Page 7 of The Temptation
My fingers twisted in his soft sweater, trying to pull him even closer to me. One of his hands smoothed up my back to cup the nape of my neck while the other slid lower. His fingers dug into one ass cheek, hiking me a little higher so that I was now on thetips of my toes, my hardening cock pressed into his. My entire body was on fire. The kiss had become something almost violent, our hunger blazing out of control.
Nothing had prepared me for a moment like this. Not even in my darkest, most insane fantasies of Pierce giving in had I expected something like this.
The frigid cold was forgotten. The party with its semi-drunk guests wasn’t even a passing thought. There were only Pierce’s powerful hands kneading and controlling my body and his perfect mouth melded to mine, demanding kiss after bruising kiss. It was as if he wanted to devour me whole. As if, his entire life, he’d been restraining himself until the floodgates burst and he couldn’t control himself a single second longer.
For the first time, I was one hundred percent sure I wasn’t alone in this attraction. It wasn’t one-way. He felt something for me too. Not something. A lot. A raging forest fire of something.
But the idea had barely flitted through my addled brain when Pierce broke off the kiss with a fractured gasp. Quickly but so carefully, he shoved me away, spinning us so that I was leaning on the wall. I blinked, and he was standing several feet away, nearly at the door.
A sliver of light cut across his haunted face. Fingers reached up to brush swollen, parted lips while wide eyes stared at me. “Never again,” he whispered and darted into the house.
As my brain cooled and functioned, a low, wicked chuckle shook my entire body.
Never again?
Oh, Mr. Sutton. You are so very mistaken. With that kiss, you have sealed your doom.There was no way in hell I was giving up now. He was going to be mine no matter what I had to do.
2
PIERCE SUTTON
It tookme days to get over what I’d done.
I kissed him.
Years ago, I’d sworn I would never touch Simon Miller—an easy enough promise to keep when he’d been a squirrelly, cheeky teenager who I’d also seen as a little brother.
But time liked to make liars and fools of us all. Simon didn’t stay a brash, skinny teenager. He grew up and became a handsome, confident man who haunted my dreams. He was a brilliant, shining star, and his bright light called to me, drawing me closer, though I knew I needed to stay away from him.
That night at Declan’s, I’d had way too much to drink. I’d overindulged to help numb the anxiety and guilt that gnawed at me. I couldn’t skip the party—Declan was too good of a friend. It had been easy enough to avoid Simon. It had actually seemed as though he’d attempted to keep his distance, giving me breathing room.
But I hadn’t. I’d constantly tried to track him down, searching from room to room, driving myself crazy with my need to see him and yet never speaking to him, until I’d finally spotted him.
The meeting on the patio should never have happened. As soon as I’d seen him step outside, I should have remained hidden. Or at least, gone straight inside without talking to him.
Yet, I couldn’t do it. I’d had to say something.
And when he’d touched me, I’d been lost, all that control shattered in an instant. No way could I have stopped the years of longing from seizing me and tossing all my denial out the window.
But no matter how perfect he’d felt in my arms, reality had slammed into my brain all too quickly.
My promise.
Sawyer’s final words to me.
I couldn’t turn my back on it, so I had to let it go.
Deep down, I knew it wouldn’t be that simple. Simon was never one to let things go. Chasing me for the last fourteen years was proof of that. This kiss was going to make things worse.
Thankfully, work kept me busy and distracted until a fresh problem stole all my focus.
My parents came to town for a visit.
My family had resided in the New England area for several generations, my parents living outside of Boston to this day. The family law firm was based in Boston with a smaller branch office in New York City, which my younger brother, Archer, managed. I’d had to be the different one. It was more like cracking under the pressure, though, of having generations of Sutton lawyers resting on my shoulder. I’d always known I would be a lawyer, and my father had been so excited when I’d passed the bar, immediately spinning fantasies of me taking over for him.
Naturally, as I’d panicked, Sebastian had waltzed in with his special brand of coaxing and cajoling. It hadn’t been hard to convince me to move to Cincinnati, giving me some breathing room between me and my ultimate fate. Also, I’d taken theopportunity to open another branch of Sutton Law, allowing me to get my feet wet.
Regardless of my attempts to tweak my fate, I had no illusions about my father’s expectations. The goal was for me to return to Boston eventually to take over the management of the firm.
