Page 88 of His Temptation

“That’s such an old-man thing to say.” I smirked when his blue eyes flickered to my face.

“I’ll show you old.” Emery flipped me to my back and grazed his teeth along the base of my throat.

Then a sound came from the living room. A door closing.

“Dad?”

Emery froze. So did I.

Footsteps echoed in the hall.

Ryan had a key to Emery’s place, but I’d never expected him to show up unannounced.

Emery jumped up and rushed over to close the door, his bare ass filling my view. He grabbed a pair of boxer briefs from the drawer and pulled them up before tugging on athletic shorts over them. He gave me a panicked look before rushing out of the bedroom and closing the door behind him.

“Hey,” Emery said right outside the room.

Holy shit.Ryan had been just feet from the door.

“Did I wake you?” Ryan asked. “You’re usually awake at the butt-ass crack of dawn.”

I rolled off the bed and went to sit in the connecting bathroom, staying as quiet as possible.

“Didn’t sleep well,” Emery said. “Is everything okay?”

“Yeah. I don’t know… just thought I’d come hang out. I can leave, though, if it’s a bad time.”

Ryan wanted to visit Emery? Did he want more money or something? That was usually the only time he called his dad.

“Not at all,” Emery responded, shock clear in his voice. “I’m glad you stopped by.”

Their steps retreated farther down the hall, and I released a shaky breath.Looks like I’ll be stuck until he leaves.It could have been so much worse. He could’ve walked in on us in bed together.

My stomach turned at the thought.

Ryan learning the truth was inevitable. Because I had no intention of ending things with Emery. However, as I sat in the bathroom, hiding like some dirty secret, I wondered if maybe it would be better for Emery if wedidend things.

I’d never forgive myself if he lost his son over this.

I felt stuck. Torn in different directions. No decision would be easy. Both would lead to some kind of hurt.

An hour later, the front door closed, and Emery came back to the bedroom.

“Cason?”

“In here,” I said from the bathroom.

He came around the corner, confused. “Why are you sitting in the tub?”

“Just in case Ryan opened your door or something.” I stood and approached him. “I don’t know. I freaked.”

Emery touched my jaw before going to sit on the edge of the bed. He ran his hands over his face and breathed deep. “That was a close one.”

“Tell me about it.” I sat beside him, both of us looking at the floor. “What did he want?”

“Just to talk,” Emery said, smiling before letting it fade. “I don’t want to get my hopes up, but I think he’s finally coming around. He asked if I wanted to go to campus with him next weekend when he moves into his dorm.”

Ryan was moving in early because of baseball. He’d driven back and forth to Fayetteville for the previous practices that summer, but he was able to get a room in the dorm now, so he’d officially be living on campus.