Temptation (12 page)

I reach up to cup her cheek with my palm as I
look into her eyes, searching for the answer she wants me to give
her, but in the end I go with the truth.

"I needed you to be safe. I couldn't fathom
you driving around in that death trap you called a car any longer.
When Chris explained why he couldn't go out and get you a vehicle,
I decided to do it instead. Believe it or not, it was more for my
peace of mind and sanity. I wouldn't be able to function knowing
you were still driving around in the city with that clunker."

She listens to me intently, never once
breaking eye contact and when I finish speaking she inhales deeply.
I'm prepared for her to say something, maybe a thank you or words
to show some kind of gratitude. What I'm not prepared for is her
hand wrapping around the back of my neck, pulling me closer to her
as she lifts up on her toes and brushes her lips against mine.

Her lips are soft as she kisses my upper lip
and then my bottom lip. Her movement is shaky; as if she's afraid I
might pull away from her, but when I don't she becomes more
confident. Her tongue comes out to lick my bottom lip before her
kiss turns firm and her tongue enters my mouth. She licks the roof
of my mouth and it sparks the animal inside of me.

I grab her and twist her around until her
back is against the side of my car. I don't wait for permission;
she gave me that when she initiated the kiss. My hands lower and
slide down her ass until I'm gripping the back of her thighs and
lift her up, urging her to wrap her legs around my waist.

She complies immediately and lets out the
sexiest, most intense moan I've heard in my entire life when she
feels my dick rub against her core.

My God, she is so fucking sexy.

I move my lips from her mouth and kiss a
trail across her cheek and down her neck. Her head falls back
against my Mercedes as she pants in pleasure from everything I'm
doing to her body. She wants this. She's finally admitting to me
with her body that she wants this and I'm not going to deny myself
her any longer.

I don't care that we're in the parking lot of
the club where anyone could see us, I don't care that we are
probably scratching up and denting my car, and I don't care about
the fucking bet. All I care about is Cassie and the way she makes
me feel, and being able to rip her clothes off before sinking
inside her.

I probably shouldn't do that in the parking
lot though. We could move inside my car, but there is very little
room. We could move to the backseat of her SUV, but do I really
want to fuck her for the first time in a vehicle? She's not just
some piece of ass I picked up at a nightclub; she's special. She
deserves more and I want more with her. Not just a random fuck in a
public parking lot.

We could go back to my place, but I need to
be inside her now and the drive is way too long to accommodate my
needs. The private locker rooms! That's it. We'll go inside one of
the private locker rooms. But wait, Chris might be inside and I
can't risk letting him see us.

Shit! I forgot about Chris.

I know it's hard but thanks for staying away
from Cassie.

His words play over and over in my head. I
move my lips away from the base of Cassie's neck and take a step
back, trying to even out my breathing so I can think calmly and
rationally. Her body leaves mine and I instantly miss the
connection, but I made a promise to Chris, one I intend to keep -
at least until the bet is finished.

"What's wrong?" Cassie asks, moving towards
me. With every step I take away from her, she takes one more
towards me. This is just my fucking luck. I finally get her ready
to jump my bones, and I can't act on her impulses.

"We can't... I can't... I'm so sorry, but we
can't... do this. I promised Chris," I pant.

"Promised him what?"

"I promised him I'd leave you alone. I
promised him I wouldn't touch you."

"What about the bet?" she asks me, puzzled by
this new revelation.

"The bet's still on."

Her eyes close and then open as she looks up
at the sky and then back at me. "You pursued me and now that I'm
finally willing to see where this goes you can't because you made
some empty promise? A promise that you were willing to break just a
few days ago?"

"It's complicated, but yes. And you and I
made a deal, so I couldn't have sex with you right now anyway. I'm
not allowed to come, remember."

"You're unbelievable!" she huffs, throwing
her hands up in the air. "I knew I should have stayed away. I knew
you were trouble. I can't believe I almost-"

I can't stand to see her this upset. I reach
for her, wanting to comfort her, wanting to take back everything I
just said, but when my hands reach her shoulders she shoves me
away.

"Don't touch me. Don't ever touch me
again."

The sadness that fills her eyes is more than
I can take, so I back off and let her walk away from me. She storms
over to her Lexus, slamming her car door after she climbs inside,
and then she peels out of the parking lot.

What did I do? I had her. She was willing to
blow off our stupid bet. I fucking had her and I just blew it
because of some promise I made to Chris, and the worst part is she
was right. It was an empty promise because in the beginning I never
intended on actually staying away from her. So why did I suddenly
grow a conscious now?

I bend my knee and then kick my leg forward,
slamming it into the back tire of my car over and over again,
hoping the release will make me feel better.

But I only feel worse.

Entry #1598

I should take the last five years of entries
in my leather bound journals and burn them in my fireplace because
they're getting me nowhere.

The next several hours are pure torture. I
end up swimming over two hours in the pool before heading home and
trying to get some work done around the penthouse, but it's no use.
I can't seem to focus on anything and I end up wallowing in
self-pity the rest of the day.

I need to talk to Chris.

He's probably sitting down eating dinner with
his family right now, but by the time I get there they should be
done and I can talk to him up in the study. Maybe if I explain the
fascination I've had with her the past year he'll understand and
let me see where this goes. If I get his blessing then I can talk
to Cassie tonight.

This plan sounds better and better the more I
think it over, so I throw on some shoes and leave my condo, heading
towards Lincoln Park.

Of course the traffic had to be horrendous so
it takes me close to an hour to get to Chris's brownstone. I'm able
to slide my car into a spot right in front of his neighbor's front
door.

It's like God switched over to my side and is
helping me out.

I fix my hair through the rearview mirror
because yes, even men want to make sure they look okay before going
somewhere. I start to open my car door but suddenly stop. The front
door of the brownstone is opening and Cassie's walking through it
with her purse over her shoulder. I slouch down so that she won't
see me, and thankfully she turns in the opposite direction on the
street. She stops a couple houses down and that's when I notice her
Lexus. She slides inside and starts the car so I do the same,
closing my front door and letting the engine purr to life.

I can no longer see her, but I watch her car
as she carefully pulls out of her spot and starts driving towards
the other end of the street.

I follow her.

I'm not sure why I'm following her. I came
here to talk to Chris, but the second I saw her pull away I had to
follow. Whether my dick or my brain is running the show, I don't
know, but I follow anyway because one of them has the right idea. I
need to make things right with Cassie before I talk to Chris.

I follow her for what seems like forever.
We're on the outskirts of the city, approaching the suburbs when
she starts to slow down and turns off on a side road. It's dark
out, so I dim my lights in order for her not to be suspicious of
someone following her at this time of night. The city of Chicago
has an extremely high murder rate and I don't want to frighten
her.

Is this where she lives?

We're in a residential area and I don't get
the feeling she owns a house, so why are we here? Is she visiting
someone? For fuck's sake, is she visiting a guy?

We start to pass a church but she slows down
and turns into the vacant church parking lot. I can't follow her in
there because then I'll be forced to address her before I'm ready.
I want to figure out why a young woman like her is at church on a
Friday night, instead of out at a bar or club with friends.

I pull up to the next intersecting street and
make a U-turn. As I'm approaching the church again I park on the
side of the road and turn off the engine, just in time to see
Cassie open the large double doors at the entrance of the church
and walk in.

This makes no sense. Her car is the only one
in the parking lot. I doubt the priest is even in there right now.
How long does she expect me to wait out here for her?

That's right. She doesn't know I'm out here.
She doesn't know the great lengths of stalking I go through just to
watch her and know more about her.

Now I'm
Glenn Close
in
Fatal
Attraction
.

I'm just going to wait here and then follow
her to her next destination. I can't confront her about sex at a
church. It just feels... wrong. There's also the small fact that
church and me don't mix. I'd take one step inside and then burn
from the inside out.

Thirty minutes pass, then an hour, then
another hour and before I know it's midnight and I'm struggling to
stay awake in the driver's seat. I have no idea what would make her
want to stay inside a church for so long, but at the moment I'd
wait forever just to ask for another chance.

My blinks get longer and longer until I can
no longer open my eyes and I succumb to sleep.

***

The sound of a garbage truck wakes me from my
sleep. I peel open my eyelids, stretching my arms above my head as
I let out a long yawn. After blinking a few times I look around and
remember where I am.

Fuck. I slept through the night.

I turn the keys in the ignition, ready to
drive off and that's when I glance over at the church. Cassie's
Lexus is still parked in the parking lot, but this time it's not
the only car on the large slab of asphalt. Two spaces away is a
Chevy four-door truck.

What the hell? Who else is there?

As if God is directly answering my questions
now, out walks a tall blond man who can't be older than thirty and
Cassie is following him. Her hair is pulled back into a high
ponytail and she looks just as beautiful as ever, but that's not
what has my jaw dropping. She's wearing different clothes than the
ones she wore yesterday.

Why is she wearing different clothes than the
ones she walked in with?

What did I miss when I was sleeping?

The man walks with her to her car and they
stop at her door and continue to talk. With every second that goes
by I grow angrier and angrier. I'm being irrational, but who the
fuck is he and why is he at a church with Cassie this early in the
morning? I look down at my watch and it's a little after eight am,
way too early for a social call.

Glancing back their way, I see Cassie lift up
on her toes and wrap her arms around the unknown man's neck. He
wraps his arms around her waist and hugs her tightly. They embrace
for what seems like hours, but actually only a few seconds and as
she backs away she leaves a lingering kiss on his cheek before
getting in her car and driving off.

She played me. That's the only logical
explanation because the deal was that neither of us were allowed to
have sex for thirty days, but she just spent the night with this
guy. Or at least I think she did.

Wait.

What the fuck happened last night?

Continue following Cassie and Theo's story
in

Lane One

Seduction

Book two of the Lane One Series

Desire... Lust... Envy...

Theo has finally got Cassie where he wants
her. She has agreed to go out with him if he can make it thirty
days without sex. But how much does the elusive Theo actually know
about Cassie?

Cassie has always been alone in this world,
so Theo's persistence scares her, but as Theo and Cassie grow
closer, their pasts are slowly uncovered. As Cassie's past is
revealed, Theo decides to ignore his feelings for her so he can be
the first person Cassie can truly trust and rely on.

But Cassie doesn't want to be Theo's
friend... she wants more. When it becomes obvious Theo is no longer
going to touch her, she comes up with a plan of her own.

Seduce and conquer.

It should be easy for Cassie to get what she
wants, but is she powerful enough to seduce Theo into bed?

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Want more from Justine Elvira? Check out
her other works.

The Road To Price (Price #1)

The Road To Forgiveness (Price #2)

Lawful Overdose

Rough to Ride

Changing His Game (The Reynolds Brothers
#1)

Playing His Game (The Reynolds Brothers
#2)

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