All Chapters of Tempting The Graves Brothers: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

The living room was dark, lit on my the television. I was curled up on the sofa, blanket up to my chin, stuck in a midnight movie after Zion had fallen asleep.Gunshot.The sound, so loud in the house.Everything paused. The man on the screen froze, gun shaking, eyes wild and broken. The other guy was on the door, blood spreading quickly on the floor.The woman screamed.“Please—!”Another shot.Silence.The kind that presses against your ears until it hurts.Heyy!!!!I jolted, the tension snapping as the screen went black.“What the hell?!!” I turned sharply, a glare already forming—only to meet the last person I wanted to see.Noah.He was leaning lazily against the wall like he owned the place. Like he always did.“Maddie said it was too loud,” Noah drawled, his voice low, gravely hum that seemed to vibrate in the quiet room. “And what Maddie wants, Maddie gets.”I rolled my eyes so hard it actually hurt. Maddie. Last week it was Daphne, the week before that, a Chloe. I had honestl

“ i have to go,” I choked out, already halfway to the door.“Khi, wait! I’ll come with you,” Zion said, dropping the spatula. He looked genuinely worried, his Harvard high completely gone.“No, It’s fine! Stay, eat,” I yelled, not looking back. Ran before Zion could move.I practically dove into the car. It looked like it had seen better days. I turned on the car, the engine purring to life as I zoomed off.My mind was spinning. 20 minutes later, I pulled up the station. My hands were shaking so bad I could barely turn the key off.I walked inside, the smell of stale coffee and floor cleaner hitting me. “Khione Kay,” I told the front desk. “I was asked to report.”A police officer stepped out, his voice matching the one on the phone. “Ms. Kay. Your brother was arrested for—““Cousin,” I corrected him quickly, my voice sharp.Keisel. Here we go again. He was older but apparently needed saving than I did. I hated how reckless he was. His name on that report made me mad at mom for being

I didn’t wait for him to help me. I shoved his hand off my arm, my skin buzzing where he’d touched me, and found my own footing.“Do you have a habit of always being in the way?” I snapped back. I straightened my dress, trying to regain some shred of confidence I’d faked in the car.“Maybe I just like watching you trip, Drama Queen,” he drawled, his voice dropping into the low, sandpaper territory that always made my stomach do a sick flip.“It’s the only time you are quiet.”He stepped closer, his shadow completely swallowing me up. His eyes flickered to my hairline, where my messy updo was struggling to hide my bruise.I didn’t give him the satisfaction of a flinch. I just rolled my eyes, a sharp, dismissive movement that made my head throb. “Go find a puck to hit, Noah. I’m bored.”I didn’t wait for a comeback. I spun on my heel, the hem of my black gown swishing against my thighs as I marched toward the kitchen bar.The kitchen was a blur of noen lights and the smell of spilled gi

My eyes snapped opened after how many hours long I had been away.Urgh! God! It felt like someone had driven a knife straight into my head. My head throbbed with headache. I groaned, squeezed my eyes shut, and tried to piece together the blurry part of the yesterday night.The party. The tequila. The bet. Noah. The memory of Petra. Then, nothing.I tried to sit up, but the room spun violently. I reached down to steady myself against the mattress and there I realized I wasn’t wearing anything. Shit. I frantically pulled the duvet up my chin, my breathing coming in shallow, panicked hitches. This wasn’t my room.“Where am i? I questioned. I started to swing my leg over the side of the bed, desperate to find my dress and run, when the bathroom door clicked open.I froze.Noah stepped out, and for a second, I forgot how to breathe. He was shirtless, low-slung dark jean’s hanging of his hips in a way that felt illegal.The light caught his abs. A cigarette was perched between his lips, sm

Monday arrived with vengeance.The clock on my night stand shrieked at 6:30am, sounding like a drill press against my skull. I didn’t even have the energy to throw it across the room. Mom had come back very late last night— I’d heard the muffled click of her heels and the hum of microwave around midnight. I stayed perfectly still staring at the ceiling and pretending to be dead to the world, but my mind was a chaotic loop of Xalia’s parting words. I hope you do the right thing before it’s too late.I was supposed to sleep for 12 hours just like I said. I was supposed to have a reset my brain, buried the tequila-soaked memories of Noah Graves, and woken up as the “Perfect Khione” again. But Xalia had a way of incinerating a mood before it even had a chance to settle. Between my headache and secret, sleep had been an impossible luxury.I had tossed and turned, watching the red numbers on my clock tick away the hours of my life. 1:00am. 2:15am. Every time I closed my eyes, I felt Noah’s