LOGINShare
47
Last Updated:
2024-01-27 06:59:30Related chapters
A Game Of Temptation 48
LAURA “Oh, my poor baby,” Balery cried when she saw me, dumping her purse and the flowers she was carrying on the ground before hurrying over to sit next to me on the bed. Her eyes swept over my form once in in a quick survey, then she promptly burst into tears. My heart broke. “Oh, Balery please don’t cry.”I didn’t know what to do with myself. I’d always been terrible at comforting people, especially when they cried, so I tended to avoid the act altogether. Right now, I could do nothing but stare at her helplessly as she sobbed. It made me feel like a piece of shit--for not knowing how to react to certain display of emotions and for making her cry in the first place.“But look at you,” she sniffed, tears running freely down her beautiful face. “You’re all patched up and I-I’ve never seen you like this--”“I suffered just one injury and it was to my head, Bales.” I cut her off. “I look worse than I feel. Really.” Stretching with mild difficulty, I handed her a kleenex from the bed
Last Updated : 2024-05-25A Game Of Temptation 49
LAURA I glanced between Alex and the door, wondering how quickly I could get to it before he caught up to me. He was way taller than me, legs almost twice as long as mine were. For every one of his steps, I had to take two to match. Also, he was standing in front of me, which placed him closer to the door than I was. I could attempt to skirt around him and dash for it but with one outstretched arm, I’d be right back where I was standing now. Besides, if I did manage to run out, what then? It would still take me a while to book a ride and before my ride arrived, Alex would have tossed me over his shoulder and carried me back inside and from the look on his face, he was not above doing that right now.His eyes narrowed as he took note of my discreet glances towards the door. He fixed me with a disbelieving look as he caught on to the direction of my thoughts. “Are you planning on making a break for the door?”Keeping my face neutral, I said, “I’m not.”I had been planning to, but n
Last Updated : 2024-05-30A Game Of Temptation 50
LAURA“I know who that is,” I blurted. He lifted a brow in an expression that said ‘no shit’. “Well, I’m assuming you do since they have your number.”Cursing, I got up off his lap, running a hand through my hair in frustration. “Not like that. I mean, I don’t know him know him but I know who sent that text and it’s no one important.” I cringed as soon as the words exited my mouth, realizing just how stupid and careless they sounded. And from the hurt, disbelieving and confused look on Alex’s face, he no doubt thought the same thing. Hurrying to correct myself, I said, “What I meant to say was, I think I know who sent that text because there’s only one person who ever sends me messages like that and this one has to be from him too.”Alex sat up, a storm brewing behind his eyes. “And who is this person?”“I assume it’s a man. I mean, it has to be. Judging by the tone of his messages and”—I cleared my throat—“the things he usually says so, uh, definitely not a girl.”My attempt to li
Last Updated : 2024-06-03A Game Of Temptation 51
LAURAI had the distinct sense that I was being moved, but my eyelids felt too heavy to lift. The thing was, I couldn’t remember my bed ever feeling this comfortable. Snuggling deeper, I realized that my blanket seemed to…tighten around me? That was odd. But then warm lips pressed to my forehead and I knew that was definitely not the bed, so I forced my lids open and found startling green eyes staring into mine. My breath caught. “Am I dreaming?” I breathed. I’d wished for him to come back so much that I must have started dreaming that he did. Perhaps I was hallucinating? It wasn’t entirely impossible. You’d be surprised what desperation and longing could do to the human mind.Dream/Illusion Alex shook his head. “No, you’re not, love.”I wasn’t entirely convinced, but I kept my mouth shut just incase. I didn’t want to risk saying something that might cause this hallucination--or dream--to come to an end. Not when I was enjoying it so much. Cocooned in his warmth, I simply stare
Last Updated : 2024-06-06A Game Of Temptation 52
“Doll!”I’d barely gotten time to process the word when strong arms wrapped around my middle and lifted me clear off the ground. Yelping in surprise, my hands automatically landed on the man’s shoulder in a bid not to fall on the ground in case he decided to drop me. But Alex was there in an instant, snapping at him. “Off.”Drew rolled his eyes, plastering a wet and loud kiss to my forehead before placing my feet carefully on the ground. “I’m not a dog, Alex.”“No, you’re not. Even dogs have better training.”Drew gasped dramatically, eyes widening in mock hurt. “Was that a dig at my mother?” “We both know Eloise did her best.” Alex muttered, shoving him out of the way, then bent his knees so that we were eye level. “Are you okay?” His eyes dropped pointedly to my stomach. I nodded, giving him a reassuring smile. “I’m fine. He just took me by surprise, that’s all.”His eyes softened and he nodded once before turning to Drew and poiting a finger at him. “Don’t do it again.”The latt
Last Updated : 2024-06-18A Game Of Temptation 53
LAURAToday was my first OB-GYN appointment and I was excited for it. Alex, too. We were eager to see how the baby was doing. We’d just finished showering together—only because we cared about the earth and wanted to conserve water and not at all because we couldn’t keep our hands off each other, of course—and I’d scoured my underwear drawer for the most boring set I owned and found this full coverage cotton panties I couldn’t remember ever wearing before.I WAS WEARING FULL COVERAGE PANTIES. Why did I feel the need to wear boring underwear, one might ask. Well, because I was going to the doctor’s and I felt like it was warranted. I wasn’t sure why. I just felt like it. I was dragging plain black leggings up my legs when Alex walked out of the closet, eyes lingering on my bare stomach. He’d been doing that ever since last week when I’d woken up one morning and found out that my stomach had grown harder. I’d gone online and seen that it was perfectly normal, then both Alex and I had
Last Updated : 2024-06-25A 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
Last Updated : 2024-07-04A 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
Last Updated : 2024-07-28
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
