Page 2 of Forgive Me For I Have Sinned

I tear my eyes away from them and look down at my fingers, playing with the hem of my skirt, and ask, "Do you know them?"

He looks up, knowing exactly who they are. "Just some friends from school. Don't mind them. They're just being stupid. It's initiation night for all the jocks from both schools. It's one of the few nights we all get along before the rivalry begins when the season starts. Football, guys from the swim team, baseball and basketball players. They all come to this party."

Initiation? "What do you mean?" I ask with a frown creasing between my brows.

"Don't worry about it." He stands up and holds out his hand. "Come on. Let's go somewhere private."

I look at his outstretched hand, and my lips curve into a smile, admiring how the tattoos of bones are drawn over the tops of his hands in deep shades of black and gray, giving the impression that his skin has disappeared. The way the muscles of his lean arms move with effort and his biceps flex by simply holding the cup. My eyes slide to his fitted white t-shirt, unable to obscure the hard body underneath until I reach his sinful mouth and his eyes that are the color of gray clouds.

I recognize a storm in their depths. A storm that calls to me, and I can't stop myself from saying, “Okay.” Sliding my hand in his, knowing what going somewhere private means.

He guides me up the stairs, and I avoid the looks aimed my way and the raised brows as we pass. I. Ignore. All. Of. It.

It's my senior year, and yes, I'm still a virgin. So is Alicia.

Her brother scares every guy who tries to show her attention; meanwhile, my parents are hellbent on following the Order's traditions, and their rules, which dictate you have to be betrothed by the conclusion of your senior year of college. Unfortunately, this also means my father forbids me to have a boyfriend of my own choosing for fear of me choosing wrong and the fact that I'm an only child doesn't help because, in my case, it is up to me to form an alliance that is worthy of the Devlin name as the only heir.

Alaric is technically the oldest Riordan, being older than Reid and Alicia, but I haven't heard of him being betrothed to anyone yet and for a girl like me, it gives me hope.

He stops and opens the door at the end of the hall, and my stomach clenches in anticipation. I'm suddenly aware that my skirt is too short and my panties are wet. I wonder if a man like Alaric could tell. Probably.

The room is dark, except for the moonlight coming through the slit in the curtains. The bed is a full size with red and blue sheets. There are football pictures and trophies on a shelf on top of a desk. I stand in the middle of the room, not knowing what to do next. I didn't think that far ahead.

"Have a seat on the bed. I don't bite, Veronica."

I chew on my bottom lip nervously, watching him close the door, and when I do as he asks and sit down, I notice his eyes are on my exposed thighs, making the throbbing between my legs worse.

I slide my hands between my thighs under his watchful gaze and squeeze them together, trying to calm the pulsing that won't stop. I'm obviously nervous, but I don't want to seem like a scared virgin and risk him leaving me here and walking out.

He smiles and hands me the red cup with the whiskey in it. "Here, have some. It looks like you could use it."

I take it because it's where his lips have been. I want nothing more than to drink from him––to be here with him. I take a small sip and feel the liquid burning me from the inside, giving me the courage to relax. I take another sip, and I'm surprised how smooth it is the second time it slides down my throat. Bumps on my skin rise all over my arms under my long-sleeve shirt from the alcohol coursing through my stomach.

I hand him the cup, and he places it on the dresser by the bed. "I'm not twenty-one," I blurt and close my eyes, wanting to kick myself.

"I know. You're obviously not twenty-one if you're still in high school. You're eighteen, and that is all that matters."

I avert my gaze. "Of course."

It's not like I haven't had alcohol before. Alicia and I have snuck some from her parents’ liquor cabinet when they went out for dinner. A few sips of alcohol from him will not kill me or send me to hell. I drank from his cup, so I'm sure he didn't lace it with anything. A guy like Alaric Riordan doesn't have to stoop so low to get a girl.

The bed dips when he sits close, and all I can think about is the heat coming off his body and the whiff of his masculine cologne mixed with his scent. A scent I'll commit to memory because I know that whatever happens tonight with him in this room will never happen again, unless he wants it to.

"You know it's a shame."

"What is?" I ask, pinching my eyebrows together a little confused.

He turns slightly toward me, sliding his finger up the side of my thigh, causing the throbbing to worsen by the second between my legs. Shit. "That it is my last year at college, and by the time it will be your freshman year, I'll have graduated."

I let out a slow breath. "Why is that?"

He leans close, his hand sliding over my right thigh, stopping between my legs, and whispers, "Because I won't be around to always do this." He kisses my cheek and the area right under my ear, causing the tiny hairs to rise all over my skin. "Is this okay?"

I nod and let out a slow breath I didn't realize I was holding. Maybe I should tell him it’s my first time, but then my mind screams at me that I shouldn't because I would never get a chance with him again if he stopped. This is not the place I planned to lose my V-card, but all I know is that I want it to be him and no one else, which means it’s now or never with him.

"You don't have to do anything you don't want to," he says when his lips brush mine.

"I want to," I reply breathlessly.

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