Page 118 of Tempting Me

I intend for it to be a sweet, gentle kiss, but as soon as I push to my toes, my body brushes his. He wraps his arms around my waist to hold me tighter and deepen the kiss. Then he spins me, bumps me into a table, and picks me up to sit on it. My legs open for him to stand between them.

“Ouch!” I say and pull back, reaching into his pocket to pull out his keys. I drop them onto the table then pull him back to me as if I’m starved. “Don’t lose them. We might need them in a few minutes to get out of here.”

He lets out a growl and kisses me as if I were his air. His hands are cupping my face, and mine are gripping his shirt, pulling it from where it was tucked into his jeans.

I know someone could see us, but I don't care right now.

Right now, the only thing that matters is?—

“Oh, fuck.”

My heart races at the unfamiliar voice, and I peek around Luca to see who it belongs to. We look at the door at the same time, both freezing when we set eyes on the man who fills the doorway.

My brother.

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

LUCA

Leo Parker's hands are clenched at his sides, and his jaw is tight. He looks as if he’s seconds away from punching me in the face.

The smart thing to do right now would be to back away from his sister. If anything, moving to stand anywhere that isn’t between her legs seems best, but I don't even flinch.

Neither does Shay.

Well, she doesn't for all but thirty seconds anyway.

She pushes me back with her feet, and I go because if that's what she wants, I’ll give it to her. This moment right here isn’t just about me.

In fact, it’s a topic we’ve both been avoiding.

I know we have our own opinions on how this should play out and we both assumed we had more time, but I’m wishing that we’d had discussed it right about now.

“Leo.” Shay stands, adjusting her shorts into place. She pulls her shirt down as if she’d been flashing him, which shewasn’t, and then she takes a tentative step toward her brother. “What are you doing here?”

“What am I doing?” He huffs. “What are you doing, Shay?”

“Hey,” I snap, not pausing long enough to think of how this might play out before I go on. “Don’t talk to her with that tone.”

“She’s my sister. I’ll talk to her however I want, Asher.”

I shake my head.

“Sister or not, calm your tone.”

Leo takes a step toward me, but Shay steps between us before he can reach me.

“Stop.”

“What’s he doing here, Shay?” Leo asks, and I’ll be damned, he corrected his tone.

I chuckle.

Shay hesitates, looking at me briefly before addressing her brother. Quietly, she says, “I hired him to help me finish The Marina.”

“You’re joking, right?”

“Does it look like I’m joking, Leo?” she yells and holds her arms out. “I’m the only one in this family who cares about this place, and it needed to be done, so I did it. You do not get to stand here and tell me how to do anything when I’m the only one putting in the time.”

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