All Chapters of WHERE SIN FEELS LIKE HOME: Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

CHAPTER TWENTY ONE : His Room~Zella's POV~His room was darker than mine.That was the first thing I noticed, CHAPTER TWENTY ONE : His Room~Zella's POV~His room was darker than mine.That was the first thing I noticed.The curtains were heavier here, reducing the Paris light outside to thin silver lines at the edges. the room felt lived in instead of temporary.. A book on the nightstand. A watch on the dresser. The particular stillness of a space that belonged to someone.I stood inside the door for a moment.He closed it behind us."You can still..." he started."Don't," I said.He looked at me."Don't give me the exit," I said. "I don't want it."Something in his expression shifted. He crossed to where I was standing and his hands found my face and he kissed me the way he'd been not kissing me for three weeks, like he'd made a decision and was done

CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR : Alone~Zella Pov ~I came out of my room at eight and he was already there.Of course he was.Coffee made, phone in hand, the same grey shirt from.... I stopped that thought immediately. I crossed to the counter, poured myself a cup and kept my eyes on the mug while I added sugar I didn't even want.My face needed to behave.My face did not behave."Morning," he said."Morning."I picked up the mug too quickly and nearly burned myself. I put it back down immediately like that had been my plan all along.He looked at me over his phone for one second too long. Said nothing. But the corner of his mouth moved slightly before he looked back at the screen.I hated that he found this amusing.Brynn walked in two minutes later wearing a robe and an expression that suggested the kitchen light had personally offended her entire bloodline. She poured coffee, le

CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE : Virginity and Other Disasters~Zella's POV~I woke up to Brynn sitting on the edge of my bed holding a bag.Not knocking. Not calling my name from the door. Just, sitting there, waiting, in the specific way she had been sitting and waiting since we were seventeen when patience wasn't her strong suit but for the people she loved she managed it."You're back," I said into the pillow."I got back at two. You were already asleep." She put the bag on the duvet in front of me. "I didn't want to wake you."I pushed myself up. Looked at the bag. Then at her face, bright, pleased with herself, the expression she wore when she had done something she was proud of."What is that," I said."A gift.""Brynn...""Congratulations on the new job." She pushed the bag closer. "In advance. Open it."I looked at her. She looked at me. I picked up the bag.Inside wa

CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN : Finger Deep in Denial~Zella's POV~I walked inside before my face could finish betraying me.Straight to my room. Door closed. Back against it. Both hands pressed flat to the wood like I needed to hold it shut against something.*Professional,* I thought. *We are being professional.*I pushed off the door, pulled the curtains and changed out of the dress in approximately thirty seconds. Robe on. Bed. Done. Normal person going to sleep at a normal hour like someone who had not just had her forehead kissed in a car park while his daughter stood fifteen feet away on the phone.I lay on my back and stared at the ceiling.My body was not interested in sleeping.My body was interested in the night in his room. The dark. The heavy curtains. The way he had taken his time with everything — hands and mouth and the specific patience of a man who knew what he was doing and had decided to do it t

CHAPTER TWENTY NINE: What Am I Doing Here~Zella's POV~Brynn hugged me at the airport like I was leaving for a year."It's Scotland," I said into her shoulder. "Not Mars.""Same difference." She squeezed harder. "Text me when you land. Text me when you get to the flat. Text me when you've eaten something.""Brynn.""And when you meet your Highland man...""There is no Highland man.""...text me immediately. With pictures."She pulled back and held my face in both hands for a second the way she did when she was being serious underneath the performance."You're going to be okay," she said."I know.""Actually okay. Not performing okay.""I know." I covered her hands with mine briefly. "Go back to Paris. Go be a Theo girlfriend."She grinned. Kissed my cheek. Pointed at me once. Then she was gone, coat disappearing into the terminal, already on her ph