Page 27 of The Temptation

As good as it feels, asshefeels, it’s like a slow-burning torture that’s eating me up from the inside out.

“Well, you should’ve been more specific. I was under the impression?—”

“Get off me,” I grumble, trying to end this before I do something stupid, like relent.

“No!”

“Lucia!”

“Give me a minute, I’m almost done.”

She’s a tiny thing and weighs next to nothing, so withminimal effort, I flip her onto her back, moving over the top of her and pinning her body to the mattress, trying my best to give my cock a wide berth from her in the process.

The things I want to do to this woman are endless.I’m consumed with need.I’ve never yearned for anything like I do her.

As a kid, I wished for a lot of things. A permanent roof over my head, a stable home, food in my stomach … a sober mother who actually gave a shit about me. But nothing has ever felt as sacred as Lucia does.

It’s a damn shame I can’t keep her and make her mine, because deep down, if I’m being completely honest with myself, that’s exactly what I want to do.

My breathing is coming in short, sporadic, heaving spurts as I lean down, resting my forehead against hers. It’s taking every ounce of strength I possess not to give in to the temptation and finally take what I want, but deep down, I know I can’t do that.

“Babe,” I whisper as I glide the side of my nose against hers.

I hear her breath hitch in her throat before she counters, “You called me babe.”

Damn. I sigh, drawing my face back. We both know that was a massive mistake on my part. I shouldn’t have said it. I need to nip this shit in the bud and get her out of my room pronto.

I take a deep breath and say the words that need to be said. “You shouldn’t be in here, Luc.”

“But I am,” she replies with a frown. “A second ago, you seemed just as into it as I was.”

“Because I thought I was dreaming,” I admit, flattening my palms against the mattress and pushing up, taking my weight off her.

“Oh!” she replies with a wince. “So, you are okay being with me in your head, just not in real life.”

I blow out an exasperated breath. It sounds fucked up when she says it like that, but the short answer is yes.

“Pretty much.”

“But I want you.”

“We can’t always get what we want, Lucia.”

“I want you to be my first. I’m not asking for a permanent commitment like marriage. I just want to be able to make this choice for myself, and I choose you.”

“You don’t mean that.”

“I mean every word. You’re all I want, Romeo.”

She reaches up to stroke her fingertips down the side of my face. It’s such a loving and intimate move, which is something I’m not used to, so it has a knot forming in the back of my throat.

“You need to leave.”

“But I wasn’t finished, and since you murdered Big-O …”

“Use your hand, Lucia,” I growl, holding my ground with everything I’ve got.

“I’ve tried that before, but it doesn’t seem to work for me.”