All Chapters of Forbidden Summer Sins: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

Emma had always known that Jake Harlan was trouble.The kind of trouble that came wrapped in a six-foot-three frame of lean muscle, tousled dark hair, and eyes the color of a summer storm gray-blue and impossible to read. The kind of trouble that made girls stupid, made them forget their own names, made them line up outside his bedroom door at parties like it was a carnival ride.And Emma had spent the last eight years pretending she was immune.She was twenty-three now, home from grad school for the summer, crashing on the couch in the house she’d practically grown up in because her best friend, Mia Harlan, had insisted. “You’re family,” Mia had said, the same way she’d said it since they were ten years old and Emma’s parents were working double shifts. The Harlans’ sprawling lakeside house had always been a second home pool in the back, movie room in the basement, and Jake’s bedroom at the end of the upstairs hall that Emma had learned to avoid like a minefield.But avoidance only w

Emma didn’t sleep.She lay in the dark guest room, ceiling fan whirring overhead, every nerve in her body still singing from Jake’s mouth on hers. The taste of him lingered salt and heat and something dangerously addictive. Her lips felt swollen, her skin too tight, her core aching with a need she’d ignored for years.She kept replaying the moment, the way he’d groaned her name, the hard press of him against her, the raw hunger in his eyes just before Mia’s laugh had shattered everything.This isn’t over.His words echoed like a promise. Or a threat.By two a.m., she gave up on sleep. She slipped out of bed, padded barefoot down the hall toward the kitchen for water. The house was silent, moonlight spilling silver across the hardwood floors.She almost missed him.Jake was on the back patio, sprawled in one of the lounge chairs by the pool, a bottle of whiskey dangling from his fingers. He wore only loose black boxer briefs, the rest of him bare and bathed in moonlight. His head was t

The footsteps on the stairs were fast and furious.Emma’s heart slammed against her ribs as she yanked the sheet higher, clutching it to her chest. Jake was already moving snatching his discarded boxer briefs from the floor and pulling them on in one fluid motion. He shot her a quick, steady look that said stay calm, but the tension in his shoulders betrayed him.“Jake!” Mia’s voice cracked like a whip outside the door. “Open this door right now!”He exhaled sharply, raked a hand through his hair, and crossed the room. Emma scrambled for something anything to cover herself with, finally grabbing Jake’s T-shirt from the floor and tugging it over her head just as the door flew open.Mia stood in the threshold, phone still in hand, eyes wide and glassy with a mix of shock, hurt, and fury. Connor hovered awkwardly behind her in the hallway, looking like he’d rather be anywhere else.“What the hell is this?” Mia demanded, holding up the photo she’d sent. The image was damning, Emma’s bare

Emma stood frozen in the kitchen, the phone still warm in her hand from where Jake had thrust it back at her. The video had ended, but the sounds lingered moans, laughter, Jake’s voice murmuring something low and intimate that twisted like a blade in her gut. One last time, for old times’ sake?The words weren’t loud, but they echoed louder than anything else in the silent house.Jake’s face had gone deathly pale, the possessive fire from moments ago replaced by raw panic. “Emma, it’s not what it looks like. That video is fake edited. I didn’t”“Stop.” Her voice came out flat, barely above a whisper, but it cut him off like a shout. She set the phone on the counter with deliberate care, as if it might explode. “Just tell me the truth. Did you go inside her apartment tonight?”He hesitated only a fraction of a second but it was enough.“Yes,” he admitted, voice rough. “For maybe five minutes. She opened the door crying, said she just wanted closure. I stepped in to tell her face-to-fac

The rain came down in sheets that night, drumming hard on the roof like it was trying to wash the day away. Emma and Jake lay tangled in his bed, windows cracked open so the cool, ozone-scented air could drift in. Thunder rolled distant over the lake, occasional flashes of lightning illuminating their bare skin. Kayla was in a holding cell forty miles away. Her phone, camera, laptop, and cloud accounts were seized. Detectives had assured them the case was airtight multiple charges, no bail likely until arraignment. For the first time in weeks, the house felt safe. Yet sleep wouldn’t come for either of them. Jake traced lazy circles on Emma’s back, his touch gentle but restless. “You okay?” She nodded against his chest. “I think so. Just… processing.” He pressed a kiss to her hair. “Tell me what you need.” She lifted her head, meeting his eyes in the dim light. “You. Just you.” The kiss started slow, soft, reassuring but the day’s adrenaline still simmered under their skin. It tu