The Pleasure of Sin Read Online Free

He heard the sound and its silent plea, and he responded. His head began to descend toward hers.
    In that second, that breath of a moment, she didn’t want to think about right or wrong. She no longer wanted to weigh the outcome of every choice she made. All she knew was that if she didn’t feel his lips against hers soon, she would die.
    His lips met hers briefly, tentatively. She sensed he would soon pull away, and a part of her rebelled. Her head turned to the side as her tongue stole a forbidden taste. That was all the encouragement he needed. His tongue ventured into her mouth, teasing, stroking, searching out every hidden spot. His hand came up to stroke her cheek, her neck. She returned his kiss beat for beat, her hands coming up to cradle his head, not allowing any room for reason to intrude.
    His body followed hers down to the floor, covering her fully. The weight of his erection pressed into the cleft between her thighs, making her sigh into his mouth. God, she wanted him. She wanted to feel him moving inside of her. When his mouth blazed a trail down her throat, covering her nipple through her shirt, she moaned in ecstasy.
    The sound of someone clearing his throat caused them both to jump apart. “I’m sorry. I just wanted to let you know that everything is ready,” the caterer informed them before scurrying out of the room.
    Jade quickly got to her feet, refusing to look at him for fear something inside her would break. “I should go check on the food,” she stammered as she rushed out of the room. She heard him call after her, but she didn’t dare look back.
    She couldn’t.
    No words could erase what they had just done.
    When the time for the party arrived, she wasn’t sure how she would make it through the night.
    What if Ruby found out?
    What if he told her what they had done?
    She should wear a scarlet ‘K’ for kissing on her shirt as punishment. If she weren't so upset, she would realize how ironic it was. She, who had always been so levelheaded and true, had become the jezebel sister. She wanted to crawl into a pit and die of shame. She was throwing a surprise party for a sister she had just betrayed.
    His eyes met hers across the crowded room.
    “Surprise!” the crowd bellowed.
    Jade did her best to busy herself throughout the festivities, under the guise of checking on the arrangements. Finally, after realizing that she was being avoided, Ruby cornered her.
    “Hey! It’s my party and you haven’t spent ten minutes with me,” she complained.
    Jade smiled, wrapping her in a warm hug. “I’m sorry, you’re right. I’ll stop now.”
    Miraculously, Ruby didn’t seem to notice the tension that seemed to envelop the two people closest to her. When Ruby threw her arms around Clay after blowing out the candles to give him a long, passionate kiss, Jade wished she could crawl into a hole and disappear. She tried to look away, but inside, her heart ached. She tried to reason with herself that this was the way it should be, but she couldn’t stop trembling.
    After a couple hours of festivities, Ruby pulled her aside. “I need to talk to you,” she whispered, leading her into a side room.
    She knows .
    The words replayed over and over again in Jade’s head as she followed her sister into a small room on the right. “What is it?” Jade asked.
    “I just talked to Clay.”
    Jade’s heartbeat went into overdrive.
    He told her! She couldn’t believe it.
    Was he insane?
    “What is it, Ruby?”
    “He wants me to come to New Orleans with him. Can you believe it? Apparently his company, WebTech, offered him the job a few days ago. He’s going to be manager of the whole design department. Can you imagine me in New Orleans? I’m so excited I could burst!”
    Jade felt the bottom of her stomach drop to the floor. “That’s wonderful,” she replied, her entire body numb as realization began to sink in.
    Two weeks later, her sister boarded a plane to Louisiana, and Jade began the arduous task of