Read Online Entangled (Vice Games) by Alice Cooper - Free Book Online

spending my day with Anna and Lorraine did all the cooking. I whipped together a chocolate cupcake batter and spooned the mixture into the baking tray. As I closed the oven and turned around to tidy up, I jumped at the sight of Tristan. He stood leaning against the doorway. I didn’t know how long he had been there and his sudden appearance startled me. I didn’t hear the car pull up the driveway and he made no sound when he entered the house. Tristan was dressed in the same manner as when he had left the house, his hair playfully framing his striking face. For a split moment, I had managed to forget about the dream but the contents immediately returned at the sight Tristan. My face flushed with heat. It turned my face red and the images of his naked body and exposed parts plagued my mind.
    ‘Why aren’t you asleep?’ he asked. I detected a hint of alcohol in his breath. He had definitely been drinking, although I wasn’ t sure how much. It definitely made him different and weakened the icy shield he often put up when he’s around me.
    ‘I felt like baking,’ I said without thought. Dam my brain.
    ‘At this time?’
    Tristan walked into the kitchen and I edged along the counter to create distance between us.
    ‘Yes.’
    He glanced at me curiously and then over the mess that I had made in his kitchen.
    ‘Where’s Anna?’
    It seemed as if he needed a distraction too. I saw that he struggled with something but still had enough control over it.
    ‘She’s asleep in my room.’
    Tristan remained in the kitchen and his presence made me uncomfortable. I tried not to remember the dream. But the more I tried to forget, the vividness of its memory increased. It was driving me to the brink of madness. Tristan attempted to catch my gaze but I quickly turned my head away. The sight of him was getting too much.
    ‘ You should go to sleep,’ I said to him.
    He seemed to agree with me. It fact, I saw it on his face as his thoughts were allowed to play out on his face for the first time in front of me that it was dangerous not to agree.
    As quickly as he appeared, Tristan exited the kitchen and left me on my own. He disappeared up the stairs and I heard the soft click of the door as he went into his room. I exhaled and leaned against the counter for support. It was already bad enough to be having that sort of dream about him.
    ‘Shut up Phoebe,’ I whispered to myself. ‘He’s Anna’s brother. He’s your boss and he’s getting married.’
    I took my time on the cleanup and mixed up the icing to pipe in the morning. When I glanced over to the wall clock, an hour had already passed. Reluctantly, I took myself upstairs and went into my own room.
    Lorraine woke us up and informed me of her surprise to find a tray of cupcakes had materialized on the counter.
    ‘Yeah,’ I told her, ‘the icing is in the fridge.’
    ‘You made cupcakes last night?’ Anna asked as she rubbed her eyes awake.
    ‘I couldn’t sleep.’
    When I went downstairs, Tristan was seated in his place at the head of the table. I couldn’t bring myself to join him and decided to eat my breakfast in the kitchen instead. Anna noticed my disappearance and ventured to find me. I was standing by the counter with my bowl of cereal.
    ‘Why aren’t you at the table?’ she asked me curiously.
    ‘I feel like standing,’ I told her. It was a lame excuse and she did not accept it. Anna knew that something was wrong. She could see it on my face and I was useless at my attempt to hide it from her. Or perhaps she didn’t connect the dots or realize that I had just walked in on Tristan having sex and succeeded in getting them both out of the house so that she wouldn’t have a panic attack. And that I nearly suffered a panic attack of my own as the realization of what I did sank in. Every inch of me is covered in embarrassment.
    Tristan left for work at his usual time and I felt relieved to have him gone. The teachers arriv ed shortly after and Anna began her