Page 27 of His Eternal Temptation

Lane opened the book so he wouldn’t stare at Rowan’s tight ass. Hopefully, Rowan had some baggy flannel sleep pants in one of those drawers.

No such luck. Even peripheral vision couldn’t obscure Rowan as he turned and headed straight toward Lane. In nothing but tight boxer briefs.

Lane’s head snapped up. “What are you doing?”

Rowan’s steps didn’t falter. “Getting into bed.”

Lane’s mouth went dry. “This bed?”

“It’s my bed.” Rowan stretched, his lean muscles flexing, and climbed in the other side. “You can sleep on the floor if I’m bothering you.”

“You aren’t.” Determined to prove it, Lane flipped to the chapter he’d been reading. If Rowan could see him as nothing but an annoyance, he could do the same, dammit.

As if he’d already forgotten Lane existed, Rowan reclined against the pillows and unlocked his phone, one arm flung behind his head. He probably wouldn’t pay Lane further attention, like he hadn’t the rest of the day. He’d been texting nonstop, talking to his coven in a way Lane couldn’t overhear.

Which was fine. Whatever. Lane didn’t care. He was ignoring Rowan, too. He wasn’t distracted by the rise and fall of his bare chest. Every small movement of Rowan’s hands didn’t catch his eye, and every time Rowan shifted, the sheets did not slide across Lane’s skin, and the light friction did not threaten to set him on fire.

He couldn’t even kid himself. This was torture.

“Why did you tell Hunter you never seduced me?” Rowan asked.

The hit landed like a punch to Lane’s gut. “I knew you’d be listening.”

Rowan shrugged. “So why lie?”

Lane snapped the book shut. Fine. Might as well do this now. It wasn’t as if Rowan’s opinion of him could get lower, and clearing up the past was half the reason Lane had stumbled to Rowan’s club rather than die on the riverbank.

“It’s not a lie. I didn’t try to fuck you so I could spy on you.” He braced for Rowan’s anger, his refusal to listen.

It didn’t come. Rowan cocked his head, his face blank. “Then why did you approach me that night?”

Lane shifted to face him squarely. “The same reason I approach anyone I want to sleep with. I was attracted to you. I wanted you.”

“Yet you were spying on me. The two had to be connected.”

Lane’s face heated, and he told himself it was anger, not embarrassment. “Let me finish.”

Rowan waved a permitting hand. Lane bristled at the condescending gesture, but took his chance.

“The Blackburns genuinely wanted an alliance when we first approached you. It wasn’t until later that the Sherwoods convinced us you weren’t what you seemed, and the plan to go against you formed. I wasn’t sure who to believe. You seemed to care about the causes you championed, but you also acted like a mobster. Your rule was law, and you showed no remorse. You were always fighting and kicking rival covens out of the city. Even killing them.”

“The last coven whose leaders I killed, and surviving members I kicked out of the city, were involved in human trafficking,” Rowan said, low and dangerous.

Lane’s pulse jumped. “I haven’t kept up with your current enemies, but I don’t doubt you. Not now. Back then… I was told the parties you hosted were full of humans under hypnosis, being fucked and fed on without their consent, so I went to see what was what.”

Uncanny vampire stillness settled over Rowan. Otherwise, he didn’t react to the accusation.

Lane swallowed. Getting invited to one of Rowan’s bite nights hadn’t been easy, and Lane had feared the extensive vetting process was nothing but a way to hide abuse behind the guise of exclusivity. No one who attended Bite Night shared details, and no one uninvited knew when the events took place. It all fit the Sherwoods’ terrible claims.

“I wanted to believe you were good, but had heard too many convincing things to the contrary. Then, at the party, I saw the truth. No one was in danger. No one was being abused. You were what you claimed, and I was fucking relieved. I couldn’t wait to tell my coven we had it all wrong. I should have left, but there you were, laid out like a fucking dream, and I thought: we’re on the same side, it’ll all work out between our covens in the end, so why not go for it?”

Lane’s face flamed at his naivety. He’d been confident in his approach. Cocky, riding the high of the party and the knowledge that the Valeros weren’t the bad guys. He hadn’t known if his and Rowan’s tastes aligned, but he had an inkling. He’d watched Rowan for a while before approaching, and he wasn’t the same domineering coven leader behind closed doors.

It had seemed perfect. Almost like fate.

“You were told we abused humans at our bite nights?” Rowan sounded aghast, like the accusation had finally caught up with him, his face no longer smooth and unreadable, but hurt. Maybe even shocked.

“After seeing what it was really like, it sounds ridiculous, I know. But you have to realize your secrecy and tough-guy image make people wonder.”