Page 92 of Tempt Her

It’s been over a month since I finally gave in, promising her all three of us. Then I made us wait. To tempt and control them, yeah, I get off on it.

So do they.

But honestly, I’ve been fighting this terror in my chest. Knowing shit’s gonna happen. That more than a foursome will go down. So will her evil husband. And I know the stats, the terrifying reality, too—victims are most at risk when they leave their abuser.

Mateo’s right. Stacey will help put Gentry Evans behind bars, but that can’t stop his reach.

I couldn’t protect my mom when she left her abusive asshole. She left him for a good man, finally. For months, she was happy until her ex showed up in her driveway.

With one gunshot, your world can disappear.

But I can protect Stacey.

I can do everything right by her.

I can finally be the man I want to be for the woman I love.

With every cute smile, the funny shit she says, or those soft lips on mine, I want her safe with me, Mateo, and Luke.

I’ve been ready for a couple of weeks to let the fear in my heart succumb to the temptation that will soften into tenderness for her.

I know it.

But Stacey’s been busy with her friend, Cade.

At first, they were knee-deep in the investigation against Gentry, then Cade was focused on her mother in hospice care until she passed away a few days ago.

Stacey visited Cade and her mom in her final days, then Stacey fought like hell to keep Gentry away from the funeral yesterday, knowing it would only upset Cade.

She said Gentry got so angry with her for standing up to him at the funeral. “I thought he might hit me,” she dared to tell me on the phone like I wouldn’t go over there and fucking kill him. “But he left last night, and he’s been gone since.”

It reminds us all; time passes too fast for some and not quickly enough for others.

Top that off with a hurricane brewing in the Caribbean, set to strike us in a couple of days.

And it’s time.

This is happening tonight.

Grabbing a parcel out of the mailbox makes me smile in anticipation… and at how Stacey’s so damn cute.

While she insisted on helping me install her new kitchen cabinets last week, she filled my ears for hours with her plans to open a sex shop.

At first, I thought she was trying to tempt me with talk about toys and kink and demonstrations she could offer in her shop.

“Sex demonstrations?” I almost laughed.

“Yeah.” She held the drill, making a hole for the pull and going slow as I taught her so she wouldn’t crack the veneer. “Like couples massage classes or shibari classes. I want to learn how to do Japanese rope binding and stuff.”

She was serious.

“Tell you what,” I told her, sharing the dream too. “You get the space, and I’ll build you a store.”

You can resist Stacey Evans like gravity.

She’llmakeyou fall for her.

Clearly, I have, but I won’t fucking admit it. Not to Luke or Mateo.

---