Page 44 of Sinners Retreat

Considering I’m the one shrugging off every single one of his advances, I’m pretty sure I’m not being used. Who cares if Ezra sleeps around? I’d be more surprised if a man who fucked a stranger he met in an airportwasn’tthat type of person.

“I’m an adult, Bennett. I think I can handle myself. I don’t know if you noticed, but I’ve skirted every one of your brother’s attempts at this retreat. But even if I hadn’t, what we do is none of your goddamn business. Are you worried we’ll get married and have fucked-up little children with poor coping mechanisms? No. This is just a fling, and it’s not even that anymore. I have one thing on my mind at this retreat, and it’s finding my brother’s killer.”

Bennett grips the door and swings it open, letting the heat and humidity seep into my villa. “This won’t end well foryou two. And don’t say I didn’t warn you,” he says before disappearing like a ghost of flings past.

I suck in a breath as the door closes, but I can’t stop thinking about what Bennett said. Even as I sit on the couch and remind myself of my reason for being here, thoughts of Ezra creep into my mind.

Bennett’s words were a ploy. That much was clear. Ezra may be a playboy, but that’s not enough of a reason to stop allowing him to get me off. So why is Ezra’s brother trying to warn me away from him?

I get up, lock my villa on the way out, and head to Ezra’s. He could be at the dinner for all I know, but maybe he decided to skip out on tonight’s human delicacies.

Sand crunches under my feet as I march down the boardwalk. The sun has started to set, but the tiny grains grip the last strands of warmth and use them to burn my arches. It’ll be worth it to see the look on Ezra’s face when I knock on his door.

And I’m in for a treat, because his wide eyes and dropped jaw don’t disappoint as he sees me standing on his little porch.

Surprise, motherfucker.

I bully him into the villa with my body language alone and close the door behind me. It’s all an act. I just want to see him squirm.

“So you’re a playboy type, Ezra?”

“I beg your pardon?”

“You sleep around? Love your one-night stands?” I step into him as I talk.

He scratches the back of his neck. “What are you talking about, pet?”

The panic in his eyes nearly makes me laugh. I don’t actually care. He’s not mine, and this is just a fling gone weird. An extended-stay one-night stand.

“Wait, who told you I was a playboy?”

I flop onto his couch and pick a grain of sand from beneath a fingernail. “Your brother.”

“Bennett told you that? Oh, pet, you can’t listen to a word he says. He’s out to protect one person and one person only, and that’s himself. He’s just worried I’m getting attached.”

I flick the grain of sand onto the floor and look at him. “Are you?”

“Of course not.” He wears a poker face as he speaks, but I don’t miss the way his voice has risen an octave. “Are you?”

“Not a chance in hell.” I’m a much better liar, though if he called my bluff and told me to get undressed right now, I absolutely would.

He steps closer and leans down, placing an arm to either side of my head. “Then I see no issue with resuming our little arrangement.”

His warm breath rushes over my neck and chips away at my resolve.

“I’m not a playboy, but I’m not out to make you fall in love with me, either. I like this push and pull between us.”

“Mostly push these days.”

“Yes, regretfully. What do I have to do to get a little more...pull?” His hand grips my hair and yanks back my head, giving him access to my neck.

I don’t push him away as he lowers his lips to my skin. I don’t protest as his hand falls to my breast. Like the little slut I am, I moan and encourage him to keep going as all thought evaporates from my mind.

But just as I reach to undo the pesky button separating me from pleasure, the villa door flies open.

“She’s the bane of my existence, Ezra! If I have to hear her—” Bennett freezes beside the couch and looks away as Ezra and I scramble to put space between us.

“Have you ever heard of knocking?” Ezra shouts, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen a human turn that shade of red.

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