Page 105 of Tempt Me (Dark Odyssey 4)

“What are we doing tonight?” I ask him.

He leans against the wall of the elevator and looks me over. “Something interesting. I’m making the most of my time with you.”

I can’t believe the days have flown by so quickly.

In nine days, I’ll be in Florida and won’t owe him anymore.

How will I forget this?

Forget him?

I’ve been thinking about it, and I realize there’s no way I can, and I don’t want to.

“You’ll like it,” he adds, brushing a soft finger over my cheek.

The doors open, and we walk out onto a stone floor. My heels click against it. It’s colder down here.

As we turn the corner, I see two large doors and a couple come out of them. As they do, I hear the unmistakable sounds of pleasure. I know what I’m hearing, and I imagine it.

Last time, Vincent said I hadn’t been tied to his bed yet. It’s funny how that didn’t freak me out as much as the thought of being shared.

We walk past the doors and head further down an adjacent path that leads out to a another set of doors. These are a deep oak Gothic style with wrought iron anvil-shaped handles.

The beauty immediately piques my interest.

They open automatically for us as we approach, and my breath is taken away by more beauty as we walk into a garden surrounded by purple and white orchids with a waterfall flowing into a lily pond.

My lips part in complete surprise. I would never have thought that such a garden would exist here. It feels so out of place for the club, and actually the city. It has an exotic feel to it that makes me think of somewhere in South America or Japan.

It’s breathtaking and enhanced by miniature lights that almost look like stage lights spotlighting each area, so it gets your undivided attention.

“You like?” he asks, seeing me openly admiring the place.

“This is amazing,” I breathe.

He guides me past the waterfall, and when we turn the corner, two enormous apple trees with bright red apples hanging from it greet us.

At first, I’m amazed. I’ve never seen apple trees so big. Then I see thick twined ropes draped over one of the sturdy branches. In that instant, a wild, sexy thought comes to me, and I think I might know what we’ll be up to tonight.

We stop by the closest tree, and he releases his hold on me.

“This is Eden,” he says.

“Like the Garden of Eden?” I surmise. It definitely fits. All except the rope from the tree.

“Yeah.” He walks right up to the rope and takes the end. “I want tonight to be a little different.”

“Like how?” I ask even though I have a pretty good idea.

“Like last week. I want us to be those two people again who met in the coffee shop, except now you know I like things a little darker than you’re used to, and… you’re curious.”

I stare at him, thinking about what he’s saying. Last week, we pretended that we’d just met, and nothing else happened. Nothing with Dad. Since then, it’s been like pieces of the fantasy spilled over into reality.

Throughout this whole week, I’ve had times when I had to remind myself of what’s real and that I shouldn’t have feelings for this man. I shouldn’t do this to myself, especially now knowing that we’re supposed to end in less than ten days.

If we go back to that fantasy again, I don’t know if I’d be able to get my mind to leave it and step out of the world of make-belief.

How could I say no, though, when he looks at me the way he is?

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