Page 1 of Sweet Temptation
LUCKY
Water drips into my eyes as I run my hand through my hair, a towel wrapped around my waist and a fire burning in my left hamstring with every step I take toward my locker.Damn, that shit hurts, but hell if I’ll admit that to anyone. Pain is weakness, and with one more preseason game left and the starting cornerback position mine to lose, I can’t afford any weakness.
“Hey, man...” Linc drops down next to me, already showered and dressed. Totally chill. Like we didn’t just finish a full-pads practice in 110-degree heat.
August in Philadelphia. Gotta love it.
That fucker was drafted seventh overall a few months ago. The Kings basically blew Dallas to get their hands on him first. Not because his uncles are coaches or because my family are the owners, but because he’s that good. Always has been.
Linc’s spot in the starting lineup has been locked down from day one.
I was a riskier pick. Although I preferlonger-term investment.
One that’s going to pay off this year.
Going tenth in the second round two years ago was a hit to what my mom likes to call my extremely healthy ego.But is it really ego if you can back it up?Not that I’ve had to back much up—yet. I didn’t see a whole lot of playing time my first season. More like I was brought in to learn under our five-time pro-bowler cornerback who retired at the end of last season.
I’ve had to fight for every inch of this position.
Guess it’s a good goddamned thing I’m a Beneventi.
I was born a fighter.
I stretch my leg, the lingering pain pissing me off, and eye up the goofy look on Linc’s face, not bothering to hide my groan. I’ve known him since we were kids, and that look is never good news. “What’s up, man?”
“You remember how I told you Lexie might move in with us when she got home?”
“The fuck?” My head snaps up as I pull on my shorts. “Pretty sure I’d remember you telling me your sister was moving in, asshole.”
“Well, now you know.” Linc’s grin grows as he grabs his bag. “It’s not like I can say no. We live in my grandparents’ house. We have an extra room. And you know it’s the only way my parents are letting her live on her own. Besides, it’s Lexie. Dude... everybody loves Lexie.”
That thought shouldn’t piss me off, but if Linc is a lucky fucker, I’m a complicated fucker. Not that fucked covers how bad this situation sounds, but considering it’s my favorite verb, adverb, adjective, noun, and motherfucking pronoun, it’ll do. And it’ll do spectacularly— because I am spectacularly fucked.
Lexie Sinclair.
My best friend’s little sister.
She’s actually older by like an hour, but she’s more than a foot shorter, so she’ll always belittle Sinclair. Linc and Lochlan are twins. Lexie was born the same day as them, and theirparents adopted her. The three of them may not actually have shared a womb, but you’d never know.
And they’d fucking kill me if they ever knew what my depraved brain wanted to do to her. She was the first girl I ever firmly placed in my spank bank before I’d even touched tits in real life.Not that I’ve touched hers.She was the first girl I wanted to touch. To taste. To claim as my own. And the first and only girl I didn’t chase. For so many reasons... Linc and Lochlan may be on that list, but they weren’t even at the top of the thing.
Fuck . . .
“They let her take cupcake classes in Paris. Pretty sure they’d let her get her own apartment if she wanted to.” And now I sound like a whiney bitch.
“Le Cordon Bleu is more than cupcakes, shithead. And you and Lexie always got along. What’s the big deal?”
I throw my shirt on and shoulder my bag. We didn’t get along. Not in a long goddamned time. Not that either of her brothers realized that. “No big deal. You just caught me off guard.”
Linc’s eyes narrow. He knows I’m full of shit, but he doesn’t call me out on it.
That’s always been the unwritten rule where Lexie’s concerned.
That’s the beauty of a two-decade friendship.
Your friends already know you’re an asshole, and it works because they’re assholes too.
“Good. Because I’m picking her up from the airport in an hour.”
