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Last Updated:
2023-05-15 16:36:02
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A Game Of Temptation 36
LAURARunning. Between work and my personal life, it wasn't something that I had the chance to do alot. Frankly, it wasn't something that I enjoyed doing. I only did it when I was super stressed and needed to clear my head. But considering that I hadn't done it in a very long time...well, it explained why I was panting for air just thirty minutes into the run. Slowing to a stop, I leaned against the wall of a tall building, doubling over and bracing my hands on my knees as I struggled to catch my breath. When I heard the sounds of footsteps fast approaching, I straightened and plastered on a fake smile as though I gave a fuck whoever this person was.As if I wasn't seconds away from crumbling to the ground in a heap of sweat and messy thoughts. The owner of the footsteps I'd heard jogged past. It was a female jogger and she hadn't even spared me a glance. I swiftly went back to bracing my hands on my knees and breathing out through my mouth, my head clouded with worries, thoughts
Last Updated : 2023-05-17A Game Of Temptation 37
LAURA“Damn,” someone muttered.If I had to guess, my outfit was what prompted the cursing. Looking up from my phone, I found Derrick, a guy who lived in my building, standing there. Actually, it looked like he’d abruptly paused mid-stride. His eyes were wide as they dragged down my form, and I was positive that if he kept his mouth open much longer, he’d attract flies. I was right after all. It was my outfit. “Hi, Derrick.” I gave him a small smile and briskly continued walking. I was almost out of the building when he caught up to me, stopping me with a gentle grip on my elbow. My smile slipped. I gave him a look, then dropped my eyes to his hand on my elbow pointedly.He took the hint, smiling sheepishly as his hand fell back to his side. “Sorry.” His eyes darted away as he rubbed his neck, so nervous I could almost taste it. “It’s just… I’ve been trying to reach you.” When I simply cocked a brow, he swallowed. “Y-you didn’t respond to my texts or calls, and when I asked about
Last Updated : 2023-05-19A Game Of Temptation 38
LAURAI launched myself at him. Was he obviously pissed? Yes. Did I care? No. One thing I had to be thankful for was the fact that Alex was big and strong. He caught me easily even though he hadn’t been prepared for it, his hand tightening almost bruisingly on my hips even as he pulled me closer. He opened his mouth to say something and I had a strong feeling that this something wasn’t going to be anything I wanted to hear right now so I dove into action, pressing my mouth against his and effectively stealing his words. God, I’d missed this. Him. I’d missed kissing him. How odd. He groaned into my mouth, deepening the kiss. His tongue slipped out, pushing against my lips, seeking entrance. I opened up for him immediately, my hand climbing up to his hair and my fingers sifting through the strands as I immersed myself in the kiss. The fullness of it. The rightness.The promise of what was to come. It wasn’t like the usual kisses we shared when one of us fought for dominance ov
Last Updated : 2023-05-21A Game Of Temptation 39
LAURA “What?”After what had felt like ages of holding on to each other as if we’d both needed to feel grounded after the earth-shattering sex we’d had, Alex and I had finally managed to drag ourselves out of the restroom. There’d been a knowing look in the waiter’s eyes when she’d come to take our order but she’d been very professional. I was straightening my top when I’d felt the heat of eyes on me and had looked up to find Alex staring at me. “You were late,” he stated, serious as a heart attack.“I was stuck in traffic.” We’d skipped everything—greetings, talk and food—and gone straight to fucking because I’d been so hot for him, and I’d completely forgot that I was late. I guess we were going to talk about it now.“I offered to come get you.”Traffic was traffic. What difference would it have made?“Would you have preferred it if we’d both been stuck in traffic?” I asked sarcastically.He blinked. “Yes.”It was my turn to blink. “I don’t see how—”“I’d pick sitting with you in
Last Updated : 2023-05-24A Game Of Temptation 40
LAURAWho introduced their fianceé to their ex then in the next moment, told their fiancée that the man he was seated with, was her boyfriend in uni?And why the hell was there a constant smile on said fiancee’s face? It was starting to piss me off. “How’s work?” Claire asked, the tips of her fingers brushing Alex’s. I honed in on that point of contact. Alex leaned back into his chair, effectively disconnecting from her touch as his hand slipped to the edge of the table. His smile was all teeth. “Great.”I felt a glimmer of satisfaction.Claire nodded, either choosing to pretend she hadn’t seen him pull away, or maybe she was the most oblivious person on planet earth. “You’ve always been ambitious.” I waited for the part I knew was coming and she didn’t disappoint. “Even back in the university.”She’d basically hijacked the conversation ever since she joined us. I didn’t know why she’d made it her life’s mission to remind everyone seated at the table—herself included—that she’d known
Last Updated : 2023-05-27A Game Of Temptation 41
LAURA The car was pin drop silent. I was too tired to ask where he was taking me and was mainly still reeling from how drastically the night had changed. I didnt say anything even when I noticed that we were driving in the opposite direction from the side of town where I lived. If it were any other man—literally—I would tell him to stop the car. Maybe I wouldnt have gotten into a car with him in the first place. But it was Alex, and I felt safe around him. Alex could tie a blindfold over my eyes and I would trust him to not let me fall into a pit. Panic followed closely on the heels of that realisation. Since when did I trust men? But I was too wiped to react. Too terribly exhausted. But maybe I didnt need to react.It was when we were approaching a black gate that Alex broke the silence. “I probably should have asked you this before now.” I turned to him and saw him watching me. “I’m bringing you to my place. Is that okay?”A small nod was all I gave him. Even if it wasnt, it wa
Last Updated : 2023-05-29A Game Of Temptation 42
LAURAAlex stared at me quietly, waiting for me to continue. He was confused, I could tell from the from lines between his brows, but he didn't ask any questions or push me to go on. He just waited patiently and I appreciated it. I was about to confess to him something that I'd never told anyone. If I did it under pressure, then I was either going to lie or not do it at all. And I needed to do this. For him and for me. "My father left when I was eight. Or at least so I was told by my mom," I said, swallowing hard. My voice shook and something kept telling me to stop this madness, to turn away and walk upstairs, knowing that Alex wouldn't force me if I didn't really want to. I ignored it and continued. "At eight, you'd think I would remember him but I don't. I have not one single memory of him. The only person I remember when I was that young, was a man who was married to my mother for a long time."Memories from the past assaulted me and instead of shutting them out, I let myself
Last Updated : 2023-06-01A Game Of Temptation 43
LAURA When I woke up the next morning, it was to the sight of two green eyes staring at me. Because I hadn't been expecting it—because I was so used to waking up alone everyday—it freaked me out and I screamed. I drew back with so much force that I slipped off the bed and landed on the floor."Ow," I groaned and rubbed the back of my head where it had smacked against the floor from my fall. "Shit. Sorry," a familiar voice said before an equally familiar face appeared from the side of the bed.Ladies and gentlemen, the owner of the pair of green eyes. For a moment, all I could do was stare. Stare at his spectacular face, his perfectly chiseled jaw, the hint of stubble that had just begun to form, his lips that I'd spent so much time kissing last night, and those beautiful beautiful green eyes. "You scared me." The words came out breathy and weightless, and I flushed because he'd heard it. Flustered. I was flustered. "I'm sorry," he said absently.His eyes roved over my face, touc
Last Updated : 2023-06-05
Latest chapter
A Game Of Temptation Epilogue.
LAURA “She’s still doing it, isn’t she?” “Yeah.” “She’s so goddamn stubborn. She takes after her father, that one.” Voices from my mother’s kitchen drifted to me where I stood by her dining table, setting it. My lips curled in amusement because they probably thought I couldn’t hear them—or maybe they knew I could hear them but didn’t consider me a big enough threat to have them lowering their voices. After all, I was a woman who couldn’t get from point A to B without waddling. I believed I looked like a penguin, but Alex thought it was cute. The same Alex who was currently listening to my mother gossip and contributing every now and then, while he assisted her in making lunch. Like this was something he did everyday. “You shouldn’t be on your feet, Laura,” Mom called from the kitchen, speaking directly to me this time. “Go sit down.” I rolled my eyes. Had she grown tired of gossiping? “Someone has to set the table.” “I’ll do it,” Alex volunteered for what had to
A Game Of Temptation 69
ALEX Drew’s plan had worked. I could hardly believe it. The magnitude of joy and relief currently coursing through my body was sufficient enough to have me levitating off the car seat, but by some miracle, I remained sitting. Pretty sure the only thing keeping me grounded was the woman sitting beside me. She’d forgiven me. Laura forgave me. I’d gone so long without her, it seemed implausible that she was actually here. That she’d entered my car willingly and I hadn’t even had to come up with an elaborate excuse to get her in. I knew I should probably stop turning her way every quarter of a second like a fucking creep and keep my focus on the road, where it should be, but I couldn’t help it. Hell, I was half scared she was going to jump out of the car the second I stopped and never look back. Or that this was another one of the painfully vivid dreams of her that haunted me at night. The ride to her place was quiet. Several times, I found myself wanting to say something to
A Game Of Temptation 68
LAURA By chaos, I meant a thousand roses. They were everywhere. Scattered all over the inside of my store and even the store front. They hadn’t been there when Drew and I had come in, which meant whoever had done this, had to have done it when I was occupied with Drew by the hangers. “How on earth did these get here?” I whisper-shouted to Bailey, my voice filled with horror. There were customers in the shop and I didn’t know what the hell was going on but I definitely didn’t want it posing an inconvenience to them. What if they left horrible reviews on the website? Oh my God. Bailey, whom I’d expected to share the same sentiment as me, merely stood there smiling at me. Was she insane? What could she possibly find funny about any of this? Some customers had already paused their shopping to curiously stare at us. Without uttering a word, she gently gripped my shoulders and turned me around until I was facing the entrance of the store where I saw Alex standing there, carrying
A Game Of Temptation 67
LAURA Ice cream + Good TV = Therapy. At least it used to be therapy. I wasn’t very sure it was working right now. I hadn’t possessed the will to go to work today. Hadn’t been able to summon an atom of strength. So I’d decided to stay home of course, which ended up being even worse because I was left to my own very loud, very chaotic thoughts. No matter how badly I tried, I couldn’t stop thinking about yesterday. About Alex specifically, not the encounter with his fiancée. I wanted to cave in so bad. Anytime I closed my eyes, I saw his pleading face and pain filled eyes. I had never wanted to pick up my phone and call someone so bad. My longing was only held in check by fear. A deep rooted fear of what it would do to me if he broke my heart again. Now, the stakes were higher. I did not only have myself to think of, I also had to think of my unborn child. What if I let him in again only for him to…I don’t know, hurt me in a away I’d never recover from or what if he just upp
A Game Of Temptation 66
ALEX “My God, he looks so unbearably pathetic.” “Of course he does. He lost the love of his life.” “You mean the same woman he’s been lying to?” “Will you shut up with that?” “What? It’s the truth.” I stared up at the ceiling as my friends let themselves into the house, listening to Drew and Jake argue. Jake, who was usually the emotionally unavailable one out of all of us, was defending me against Drew. That said a lot. One had to have hit an all time low to have Jake standing up for them. I didn’t move from my spot on the couch. Actually, I wasn’t sure I’d left this couch since I got home yesterday. After leaving Laura’s feeling all shades of dejected, I’d come straight here, collapsed on it and hadn’t left it since apart from that one time I went to the bathroom. Three faces appeared above me, two concerned and one scowling. “Hey, man.” Jack gave me a sympathetic smile. “How are you holding up?” “Not at all, apparently,” Drew answered him. And while Drew’s response
A Game Of Temptation 65
LAURAAlex pushed to his feet immediately he saw me, dusting off the back of his jeans. It was as though an invisible force glued my feet to the ground like lead because I suddenly couldn’t move. I simply stood there with my purse hanging from one hand and the bag carrying my burger and fries hanging from the other, staring at himOh, I was still holding the pepper spray, by the way. The hallway was not very lit up, but my eyes clung to as much of him as I could see. Wearing a black hoodie and blue broken in jeans, he appeared leaner than he’d been the last time I saw him. The hoodie seemed to hang on his frame and the jeans sagged a little. Still, it didn’t take away from his good looks at all because he was still the most beautiful man I had ever seen. Evidence of that being my heart which was going one thousand miles per minute. This could not be good for the baby. I was not sure how long we stood there staring at each other. Could have been seconds, minutes or even hours, but
A Game Of Temptation 64
LAURA“No fucking way.”“Yes fucking way.”“There is no fucking way that happened. Please tell me you’re making this up.”“Girl, does that sound like something I’d make up?”“You’re telling me he had a fiancée the entire time?” Disbelief had Bailey’s voice rising octaves higher.The irony wasn’t lost on me that the massage we’d booked to relax had evolved into story-time for Bailey, which was stressing the hell out of her. “Even I am still finding it hard to believe,” Balery piped in from her table. “And I’ve known for like a week now.”Our massage therapists were for sure getting earfuls and I wasn’t sure I cared if they talked about it amongst themselves later. Let the world know what a class A cheat and player Alex was. I was probably saving some innocent woman by talking about it. Who knew?“But how?” Bailey asked. The confusion was obvious in her tone. “From all what Balery has said, it sounds like this man was truly in love with you.”I shrugged as much as I could without maki
A Game Of Temptation 63
ALEXI hung back for a bit, desperately trying to get myself—and my breathing—under control before I followed Laura into the car, but it was all fucking pointless because the second I joined her, I lost my composure. When she gave me her address, I wanted to beg her to keep talking because I’d missed her. I’d missed her voice, I’d missed her scent, I’d missed how I felt when I was with her. Hell, I’d missed the pleasure of merely looking at her. But I couldn’t even tell her that now because I’d lost the right to. Every single second of every single minute of every single hour of every single day since she’d left me, I’d thought of her. I’d told myself that even if she wouldn’t forgive me right away, it would appease something in me if I could just see her. Maybe then my heart wouldn’t feel so fucking hollow. Oh, how terribly wrong I was. It fucking killed me that she was so close to me yet she might as well have been a thousand miles away because I couldn’t touch her. Looking at
A Game Of Temptation 62
LAURA One second Derrick had a blade to my face and the next, his body was flying backwards and slamming into the bathroom door. There was an audible thud and a loud pained grunt as he landed on his ass on the ground, the knife skidding on the floor until it stopped a few feet away from him. My breaths sawing in and out of my chest, I almost burst into tears when I saw the person who’d burst into the room.Hunter. Standing in the center of the room, he was big, intimidating, and he looked so royally pissed, even I shrank back against the chair I was sitting on. I’d never appreciated his size more than I did in that moment because seeing Derrick’s slumped form and then Hunter’s, I knew there was no way the former could face off against the latter. Which meant my unborn baby and I were going to get out of here alive. His eyes made one quick sweep of me. After confirming that I was unscathed—at least physically, he tu
