Page 37 of Beautiful Sinner

I arrive at the Four Seasons hotel and go up to the room I paid for. Julia will be meeting me here. It’s a luxury hotel with lots of foot traffic. Hopefully if any of Viktor’s men are watching (or any of Erik and Dante’s for that matter) then no one will think it’s strange that I’m at the hotel the same day Julia is.

A frantic knock on the door tells me it’s her. When I open it, I see her beautiful face looks frazzled.

“Viktor is going to marry me to Connor,” she blurts out. “For a fact this time. It’s not just speculation.”

I slowly shut the door behind her. “Ok.”

“Ok? Just ok? You’re not upset?”

“Of course I’m upset. I’m fucking pissed that Connor gets you. He’s an asshole. He doesn’t deserve you. But what else can I say? I can’t stop the wedding.”

“You could kill Connor.”

“Do you really want me to kill him for you, Julia? Do you want that blood on your hands?”

She hesitates then breaks down into tears. The fact that she feels safe with me enough to cry means a lot. If I could take away her tears, I would in a heartbeat.

But she’s not mine to comfort.

That’s not going to stop me from comforting her though.

“Come here.” I pull her into my arms and hold her close. She feels just right in my arms.

Julia clings to me with more strength than I thought possible for her. “What am I going to do then? I can’t marry him. But Viktor was upset over what happened at Coney Island. He thinks marrying me to Connor will ensure his strength.”

“It’s not a bad idea on his part. But I thought you said he doesn’t want you to marry anyone else.”

“He did say that if Connor ever hurt me, I should tell him. He’ll kill Connor if he ever does anything to me.”

I wipe her tears away. “Then that’s your solution.”

“What do you mean?”

“Tell Viktor Connor hurt you. He’ll believe you. He’ll call off the wedding then.”

“But then Connor will just tell him where he and I first met. You could be hurt in the process of it and I can’t stand for that.”

“It’s not your job to save me, Julia. Even though it’s sweet you want to try.”

Her smile lights up her eyes. God, she’s so beautiful. “I know. And it’s not your job to save me. I shouldn’t have called you.” She pulls away from me and I instantly feel colder. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be crying to you about this.”

“It’s ok.”

“No, it’s not. I’m not your responsibility and you’re not mine. This isn’t fair to you. I should just go.” She tries to walk past me but I grab her arm. A gasp escapes her and she looks up at me with questioning eyes.

“I’m not ready for you to go yet.” And before I can stop myself, I kiss her again.

Julia melts into me without any hesitation. There’s one thing we cannot deny: our instant attraction for each other. It’s a powerful thing.

All I want is to throw Julia onto that bed and have my way with her but even I’m not that stupid. If Viktor found out I took Julia’svirginity, he’d kill me on sight. The only thing we can have is this kiss and nothing more.

I pull back before I do something I’ll regret.

“What was that for?” she whispers, blinking up at me with her large doe eyes.

“I just needed to kiss you again.”

“I’m not complaining.” A faint blush tinges her cheeks. God, I want her so fucking badly. I step back even further to get away from the temptation that is her.