Amos saw right through me. He knows I’m attracted to him.
But to be fair . . . what woman wouldn’t be?
Thankfully, his beauty comes wrapped in ego. So I’m immune.
I got my first shot of the vaccine last night—in the garage. Now let’s just hope it kicks in soon.
Chapter 13
I don’t usually need many hours of sleep, but I do need a few—and right now, I feel exhausted.
I barely slept. Just short, restless naps, spent trying to figure out what the hell it is about that girl that messes with my head so easily.
I never lose control. But Lilly somehow pulled me out of my usual indifference.
I hadn’t planned on going so hard on her, even if I meant every word when I said I wasn’t going to treat her like glass.
What bothers me most, though, is what I did after: something I’ve never done before.
I walked away.
After taking her bags to her room, I left her alone with Ula and locked myself in the library. Turned my back on something that was throwing me off-balance.
Being close to Lilly—that close, like in the garage—and feeling her delicate body pressed to mine . . . That can’t happen again.
Because I’m far from indifferent to Ethan’s sister.
And I’m no saint. Not even close. The desire she stirs in me—something I shouldn’t feed—is turning her stay here into my personal hell.
My life usually follows a straight line: I want, I plan, I conquer. But with her? It’s a whole different story.
She’s forbidden. And worse—pure. A ray of light next to my darkness.
And I can’t drag her into my ugly world, painted in shadows and rot.
I didn’t plan to be this attracted to her. Sure, I thought she was beautiful that Christmas night. But I’m not an animal—I know how to control my dick.
Unfortunately, it’s not just my dick that wants her. It’s my entire body. My mind.
Early this morning, Ethan called to check whether his sister had arrived safely—apparently, she forgot to tell him.
“Hey.”
“What took you so long to call back? Did my sister get there okay? That kid is so scatterbrained. She forgot to text me. I was freaking out.”
The way he said it confirmed what I already suspected when I saw her at the airport: Ethan either ignores—or refuses to admit—that his sister is no longer a child.
One minute he says she’s not a teenager, and the next, he calls her a kid.
No. That’s not right.
Lilly is sweet, beautiful, and innocent—but she’s definitely not a child.
“She’s fine. Sleeping,” I replied.
“I was getting worried. She promised she’d behave, but you never know with her. Did you know she originally didn’t want you to pick her up from the airport? Wanted to take a taxi?”
“I never would’ve allowed that.”
