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2024-10-29 19:42:56LAURA
No, no, no.
Please no.
I jumped back to avoid the bouquet falling in my direction, but it still ended up right at my feet. My heart slammed against my ribcage as I stared at the bouquet lying by my feet like it was a ticking time bomb, ready to go off any second.
This could not be happening to me right now.
Why couldn’t it have landed next to one of the other bridesmaids who looked more than happy to catch it? Why did it have to land on me out of all of them?
Maybe because my best friend, the bride of the day, had thrown it right at me and even though I’d stepped out of the way, it still somehow managed to hit its target.
Shit.
My eyes darted around and I took in the number of eyes on me, watching me strangely, probably wondering what the hell was wrong with me. Well, they could judge me if they wanted. They weren’t the ones that had gotten their fates sealed by a fucking bouquet of all things.
Grudgingly, just to get their eyes off me, I bent and picked it up, holding it stiffly and far away from my body like it could bite, and walked away without a particular destination in mind.
I ended up stopping at a table of pastries, the flower still clasped in a death-grip in my fist. With my free hand, I snagged a drink off the tray of a passing waiter and downed the whole thing in one go, slamming the empty glass on the table I was leaning on.
“This is a sign, Laura. You’re next.”
The words were whispered into my ear.
I turned and glared at my best friend, Balery, aka the bride of the day.
“Fuck you.” I whispered harshly. “You did that on purpose.”
“I did no such thing,” She argued, a playful grin on her lips that contradicted her words. “You caught it because you were destined to.”
“What? You’re a soothsayer now on top of everything else?”
She laughed, happy and melodious, and I couldn’t even stay mad at her anymore. I wasn’t really mad at her to begin with. It was just the situation I was angry at, and that was the crazy part.
Catching the flower didn’t necessarily mean that I was up next on the marriage list, but that was what a lot of people believed and a tiny part of me might have believed it too, at least before today.
And that was what terrified me.
Balery’s eyes landed on a spot over my shoulder, but I didn’t turn to see what she was looking at. I still didn’t turn even when she walked away, telling me that she’d be back shortly.
Today had turned out to be a really great day—asides from the whole bouquet thing. Her husband, Jack Summerland, CEO of Summerland and Co Enterprises, a multi-million dollar company, had been unable to keep his eyes off her all through the ceremony—and every other day, to be honest. He was completely smitten with her, and I couldn’t be happier that my best friend had found a man who worshipped the ground she walked on.
She’d worked for him as his assistant for two years, and interest had sparked between them over time. Since his company didn’t have a no-fraternisation policy, there had been no reason for them to not hit things off. It turned out to get pretty serious, they dated for a year before they got engaged and now, they were married.
Speak of the devil. I caught her a few feet away, talking to a man. I could only see his body in profile, so I couldn’t tell what he looked like, but he was tall and dark-haired, that much I could tell.
As if she’d somehow known that I was looking at her, her eyes snapped to mine and I saw a small smile touch her lips. Her eyes stayed on mine even as she said something to the man and it didn’t take a genius to put two and two together.
She was about to play match-maker.
“Excuse me,” I mumbled to no one in particular as I hurried through the crowd, abandoning the flowers on the table. Deliberately.
I hated commitment more than I hated waxing.
A body blocked my path, stopping my progress, and I attempted to side-step, but they only followed, standing in front of me. Annoyed, I looked up and saw that the obstruction was a fairly good-looking man with a head full of curly brown hair and bright blue eyes.
I took a subtle step back. “You’re standing in my way.”
“I know,” He said simply, “You look like you need saving, and I think I can help.”
When you come to think of it, I really did need saving, didn’t I?
Sighing, I said, “Yeah, I do actually.” I found myself admitting. “My best friend’s about to play match-maker and I hate when she does that. What do you have in mind? We pretend we’re locked in serious conversation? Marriage plans?” I joked.
“How about you give me your number instead?”
I laughed, thinking that he was joking too. When I realised that I was the only one laughing, I stopped. “You’re… serious?”
“Giving me your number is a good start, isn’t it?”
Wow. Guys were such assholes.
And here I’d thought he’d simply decided to help he out of the goodness of his heart. I should have known better.
“Your idea of helping me is to ask for my number?”
“Well,” He grinned, sleazy and so fucking disgusting, I took another step back. “Yes. You’re a pretty thing. You loo—”
“Get out of my way.”
When he didn’t budge, I thought; You know what? Screw this.
I walked around him and stormed through the crowd, intent on getting the hell out of here. I just needed to go up to my room, change out of my gown and have a long sleep.
I fished out my phone from my purse and shot Balery a text, letting her know that I was leaving early. She wouldn’t see it right now because she was busy, but she would see it later. I just didn’t want her to worry.
I was keeping my phone back in my purse when I slammed into a rock hard body and suddenly, felt cold liquid running down the front of my dress.
“What the hell is your problem?” I snapped, totally fed up and too pissed to look at the person, so instead, I stared at the mess they’d made of my dress.
The wet spot wasn’t that visible, but I felt it anyway.
I didn’t wait for an apology—not that it looked like I was getting one—before I hurried over to the elevator. The moment I got in, I pushed the button for my floor and leaned back on the wall, exhausted.
My eyes flicked to the elevator panel, to the numbers increasing as it went up. It felt like the ride was going on forever and the fact that I had claustrophobia wasn't helping at all.
Think of something else, Laura.
But what?
My eyes landed on the numbers again.
25.
Just as I was about to give a sigh of relief that I was finally nearing my floor—I was on floor 15—the elevator stopped moving and the doors slid open, revealing the most beautiful man I had ever seen in all my life.
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LAURANow that my heels were gone, the height difference between us became even more pronounced.He gripped my shoulders and turned me around until we were facing a huge mirror on the wall. One that I hadn’t known was there before, until now. Staring into the mirror, I took in our differences. Jesus. He was so tall and big, and I was so small and short in comparison. He was standing behind me, his hands on my shoulders as he, too, stared at us in the mirror. “Look at yourself.” He commanded, his voice caressing my hair and senses. And I did. Which, again, took me by surprise, because I didn’t react well to being ordered. The image we produced in the mirror was nothing short of erotic and it didn’t do anything to help the wetness that had pooled between my legs. If anything, it made it worse. Some of the pins holding my hair had given out, but a few still held strong. It gave my hair a somewhat disheveled and arranged look that was sexy. My nipples pointed skyward, demanding atten
A Game Of Temptation 05
LAURA“Look at you,” He murmured, his eyes roving over me. “So fucking beautiful.”I squeezed my eyes shut as I moaned. His voice did such crazy things to me. My thong was now sticking into my folds uncomfortably, and almost as if he could read my thoughts, his fingers wedged into both sides of mt thong on my hips and rolled them down my legs, leaving me completely bare to his hungry eyes. “Have to taste you.” He grunted, his eyes fixated on the flesh between my legs, and that was the only warning I got before he dove in. I jerked from the impact of his tongue on my centre, and his hands flew to my hips, holding me steady. My mouth fell open in shock, pleasure and agony. He shoved his tongue into me, fucking me with it with at a shockingly fast pace that pushed my already torteured body swiftly towards release. He played with my clit for a bit, sucking on it hard and that was when an orgasm hit me. Hard, and fast and so bloody intense that my eyes fell shut and I screamed loud enoug
A Game Of Temptation 06
LAURA Sunlight from the window trickled into the room, resting directly on my face. I dragged the covers over my face, deciding to ignore it, then after a while, it clicked in my head that sunlight meant it was morning. Morning, which meant that I had to get to work.Groaning, I pushed the sheets off and sat up on the bed, which sent a sharp ache up my centre. If I needed any reminder of what happened yesterday night, then that was it.I was naked. I needed to have my bath and change into clothes suitable for work. A quick search in the room told me that my bag wasn’t in here. Then, I remembered that I had dropped it in the living room, along with my gown from yesterday night.Sighing, I got up and walked out into the living room, dreading seeing the man that put my body in this state. What was his name again? Right, Alex.I always hated the morning after a one night stand. It was uncomfortable and could easily be avoided if one person between the both of us had just left immediately
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LAURA I dragged my bag behind me as I walked towards the jet waiting on the terrace. Could it even be called a bag? With how huge and heavy it was, one would think I had stuffed a dead body in there. When Balery told me that the vacation was going to last a month, I’d been left with no choice but to roll out my biggest box and shove in as much clothes as I could. Suffice to say, I was regretting that decision now that my hand was starting to feel like it was two seconds away from pulling out of my body. As I drew closer to the jet, two men dressed in uniform spotted me and hastily dove for the two bags I carried. One of them carried the heavy bag—even though he tried to hide it well, I could see that he was definitely surprised by the weight—and the other reached for the bag containing my cosmetics that was slung over my shoulder but I stepped back before he could swipe it. “I’m good with this one. Thanks.” I beamed at them. I wasn’t going to allow the extra time I had spent arra
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A Game Of Temptation 60
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A Game Of Temptation 59
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A Game Of Temptation 58
LAURAIt was my third day at my mother’s house and she hadn’t smoked a single thing. She’d probably decided that she didn’t want to add any more to my suffering. Maybe she was abstaining simply because I was here, and for all the world, she could go back to smoking soon as I left. I’d take it. A win is a win. Speak of the devil. She appeared in the hallway, looking rather fresh in a bright short sleeved t-shirt paired with black leggings. It might sound like an exaggeration but to be honest, the dark circles under her eyes weren’t as obvious as they used to be. “Why, you’re positively radiant this morning!” She exclaimed, sitting on the arm of the couch I occupied. Rolling my eyes, I grabbed the remote, pausing the show I’d been watching. “Look who’s talking. Have you had a look in the mirror this morning?”“You’re just teasing me.”“Am not.” Just then, Jo walked into the house beaming, and I grinned a
A Game Of Temptation 57
ALEXShe blinked. “You can’t be serious.”I said nothing. The fact that I wanted to call the engagement off shouldn’t surprise her so much because I hadn’t wanted it in the first place. I’d only agreed to this insane idea because it had seemed appealing to my mother. Claire and I had dated for a few months in college before I’d caught her cheating. The thing was, during that short time, she’d somehow managed to worm her way into my family. Imagine my surprise when my mother had sent me a photo of the two shopping in Paris. Together. What my mother saw in her, I didn’t know—and didn’t care to.I admit that part of that was my fault because I hadn’t told my mother that I’d caught her cheating. Instead, I’d lied to her that the relationship simply hadn’t worked out so my mother had made it her life’s mission to make it work. Why didn’t I just tell my mother the truth, one might ask. Thing was, after the death
A Game Of Temptation 56
ALEXDarkness. That was the icy cold, unwelcome blanket that enveloped me when Laura left. I wasn’t sure if that was correct—or even possible—but I couldn’t explain it any better than that. With her gone, it felt like the very ground I walked on had been swept from right under my fucking feet and I’d been plunged into a bottomless, pitch-black pit, one where I’d been falling for the past hour. Still kneeling in the same spot I’d been when she walked out of the room and out of my life, I’d lost track of time. I couldn’t tell how long it had been, only that it had to have been a while because the hard floor was beginning to dig into my knees through the fabric of my pants. Saying that I didn’t have the strength to stand sounded like an exaggeration, but in truth, I had to muster every single atom of strength in my body to push to my feet, staggering to sit on the foot bench, bracing my elbows on my knees and dropping my face into my palms.Fuck. When we’d gone out to the doctor’s o
A Game Of Temptation 55
LAURA “No one dies from a broken heart.”That was my best friend’s attempt at reassuring me that I was, in fact, not going to die from this pain I felt. I doubted it, but I mustered a small smile at her and went back to what I’d been doing for the past hour—staring at the blank wall. I wasn’t sure why I’d even bothered to ask her when I knew the answer was a big fat yes.I firmly believed that I could very well die from the sheer amount of pain I was feeling. Everything on the inside of my body hurt. Every. Single. Thing. Hell, even breathing hurt. And for the first time in forever, I think I finally understood my mother and why she used. There was little I wouldn’t do to stop feeling like this. Balery sighed, placing the food tray she was carrying on the bedside table before sliding onto the bed, right next to me. “You have to eat something.”“I will,” I told her. “Now,” she ordered. “You haven’t eaten anything all day.”Rolling onto my back, I exhaled at the ceiling, regretti
A Game Of Temptation 54
LAURA “Fiancée,” I murmured, monotone, almost five minutes later. It was like an out of body experience when Alex had taken my arm and gently led me inside to sit on the couch. It was a good thing, because a few more seconds standing and my legs would have probably given out from the magnitude of the shock. “Oh dear,” I heard the woman murmur. The one who claimed she was Alex’s fiancée, that is. “Why does she look like she’s seen a ghost?” Alex didn’t respond. He lowered to his haunches in front of me and took my hands in his. “Baby, this isn’t what it looks like—”“What do you mean it’s not what it looks like?” The woman cut in. “Didn’t you tell her you’re engaged?” “When she leaves, I’ll explain everything to you. Please,” Alex continued, ignoring her. My vision was blurry so I couldn’t see the expression on his face clearly but he sounded panicked. Scared even. If this wasn’t what it looked like, then why was he scared? Why did he look so fucking guilty? Why wasn’t he denyin
