Page 55 of Reckless Temptation

“Okay, but.” She sobered up, furrowing her brow. “You realize what’s going on here, right?”

“Um, I had a huge lapse of judgment?”That I can’t regret.

“That. But also who Nick is.” She leaned over, resting her elbow on the bistro table between us as she propped her chin in her hand.

“The campus bad boy. The rebel artist.”

“Yeah, but he’s also Tiffany Lorsen’s stepbrother.”

Blood drained from my face. That nugget of news stole my breath as I stared her down. “What?”

“Nick’s mom married George Lorsen, like, a couple of years ago or something.”

I knew there was something fishy about his being at the Lorsen mansion! I had been so distracted and confused that I hadn’t thought much about how Nick pulled me into that pool house, like he knew the lay of the land.

I groaned, dropping my head again. “No wonder he’s interested in me.” I jerked back upright. “He’s only trying to…”

“Bully you?” She guessed it for me.

“To mess with me because of her.”

She shrugged. “I don’t know. It kind of sounds like he’s just into you, after the fact.”

“I can’t trust that. I can’t trusthim.” I’d told him that several times. I doubted I could trust him any more now that I’d caved to him and given him my V-card. “I couldn’t trust him before we had sex, but knowing that he’s related to Tiffany makes him even more of an enemy!”

“Then, maybe…” She shrugged again, as if she were sorry to say this. “Maybe cross this off as a bad mistake, a lesson learned, and steer clear of him again.”

The trouble with that was how I doubted I could. I didn’t want to steer clear of Nick. I wanted to figure out how to accept that I’d had sex with him, and once I did, once I could think clearly again, I wanted more with him.

That one time was not enough. He’d unleashed this feral desire in me. He hogged all my thoughts.

At the crux of the matter, though, I let a little bit of sadness creep in.

I hadn’t been saving my virginity out of any sense of purity. It wasn’t a goal. I had just been too busy, too focused on my career and education, assuming that I could focus on a sex or love life later.

But giving my V-card to my bully? I did regret that. It wasn’t something I could get back, and I wished that I could’ve given it to someone who actually cared about me and respected me.

And Nick Grant—the stepbrother of the princess who treated me as her nemesis—didnotrespect me.

Desire me? Yes.

I wouldn’t delude myself into thinking that Nick really cared about me beyond something physical.

Talking to Elise helped me. With her, I had a chance to get it off my chest. Before we wrapped up our discussion, she apologized that she couldn’t offer me any better advice.

When I arrived on campus Monday morning, though, my concerns and worries about facing Nick didn’t matter. He wasn’t there to stalk me or follow me from class to class. He was strangely absent, and while I felt his absence, I was distracted by the good news of high exam and assignment scores that had come in. Those were bits of happiness I could appreciate. Dad texted me too, saying that the car—which had been impounded from the Lorsen property, likely Tiffany’s doing—was back at home and since there was an issue with paperwork, we wouldn’t have to pay a fee.

Even though I was nervous to face Nick, I was having a good morning of small “wins”.

At least, until my afternoon class came and I was asked to speak with the head of the department about new accusations that I’d slept with a couple of members of the staff.

Not this again.

If I had the money and means, I’d sue for libel and slander.

Because as I got up to go speak with the head of the department, I passed Tiffany and Rachel in the lecture hall.

“What a slut,” Rachel taunted.

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