help it.” With a half shrug, I confess, “Right now, with all the lies standing between us, we feel irreparable.”

“Fuck, Lil.”

I give him a shrug.

What am I supposed to do?

Capitulate, just to have him lie to me again...

Always the one to know when he’s temporarily defeated—since I don’t think he’s ever actually beaten—Zeke silently motions for me to turn. After he rinses the conditioner from my hair, then passes me my face scrub, I battle to combat the urge to put an end to this taciturn standoff by confessing that I forgive him.

I suck the inside of my cheek between my teeth and bite down on it to stop myself.

Stepping out of the shower and towelling off, Zeke breaks the silence instead. “You did good, sweet thing. When everyone else was panickin’, you stood firm and looked after him. He owes you his life.”

“He owes you too, Zeke.” I cut the water and accept the towel he holds out to me. “I would have been useless without you.”

Without replying, my fiancé uses his big body to corral me backward until my back is against the tile wall. When I open my mouth to protest, he cups the back of my neck and brings my forehead to his. Our gazes bore into each other, the depth of longing a force field that links us cosmically.

“Lily, I?—”

Whatever he’s about to say is cut off by the door to our bedroom being shoved open with a bang.

“Police.” A brusque male voice declares. “Put your hands where we can see them.”

“Stay behind me,” Zeke whispers as he tightens his towel around his hips. I follow suit, tucking the end in at my chest to keep myself covered. “Get flat on the floor if they start shootin’.”

We exit the bathroom with our hands in the air.

“Well, what do we have here?” the cop standing in our bedroom doorway asks. “Sneak off for a quickie while the rest of your gang cleaned up after the drive-by?”

“Club,” I correct him without thinking.

“Gang, club, mob, degenerates … I don’t give a flying fuck what you call yourselves. Your man here is under arrest.”

“For what?” Zeke queries.

I sink my toes into the plush carpet of our bedroom and curl them in the soft fibres in an attempt to ground myself against what’s sure to be a mortifying experience if my towel keeps slipping. In front of me, Zeke stiffens as I drag the top of the bath sheet back into place with one hand. I raise my hands again, determined not to give the cop a reason to open fire on us. Zeke must sense my predicament because he straightens his shoulders and widens his body to keep me from sight.

Another man enters our bedroom.

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