Page 62 of The Temptation
“It’s fine. You get a shower. I’ll strip the sheets off the bed.”
Simon twisted so that he could look at me. “You’re not going to let your housekeeper wash your sheets, are you?”
I lifted one brow at his sudden horrified tone. “That is her job.”
“You cannotlet her touch them.” His eyes widened, and his voice dropped to a whisper. “They’re full of my cum. I came so fucking hard, and it’s all your fault.”
“Simon, dearest, that was my entire goal.” The horror left his eyes for an unimpressed expression. “Also, I’m pretty sure the entire household heard your shouting. Everyone likely knows my sheets are full of cum.”
“You’re evil. While I’m in the shower,youwill strip the sheets off the bed and put them in the washing machine. No one else may touch them.”
It took all my considerable self-control to keep from laughing in his face. Biting my tongue, I nodded, agreeing to his orders.
With reluctance, I pulled free of his body and dealt with the condom. Simon pressed a kiss to my chin and merrily bounced into the shower while I pulled on a pair of sleep pants so I could traipse through the house with the dirty sheets. He was too fucking adorable.
The oddity of his demands helped to keep reality at bay long enough for me to get the sheets into the washing machine. Hilda might have directed a nervous glance in my direction as she asked if I needed any help. I had to reassure her that I wasn’t upset with the quality of her work; it was just that my lover had some interesting quirks.
As I entered the bedroom to hear the shower still running, that word was still ringing in my head.
Lover.
I’d turned Simon into my lover, but he wasn’t supposed to be.
I wasn’t supposed to touch him.
Sawyer had been crystal clear about that. I was never to touch him. Simon was supposed to be my little brother, a treasured ward. He wasn’t supposed to be a lover. A partner. A beloved companion and soul mate.
By touching Simon, I was betraying my best friend. Breaking a promise I’d made years ago.
When Simon stepped out of the shower with a towel wrapped around his waist and a rosy glow to his skin, I could barely lookat him. He was too perfect, and I was a monster. I couldn’t keep a single promise.
It didn’t matter that I loved him.
Fuck, I loved him so much. Holding those words and feelings in had created this enormous chasm in my chest. I was hollowed out. Completely empty. If I couldn’t have Simon, if I couldn’t hold on to him and keep him as mine, there was nothing else for me.
Yet, if I couldn’t keep my promise to Sawyer, how could I ever face myself in the mirror?
An irritated sigh drew my gaze slowly up to Simon’s face. He was staring at me, a frown tugging on his full lips, his hand resting on his hip. “Clearly, I left you alone for far too long.”
Tears slipped down my cheeks before I could catch them. Once they started, I couldn’t make them stop. “Simon, we can’t,” I said, my voice shattering like glass on that final word. I swallowed hard and forced the words to come out. “We can’t do this anymore.”
Simon stepped closer and cupped my cheeks, using his thumbs to sweep away the tears as they fell. “No, my precious one. It’s time we had a long talk that you won’t like, but it is way overdue. You saved me. It’s time for me to return the favor.”
21
SIMON MILLER
Pierce was breaking my heart.I couldn’t remember ever having seen him cry. Not even at Sawyer’s funeral. But right now, he was falling apart, and I was about to make it a hundred times worse. Yet, I couldn’t back down. If I did, things would never get better; he would never break free of this horrible past that was crushing his happiness.
“You need to talk about what happened that day,” I pressed.
Pierce shook his head, pulling free of my grasp. “There’s nothing to talk about. This has nothing to do with Sawyer and his death.”
“No, it has to do with an argument you had with him right before he died,” I snapped.
Pierce’s haunted eyes lurched to my face. He jumped to his feet and started for the bathroom, but I darted in front of him, stretching my arms and legs across the opening so he couldn’t get past me. I felt fucking ridiculous, but I would not let him run from me. I’d follow him wherever I had to.
“I went to see our friends last week for help. Sebastian and the others know we’re sleeping together.”
