Tempted By The Enemy (A Temptation Series Book)

Chapter Five - The Enemies Are Here

Scared, Alyssa looked up at the silhouette of the man she collided with and instantly knew he was none other than Nicholas. “Can’t sleep?” said Nicholas’s husky voice that seemed too near for her liking.

“Good night.” She wanted to dash off to her bedroom and not face him in her pajamas but with his arm around her waist, escape was almost impossible. “I just came for water.” Nicholas gave her a look of disbelief instead and leaned down closer to her.

“Really? Maybe that’s just an excuse. You followed me here, didn’t you?” Alyssa’s jaws dropped at his implication. Was he out of his mind? Why would she follow him? She hardly knew he was here!

“Why should I follow you? You’re disgusting!” She wrenched herself free and dashed off, only to be caught and pulled back into his hard chest.

“Am I disgusting? Then why did you kiss me?” Alyssa’s mouth hung open, hearing his low whisper, and she stared at him completely at a loss for words. When did she kiss him? Was he hallucinating? Now it was proved that he was really crazy! Coming to her senses, she pushed at his chest.

“Maybe in your dreams, Nicholas. Stop playing games with my mind. I hate you and I will never kiss you if that’s what you’re getting at.” Nicholas’s hold on her tightened and he leaned to graze his lips against her earlobe.

“Never is a very strong word, Alyssa. Soon you will be forced to kiss me again like you did before.” A tremor went down her body at the warmth of his lips on her skin. It was more like an electric spark, making her even more shocked at her reaction to him. Satisfied with her reaction, Nicholas abruptly released her and walked away towards his room while Alyssa stood like a statue, too dumbfounded to do anything else. She racked her brains, yet couldn’t remember having ever kissed her enemy! How could she when she had just met the guy? If she had kissed such a drool-worthy creature before, wouldn’t she have remembered it? She was now a hundred percent sure that he was playing games with her mind.

Muttering curses at him, she went back to her room, but sleep was elusive tonight. All she could think of was the imaginary kiss he mentioned, of his warm body pressed to hers, his husky voice that was enough to send electric tingles down her body. It was sheer torture when Eva was having the best beauty sleep of her life right next to her.

Nicholas lay down and smiled to himself like a lunatic. Was he going crazy over the enemy’s hot sister? Maybe yes! Although she was the root cause of his enmity and he knew he should stay away from her yet, he couldn’t. He knew the outcome of this craziness, yet he was powerless to resist her. Images of her soft body pressed to him, her sweet fragrance, her full, kissable lips, and her baby soft skin that glowed in the night all drove him crazy. However, he was happy that his mission had been accomplished. He had been able to make a lasting impression on her and now he was sure that she wouldn’t be able to drive thoughts of him away from her mind at all. She wouldn’t be able to forget him so easily! He closed his eyes and counted sheep and finally fell asleep with a satisfied smile on his face.

The next morning, Alyssa ignored Nicholas like a plague, much to his frustration. After having a sleepless night because of him, she was sure that he was playing with her feelings. It was better to stay away from him in order to stay sane. After breakfast, the whole family gathered for Sienna’s bridal shower. Skylar came with her fiancé, Christian St. James, who instantly clicked with the Donnelly brothers. They went exploring on the yacht, much to Alyssa’s relief, while the women celebrated with Sienna. With only a day left for the wedding, they planned a spa party where they all helped one another groom up. Pam, who was the caretaker’s wife, and Maria and Cara, too, helped them. In fact, everyone was impressed with Cara’s hair styling skills. They came to know more about her.

Alyssa didn’t interact with Cara much, since she didn’t click with strangers easily. Her nature differed totally from that of Sienna and Eva, who could make friends with everyone. Therefore, she stayed close to Mrs. Donnelly, who seemed to have taken a liking to her. With many common interests, Alyssa felt comfortable chatting with Mrs. Donnelly. In fact, she was more motherly than her own mom who hardly noticed her, her life revolving around her son, Alexander, and second husband, Daniel Van Every. Alyssa knew her mom hated her and her real father with all her heart.

They all dressed up for the occasion and showered Sienna with a mountain load of gifts that made her emotional. Alyssa relaxed in the absence of Nicholas, and all four friends danced and sang for their best friend on her special day, enjoying themselves to the fullest. Alexia, too, sat with them and received gifts along with Sienna, happily enjoying her ice cream. Granny and aunt Claudia too joked and performed with them. The food was delicious and finally; the girls helped carry all the gifts to Sienna’s room.

They decided to put on the wedding fineries and have a last rehearsal, but strangely, Sienna’s expensive jewelry went missing and aunt Claudia suspected Cara’s hand in it. There was utter chaos as Sienna fell sick out of stress and aunt Claudia insulted Cara and had her bag searched. She left the house in tears while everyone was busy with Sienna. The doctor arrived, and so did the men. Lucas was upset and admitted to having stored the jewelry in his closet since Sienna had left it lying on the bed. The mystery was solved, but Marcus was upset that they unnecessarily insulted Cara. He stormed out of the house and went in search of her. Aunt Claudia felt guilty and upset, but slowly everything settled down. However, Marcus didn’t return at all and everyone was worried about him. Alyssa still avoided Nicholas and stuck to the girls so that he couldn’t get her alone.

She could feel Nicholas’s eyes following her around, yet she didn’t once look at him. It made Nicholas’s frustration grow, and he was now desperate to talk to her. What could have gone wrong? Till last night he was successful in his mission to make a lasting impression upon her. What changed suddenly? How could they be back to strangers and be enemies again?

The decorations were complete, and the catering team had already arrived. Things calmed down, and the girls giggled seeing Christian and Nicholas dancing with each other in the absence of their partners as Skylar refused to dance with Christian, and Alyssa had been avoiding Nicholas since last night. Sienna practiced their dance moves with Lucas, and with every false move, the girls giggled more.

“Lucas, you’re doing it all wrong,” said Sienna with despair.

“I’m trying to do it right. Why did you choose such a hard song? It has no melody, no rhythm,” said Lucas. “We should have danced to ‘Bailamos’,” said Lucas.

“What’s wrong with this song? It’s a slow, romantic number and perfect for weddings,” said Sienna. So the argument went on and on till they all got bored and started the song, ‘Marry You,’ by Bruno Mars. Everyone started dancing, even Alexia. Suddenly, Alyssa froze as she looked toward the door.

“What happened? Why aren’t you dancing?” asked Eva, following her line of vision. She, too, froze, seeing Alexander and Ashton walking inside the house angrily. Uh oh!

“Enemies! Enemies!” yelled Nicholas, making everyone look towards the two enemies walking into their territory. Lucas stopped dancing and walked towards them, with Nicholas alongside him. Everyone froze. No one knew what would happen now.

“What brings you here, Alexander, Ashton?” asked Lucas, with a grave look on his face.

“We won’t cause you any problems. We’ve just come to take away Alyssa, Eva and Hayley,” said Alexander.

“We’re not children that we will quietly go back with you, Alex,” said Alyssa defiantly.

“We will return only after the wedding.” Said Eva, her eyes challenging an angry Alexander.

“Sienna means more to us than your silly, immature enmity,” said Hayley.

“So? Have you heard them? What do you have to say now?” asked Lucas.

“I won’t let you stay here a minute more,” said Alexander, his hands turning into fists. Even Nicholas clenched his hands.

“I won’t allow you to use force here, Alexander,” he retorted.

“I’m talking to my sister. Get out of the way Nicholas,” said Alexander.

“She’s our guest right now,” reminded Nicholas.

“Calm down, boys. Alex, good to see you after such a long time! Why don’t you stay with us till the wedding tomorrow? The sky is overcast, and it’s risky going back now. Tomorrow after the wedding you could take the girls with you,” said granny. Alexander smiled at Lucas’s granny. There was a time when he and Ashton were six to seven years of age and used to visit Lucas’s house only for granny’s cupcakes. Afterward, they just fell apart as they grew older till, in high school, they turned into bitter enemies.

“Hello, granny! So nice to see you,” said Alexander, giving her a hug, and so did Ashton.