Temptation - Leigh Lennon Page 0,1

it’s about time I claim your ass. Why else do you think your dad gave me the spare key?” His grip is too tight, and I can’t yank my arm from his grasp. He pushes me up against the kitchen sink, pulling up my shirt to graze his hands over my bra. It’s instinct, and I know what I need to do.

It happens so quick, but with a jerk of my knee, he falls to the floor, holding his family jewels. “If you aren’t gone in one minute, I’ll call the police and have you arrested.” I run down to Larry’s office. He calls 911, but by the time they get to the apartment, Darryl is gone. But my life will always be linked to my father. And I swear it’s now, I know I’ll never be under another man’s thumb again.

Chadwick

15 years ago

My mother is pacing in front of me, and I think she’ll wear a hole in the Persian rug she bought on her recent trip to Turkey. “I don’t like it, Chadwick, not one bit. I’ve told you that when your dad and I are gone, Mrs. Raulsey is to stay with you in the nanny’s room right down the hall from your bedroom. It’s why we built it.”

Mrs. Raulsey, or who I call Pamela, has been my nanny since I can remember, but at fifteen, I’m not in need of a nanny, though my mother insists she stay at the house, in their absence. She’s raised me with her son, who is more of a brother to me than the best friend I consider him to be. But if we’re going to place titles on anyone, Pamela has been more of a mother to me than my own mother.

I want to say so much to the woman standing in front of me. At fifteen, my mouth knows no boundaries, and a very specific fuck you is on the tip of my tongue. It’s been a long time since I’ve loved this woman in front of me, if I ever have.

Pamela is kind and loving and everything in a mother I wish my own mother could be. I see in the way she cares for her own children—her son, Greer, and daughter, Grace—and that they are everything to her. And as a single mother, Pamela Raulsey has more love for her children and me than both my parents combined.

Since an early age, not many have been able to tame me and certainly not this piece of shit who’s more concerned about appearances than my own well-being. I love few, but the few I love fiercely will always have my protection. This woman may share my DNA and my last name, but she doesn’t deserve my love and affection.

I stand, hoping she really does wear a hole in the thirty thousand dollar carpet. And if she doesn’t, I’ll help her. Walking past her, I take the can of orange soda in my hand and pour it on the rug.

“And that, Mother dearest, is what you can do with your fucking demands.” Somehow, at the young age of fifteen, I know what standing up for myself feels like, and right now, it’s freeing.

Six years ago

The memories of all the baseball games my parents missed, even the national championship game—they never had the decency to show up or even call—have shaped the person I am. I think about this on the premiere night of my first club; a place where everyone with similar kinks can come to play.

They call me a bored, entitled billionaire with a fetish, but I don’t give a fuck. I like what I like and never apologize for who I am. I protect my customers. No one knows I own Dungeon Elite. Shit, no one but the elite realize that this premiere club even exists in Los Angeles with plans to expand in major cities such as London, Seattle, New York, and Chicago. But I don’t hide who I am. I’m Chadwick Westbrook, and I demand control both in and out of the bedroom.

Chapter One

Eve

It’s a sad place I’ve lived these past two years. But still, every little piece of my heart breaks. It isn’t much—but it had been mine. And even if the gloomy and wretched apartment is desolate, my name has always been the only one on the lease. Until my father broke into my apartment and found the little cash I’ve saved in the past year. Theoretically, it was supposed to get me