Page 27 of Sweet Temptation

Book Nerd: Yes!! If you mean, can you move in, then, yes! I would love to have another person to spend time with. Ooh, maybe I can convince you to read one of my new novel obsessions! Wait, we can have slumber parties! Ooh, and Bailey can come over all the time and we can have girls' nights!

A laugh bubbles from my lips as I read her paragraph and reply with a grin on my lips.

Me: Great! I’ll pack my things and I’ll be over later!! Also, I don't read very much, but yes to your slumber party idea and the girls' night. Xx

Clicking my phone off, I turn toward my sunshine friend as we head down the stairs and toward her red Mercedes. Maybe things can change overnight.

I can only hope.

I wave goodbye to Bailey as she drops me off at Scarlet's. I head inside the house and set my bag down, sighing. I know exactly what he's doing at that party, and it bites at my skin just knowing I pushed away someone I wanted. I do want Damon… I want him more than I can possibly describe.

But he's hiding things. Things he won’t tell me.

It's my own damn fault, though. I told him I just wanted to be friends because I was afraid of committing. He makes me feel things I didn't think were ever going to be possible for me. He slammed down that wall I was holding up for the longest time.

One look at his broken blue eyes and down came that wall, crashing till it hit my feet. I won't admit this to him, but I did dig into his past. And things I didn’t want to pop up did, so I've been avoiding him all day. I close my eyes as I make my way to the spare bedroom I've been staying in.

"Is This Love?" By James Arthur is blasting through Scarlet's bedroom and my heart snaps. It is love? The way I feel about him is crazy. He makes me fucking insane. How can I hide these feelings and pretend I just want to be his friend? I can't do it. I can't tell him. I have to keep my heart protected.

Especially with the new information swirling in my brain. I like him for sure. But love? No. Not love. Never love. You can't love someone if you can't love yourself, and I don't even know how to love. So yeah, no. Not love, but I sure do like him.

Flopping on the cushiony bed, I close my eyes and ponder over my thoughts for the next four hours. Damon Saint will be the death of me. His heart is filled with fire, and mine is filled with gold. Closing my eyes, I feel the tears pour as the last thought slips out.

We just aren't meant for more.

FIFTEEN

"Damon. I need you and your brother to come to Chicago," my mother's voice is like a knife to my skull as Damien and I stare at the Zoom meet.

Absolutely not. I'm not dealing with her.

I have no interest in dealing with her shit today, or any day. "How about a different day?" Damien replies instead, clearly seeing the rage fly over my features.

"I'm your capo; you should be listening, not suggesting," she snaps.

Margarita Saint is a psycho. The woman is so unhinged, I feel like she would be friends with the devil. "We would like to request a different day," I reply through gritted teeth.

My mother's eyes turn to slits, and I know my response pissed her off. "Fine. You will come the next time I call. No different dates. I don't give a fuck," she growls, staring at her manicured nails.

I huff out a breath, already annoyed with this conversation. "Fine," my twin and I reply at the same time.

I hang up with a click, pushing to my feet and disappearing into my room. I need this party now more than ever. I need a distraction from my entire life.

I shake my thoughts from my head that she will not continue to ruin my night. I push through the double doors of Molly Mayberry's house. The party happens to be in full swing, and all I want to do is drown in alcohol.

Half-naked girls are everywhere. The stench of alcohol fills my lungs as we make our way through the hallway to the kitchen.

''Take your pick, Damon. There are girls everywhere,'' Sam says in my ear. I shrug and lean against the refrigerator with a beer clutched in my grip.

A brunette with a graspable ass walks past me toward the keg, and I know that's the girl I'm leaving this party with the moment my eyes lock onto her. Sam smirks beside me as he wraps an arm around a blonde with pink streaks in her hair.

Taking a sip from my beer, I sigh as my mind wanders off to what Hanna's doing tonight. Shaking the thought from my head, I stride over to the girl and wrench her to my chest.

''You feel like getting out of here," I whisper against her hair. I fully flush a pair of tits pressed against me as she giggles with enthusiasm and winks at me.

Pulling her with me, I head in the direction of the staircase. When the door closes behind me, I tilt my head and watch her. ''Get naked,'' I instruct. The girl does as she's told while I finish off my beer and drop the empty bottle onto the dresser.

Pulling my shirt over my head, I crawl over her body and press open-mouthed kisses all over her delicious pair of tits before my mouth works its way south. Spitting on my fingers, I rub them over her bare slit, earning glorious moans from her lips.

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