"That fucker!" Amy snarled. "I honestly didn't see it coming... and I'm great at reading people dammit!"

She sat cross legged on my bed, hugging a pillow while I let a weeks worth of emotions come rolling out of me.

I hadn't told them about my Saturday with Ethan. Some part of me wanting to hold it close, like stating it out loud would somehow make me realize it was only a dream and the magic would vanish as the words left my lips.

But now, almost a week had passed.

It was Friday night, and Sarah was still out doing her write up on the New York Rangers game. She had insisted I come with her, since I'd enjoyed the game last weekend, but I'd declined with a terrible excuse about coming down with something - an excuse she'd obviously seen right through since Amy came in to check on me the second she got home from her show.

All she had to do was give me one of her looks and the entire story came pouring out of me.

"He sent me a text after class on Wednesday saying he was sorry, but that's it," I said, using both my hands to scrub my face clean. "Sorry for what? Acting like an asshole to me in class... or for helping me Saturday and ignoring me the rest of the week... I don't know."

Amy still had remnants of glitter smearing her cheeks and chest and it shimmered as her face pinched in concentration. "I don't know Eve. As mad as I am at him, I don't think he was playing you - he seemed genuinely interested - but who knows when it comes to men."

"Yeah," I said yawning. "Who knows."

***

"Shit."

Movement near me made my eyes snap open from a dead sleep. The room was dark, but I could see something shift in the sliver of moonlight above me from where I laid sprawled out. "Ethan?"

"Shh...," he whispered, sitting on the edge of my bed. "I didn't mean to wake you. I just... wanted to see you."

He pinched a few strands of my hair between his fingers, letting it glide through them as he slowly pulled his hand away.

His eyes were glazed and the rich scent of bourbon hung in the air around him. I sat up intending to scoot away from him, but the second my face came near his chest, he dipped his head down and buried his face in the crook of my neck, moaning. His lips grazed my cool skin making me shiver.

"I missed you," he said.

Really? "You didn't call me. I didn't expect some sort of commitment because of what we did, but you told me we were friends. I thought-"

He shushed me again as his lips trailed to my collar bone and out towards my shoulder - leaving wet, open mouthed kisses along the way. "I was a fool to think I could stay away."

He ran his tattooed knuckles, the ones that spelled Eden, back and forth along the collar of my thin night shirt before pulling one sleeve off my shoulder. His mouth immediately went to the exposed skin there, sucking - sending an electric coil through my body, into my core.

"I thought you'd be better off without my fucked up-ness," he said, pulling my night shirt farther down, just barley exposing me, the sudden temperature change causing my nipples pucker.

He waited, and when I made no move to stop him, he smiled - pulling the fabric lower and putting his mouth around my left breast as wide as he could get it, nearly sucking the whole thing in.

Holy shit.

He pulled back a bit so that only my nipple was between his teeth. The bundle of nerves between my legs clenched and I gripped his hair, pushing him closer as his teeth steadily squeezed tighter around the the tiny nub.  Ahh!

The second before it became too much, he released, licking the swollen flesh. "I was stupid Eve. But I promise it had nothing to do with you." He lifted my shirt, smoothing it back in place.

His gray eyes looked molten in the moon's silver light, and I didn't detect a hint of deceit.

"Ok," I whispered. "I believe you."

He visibly relaxed, looking around my tiny room, pausing on a picture of a much younger me with my mom on my bedside table.

"Something," he looked like he was choosing his words carefully. "Something happened tonight, and I drove downtown determined to get shit faced, but... I found myself here instead."

"What happened?"

He shifted, putting his elbows on his knees. His wide, strong back hunched over. "My grandad died... Well, the only one I've ever had."

"I'm so sorry." He looked slightly lost, so I scooted closer, wrapping my arms around him. "Was he Elizabeth's dad?"

He shook himself a bit. "No. He was Frank's dad."

Frank must be his father, but... I assumed they weren't close from the glint in his eyes when he said his name.

"The funerals on Sunday," he whispered.

I watched something like fear pass over his eyes and made up my mind. "I'm coming."

***

"This place is..." my mouth was slack, taking in my surroundings, wondering how the strange, interesting, beautiful man next to me came from such opulent beginnings.

Ethan's jaw was clenched as he drove his Volvo past a long line of cars and around an enormous fountain, stopping the car just shy of the wide steps. "Obnoxious?"

I laughed, placing my hand over his on the driveshaft. "I was going to say beautiful... This is where you grew up?"

The Long Island mansion had a storybook quality. A timeless, sprawling property that reminded me of something out of The Great Gatsby.

He leaned over to look at it through the windshield, like maybe he was trying to see it as I did, and shook his head. "Looks can be deceiving Eve."

**********

All I can say is... wow...4K reads guys. That's amazing ❤️

Gah! I'm sorry updates are slow going right now, but I'm still feeling pretty awful about half the day.

Thank you so much for still reading, voting and commenting. I can't even describe how much it means to me.

Please keep in mind that Tempting Eve is a super rough draft, and any input as the story goes is appreciated.

With love always,

xxxBre