Page 44 of Temporary Vows

I’m not a man a girl like her should ever want.

A girl like Elodie Harper has no business being anywhere near a dark soul like me.

The same goes for me, so I shouldn’t be thinking about her. Or concerning myself with the fact that she still has a fuck of a lot left on that loan to pay.

I remember her best friend Clara. She was shady as shit even years ago. It’s not surprising she pulled such a fucked-up stunt on Elodie. It’s just a shame it happened.

I’m inclined to send out a search party to find her and make her pay, but this is where I need to back down.

With everything going on with Vale Global and the media scandal, I have enough shit on my plate. No need to add more.

My body just needs to get the memo.

I wanted her.

I wanted to dowaymore than kiss her.

I wanted to corrupt her with my filthy hands and give her a real taste of my dark desires.

If she’d known what I was thinking, she would have run from me, even with her bravado and claims that she’d do whatever she needed to do.

It’s been a while since I actually wanted a woman. Elodie Harper made me hunger for her the way a shark craves fresh, blood-soaked meat.

The fling with Grace Astor was exactly that—a fling.

I was bored, and she was eager to please.

Most of the women I’m with are like that, and they know what to expect from me.

Nothing but mutual pleasure for a night. Maybe two. That’s it.

After that, they become a mere afterthought.

I certainly never got worked up over a fucking kiss.

I press my hands into the wall, my pulse thudding relentlessly, like it’s mocking me.

This ends tonight—these thoughts of my ghost and whatever fascination I had with her.

Elodie got a good chunk of her loan tonight from the auction. Whatever happens next isn’t my concern.

It’s time to put all thoughts of her back in the past where she belongs and close that chapter for good.

* * *

I wake to the sound of shuffling downstairs.

I live mostly alone, with Bertram, my assistant, dropping in when I need him and a cleaning lady who comes with her team to keep the place from looking abandoned.

Neither of them are supposed to be here today.

I sit up and listen.

This time, I catch low laughter—male, familiar.My brothers. Sounds like Locke and Levi.

I scan the room, already irritated. I hate when they show up unannounced. The doors are always open at each of our houses, an unspoken rule, but I’m not in the mood for company.

What the hell are they doing here at this hour?