Page 44 of Tender Temptation

I have no idea how he’ll react to me, but hopefully I can explain everything to him. Make him see what we have is real.

Despite my mom’s assurances, I take extra precautions to avoid being followed, parking the car in a hotel lot and taking an Uber to Cillian’s loft, even though it’s only a few blocks away. My hands shake as I enter the code to the elevator and it starts going up. I step into his living room, it’s quiet.His familiar scent fills the space, but he isn’t here. I feel a pang of anguish.

Sitting on the couch for hours, waiting for him to return, my mind races with a thousand thoughts. Is he out on a date? Did he go away for the weekend? Where is he?

My heart aches when I think about how betrayed he must feel. I practice what I’ll say over and over. As it gets closer to midnight, I start to feel stupid. Stalkerish. Maybe he’s not as devastated as I’ve been.

I’m about to leave when I hear the elevator whirr. A few minutes later, Cillian stumbles in, so drunk he’s barely able to stand up on his own. His eyes widen in shock as he sees me. Tries to focus. For a moment, time seems to stand still.

Then we run to each other and I jump into his arms. Our lips smash together and the world melts away. In this kiss, all my pain, confusion, and heartache seem to disappear.

He holds me against him tightly, whispering my name over and over as we kiss.

Nothing matters but him. Us.

Our love burns with the heat of a million fireballs as he walks us back to his bedroom.

twenty

Cillian

Earlier That Same Night

It should be thebest fucking time of my life.

Yesterday, I received the news McGloughlin Construction was awarded the Bright Shipping contract. The equivalent of winning the lottery—hundreds of millions of dollars in fees for the next three years. I’d like to celebrate with my Da, but all I feel is a hollow ache in my chest and the gnawing torment of memories I can’tescape.

Ivy.

Sitting at the polished bar at the Metropolitan Grill, I toss back another whiskey just as I’ve done for the past few evenings. The amber liquid burns a trail down my throat. I’ve been sitting here for hours, lost in the haze of alcohol, once again trying to get drunk enough so I can sleep without dreaming about her. The bartender shoots me a concerned look but knows better than to ask questions. He’s getting used to me nursing my heartbreak one glass at a time.

It’s unfathomable to me how I’ve fallen hard for an eighteen-year-old. No matter how mature she seems, loving Ivy makes me feel like a complete idiot. Then I think about all the lies she told me and it’s like a knife constantly stabbing me in my junk. In any given moment, my mood shifts from anger to longing to betrayal…always ending up at desire. I want her so fucking much. I’d give anything to bury myself inside her one more time.

The whiskey might blur the edges, but it’ll never fully erase the images of her from my mind.

I down my drink and stagger out of the bar. Stumbling toward home, my vision sways with each step. The sidewalk morphs into two, then three pathways. Somewhere in the back of my mind a voice tells me, “knock this shit off,“ but I know I’m not going to. The only time the pain dulls is after a few wee sweeties, as my da used to call them. I finally make ithome, the elevator ride up to my loft feels endless and I’m not looking forward to going to bed alone.

The door opens, and through the fog of my inebriation, I see her.

Ivy.

Is this a fucking mirage? My angel is sitting on my couch in a pink sundress, her turquoise eyes are wide and filled with emotions I can’t quite decipher in my drunken state. This has got to be a cruel trick of my mind. Then she stands and everything about her becomes startlingly real.

“Cillian.” Ivy’s voice trembles.

In an instant, the world narrows to the two of us. I don’t think—I react. I bolt toward her and she jumps into my arms. Everything feels right again. Our connection is immediate and all-consuming. I slam my lips against hers and kiss her like there’s no tomorrow and everything feels possible again.

Ivy wraps her legs around my waist and her arms around my neck. Her touch is fire against my skin. Gripping her ass, I yank her against my cock, needing to feel her core heat against me. I whisper her name, over and over, like a prayer. She’s here, and nothing—not her age, not the lies—nothingelse matters but sinking my needy cock into her.

I carry her to my bedroom and we fall onto my comforter, our bodies entwined, grasping and clawing each other’s clothes off. Each of us driven by a desperation bordering onmadness. We’re a whirlwind of limbs and breathless kisses. Every touch, every movement is a plea for understanding. For grace.

Forforgiveness.

My hands trace the contours of her body. Ivy’s skin is so fucking soft. She smells like flowers warming in the sun. As I kiss down the hollow of her throat to her chest, I tug her white bra cups aside and fasten my lips to a rosy nipple. My fingers work their way down the front of her panties and I plunge them into her velvety heat. Ivy’s palms span my ass and she pulls me closer. Even though I’m wasted, I try to memorize this moment. Hold on to the sensation of our bodies pressed together again.

“I’m gonna lick your sweet little pussy until you’re screaming,” I growl, kissing my way to her stomach. I rip her panties off in one motion. Hoist her leg so it’s resting on my shoulder, run a finger through her drenched folds and bury my face into her wet heat. She smells and tastes delicious. I lap up her arousal and suck on her lower lips. Fuck her with my tongue. Tease her until she’s shuddering around me.

“Ohmygod,“ Ivy screams through her first orgasm. “Don’t stop.Please, baby.”

---