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Luna and I had talked a bit about what happened between Tempe and me at my house the morning after she was hurt. I’d told Luna how Tempe was interested in me. There had been a few times I’d wondered, but I’d dismissed it. But it was glaringly obvious that day.
Tempe had talked to Luna about it, too, which didn’t bother or surprise me. The three of us shared everything with one another, so I didn’t care. Tempe had told Luna the same thing she told me. She was confused over Damian and Asher. She couldn’t get them out of her head, but that she was attracted to me, too.
What shehadn’ttold me was that the attraction felt a little different. With those two, it was fully physical. With me, her attraction was more like a crush—which was dangerous to me. I didn’t want to lose our friendship, and I didn’t want to cross any lines.
I’d never been the jealous type. I fully believe in looking at whoever you want—just don’t touch. But with Temperance, there was no guarantee there wouldn’t be touching. She couldn’t seem to help herself when it came to those two. Mostly Damian, since Asher didn’t go out of his way to pin her in bathroom stalls and hallways.
I couldn’t put myself in a position where I let myself care for someone who would hurt me, and I didn’t trust Tempe not to hurt me. Loved the girl to death as my friend, and I trusted her witheveryfiber of my being with our friendship. I knew she’d never do anything to ever hurt Luna or me on purpose. She was a pure soul—about as pure as they come.
But as my girlfriend? There was no way I could trust her. Not even a little. Damian would fuck with her on purpose just to get under my skin, and she’d give in. There was no way around it. And even if shesomehowfigured out how to resist, the temptation would drive her insane. Every time they messed with her, it would feel taboo and delicious, and denying herself would feel just as good as being with them. So, she’d cheat on me in that way, too.
That was why I’d wanted to keep my distance for a while until she figured things out. Luna couldn’t go with us because her pregnant aunt wanted some help setting up the nursery while her husband was away on business. But she’d suggested I play with Tempe a bit, tease her. Teach her some self-control if she was up for it.
Honestly, it sounded like a good idea. I’d been dying to flirt more with her. Despite not wanting to get too close to her in that way, I really enjoyed flirting with her. It was so fun, naughty. That was exactly how I knew if she and I were together, flirting with Damian and Asher while denying herself would turn her on and be fun, even if she didn’t fuck them—technicallynot cheating. But to me, it was still cheating.
My plan got shot to shit, however, when she threw out wanting to be able to kiss me, too. I knew better than to say yes, but again… I couldn’t say no. It was a delicious tease, and I wanted more, even if it was painful as hell.
I knocked on Luna’s door, and she quickly answered. I didn’t even wait for her to fully move out of the way. I pushed past her, walked over to her kitchenette, and grabbed a bottle of bourbon.
“Oookay. Come on in, J. Make yourself comfortable. Would you like something to drink?”
Normally, I’d laugh at her snarkiness, but I needed more than a drink. I poured a full glass and drank what I figured was at least two shots from it before I sat on her couch.
“Damn. You okay? You said you needed to talk, but Jesus. You look bad. What the hell happened between the two of you?”
I watched Luna walk around the couch and flop down next to me. She looked concerned.
“I… might have made a booboo,” I said.
Her brows furrowed. “Okay. Tell me what happened.”
I told her what I’dplannedto do—just mess with Tempe, flirt with her, and teach her how to walk away—and then I told her how it went. That she wanted to addkissinginto the mix, and that immediately went too far. Her licking and sucking my dick like she did, which gave me chills and goosebumps just thinking about it, and then us leaving.
She seemed relieved at first that we didn’t go too far until I told her it was out in the parking lot that we went too far.
“What!?” she shrieked. “You sucked her off in the middle of the fucking parking lot? With those two assholes watching? What the hell’s the matter with you?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know!” My voice came out much louder and more defensive than I’d meant for it to. “I don’t fucking know. It just happened.”
She looked at me incredulously. “You just tripped, accidentally knocked her over on the hood of your car, and your tongue dove into her pussy all on its own accord?”
I sighed. “She saw them sitting out there, and she freaked out a little. She’s suffered at their hands since the first day of school. They’ve been fucking cruel to her. They’ve treated her like shit. Damian uses her sexuality as a weapon to control her. It isn’t fucking fair. They’ve hadallthe control. The idea popped into my head, and I blurted it out without even thinking.”
“In theory, the idea wasn’t so bad,” Luna reasoned.
“Exactly! It would put the control back in her hands and let them know she’s not waiting around on them.They aren’t her whole world. She has options, and she’s free to do as she pleases. Allthatoccurred to me all at once, but the repercussions, however, did not.”
“So, how about those repercussions? You’re here freaking out for a reason. Did she say something? Did something happen? Does she regret it?” she asked.
I shook my head. “No. It’s not her. It’s me.” A heavy sigh escaped me. “It’s not the same with her as it was with you.”
Luna smirked. “Meaning that youlike-likeher.”
“Yes. No. I don’t know. I try really fucking hard to avoid relationships. You know my family—reallyknow them. You know they aren’t what the world sees. I don’t date because it would take someone pretty fucking special to come into a life like that and understand. Not only understand, but not see me differently.”
I took another pull from the bourbon, and Luna shrugged. “Well, Tempe’s a pretty special girl. Also, you need to remember she’s hiding a lot of shit from us. You may have your secrets, but don’t forget she has hers, too. How do you know she isn’t hiding a crime syndicate family, too?”
“Right. Her?” I snorted. “I couldtotallysee that,” I said sarcastically.