I quickly quashed the memory, but it was too late. Everything came crashing down. The control I exercised at all costs. The ghosts that haunted me. Those few stolen kisses. We never made it out of the compound together. I left Lou behind, and she wasn’t something I thought I could ever leave behind. Dead or alive.
My fingers clenched around the whiskey glass, bitterness coursing through my veins.
Liana was innocent too. Her story—spoken and unspoken words—gutted me. I was confused as fuck. I loved Louisa, yet Liana had started to feel so goddamn right. Had she put a spell on me? Or was I so fucking weak that I gave in to the first true temptation that came along?
I slammed the whiskey glass on the table, disgusted at myself, and let out a hollow laugh.
I bolted out of my bedroom and tore down the halls to her room. My body was tense with suppressed hunger. It made me furious—at her, at myself, at the goddamned world. It poisoned me down to the marrow of my bones.
She and I… We couldn’t end well. We wouldn’t end well.
It was a recipe for self-destruction. Liana loved her sister; I loved her sister. Every touch, every kiss was a betrayal to Lou. It hovered over us like a fog, clouding our judgment. And still I couldn’t stay away. Like a moth to the flame, I went.
The ghost on my shoulder warned that it’d only settle me temporarily, and once this lust dissipated, Liana and I would be left with bitter regret. But goddammit, this maddening lust tasted so fucking sweet, tempting us with its promises.
I stormed into her room, slamming the door into the wall in the process. Liana whirled around, wearing nothing but a red lace bra and matching panties. Fuck, she was beautiful. Her creamy skin. Her soft hips. Her perky breasts.
My heart drummed in my ears as those golden eyes met mine.
So warm. So light. So fucking right.
“What are—”
“I need you.” I practically snarled the words, kicking the door closed with my foot. “And I think you need me too.”
She let out a soft scoff, but nothing could hide the way her cheeks turned crimson. “I don’t need anyone.” Always so brave. So determined. “Besides, I can take care of my own needs, if you catch my drift.”
Her lips curved into a sinful, seductive smile, and the images of her touching herself slammed into my mind. My dick stiffened in my jeans. It had been impossible to forget the images of her on my bed, rubbing her clit while her lust-filled eyes watched me jack off.
“Show me,” I demanded.
Liana’s fingers clenched into small fists and her shoulders tensed. Maybe I’d misread all the signs and she really did hate me. I didn’t know anymore. I promised my love and fidelity to Louisa, and here I was begging her sister to touch herself in front of me. I wasn’t in my right mind, that was for sure.
She glanced around me, almost as if expecting someone to save her. No, that couldn’t be right. She didn’t need saving. She was probably looking for a weapon to kill me with, but finding nothing, her gaze traveled back to mine.
“Jesus,” she muttered, her slender shoulders relaxing a bit as she made her way to the chair. But she couldn’t hide the traitorous tremor of her body. She wanted me too. “You’re becoming obsessed with me.” She sat on the armchair like a queen, a secret smile on her lips. Did she think about the night we shared all those months ago as much as I did? “But let me warn you, I have no intention of staying here, so you’d better not get used to this.”
Her fucking mouth would be the death of me.
“Take off your bra,” I ordered, tugging on my own shirt and sliding it over my head. Her eyes landed on my chest, and goosebumps peppered her skin.
“I don’t like your bossy tone.” Her tongue swept across her bottom lip. “Say please.”
Her nipples tightened under the thin material of her bra, and her fingers trembled as she reached for the hook in front, but she didn’t move to unclasp it. Instead, she waited with a raised brow and a challenge in her eyes.
“Drop the act, Liana,” I said, my voice so deep and thick I barely recognized it. “I can smell your arousal. And the wet spot on your panties tells me you’re drenched. Now take off your bra so I can see your tits.”
Her chest heaved before she finally did as she was told. Discarding it onto the floor, her breasts spilled out and all the blood rushed to my groin. Her fingers came down to her armrests, clenching around them.
“Show me how you touch yourself.”
She rolled her eyes, although the blush staining her porcelain skin told me she was enjoying the attention. “You already watched that show once, Kingston. This is going to get boring fast.”
This maddening woman. I unbuttoned my pants, discarding them in one go.
“The sooner you stop talking, the sooner you get relief,” I gritted. “Take off your panties so I can see your pussy.”
“Don’t go romancing anyone with that mouth of yours,” she breathed, her eyes lingering on my tattoos and the scars they hid. Could she see them? Her gaze traveled lazily down my body to my cock, and I watched with satisfaction as she flushed.
I liked that she didn’t look away, instead she watched me palm my length and tug on it. Once. Twice. She gasped, her breasts heavy and swollen, her nipples puckering tight in the cold air.
“Touch yourself, princess,” I rasped, and the plea in my voice would have embarrassed me if not for how turned on I was.
Her eyes flitted to mine before lowering again. In a decadent, sinful motion, she hooked her right knee over the armrest and inched her hand between her thighs. The first brush of her fingers had her quivering.
Fuck, she was so fucking beautiful. Spread wide open in offering, I could see her arousal, her wetness sliding down her inner thigh. The scent was fucking intoxicating.
For the first time in a long time, I wanted to fucking touch and caress and devour. I wanted to feel her flesh against mine. Yet, it felt like such a betrayal to Lou’s memory. It was her I loved. This woman in front of me was just a faded, fake replacement.
So I’d have to keep my distance. There wasn’t anything romantic about it. This was just blowing off steam.
Her fingers delved between her thighs, parting her folds, and I watched her thumb circle her swollen nub, rubbing it with her slim, graceful fingers. Her breath hitched and her whole body tensed, the sound of her wet arousal, the musky scent of her desire, and her breathing the only things I could concentrate on.
Liana slid a finger inside her core, her back arching and her lips parting with a soundless whimper. She was pink and wet, clenching and inviting. Her gaze lingered on my cock, her movements synchronized with my own. I watched as her hips started to move in rhythm with her finger, chasing her release.
“What did you think about when you touched yourself on my bed the last time?” I asked, my voice rough to my own ears.
“The man in my dreams,” she breathed, a moan slipping past her naturally pink lips, her thumb circling her clit with frantic need.
I surged forward, curling my arms around her waist and pulling her up. I should have been smarter than this. I should have been more in control, but my cock took over my brain, and it no longer mattered that Liana wasn’t my Lou. I was acting on impulse, like a starved beast about to pounce.
Her hands slammed into my chest, her wet fingers splaying over my abs, and for a moment, we stood still. Her lips were inches from mine. Eyes shining like gold.
Fuck, those eyes! I loved and loathed that color. I loved and loathed that face.
I dumped her on the bed and she bounced with a gasp. My jaw clenched as I fought my body’s urges that were tearing me apart from within.
“Are we watching each other or are you fucking me?” Her body trembled, betraying her brave words.
“On your hands and knees,” I snapped, angry that she was thinking about someone else while getting off in front of me. Furious at myself for wanting her. Confused at all these conflicting feelings that made no goddamn sense.