During lunch, Sophia explains a more detailed plan and leaves early to put it in motion and start digging up information from five years ago.

Not one minute after her departure, a tense, slightly awkward silence falls over the booth Spencer and I are seated, across from each other.

He's still avoiding me, keeping his gaze trained at anywhere and anything but me.

Once I note Sophia's car speeding down the lane, getting farther away from us, I decide to put an end to this childish behavior.

"You know, ignoring me won't change the fact that you slept with me." I cross my arms in front of my chest and lean into my seat.

Spencer clenches his jaw and his dark blue eyes snap to me, his mouth pursing with anger.

I lift my shoulders. "Oh, come on, men cheat all the time." I bite the inside of my cheek to stop myself from laughing.

If there was a list, stating the things you should not say after the night we had, I bet what I said would be on the top three of that list.

"You made me a cheater," he growls.

I click my tongue and shake my head as though scolding a kid. "Now that's wrong. Don't blame it on me. Just because you're hopelessly attracted to me and couldn't control yourself, it does not mean it's my fault. Man up, and accept you cheated."

He glares at me for a beat before standing up and stalking off. I huff and roll my eyes, hurrying after him out of the diner and out in the open.

"What do you want from me? Why do you enjoy torturing me?" he shouts the second I reach the car. He watches me with wide eyes as I school my expression, to hide my surprise.

With deliberate steps, I approach him and stop a pace away from him. "Do you think I'm torturing you?" I ask softly, tilting my head slightly and locking my eyes with his.

Sure, I might want to make his life a living hell since he's being problematic for me... but like... a good hell, not a torturous hell.

He gives me an incredulous look and I inch closer to him.

"Are you being tortured?" I drop my voice to a whisper.

His gaze darkens as his body barely leans towards me.

The sky is a brilliant bright blue, with no clouds to obscure the summer sun's onslaught. But I'm too lost in Spencer's dark blue eyes to care about the harsh sunlight beating down on us as a warm, gentle breeze caresses past us.

"Why are you doing this?" His deep low voice sends pleasurable ripples of tingling sensations across my skin.

I note the shape of his eyes behind his rectangular glasses, and how they're searching mine, the ghost of a five o'clock shadow and his full lips.

Spencer Wright. The first, and probably the last man, that possesses the power to tangle me up in my own games. Regardless of being the one in control, I always end up losing... to him. No matter how hard I try.

Every win has a bigger loss when he is in the picture. And I can't do anything about it.

Gingerly, I place my hand on his chest and move closer to him, craning my neck to hold his smoldering gaze. "I didn't plan last night... all I wanted was to get a reaction out of you."

His brows furrow and I decide to add, "You know I love getting reactions out of people... but for you, I can't do it under normal circumstances, so I had to get you drunk."

"What sort of reaction?" he gruffly asks.

I lift a shoulder in a shrug, and look away. Spencer grabs my chin and forces me look up at him. The contact sends an electrifying jolt throughout my body. He quirks an eyebrow, beckoning me to answer him.

"You still want me," I murmur.

He brings his face closer and hisses, "I'm a cheater now."

"Well, maybe Julia is not the one for you... if she was, then no amount of alcohol would've prompted you to cheat on her." I bite my lip as I smirk. "Or maybe I'm just way too irresistible for you. Either way, I got a much better reaction than what I was hoping to get and it sure as hell was a... pleasurable surprise."

His gaze drops to my lips before jumping back up to my eyes. "You're a dangerous woman."

I smile even though my heart is racing and my insides are burning with desire. "But you already know that. You've said that to me before." Five years ago, in a club, in the middle of the dance floor, and once more, right before kissing me.

Slowly, I glide my hand down his arm and lead his hand to my waist. "What happened last night, can be our little secret, I told you I won't tell Julia... there's nothing to be worried about," I whisper next to his ear.

With my hand resting on his chest, I sense how his breathing grows heavier with every passing second, and his muscles go rigid. I meet his darkened eyes, burning me with lust as I drag my free hand's fingers across his jawline in a featherlight touch.

"Whatever we do here, can stay here," I breathe out.

"This is wrong, and you know it, but you're doing it on purpose," he grunts but doesn't move his hand from my waist nor does he let go of my chin.

"When have we ever done anything right?" I counter back. I pull him to me as I place my lips next to his ear again. "We both know, no one can make you feel the way I do."

I sense him tensing up beneath my palm, as though ready to protest, but before he can get a word out, I continue, "Don't bother denying, the way you came last night gave you away. Julia can never be like me for you."

I brush my lips against his earlobe. His arm tightens around me, pressing me to his body. I curl my fingers around the collar of his shirt.

"You set the bar for being infuriating way too high, Gracie." His hot breath raises goosebumps all over my skin, turning my inside into a puddle of mush.

"Perhaps." I distance myself from him and lock my eyes with him.

"But I'm saying the truth. You want me, the alcohol just made it harder for you to resist the attraction... you can be bad every once in five years." I smirk as I retreat another step away from him, clasping my hands behind myself. "And you should know better than anyone, I'm good at keeping secrets." With a coy smile, I watch him.

He devours me with his burning gaze, scorching me. No matter how hard I try to play unaffected, it still leaves me breathless, making my body buzz with excitement. The way his gaze roves from my head to toe, zooming in on my lips, lingering longer than necessary, weakens my knees and replaces the blood in my veins with an uncontrollable blaze.

"Today might be the last day we'll ever be as far away from our... responsibilities as we can get," I add, but don't wait for his reaction as I start toward the car's passenger side's door.

Before my fingers graze the handle, Spencer's hand furls around my upper arm and whirls me around. My back hits the car, but I don't get the chance to process it because the next thing I know, is his soft, warm lips crashing on mine.

His lips mold mine, moving in an urgency that leaves me pleasantly surprised and dazed. My fingers sink in the soft waves of his hair as his arm snakes around my waist, flushing me against him.

He kisses me deeply, ravenously, and desperately. Every cell in my body hums in elation. I cling to him, my knees too weak to support my weight, all of my soft parts press against his rock-hard muscles.

I moan with no care in the world when he softly bites and nibbles my bottom lip. Our tongues dance and glide together. His large palms explore my back and fondle my breasts in swift, eager yet hopeless moves.

We make out like two crazed, starved human beings, on a borrowed time.

Spencer breaks the kiss and rests his forehead on mine. Our ragged breaths mingle together and my eyes flutter shut.

"I wish I knew how to get you out of my system," he roughly says, with his arms still tightly wrapped around me.

And I wish I knew how to get you out of my heart.

He cups my cheek, lifting his forehead from atop mine, and our eyes lock. "This is the last time."

I feebly nod.

Way slower, Spencer leans to me and captures my lips with his in a painstakingly slow kiss, moving as though each second, and each heartbeat counts.

Butterflies erupt in my stomach as my knees almost give out from the sheer rush of overwhelming sensations, bringing me to life, making me hyper-sensitive to his every touch. My heart clenches painfully and I fist his shirt, squeezing my eyes to hold back the sudden tears springing up to my eyes.

His kiss, the way his lips move with mine in such sweet tenderness, savoring every beat, reminds me of the time I was insanely in love with him... the time I thought he loved me back.

I pull away first just as I feel I might pass out from breathlessness, though I don't dare to open my eyes, and Spencer doesn't move an inch.

Somehow, this one kiss felt a hundred times more intimate than our last night's activity.

He brushes the pad of his thumb over my cheekbone. "Please stop testing me. You got what you wanted, let me be now, Gracie. I lose myself around you... I lose my limits, my control... I beg you, please don't ruin my life again," he softly says, in such an anguished voice it sends a painful jab through my chest and heart.

❦ ♥︎ ❦

Surprise! I did mention the next chapter would be up soon =)

I hope you enjoyed it. Vote if you did and comment your thoughts. Tell me your thoughts on Spencer (especially his last dialogue in this chap), and Gracie. Do you guys think Spencer truly is Gracie's weak point? 👀

Thanks for reading this chapter, the next chap should be up in about 8-10 hrs =) And it'll be in Spencer's POV 👀 who's excited for that! XD

Stay safe, lots of love, happy reading ♡