Page 11 of Sin

My God, he was handsome in that black tux. His blond hair was slicked back and parted to one side, bright blue eyes shining with adoration for me. Jimmy was about as boy-next-door as you could get. Kind, good-looking, with dimples in both cheeks when he smiled really wide. I was good at getting him to do that. My favorite part, though? The way his two front teeth were justslightly crooked. Something about that small imperfection made him real.

“Perfect? Speak for yourself,” I murmured, my attention fully on him.

I knew what I looked like and the way people—men especially—looked at me. But I found my own beauty boring and generic. Stick straight red hair, blue eyes, some freckles. Meh. I was also too short at only five-five, which brought me up to Jimmy’s armpit without heels—and what the heck was cute about that?—and these tits made shopping impossible. I could never find anything that fit both my boobs and around my waist correctly. And I hated my stupid freckles. I’d give anything to be built like Taylor Griffin, the captain of our school’s volleyball team. She was tall and athletic. Everyone knew she was strong. They didn’t assume she was a bimbo because of her curves.

But when Jimmy looked at me, everything changed. I actually felt like I might be something special. He didn’t see me like the rest of them did. He sawme. Merri.

“That dress is gorgeous on you. You remind me of a princess.”

“Does that make you my prince charming?” I simpered with an uncontained smile.

“Only if you agree to live happily ever after with me.”

Swoon.

The car finally reached our floor, and Jimmy led me to the room he’d reserved.

Nervous butterflies took off in my stomach. I couldn’t believe that we were standing here, that tonight wasthe night. We’d been dating for almost a year, ever since Suzi’s pool party at the start of last summer. And even though things had gotten steamy, we both promised that we would wait to go all the way with each other until prom.

Jimmy opened the door to our hotel room, and I let out a startled gasp at the enormous suite. My handsome boyfriend smirked, tugging me inside.

“My dad might be a dick, but being the mayor’s son has some perks.”

“I’ll be sure to never mention this to him.”

He chuckled. “Please don’t. At least not until we’ve been married at least ten years, okay?”

My heart skipped a beat as my gaze left his and went to the beautiful promise ring he’d given me at the beginning of the night. I could already imagine it nestled against an engagement ring and wedding band in a few years. After I graduated from college and he got into law school. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do with my life yet, but I’d figure it out. As long as we were together, nothing else mattered to me. I’d marry him tonight if I was old enough. Unfortunately, at seventeen, that wasn’t the case.

“I love you, Merri. You know that, right?”

The way his voice shook had me reaching up to stroke his cheek. “I know. I love you too. So much.”

“Are you sure you want to do this? We can wait if you’re not ready. I want you to be comfortable. We have forever to spend together. We don’t have to rush.”

Reaching behind me, I unzipped my gown and let it fall to the floor in a puddle of tulle and sparkles. “I’ve been waiting for you my whole life, Prince Charming.”

“Come here,” he whispered, reaching for me.

Our lips collided in the most perfect kiss.

I woke with a start, a heavy, oppressive weight on my chest and the ghost of Jimmy’s touch still on my skin. I hated these dreams. They seemed so real that when I woke, I always had to sit in the pain of the memory of what I’d done. Even four years later, it felt like yesterday.

We never got our happily ever after because shortly after, the night took a hard turn from fairy tale to horror story. What should have been the single most romantic night of my life ended in tears, sirens, and a body bag.

Jimmy never got to be a lawyer. Or my husband.

Thanks to a cruel twist of fate—and the manifestation of my succubus nature—when he gave me his body, I drained him dry.

I’d made a vow then and there that I would never be that intimate with a man again, and I would never,everallow myself to fall in love.

“Isshe still supposed to be out? How much did you give her?”

“She’s fine. She should wake up at any moment. I am not an idiot, Sin.”

“Maybe not, but kidnapping isn’t exactly part of your usual skill set. Or is it, Chaos? You have some skeletons in your closet you need to bring to light?”

The deep, rumbling voices filtered into my brain as the dream finally released me from its grasp. I was almost thankful for the distraction. Chaos? Sin? What kind of names were those? Neither was the gruff British man who’d burst into my room before I’d been taken.

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