Page 110 of The Temptation of Truth

My eyes flare. Thank God I’m wearing sunglasses. “Why?”

“You’ve never caught feelings for a guy.”

“Who says I’ve caught feelings?”

Sav arches a brow, and I bark out a laugh to throw her off.

“Whatever. Itcouldbe a guy. There’s a first time for everything.”

“There is, but it’s not. It’s definitely a woman.”

I don’t respond. Instead, I roll my eyes, grab my towel from the lounge chair, and head toward the house. I have every intention of escaping further conversation, but Sav keeps talking.

“How long?”

“What?”

“How long have you been talking to this mystery woman? It must have been building for a while if you already look like this, which means it startedduringyour relationship with Kat. Is thatwhy you finally broke it off with her? Someone else wanted to and actually did?”

I stop in my tracks and drop my eyes to the stone pavers as her barrage of questions pelts the back of my head.

I don’t keep secrets from Sav. I never have, but now I’ve got two big things I’m hiding from her, and it just feels wrong. I don’t even know why I haven’t told her about my birth mom, but this thing with Aurora, it could be bad for all of us.

Still, I have to actively fight the urge to give Sav an answer. I have to force myself not to turn around and tell her everything about everything. The desire to analyze my feelings with my best friend is strong. I want to know what she sees and what she thinks. I want to hear her opinion. I want her to tell me I’m not fucking crazy for getting tangled up in this...this...whateverthisis.

I want so badly to confess it all, but I don’t. I can’t. Not just out of respect for Aurora, but also out of fear. I’m scared that Sav will give me the same unfiltered honesty she always does. Scared that she’ll remind me of the reality that I’m willfully ignoring, and thishazy, brain fog, first crushfeeling will disappear.

I’m still floating on the high of my night with Aurora days ago. I’m still replaying every look and subtle touch that’s happened since. When I’m with her, I’m trying my best not to stare. When I’m not with her, I’m thinking about her.

Even now, she went to lunch with Ham, and I’ve been buzzing with anticipation for the moment she returns. For two hours, I’ve been stealing glances at our terrace, willing her to come out. Hoping for her to come join us at the pool.

Aurora Hammond has consumed my every thought. She’s taken over my brain and body, and I can’t take back control. I don’twantto take back control. I just want to enjoy the excitement of the freefall. It’s such a welcome change.

I spent the last three years in an unhealthy, one-sided relationship with a person who was always half out the door. Kat made me question my worth. She made me feel like loving me was something to be ashamed of. Like I would never be enough for her.

With Aurora, it’s different. She makes me feel like the sun, and after so many years of being kept as a secret, of being hidden in darkness, I can’t get enough of the light. She looks at me like I’m worth something, and I crave it so badly that it outshines everything else. All the reasons why I shouldn’t no longer exist. All the truths that I’m ignoring are erased. Everything, every thought and emotion, revolves around her.

Then, as if summoned, her French doors open, and Aurora steps onto the terrace. No matter where she is, that place becomes the center of the universe. My eyes snap up, and they’re immediately met with hers. She smiles, and I start walking.

“I said I don’t want to jinx it,” I call over my shoulder to Sav, throwing up a peace sign before opening the door to the house. “See you later.”

I don’t turn around to see the look on her face, but I don’t have to. I can practically feel the irritation and curiosity rolling off her in waves. It should bother me. I know her, and I know she won’t leave it alone. She’ll be paying attention now. I should probably be careful, but the farther I get from her, the less it concerns me. My focus is on the woman upstairs.

I keep walking until I’m at Aurora’s bedroom door, and when I get there, I don’t even have to knock. She swings the door open and welcomes me in with a smile.

Thanks to this house being packed with people, we haven’t had a minute alone, and the second the door shuts behind me, the air sparks with an electric charge that crackles around us. We stare at each other for a few breaths, neither of us moving, until her eyes drop down my body. They linger on my breasts,my navel, the apex of my thighs. Her gaze tickles my skin with a featherlight touch, and my nipples pebble beneath my thin bikini top. It makes my pulse stutter as need courses through my veins.

People have looked at me with lust-filled eyes many times in my life. Never once has anyone affected me the way Aurora does. I love the way she stares. I love what looking at me does to her.

I watch as a flush spreads from her ears to her collarbone, and her breath quickens. It’s such a powerful reaction, and I’m just in a bathing suit.

It reminds me of that morning in Adelaide, when I was wearing silk pajamas and her eyes stuck on the imprints of my piercings. That morning, I’d thought maybe I’d embarrassed her. Now, I see it for what it is:desire. And being the object of her desire makes me feel alive.

When she forces a swallow and fists her hands at her sides, I step closer.

“You can touch me. If you want.”

Her eyes jump to mine and her flush deepens. “What?”