Page 20 of Illicit Heir

Tense silence fills the pub. My pulse pounds between my ears.

He adds, "I didn't take ya for a lass who doesn't keep her word."

My pride conflicts with wanting to run. I hate that I lost, but I also am a woman of my word. I know better than to gamble. My da lost everything we had to his addiction. The only reason my mum got to keep the pub was that her father still owned it at the time, so my da couldn't gamble that too.

Regardless of my error, I agreed to this, so now I have to pay the price.

I shouldn't have drunk.

The alcohol had nothing to do with me wagering my time with this stranger.

I didn't need those extra shots while we were playing.

Dammit!

I say nothing, forcing myself to climb the stairs, cursing myself every step over how stupid I was to engage in his bet. Catcalls from his lads ring through the air, making me wince. I arrive at the top, reach into my pocket for the key, and unlock my flat.

The sound of the woots from the others gets muffled and his heavy footsteps get more prominent.

I close my eyes, trying to regulate my heartbeat.

I'm just talking.

He's going to try something.

Take control of this situation.

I glance around my one-room flat and more panic hits me. My tiny place consists of a small kitchenette against the wall, a bathroom, one sofa with enough room for two people, and my unmade bed.

"Nice place," he states, and sets down the fifth of whiskey, which is three quarters gone, on my side table.

I spin, pull my phone out of my pocket, and set the alarm. "Your hour starts now." I quickly go to the bed and pull the covers up.

"No need to make it when we're just going to mess it up again," Devin taunts, shutting the door and locking it.

Anxiety erupts in my chest as tingles race down my spine. The mixed signals in my body only make the situation worse. I freeze, gripping my duvet and staring at him.

He takes two steps closer and reaches for my hand.

A wave of sensations I don't want to have right now rushes between my thighs. My lips tremble, matching my hand.

He closes his long fingers around mine and suggests, "Take a breather, Lauren. Let's have a seat on the sofa and talk."

"Talk?" I question, tilting my head and squinting at him.

He softly chuckles. "Didn't ya say ya wanted to talk for our hour?"

"That's not what ya wanted when you bet me an hour of my time. I think you've made that clear," I blurt out.

And now I've become Jessica.

I turn my head away from him and take a deep breath.

He tugs me into him, wrapping his arm around my waist and sliding his hand through my hair. He gently yanks on it so I can't escape him.

I gasp, shaking harder, wishing I could control anything in my body that seems to have gone rogue on me.

His gaze intensifies, flaring with fire like nothing I've ever witnessed. He turns it on my lips.

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