Page 8 of Savage Temptation
CHAPTER3
ATTICUS
Waking to a tangle of hair in my face, I immediately regret drinking so much. Mornings like this are always awkward, and I prefer to see my conquests off before I go to bed.
But as I turn toward the source of my frustration, I realize that this isn’t just any conquest.
It’sher.
Seeing Tessa’s gentle curves laid out on my bed sends me into a panic, not because she’s my best friend’s sister, but because I can’t remember how we even got to this point. How we went from casual interaction at a party to naked in my bedroom.
How many times have I dreamed of this exact moment? Well, not this moment. The moments proceeding this, peeling off her clothes and planting kisses on exposed flesh.
And of all the ways it could have gone down, we had to be drunk.
Because you’re a pig.
Scattered memories begin to piece themselves together. Tessa writhing beneath me, eyes lit with passion. Her fingers threading my hair. That wicked tongue of hers.
The pain.
Fuck—she was a virgin. She hadn’t told me that, and when I found out, it was too late.
Lance is going to kill me, as he should. What I did was inexcusable. Perhaps that’s a little dramatic, but I’m at peak self-loathing and there are no easy answers to the debacle I’ve created.
Or rather, maybe there is only one easy answer: I tell Tessa how I feel.
But that’s terrifying. I’ve never bared myself to a woman before, because I’ve never felt even remotely toward another woman how I feel about Tessa. Like the world could fall away, and it would be fine just so long as she’s left standing.
She might reject me, but judging by how she was acting last night, it won’t be because she doesn’t want me physically. She was like a cat in heat, desiring me just as badly as I wanted her.
Or maybe I’m just telling myself that.
There’s no room left for being a coward. No way out of this, except to tell her the truth, however difficult that might be.
There will be fallout. God knows how Lance will react. Actually, I’m pretty sure he’ll punch me in the face. He knows what a dog I used to be, and I’ll have to work hard to undo the damage I’ve done to my reputation over the years. To prove that I’m worthy of his sister.
But can I ever be worthy of Tessa Campbell?
The thought that I can never truly atone for my past debauchery haunts me, but that’s something I’ll have to discuss with her.
Not wanting to wake Tessa, I slide out of bed and head into the bathroom to hop in the shower, because it seems in poor taste to woo Tessa with the remnants of our lovemaking caked on my body.
She’s way too special to be treated so crassly.
I’ll sit her down, feed her, and tell her how much I regret what happened between us because, as badly as I’d wanted it to happen, it should have been done right. It should have been done after dinners and dates and nights spent under the stars, confessing my love for her.
And forget about calling it anything other than love. I’ve known Tessa for too long for this to be fleeting. What I feel for her shines brighter than any other emotion I’ve had for a woman.
My parents are going to throw a fit. They’ll accuse her of climbing the social ladder, wanting only my money and inheritance.
Not that I’ll take Tessa around them much. I never fit into the family mold. Despite my success, I’ve become a pariah. Even my siblings shun me, saying I enjoy the spotlight far too much for my family’s prestige.
Fuck being from a ‘legacy line.’
Tessa and Lance are the only family I need. Now, I just have to tell her that.
After spending way too much time analyzing the situation in the shower, I dry off and pull on a pair of casual pants and a white undershirt, because the very real possibility exists that Tessa’s going to want to spend the morning in bed with me.
