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ELENA

W hat the hell happened downstairs? Was I … flirting with him? With Evan, my stepdad? My God. What’s wrong with me? He was Mom’s husband!

I rest a palm on my chest, trying to remember all the relaxing techniques I learned in my yoga classes.

Why is my heart still racing? It hasn’t slowed down since I first came face-to-face with him today. The same thing happened last year, too. I promised myself I would unleash my fury on him and give him a piece of my mind about how he took advantage of my mother, who was fifteen years older than he was. But then, I saw him and thought, “How is this guy so unbelievably and incredibly hot? Is he for real?”

I’ve never felt like this before, which is why I never had a boyfriend. As it turns out, I just want someone I cannot have. Someone I shouldn’t even be thinking about like this. A forbidden fruit, apparently.

God, I swear if lightning strikes me right now, I’m going to embrace it. I deserve it because this is crazy. Thinking about Evan like that is crazy.

Is this what they say about being drawn to someone like a moth to flame? It will serve me right. Only a matter of time before I burn.

* * *

Evan and I spent the next four days clearing the garage, basement, attic, and bedrooms. He wasn’t lying when he said he didn’t touch anything because everything is exactly how I remember it. I leave in two days, and I don’t know why the thought saddens me. He’s been such great company. He’s smart, witty, and funny.

He’s also almost two decades older than I.

Why is this happening to me? Why the chaos in my head? Is this my punishment for not coming home for years, only stepping foot in my childhood home after Mom died? Is this her punishment for me?

A year ago, I chalked it up to shock from her death and seeing that my stepdad looked like that hot demon-killing guy from a popular TV show. But nothing has diminished whatever feelings I felt for him the first time I saw him. Unfortunately for me, it has only intensified, even after months of not seeing him, and I find myself looking forward to sharing meals with him.

My body was so dirty from all the cleaning, so I decided to take a shower. Once inside, and with my clothes off, I realize I’m out of lotion. Mom was obsessed with body butter, and she liked it better than lotions and serums. She used to buy by the dozen, preferring the expensive ones—those I cannot afford with my current salary. I used to think they were not worth the price tag, but my skin disagrees. It’s softer and plumper with the body butter, something I cannot achieve with my cheap drugstore lotions.

Maybe she stocked up on them?

Five minutes ago, I heard Evan at the front door, so I know he’s not on the second floor. Wrapping a towel around me, I tiptoe toward the small room Mom used to store clean towels and toiletries. On my way there, I pass Evan’s bedroom, and the door is ajar.

That stops me in my tracks. I should speed up, get the jar, and go back to my bathroom. Instead, I feel someone else possessing my body. Someone crazy and stupid and all sorts of trouble. Someone definitely not me.

With a hand on the doorknob, I take a shaky breath and evaluate all my life choices that have led to this. Mom used to say I had a good head on my shoulders, which was why it didn’t bother her when I moved across the country for college. Yeah, well. That head is nowhere to be found. What am I doing? What am I even planning?

I have no idea.

The shower is running, which means only one thing. Evan is here, taking a shower. Something I should be doing, too. Except, it doesn’t propel me to mind my own business and step out. No, sir. Something about the sound lures me in until I stand in front of his bathroom door.

I still have time to back out and pretend I almost made a mistake. He hasn’t seen me, so I can run back out, and there won’t be any awkwardness in the morning.

But…

The door creaks, and steam hits me full in the face. I can see Evan’s silhouette, but that’s it. I wasn’t kidding when I told him I couldn’t see without my glasses.

He turns off the shower, and I stand frozen in the doorway.

“Elena?”

I don’t see him clearly until he’s a few feet away from me, standing in all his naked glory. And by God, his body is insane and unreal.

My eyes take him in. The broad shoulders, the hard chest, the washboard abs, and the …

I swallow hard, my throat dry, every inch of my body clenching at the sight, wetness pooling between my thighs. His cock is massive and glorious and … standing proud.

He’s aroused, and when I gaze back up at his eyes, it has darkened. I’m face to face with a different version of Evan. An Evan that has awakened all my lady parts. An Evan I want to pounce on.

“Elena, what are you doing? Why are you here?” His voice is low and deep, devoid of any friendliness and warmth. Am I delusional, or can I hear his longing?

My core throbs, and I cross my legs instinctively, seeking friction. He doesn’t miss the movement, and his jaw clenches. I have never seen this side of Evan, but my body responds to the primal desire clouding his eyes. It’s the desire that mirrors my own.

“Elena, you either leave now or I won’t be responsible for what happens in the next ten minutes.”

“What happens next?”

“You don’t want to know.”

“What if I do?”

“Elena…”

In another time and another place where I have my wits about me and I’m not stupid, I would have run away as far as I could. Maybe check into a hotel and never see Evan again.

Instead of that rational, wise Elena, another version of me rises to the surface, and I give in to my desires. Desires that have been clawing at me since day one.

I drop the towel to the floor, ignoring how raw and vulnerable I feel.

“Ten minutes.”