Jul 28, 2017

The Temptations of Being Tempted


"The only way to get rid of temptation is to yield to it... I can resist everything but temptation." 

I love this quote by Oscar Wilde (and it pretty much sums up my relationship with chocolate!).

I find the idea of being tempted by something you know you shouldn't do particularly delicious. Take, for example, the first time Nick sees Harper again after their one night of passion. He'd gone to her place to explain that he wasn't the twin she thought he was, but instead... 

He knocked on her front door, still having no idea how he could possibly explain everything. Then the door swung inward and she was there and he had no air left to form words anyway. Her almond-shaped brown eyes widened at the sight of him, and he knew he had to say something. Anything. But her haunting beauty overwhelmed him. He’d barely been able to stop thinking about her since that night, and now here she was in real life. Filling his vision. Smelling like heaven.

“Malcolm?” she said, her voice breathy, and instead of explaining, he found himself mute, reaching out to feel the silky-soft skin of her cheek. His palm cupped the side of her jaw, his fingers feathering over her cheekbone, and he was lost.

Her eyes widened in surprise and she took a small step back, out of his touch, but her gaze didn’t falter. He waited a beat, waited in agony, waited until she swayed back toward him, and then he reached for her again. Her lips parted as she tilted her head into his palm. The world around them faded, and he took an infinitesimal step closer, being drawn by the magnetic force that had been there since he’d first laid eyes on her three months ago.

He was supposed to say something, tell her something, but there were no words in his mind, only Harper and the way her eyes had darkened as she looked at him. Breathing ragged, he lowered his head and speared his fingers through her long, glossy hair. This was wrong, so wrong, yet the rightness of it overwhelmed him, crushing all other thoughts.

She lifted herself on tiptoes and met him halfway, her mouth finding his, her lips soft, welcoming, wanting, her arms wrapping around his shoulders and gripping tight. With a groan of surrender, he slid his tongue along hers and hauled her flush against him.

This.

This was what had driven him crazy the night they’d met. This was what had kept her in his waking dreams since. This was what was making him dizzy now.

Of course, a little voice at the back of his mind whispered, this was also what had led him into trouble in the first place.

He had to stop kissing her. To find the strength to pull away and explain everything. Oh, but her mouth and what it was doing to his was divine…


Mind you, Harper finds herself pretty tempted by Nick at various points in their story as well...



Harper watched Nick and tried to keep her breathing under control. Being so close to him on the sofa as she’d pretended to watch TV had set every single nerve ending she had on edge. And then he’d fed her ice cream… Her skin yearned for his touch, but if she gave in now, all would be lost—she might not be able to pull back.

Then she noticed the strong, insistent beat of his pulse at the base of his neck. The tension in his muscles as he held himself in check. The way his gaze smoldered.

And she forgot what they were fighting against.

“Nick?” she asked, her voice breathless.

“Yeah?”

“What would happen if we gave in?”

His gaze flicked to her mouth then back to her eyes. “Gave in to what?”

“To this.” She motioned back and forth with a finger. “To what’s burning between us.”

He swallowed hard. “You really want to know?”

“Yeah, I do,” she whispered.

He looked down at her in the dim light of the kitchen, then lowered his head until his lips brushed over hers, just once. “This.”

A sigh built within her and escaped her throat as she leaned into him. “Oh. This is a good plan.”



Now, I might never have met a "wrong twin" in real life, but I do find myself familiar with the concept of temptation - and not just over chocolate. There's also the stationary aisles at Officeworks, and every time I see a book on sale, and all the dogs I want to adopt on a daily basis.

But what about you? What tempts you? I'm curious!
 

21 comments:

  1. Hi Rachel

    Oh I am looking forward to this one and as for temptations I think I am with you on the same things chocolate and ice-cream for me as well and who can resit buying new books even though I am already way behind in my reading and pets I really have to curb that one :)

    Have Fun
    Helen

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    1. Helen, we have all the same vices! And I'm not very good at curbing any of them either... :)

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    1. Tammy, hearing that has made my day. Thank you! :)

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  3. Rooowwwrrrr, Rachel! Right now I am tempted to keep on reading this story, even though I know I shouldn't. And can't (when is release date, pretty please???) This is my life: no willpower. Whether it is a tempting book, a TV series, a packet of biscuits...once opened, there is no going back. I cannot stop at one chapter, one episode, one TimTam.

    Now, off to order a little something tempting...

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    1. Bron, release is August but I think the eBook is available now. Oh, TV series! Yes! I forgot to add that one. In fact, I just binged on season 2 of Jane the Virgin. Series 3 isn't available on DVD until Sept, or I'd still be binging...

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    2. It *is* available now. It is also sitting on my Kindle, taunting me with its sultry siren call. *Read me, read me, read me.*

      Re series: there are several I've been recommended and which I really, really want to try but I'm afraid. If I become obsessed there's season after season after season and I may never sleep until I'm caught up!

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    3. Bron, you just made me squee!

      Yeah, that lack of sleep to watch another episode is a slippery slope, isn't it?

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  4. I love wrong twin stories, Rach!
    At the moment I'm tempted by a house on the beach I cannot afford but want really really bad!
    Sob!

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    1. A house on the beach? Well, I think you should buy it so I can visit (though that doesn't help with the affording aspect). ;)

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  5. Rach, I'm supposed to be working and now I'm tempted to head off and find your book to glom onto. Temptation is my middle name - books, food, 'just once' treats, you name it. Stopping a book after a really hook of a chapter end is just impossible for me.

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    1. Annie, yes! Stopping at the end of a chapter is really hard. I often read past the point where my eyes start closing because I'm sure I can fit in one. More. Page.

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  6. You have done something that nobody else has been able to achieve before and that is get me to read a series out of order. The title of this book is tempting enough for me to read before the other ones.

    My temptations are books, food, animals, online games, word puzzles, music and falling in love with men who don't love me back, except for my soulmate, but he chose death over me unfortunately.

    I've known two sets of twins who were apparently identical to everyone but me for some reason. I used to think everyone was having a lend of me when they couldn't pick them apart. Even in photos they weren't identical to me. I think I'm more observant than other people at times.

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    1. Therese, how cool that I tempted you to read out of order! :)

      We have some of the same temptations, though I think your one of falling in love with men who don't love you back is a seriously inconvenient one!

      I had friends in high school who were identical twins, but I got to know one first, so when I met her sister, I could immediately see the differences since my friend's face was familiar. It would always surprise me that people (including teachers) couldn't tell them apart. I'm betting you would have been able to tell them apart!

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    2. That's why I've given up on men and given in to many other temptations instead.

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  7. Can't think about temptations just now. Too absorbed in your scenes!! So much fun to read.

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    1. Lol, Laura! So glad Nick and Harper's temptations are proving tempting. :)

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  8. LOVE these scenes, Rach! Can't wait to read this one. :-)

    Temptations -- seriously, how can you not eat the entire packet of chips? One whiff of a hot cinnamon doughnut and I'm a goner. And I'm with Bron on TV series, I always want to watch one more episode. :-)

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    1. You know, I was never much of a chip fan - with the exception of an occasional bag of salt and vinegar, naturally - but I've been finding all these divine flavours recently, like caramelized onion and mustard, and sea salt and rosemary. Seriously, I could now develop a chip addiction!

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  9. Rachel, I love a 'wrong twin' story - the title of this one is very tempting.
    I find it very difficult to resist home baking - probably the most powerful of the sugary creations that tempt me!

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    1. Kandy, home baking is the best! If only I could do it a little better. Perhaps I need to develop an addiction to the baking aspect so I can do more of the eating part...?

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