Page 55 of King of Temptation

I grab my briefs on the way out, pulling them on. I don’t turn on a light. Instead, I move to the windows and stare out at the Las Vegas skyline.

This fucking place. It’s so easy to fall into sin here. Look at my parents. My mother died in a car crash in one of her alcoholic stupors.

And my father…

I move into the kitchen, opening the cupboard above the refrigerator and pull out a quarter bottle of Jack.

I mostly cleared out the apartment of liquor when I quit, but I saved this one bottle as a bail out.

I pull off the top and wave the bottle under my nose, the smell hitting me as I close my eyes.

If ever there was a time for a man to drink, it might be now.

I’ve got this whole plan. Get revenge on Toni. Use my worthless life to make theirs better.

Why did Kim have to get pregnant now?

But I don’t bring the bottle to my lips.

Because I’ve got some fucking choices in front of me. If Kim is pregnant, there is no question in my mind whether or not the baby is mine.

I know who Kim is. And despite the fact that the sex is panty-melting hot, this is not a regular thing for her.

There hasn’t been anyone else.

I shouldn’t have accused her of seducing me at the wedding, it was all me. And I should have warned her, I detonate the lives of the people around me. It’s what I do. It’s why I’m better off going to jail.

That’s what pushes me to bring the bottle to my nose again.

“What are you doing?”

I look up to see Kim in the hall wearing nothing but my discarded T-shirt.

Damn, she looks so good like that. Long legs, mussed hair.

“My mom was an alcoholic,” I tell her. I set the bottle down on the counter. “I think I was too. I drank all the time, and it fueled my anger, my impulsivity. I got the worst of both my parents. All my siblings would tell you it’s true.”

She comes out of the hall and around the island. I don’t even question pulling her into my arms, her soft scent wrapping around me as I fold her into my embrace.

“If you want me to assure you that you won’t make your parents’ mistakes, I’m probably the wrong person to ask. I just found out, I’m likely making my mom’s biggest mistake of her life, so yeah…”

Right. All at once it hits me that Kim has the same hang-up I do. Fear of becoming her parent. It’s why she’s so sensitive about the topic of promiscuity. Probably why she was locked down so tight before she met me.

She’d never get pregnant on purpose, and I am an ass for even suggesting it, but we knew that already. I settle her closer, brushing a kiss on the top of her head. “We both have some choices to make.”

“We do.”

I slide a hand down her spine, closing my eyes. Mason is dad material. Hell, even Roman would make a good dad…but me?

I’m the guy who ruins everything. I’d ruin a kid. No question.

Still holding Kim, I reach for the cap and stuff it back on the bottle. I can’t control what I did that night at Mason’s wedding, the choices I made that impacted Kim, but I can control this.

I feel calmer just choosing to close the bottle. My arm around Kim, I kiss her forehead. “Want to go back to bed?”

“I could use a toothbrush,” she says.

I dumped her bag right next to the elevator and so I leave her side to grab it now. Handing it to her, I run a hand through my hair. “Don’t try to leave tonight, ok?”

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