Page 28 of The Temptation
“Try harder.”
She wiggles her eyebrows. “Wanna watch?”
I tilt my head back and groan. I swear this woman is going to give me a fucking aneurysm.
I clamber off the bed and put some much-needed room between us as I stalk towards the bedroom door and open it. I keep my face trained towards the ceiling, so I’m not tempted to ogle her as she sits up and shimmies towards the edge of the mattress.
Seconds later, she breezes past me, blowing out a puff of air as she passes. The moment she steps over the thresholdof my bedroom, I close the door behind her, locking it for good measure.
Resting my head against the back of the door, I release a long, drawn-out sigh. I deserve a fucking medal for the self-restraint I’ve just shown. I doubt any man in my position, who was secretly lusting over that woman like I am, would’ve been able to stop what just happened from progressing further.
When she offered up her virginity, it nearly broke me. It was the cruellest kind of lure, one I had no business entertaining. But somehow, I managed to pull myself back from the edge, stopping things before I did something neither of us could undo.
While part of me is proud of having enough self-constraint, I’m still burning up with an aching need that borders on madness. It damn near killed me to deny her.
I’m left sporting the worst set of blue balls for doing so, but deep down, I know I did the right thing for both of us.
I’m feeling extra growly as I take a seat at the kitchen table. I’m not even sure if I’ll get breakfast this morning after kicking Lucia out of my room last night, but I guess I’ll find out soon enough.
I’m so worked up I even contemplated taking care of myself in the shower …again, but thankfully, I held firm. I knew no matter how hard I fought it, my mind would still conjure up images of that maddening woman if I did. I need to shut this shit down once and for all.
I have no choice. Last night I was so close to caving … to giving in to those carnal desires. I wanted to fuck that forbidden pussy of hers so badly that I almost couldn’t see straight. She’s wearing me down, slowly breaking through the walls I’ve tried so hard to keep erected.
I need to face the cold, hard truth: Lucia Rossi deserves everything, and I’m nowhere close to enough.
My eyes flicker to her, and I suck in a breath, holding it as she approaches the table and sets a plate full of food in front of me.
I arch an eyebrow in surprise. “You’re feeding me this morning?”
“Why wouldn’t I?” she says, her face all sweetness and light, like butter wouldn’t melt in her mouth. She looks like a damn angel, but I know better.
I wait until she’s grabbed her own plate and taken a seat before picking up my fork and digging in. If she wants to pretend last night didn’t happen, I’m good with that.
She doesn’t touch her food right away, and my fork stalls halfway to my mouth when I catch her sliding a hand into her top, pulling out a folded piece of paper from her bra.
My eyes narrow when she places it down and slides it towards me.
“What’s this?” I ask.
She raises her chin slightly, which tells me I’m not going to like whatever it is. “A new shopping list for you to give to your men.”
This routine isn’t anything new. It’s how we’ve managed to keep up our supplies thus far, but where she hid it, and the timing, don’t sit right with me. Something’s off. I can feel it.
I drop my fork onto the plate and pick up the piece of paper, hesitantly unfolding it. At first, it looks like any other list she’s given me in the past, but the further my eyes move down the page, the more the heat in my chest starts to rise.
Apples
Blueberries
Strawberries
Carrots
Zucchini
Tomatoes
Potatoes
