Page 14 of Devious Temptation
I can barely contain the rapid beating of my heart as it threatens to jump out of my chest at the touch of Lawson’s fingers on my bare skin. He’s so close I can feel his warm breath against my neck, causing my skin to break out in goosebumps. My breasts heave with every inhale that threatens to tear the fabric of my dress.
“I’m… uh… going to unzip your dress. Hold the front,” Lawson softly commands.
“Yes, sir.” The words escape before I can swallow them. They hang in the air around us.
His fingers still against my back. It’s so quiet I hear a sharp intake of breath, followed by a soft groan that he tries so hard to conceal.
“Lucy…” My name falls from between his lips like a plea as his warm fingers finally move, gently untangling my hair. He’s trying so hard not to touch me directly, but the barest hint of his fingers caressing against my spine has my entire body lit up like a sparkler.
When thestrands are finally free, Lawson sweeps them back over my shoulder, tucking them securely inside my hairclip. As he slowly zips my dress back up, I turn to look at him over my shoulder, every part of me so aware of every part of him.
Our eyes lock, and he doesn't release me even when he’s finished. A fiery trail follows his hands as they slide down my back to encircle my hips, fingers digging into my flesh possessively as his head slowly dips down.
“Lawson…” Our lips are a hair’s breadth apart, and I slowly close my eyes and tilt my head up.
“What’s going on here?” My brother’s words cut through the thick cloud of lust that encases us, and we spring apart as though we’ve burned each other.
“Nothing!” My voice is high-pitched when I answer, whirling to grab my clutch from the vanity. “My hair got stuck in my zipper, and Lawson was just helping me untangle it.”
“Yep,” Lawson agrees, popping the p. “Good to see you, Liam.” Without so much as a goodbye, he flees my room while my brother and I watch him go.
The dark brown rings around Liam’s golden green irises are edged in red as he turns his gaze back to me, and I frown. “Are you on something?”
“Don’t change the subject, Luce.” He narrows his eyes at me. “I hope you know what you’re doing.” He turns away, leaving no opportunity for me to question him further about why his eyes are red or why he smells like a weed shop.
I am frozen, replaying what happened between Lawsonand me in my mind until Liam’s door slams, spurring me to get a move on.
Downstairs, Rhys is waiting for me with a handsome smile, and his parents are nowhere to be found.
But as he helps me settle into his truck, I can’t help but think about the near kiss I almost shared with his dad.
No, Liam, I have absolutely no clue what I’m doing. I’ve lost my damn mind.
Seven
It’s justlike Charlotte to tell parents we can host a graduation party, where both of us will be chaperoning, and then fuck off to Boca without so much as a heads-up. Just a short text stating she’ll be gone for a week was all I got less than an hour before Rhys told his friends they could start arriving.
I don’t know what it is about our house, or us, that makes the other parents feel like we’re capable of keeping over thirty new graduates in line, but somehow, our place always gets offered up as the location for everyone to hang out whenever they celebrate something big.
It’s an unspoken understanding that the kids will drink, so all of us parents feel like they might as well do it where they can crash when they’re tired, and we know the liquor isn’t coming from some random “hey, mister”at a gas station.
Charlotte wanted a big house where we didn’t have neighbors right on top of us, and I guess I’m thankful for that because even though the lieutenant of the NeighborhoodOriented Policing Team’s son will be in attendance, the last thing we need is nosy neighbors complaining about the noise and potentially sending an officer out who won’t turn a blind eye to underage drinking.
As I clean the grill after making hot dogs and cheeseburgers, I frown across the backyard at my son, who is standing too close to a petite blonde I’ve never seen before. They’re both wet from swimming, and he’s grinning at her like they have a secret no one knows. Taking a pull from my beer, I try to tamp down the anger that rises beneath my skin as he tickles her before launching them both into the pool.
It’s completely inappropriate.
Then again, I almost kissed Lucy on prom night, whichiswaymore unacceptable.
It’s been two weeks.
Two weeks of avoiding her at all costs.
I know the cheer team won Nationals—due to my unhealthy obsession of stalking Lucy’s Iconic profile—and I was prepared to text her a congratulations before I nearly threw my phone across the room to stop myself. Rhys has been spending more time at her house, as well, so it’s like she’s been actively avoiding me, too.
But I didn’t think Lucy would go so far as to not show up to the graduation party.
Regret runs rampant through my mind. I never meant to make things so awkward between us. I just… acted in the moment that night. She was right there. So beautiful. So warm. Surrounding me with her vanilla and lilac scent. Her whispered, “Yes, sir,” plays in my fantasies as I stroke myself tocompletion. Then I try desperately not to throw up over how sick I am.
