Page 61 of Breaking the Sinner

Guilt slashed at her, and the deeper it cut, the more she knew it wasn’t about yesterday. It was about the whole damn journey. Leaving home. Choosing life over family. She’d settled on a year, calling it an homage to Bethany. But it wasn’t an homage. It was desertion.

She’d done whatshewanted. Whether it was for a day or a year, it didn’t matter. She’d turned her back on the only family she’d been blessed to be born with.

Tears pricked at her eyes, but she shook her head, reaffirming that they had no place in this morning. Three months in Los Angeles, and she was doing far better than expected. That left nine months to see, do, and sin every way possible. She still wanted this for herself. Even if the other parts of her begged to differ.

But maybe you should go home sooner. Cut it off after six months. Or maybe just three?

The mere thought made her throat tighten. She’d set three months with Cobra. And she couldn’t imagine ending that phase of her independence only to go immediately home. What about Europe? What about the rest of the list? But maybe there could be a different compromise.

Mary’s request earlier that month came back to her:Come home for Thanksgiving.She couldn’t let her little sister down. Being a role model for Mary was one of the most important things in Gen’s life. Maybe she could make that work. Maybe she could go homewith Cobra.

The idea percolated inside her as she got ready for work. It wasn’t like she wanted Cobra to move home with her—that was impossible. But she wanted her family to know him. The first important man in her life who wasn’t Father or Jesus himself. The man who had…cracked her open.

Surprisingly little resistance to the idea emerged the longer she toyed with it. And by the time she bounded out the door of the apartment, headed for Holt Body Fitness, it was decided.

She’d invite Cobra to meet her family.

Everything on the way to work inspired her. The lead tang of smog even held an uplifting quality. As she breezed into Holt Body Fitness, she spotted Cobra at the front desk. He leaned over the shoulder of the receptionist as she sat at the desk, showing him something. His sleeveless Holt shirt showcased sinewy biceps and black tufts of armpit hair. He grinned as if whatever she said was the funniest thing in the world.

Standing far, far too close to her.

Gen stopped mid-stride, unable to rip her eyes from the scene. Something hot and vile shuddered through her, making her ankles weak, as if she could crumble into pieces if anyone so much as breathed on her. Cobra glanced up. His sharp gaze jostled her back to reality.

And that’s when it hit her.

You’ve fallen down the tunnel.

She forced herself forward, limbs stiff and strange. Cobra straightened as she approached. She couldn’t even force out a greeting. She simply smiled and walked by.

Question marks hung in the air as she headed down the back hall leading toward the offices. Cobra’s footsteps sounded behind her a moment later.

“Thought with how good I made you feel yesterday, I’d at least get a ‘hello.’”

She kept her head down, disgusted with herself. Jealousy ran rampant within her…and Cobra hadn’t evendoneanything to warrant it.

“Sorry.” She pushed the door open, dropping her bag on the desk. Cobra shut the door behind him, and she leaned against the desk, covering her face with her hands. “I don’t know what got into me.”

“Rough morning?”

She ran a hand through her hair, feeling some clarity return to her. But when she looked at Cobra, he wasallshe could see. Filling every square inch of this office. And she needed him. More than she could understand.

“Can I have a hug?”

Cobra eyed her for a moment, as if the question had surprised him. But then his thick arms were around her, squeezing her into against the flat planes of his chest so that she melted against him. She found the fragrant nook of his neck, where it still smelled like his morning shower and that undeniable manly scent ofhim. Vetiver and laundry. A sigh shuddered out of her. He felt perfect against her. And she didn’t want to let go.

Cobra started swaying slowly—a gentle rhythm that lured her away from her anxiety.

“Were you jealous, Red?”

The question made her inhale sharply. She pulled back, but Cobra kept her rooted against him, hands at her lower back.

She searched his face. “How did you know?”

A knowing smile emerged, but it wasn’t haughty. Just soft. “Saw it all over your face.”

“It’s embarrassing.”

“Why?”

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