Page 21 of Exquisite Temptation

She hasn’t come back to the club since the untimely death of Alexandra’s ex-boyfriend. I don’t blame her. Her life was turned upside down. For the past couple of weeks, I've hardly seen Sebastian, either. As I suspected, he hasn’t let his pet out of his sight. He blames himself for agreeing with her to go back home when he knew someone was stalking her and stealing her clothes. We both know we can’t wrap our loved ones in cotton wool to protect them from danger. Accidents, terminal illness, old age, and death are inevitable parts of life, and there isn’t a damn thing we can do to stop these from happening. We have both experienced tragic losses not once, but twice. The sudden booming sound of a male singer lamenting about a girl stealing his love cuts my inner reverie short.

"Oops, sorry." Snatching the remote control, she lowers the volume and grimaces with wry amusement. "Sophie, my colleague, introduced me to The Hunna. We listened to them at work, and now I'm obsessed with them. Their song "Babe, Can I Call?"is on repeat. Hope you like Brit indie rock bands?"

She fixes her azure blue eyes on me and darts the tip of her tongue out, running it across her lower lip. I have no idea if her reaction is conscious or unconscious. Either way, it makes my cock stir in my jeans. I gawk at her like a nerd crushing hard on the school’s popular girl.Get a grip, man.

"Never heard of them. I listen to everything, but I draw a line under trash and death metal." My voice sounds hoarse when it reaches my ears. She giggles, pouring coffee in our mugs.

"Same here. I don’t know how people can listen to it. The thought of listening to it gives me a pounding migraine." My gaze rakes over her body, clad in skinny jeans, as she sashays with a tray in her hands.You are in big trouble, my mind sniggers.

"Today is junk food day. Pizza will arrive in one hour. I hope you like chocolate cupcakes with sour cherries, because that is what we are having for dessert." Bending over, she places the tray down, giving me an unobstructed view of her braless cleavage, then quickly straightens up and glances at me. No doubt checking for my reaction. Two can play this game.

"I don’t mind them but prefereatingsweet juicy cherries." I stretch out the word eating for emphasis. The thought of devouring her cherry makes my pulse quicken and cock harden like a horny teenager.

She locks her eyes with me, lifting her mouth into an almost imperceptible smirk.Oh, little brat, I'm onto you.I tilt my head to the side, cocking my brow to let her know I know what she is doing. A pink blush explodes on her cheekbones, highlighting her creamy skin. She shifts in her seat and picks up her coffee cup, taking a large sip. There are two options. We continue flirting and end up fucking on her sofa, or we could talk houses and eat pizza, keeping the evening PG. I have no problem with the first option, but it will blur the boundaries and give her false hope that sex would lead to a relationship. Option two it is.

"How are you holding up?" The playful mood shifts in the room. A tense silence stretches between us. Staring at an invisible spot on the floor, she clamps her teeth on her lower lip, biting it.

"Honestly. It’s been a nightmare." She pauses, her throat bobbing with an audible swallow. "Allie isn’t doing well. She went through hell in San Diego, and now she has to deal with his death. I should have stayed at home, not gone to the club. He could have killed her." She blows out a shaky breath.

Crap! I had no idea she was blaming herself, too. Edging closer, I lean forward and take her cup, leaving it on the table before it drops on the floor from her trembling hands.

"Look at me, Heidi." She raises her head, blinking away the unshed tears in her eyes. My chest tightens at how crestfallen she is. "I understand this is hard for you. You couldn’t have predicted this would happen. Beating yourself up would not help you or her now. If you were home, he wouldn’t have confronted her."

"You are right. He wouldn’t have risked attacking her if I was there-" She casts her gaze down, playing with her earlobe. "I'm mad at myself because I should have insisted harder for her to go to the police and report that someone was stalking her."

Alexandra is a lucky gal. She has two people who love her unconditionally and blame themselves for what happened to her. I understand it all too well. To this day, I still blame myself for not protecting my mother and Amelia. Rationally, I accept there wasn’t anything I could do to save them, but, emotionally, I struggle to forgive myself.

"No matter how much we want to help our friends, we can’t force them to do something they don't want to do. She is safe now. He can’t hurt her anymore." Letting go of her hand, I brush the stray hair away from her cheek. She knits her brow into a frown, giving me a forced smile.

"If I'm honest, I'm angrier with Allie for burying her head in the sand when she knew someone was stalking her. I'm angry with Nathan," she spits out the words.

"I get it. It’s perfectly reasonable for you to feel angry-"I pause as her expression grows turbulent.

"The fucking bastard held a knife to her throat," she exclaims. "My skin crawls when I think about him sneaking into my house for months, snooping around, watching her sleep, and stealing her clothes. Neither she nor I would ever feel safe or comfortable in the house. No amount of redecorating or deep cleaning can remove the stain of his death. I'll never forget the memory of the paramedics wheeling his body out of the house."

My heart twists in my chest. After Amelia died, I couldn’t live in the same house. The memories of us snuggling on the sofa, cooking together, and painting the nursery for our unborn son were too much for me to bear. A war of emotions rages inside me. Every nerve in my body tingles with the need to wrap her in my arms and hold her tight, to wipe her tears and take away her pain. Fuck! Maybe coming here wasn’t the best idea. Don’t be a dick.

Resting my hand on her shoulder, I pat her gently. "I've been where you are right now, and if I have one piece of advice, it would be don't let anger take over your life. Toxic anger is a poison for the soul. I've seen people turn bitter, destroying them and everyone around them."

"Absolutely, I agree with you. Don't worry, I don’t let my emotions fester. I allow myself to feel them, then let them go. I deal with things head on." She gives me a small smile. "Thank you for your kind words. I appreciate them." Bobbing my head, I smile back at her.

"Sure thing–that's what friends are for. You would do it for me, too." I search her face, analyzing her reaction to my words, but she gazes at me with a blank expression, not giving away her true feelings.

The doorbell sound radiates through the room, making her jump to her feet.

"Pizza is here." She scurries away.

I take the tray to the kitchen to make space for us to eat and settle on the sofa. Heidi shuffles back with two boxes in her hands, a jubilant smile dancing around the corners of her mouth. Yummy pizza can make anyone happy. With the tip of my head, I motion her to the seat next to me. She places the boxes on the table and parks herself beside me, her thigh rubbing against mine. We spend the next couple of hours gorging on pizza and her delicious cupcakes while watching funny cat videos.

As I drive home, I reflect on everything that happened. I’m dangerously drawn to her, and whenever we are together, my craving for her grows stronger. What should have been a short social visit ended up being an unplanned date. This can’t happen again.

Chapter 15

Heidi

Icomeoutofthe bathroom, maneuvering through the stack of boxes and suitcases to get to my clothes. The small two bed apartment doesn’t have any storage, and I had no option but to dump everything in my bedroom. Aiden not only sold my house in a record time, but he helped me put an offer on an amazing three bedroom, one with a lake view. As a cash buyer, I can move into my new home within two weeks. Shortly after Nathan’s death, I had to come clean and tell my parents about my decision to sell the property, explaining what happened. My father said he was disappointed, but he reassured me he would have done the same. The only blessing in the entire unfortunate situation is that this house wasn’t where my father grew up. My grandfather bought the lake house after he retired. Nevertheless, it did not help me feel any less torn inside.

As usual, the conversation ended up with my mother having an emotional meltdown, even though it wasn’t about her. She insisted this was the perfect timing for me to come back to San Diego, seemingly not caring about my wishes or plans. Then she made me promise that I’d come to visit them soon. I have no shadow of a doubt that she loves me, but that woman drives me insane.

---