Page 129 of The Villain We Tempt

Bella exhales in relief, then frowns.

“Was he a dick?”

I laugh and tell her only a little bit.

What I don’t tell her is that he was also charming. Nor do I tell her I may have flirted with him a little bit, leading to that weird tug of guilt again now.

Idefinitelydon’t tell her that for one brief second, I looked at Lochlan and saw my masked stalker.

My dark fantasy.

My dangerous attraction, and my madness.

Because he’s not him.

No way.

21

LOCHLAN

“What areyoudoing here?”

I grin at the diminutive blonde blocking the doorway and scowling up at me.

“Good to see you too, Demi.”

“Dammit, Lochlan!” My little sister squeals and tries to dodge away as I reach out to mess up her hair.

She’s not fast enough.

More screams and curses and laughter tumble out as I wrap my arm around her neck from behind, pin her to my chest, and give her a noogie.

“Youasshole!” she giggles, finally wrenching herself free and jamming a poorly aimed kick at my shins. She misses.

She steps back into the house, finally allowing me inside.

“MOM!” she yells over her shoulder. “DAD! YOURSONIS HERE!”

A squeal of excitement that could only come from Callie Kildare,néeDrakos, explodes from the upper levels of the six-story Upper East Side brownstone.

A loud “Which one?!” accompanies the sound of feet rushing down the stairs.

“The dickhead!” Demi yells, grinning like a little shit at me.

“You gotta be more specific, hon.”

I look past my sister to my mother standing in the doorway to the living room.

“Hi, Mom.”

She grins, her bright blue eyes shining. “C’mere, you.”

Demi dives out of the way as our mom rushes over to throw her arms around me. I feel myself smiling widely as I hug her against me and lean down to kiss the top of her head.

“What are you doing here?!”

I sigh. “Second time I’ve gotten that since I walked in the door. Should Icallnext time before I come home?” I say sarcastically.