Page 27 of His Haunted Desire

“Are youkidding?”

I chuckle. “Tempted?”

“You wish.”

Even so soon after cleaning the pipes, just looking at her round and voluptuous ass is making me hard again. Tickles of tension surge up my stiffness again.

I get dressed, then lie on the couch, feet up. She scowls at me as she puts her clothes into the drawers. “Aren’t you going to unpack?”

“I prefer living out of a suitcase. It’s more honest. A reminder that this isn’t permanent.”

“I don’t need a reminder of that.”

Something’s put her in a sour mood. Whatever. As long as she keeps it hidden from everyone else, she’ll fulfill her purpose.

I do prefer her smile, though.

There’s a knock at our door.

I open the door to find Julian. He looks terrible, his eyes bloodshot, bags under his eyes like he hasn’t slept in days. “Can we talk?” he says anxiously.

“Sure.” I step into the hallway, closing the door behind me. “What’s up?”

He gnaws his fingernails. “It’s not good, Raiden.”

“Whatever it is, we can work it out together.”

“You won’t be saying that when I tell you. But I have to get this off my chest. I can’t live with it anymore. It’s eating me alive.”

“Then you better unburden yourself, cousin,” I say, concerned now.

He threads his fingers through his curly black hair. “Shit,” he mutters. “Okay, I’m just going to say it.”

I wait for almost a minute as he paces and starts and stops. Finally, he blurts, “I tricked you. With the real estate deal. I hired someone to create a false investment, paid them to take your cash and go AWOL. I hired them to sabotage you. That’s why you lost your money, Raiden. It was me the whole time.”

I’m struck speechless for a minute, unable to comprehend what Julian’s just confessed.

“Say that again,” I murmur.

I couldn’t have heard that right.

My hands tremble. Julian, my cousin, my friend, tricked me? What the fuck?

We’ve done countless business deals on a handshake basis. I never imagined this could even be a possibility, let alone a reality.

“You heard me,” he whispers.

I grab the front of his shirt and shove him against the wall. “Why would you do this?”

He grabs my wrist with both his hands. “Please, Raiden. You’re hurting me.”

“Tell me.”

“You’ve never accepted that we’re involved in a fight. A fight for Grandmother’s approval. To be the one who gets the inheritance. You’ve never seen that… but I do. I know it’s in my best interest to make you look bad.”

“You fucked me over, betrayed me, to make a point? After all we’ve been through? We grew up together, you sick bastard.”

“That’s why I had to tell you. I can’t live like this anymore. The guilt is eating me alive.”