There was excitement in the air when all the guests arrived and they moved into the venue. Sienna came over with Lucas and her children, Adrian and Alexia. A heavily pregnant Eva and Alexander enjoyed the walks on the beach, mornings and evenings. A pregnant Alyssa came over with Nicholas, who never left a chance to irk Alexander with his pranks. Those two would never change! Amidst all their friends, Skylar was the most reserved, and they had no idea about her relationship with Christian. When asked, she just winked and walked away. “When are they marrying?” asked Sienna in a whisper. Although she was the first one to know about such things, she was clueless about where Skylar was concerned.“Don’t know!” said Alyssa, watching Skylar interact with Christian on the beach. It didn’t look like a lovey-dovey situation between them!“Let’s make this our mission, girls! We have to find out!” said Sienna, and they agreed immediately. They tried on their bridesmaid dresses and admired Hayl
Thank you for selecting my story. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are either the products of my imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. Copyright © Rituparna Darolia. All rights reserved. No part of this novel may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author. This is the fifth book of the Temptation Series. All the books under this series can be read as standalone books. This series deals with a series of passionate love stories of the Donnelly brothers and their friends, with spin-offs, all having captivating plotlines to keep you interested till the end.Summary Stubborn, secretive and an impossible flirt, Ashton Pierce has all the qualities that should prompt Hayley Barclay
Ashton Pierce entered the heavily guarded mansion gates in East New York, Brooklyn, for the first time in his twenty years of life. The huge fort-like property had armed guards who stared at him as if he was a criminal. “Are you Big Steve, I mean Pierce’s boy?” asked a muscular tattooed man with a deep gash across his face. Ashton knew his father, Steven Pierce, was known as Big Steve in the mafia circuit when he used to work for Salvatore Gambino, the most wanted mafia don in the world. After borrowing huge amounts of money from them, his dad gambled it all away. He left Gambino’s work and tried his best to escape Don until he sent his men to abduct him one night. Ashton was thirteen, and he became an orphan overnight. He had searched for his dad desperately for the last seven years with no success. It was impossible for a young boy to locate Salvatore Gambino’s hideout.“Yes. Don has summoned me today to his office,” said Ashton, looking at the man and his comrades warily, a little
“Hi, Ashton! It’s good I met you here. Can you get a tuxedo for yourself by tomorrow?” asked Hayley, enjoying the jaw-dropped look on his face. Served him right! For years he had been an arrogant as*hole, proud of his panty-dropping good looks. Being six years older, he hardly acknowledged her presence since the day she saw him first, eight years ago! What had changed now? Maybe she did! “Why?” Came his lazy drawl while his eyes glinted with amusement. Alexander rolled his eyes and ordered another drink to stay out of their way. “For our first dance. Why else?” retorted Hayley, and Ashton did a double take, choking on his spit. “What?” he somehow sputtered, trying to get a grip on himself. “To accompany me to my prom night at seven tomorrow. We will dance with each other for the first time. What did you think?” Alexander chuckled while Ashton gave her a blank stare. She tossed her shoulder-length, silky hair away from her face and walked away, leaving him gaping after her. The mome
Hayley helplessly looked at their eager faces and felt close to tears. She had so many unfulfilled dreams to chase! How could she get married now, at eighteen, to a complete stranger? He might be loaded and successful, but these weren’t benchmarks to make her wish to marry him. She wanted to marry someone she loved! All her life, she dreamed of marrying Ashton! It was true he didn’t reciprocate her feelings, but then she never confessed to him. How could she give up loving him without even trying to find her happiness with him? “No, please. I don’t want to marry at eighteen! I have so many unfulfilled dreams, dad. What’s the hurry?” she demanded bitterly. “Your life won’t end after you marry, Hayley. You can fulfill all your dreams afterwards. Jason is a very nice man and you’ll be happy with him,” said her dad. “Why would I need him to be happy? I am already happy. Please don’t rush this, dad. I can’t marry a stranger out of the blue. I need to fall in love first to marry,” she r
Hayley pushed at his chest, fuming at his words. “I chose you. So feel honored and let’s get this over and done with. Next time, you might not be this lucky!” Ashton did a double take and gaped at her insolence with disbelief. The little Hayley he knew who used to have a secret little crush on him would never have the courage to look up at him, let alone answer back. Who was this sassy girl? It turned him on more than he would like to admit, and his lips turned up into a heart-stopping smile. “I see! So what exactly do you expect of me? Play the doting boyfriend?” he drawled with a lazy grin and a wink. Hayley refused to let her heartbeats give her away, and she forcefully placed some distance between them. She counted his bad habits to keep sane and not blush at his desperately flirtatious ways. “No, that would be boring! Just hang out with me, dance a little, and be around, that’s all!” His shoulders sagged melodramatically, and he looked around at the group of giggling girls who
The music was peppy and a recent favorite of Hayley’s that energized her to show off her best moves to the world. Or maybe to Ashton in particular! She grabbed Shaun’s arm and pulled him closer, making his eyes widen with surprise. “Let’s enjoy tonight, Shaun! We might never meet again!” she yelled in his ears with a laugh. “I’ll seek you out, Hayley!” he yelled back, but Hayley didn’t pay any heed to his reply. She was busy gyrating to the music, concentrating on her seductive moves to tempt the guy who was watching her like a hawk. Ashton couldn’t take his eyes off her, even for a second. The way she grated sensuously, all he could think of was pulling her against his hard body. She bent over and for a moment; it made him think of mind-blowing se*. All his earlier determination to stay at least two feet away from her hot body the entire night crumbled to dust. At that moment, she looked up and their eyes met. “F*ck you, Hayley!” he swore, his blood rushing to his head at the sigh
Amazed at himself, Ashton drove off towards his studio apartment. How did he end up agreeing to go on a date with Hayley when he swore to stay away from her? No, he should get a grip on his mind. He couldn’t cave in to a momentary attraction. Annoyed, he parked his car and ran up the stairs to get the steam off his mind. “Ashton, hey! What’s up with you? Where are you coming from?” asked Madison, leaning against her door as if waiting for him.“Hey! When did you return?” asked Ashton, unlocking his door. Upset at his own behavior, he wasn’t in the best frame of mind to tolerate anyone at the moment. “Just! So you didn’t answer my question! You weren’t at work a few minutes ago.” Ashton hated this interrogation! What was up with Madison? Why couldn’t she mind her own business? “How did you know that?” Ashton frowned, noticing her discomfort. Sometimes he doubted her claim of just being friends with him. Friends don’t bl*ody stalk one another! “I dropped in to see you on my way home