Page 18 of Sinful Desires

“You sure as hell did.” But she laughed softly and loosened up a little.

It wasn’t bad holding her this way. The scent of berries lingered in her hair and tickled my nose when I turned my face closer to inhale the sweetness. It allowed me to loosen up as she had, to tighten my hold and savor the way her body fit against mine. “Why do you dye your hair so many different colors?” I asked.

She chuckled softly. “I don’t know. I’ve never found it easy to stand out, I guess. This is one way I can do it.” The poor girl had no idea how she stood out without trying and how her radiance, beauty, and sharp mind set her apart.

I couldn’t recall the last time I’d received a hug purely for the sake of comfort, and this one came from a girl who had all but vowed to hate me forever. There was something satisfying in it enough to make me want more.

When I pulled my head back, she did the same, leaving us gazing into each other’s eyes. Searching. Questioning. When her mouth parted, the sight of her tempting lips left me ready to abandon my plans and throw caution to the wind. One more kiss. What harm could it do?

“Uh… guys. Were you planning on coming back in at some point?” Valentina stood at the half-open door, wrapping her arms around herself when a stiff breeze blew past. “Everything okay?” she asked, regarding us almost warily.

“Everything‘s fine.” Aria wasted no time hurrying inside. Standing behind her, I caught the look her twin wore as she brushed past. The look someone wore when there would be a conversation later. One in which Aria would have to explain her change of heart, which would make her think about me long after we’d parted ways for the evening. The girl was officially off-balance when it came to me and her opinion thereof.

I ducked my head on my way inside to conceal the glee sizzling through me like lightning. So far, I’d managed to turn every situation to my advantage. I would have to seal my latest victory with a large slab of apple pie.

Though I doubted it would be any sweeter than the lips I’d come so close to tasting once again.

I needed to be more cautious. My attraction to her could not play a part in what had to be done. Otherwise, I’d do well to give up, and that wasn’t going to happen.

7

ARIA

“Heads up! We’ll be landing soon. Here you go.” Valentina tapped on her phone before shining her proud smile on all of us. “Your itineraries have been delivered to your devices.”

Like magic, my phone buzzed, and I reached for it the way everybody else reached for theirs. She was nothing if not organized and maybe a little bossy, not that I minded. When it came time to get eight people together for a three-day weekend, a little organization came in handy, especially this group, with their strong personalities and vastly different opinions on just about everything. Only the fact that we had known each other our entire lives made it possible for us to get along sometimes. We had learned to accept each other’s personality quirks.

Like Lucian, who poured himself a healthy slug of vodka before topping it off with a minuscule amount of Bloody Mary mix. He then opened the cap on a bottle of Tabasco and added a few extra shakes to his drink. “Whatever happened to taking it easy on a weekend off?” he teased Valentina, who stuck her tongue out at him.

“You might want to slow down on those,” Evan advised from his seat, eyeing Lucian. “I thought you said you wanted to hit the slopes first thing.”

“And look.” Colton tapped his phone and held it up for all to see. “Our amazing Valentina even scheduled in time for us to ski this morning.”

“Shove it up your ass, Colton,” she muttered, which filled the jet with laughter. “These are suggestions. Stay in bed all weekend if that’s what you have in mind. Those who want to ski will head up the road to the lodge.”

“I know that’s what I’ll be doing,” I announced. I could hardly wait. When it came to most things, I used caution. I didn’t like to drive fast and never swam out into deep water at the beach. I was not a daredevil. Maybe that was what made skiing such a thrill—the rush, speed, and sense of taming the laws of physics.

“Some of us were looking forward to spending a little time off the slopes.” Sienna gave me a meaningful look, cuddling up next to Noah.

I wasn’t jealous. That much I knew for sure. There was nothing I wanted more for the people I loved than their happiness, and Sienna was clearly beyond happy with Noah. Meanwhile, he walked around looking like a man who had accidentally hit the lottery. I was glad for them. That didn’t mean I wouldn’t have liked somebody to cuddle with.

“Feel free to join us, but you don’t have to,” Valentina announced with a roll of her eyes. “Honestly. It’s like trying to herd cats.”

Rose approached her from behind and threw her arms around my sister’s neck. “We appreciate you,” she assured her, placing a big, smacking kiss against her cheek. “Thank you for putting this together.” She then shot the rest of the jet a very meaningful sort of look, like a warning.

“Of course,” Noah quickly agreed. “This was your idea, and it was a damn good one. Thank you, Valentina,” he added in an almost sickly sweet voice.

“Fuck off,” she retorted, laughing. There was no hanging out with this group of guys without developing a thick skin. It was pretty much necessary.

I settled back in my seat, closing my eyes and exhaling slowly. Was it possible to consciously release tension? I was sure as hell trying my best. I had been carrying way too much of it in my shoulders and neck lately.

If I felt like looking back at the timeline and piecing things together, which I definitely did not, I would come to a pretty obvious conclusion. I had woken up with a tension headache the day after dinner with Miles, and two days later, it still slightly throbbed. I hated thinking about him while we were so far from the city, minutes away from landing on the private airstrip ten miles from the cabin that had been in our family since we were around eight years old. The cabin in Vail owned by Colton’s parents was where we used to spend Christmas, but this cabin was perfect for a quick weekend getaway. Homier too.

I craved the clean air and the sting of the wind on my cheeks. As much as I loved living in Manhattan, there were times when a girl needed to be able to hear herself think.

On landing, Valentina peered through the window closest to her chair. “Awesome. They’re already waiting.” She pointed to the four black SUVs she had rented for the weekend. “I figured couples could have their own car. Evan and Lucian, you’ll be sharing, and I’ll share with Aria. Just to get us back and forth to the lodge or if we want to drive down to the village from the cabin.”

“You thought of everything.” Evan sounded appreciative without a hint of snark, rubbing Valentina’s shoulder on the way past once we began to disembark. “We all owe you one.”

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