Page 24 of Tempted By Sin

My elbows rest against the railing and I close my eyes, focusing on my breathing. The night is calm, which helps to quiet the chaos running rampant in my mind. If I could stay out here all night, getting lost in the breeze, I would. But I would eventually freeze given the time of year.

The dinging of my phone in my hand spikes my heart rate, erasing all the hard work I had just done. It’s well after midnight, so who could possibly be texting me? Maybe it’s Raya.

My phone bursts to life when I unlock it, the screen almost blinding. When I see UNKNOWN on the screen, the device nearly slips from my hand. My eyes snap up to sweep across the front yard, focusing on every nook and cranny of the tree line I can see.

Surely, he can’t be here again.

DING!

Oh, shit.

Raya told me not to engage with him because it won’t do me any good. I need to stay away from him because he’s dangerous. Opening his messages will only continue to drag me into whatever game he’s trying to play.

I should delete the messages and possibly get a new phone number.

I should walk inside, close the door, and go back to be with my fiancé.

I should not givehimany more of my time than he’s already taken from me.

But I don’t do any of those.

No. Instead, I open the two messages, unable to stop myself.

Maybe I really am fucked up.

UNKNOWN: You make such pretty sounds, little bird.

UNKNOWN: But they sound prettier when they’re for me.

My heart leaps into my throat. Is he watching me? How the hell does he know I had sex with Liam just now? Did he break into my house and watch from the shadows?

With shaky hands, I type a response. I keep my eyes focused on the phone, not wanting to gaze at the front yard for fear I would see him watching me from afar, his ocean eyes drawing me in.

PAE: Who are you and what do you want from me? I’ve seen your face, you know. I could report you to the police.

Maybe It’s not ideal to threaten him, but if it’ll get him to leave me alone, then so be it.

DING!

UNKNOWN: And yet, you haven’t. Why is that? Is it because you don’t want anyone to know what happened between us? Especially not your fiancé.

I close my eyes and focus on my breathing. This can’t be happening. I need to shut this down before it gets out of hand. Maybe it’s the alcohol coursing through my veins that is encouraging me to make bad decisions, but either way, I can’t play into what this guy wants. Whatever that is.

PAE: You need to leave me alone.

I muster up whatever courage I have to turn and walk inside when another ding sounds from my phone, halting me in my tracks.

I should ignore him and change my number, but curiosity gets the best of me.

UNKNOWN: You can run from me all you like, little bird, but I will always catch you.

As I shove my phone into the pocket of my robe, I swear I feel the masked man’s intense gaze on the back of my head from somewhere in the distance. Knowing he’s been watching me spikes my heart rate and floods my veins with fear. And somewhere deep inside, a hint of desire I don’t want to acknowledge.

What does he want from me?

CHAPTERFOURTEEN

Ace

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