Read Online Forbidden, Tempted Series (Book 1) by Selene Charles - Free Book Online

think anything was up, but being near him sort of helped ease the tension that was in her gut with Cain’s absence.
    “Yeeeah, welp.” Abel lifted his brows and hooked his thumb over his shoulder. “Gotta jet, calculus awaits.”
    “Calc, huh? Jeez, Abel... aren’t you in eleventh grade?”
    “Yeah.” He grinned, exposing that serious dimple again and making her heart give the tiniest of flutters. He really did have one of the best smiles she’d ever seen. “It’s a curse, what can I say? Cain always tells me my genius is peeking out when I work on numbers.”
    “How is Cain by the way?” she asked, eagerly latching on to the mention of his name and then mentally kicking herself when Abel frowned. Flint licked her lips. “I mean, I haven’t seen him in a couple of days, and it’s kind of nice not to have to deal with his PMS. Wondered how long the vacation would last?”
    She was totally going to hell for that one. Abel thinned his lips, his easygoing manner gone.
    “I don’t care where he is. He drove off that night you and your old man came to interview for the job. Haven’t seen or heard from him since. But that’s not uncommon. Part of why he’s a still a senior.”
    Still a senior? As in, this wasn’t his first year being one?
    Yet another mystery for her to obsess over.
    “Oh.” She tried not to let herself sound too down. “Cool.”
    Abel jerked his head toward the door just as the first warning bell sounded. “Class.”
    “Yeah, see you at lunch.” Flint waved and then dragged her feet to music class, hoping Mr. Barry hadn’t already handed out the instruments by the time she got there. What she needed was something to bang out her aggression on, like the drums.
    What she got was a pair of cymbals.
    ~*~
    S chool rushed by in a depressing blur. Even the hot stare of the psycho crew by the door didn’t inspire a sense of anything other than “Yeah... whatever, been there done that.” Rhiannon, Janet, and Abel had carried on a constant chatter that helped her because all she basically needed to do was insert an “uh-huh” or an “oh yeah” and they were none the wiser.
    She’d been so desperate for any link to Cain that she’d even turned in her seat a couple of times, staring at Cain’s posse. Twin blonds had stared back at her. They wore sunglasses too, but either she was getting used to deciphering what a raised eyebrow meant, or she was slightly psychic.
    Either way, the way they were staring at her, she knew Cain had left because of her. Which was just plain weird. He was the one warning her off, telling her to run, and in the end it’d been him who’d run away.
    Finally home, Flint opened the door to her apartment. “Dad,” she called.
    He popped his head out the door, wearing a bright smile and an oversized winter jacket that fell to his knees. Black spandexed legs stuck out the bottom.
    “Umm...” She lifted a brow, fighting a giggle, and then she groaned when the scent of buttered onions teased her nose. “Gonna tell me what all that’s about? And... are you cooking?” She sniffed appreciatively.
    He nodded. “Yup. Got paid today. Baby, I think I’m gonna love this place. Haven’t even worked there a whole week yet. Two thousand bucks! What do you think of that!”
    Flint cocked her head and headed toward the kitchen. “I think that’s obscene and something’s probably wrong in Accounting. We never get paid that much. Are you sure—”
    Her dad nodded, shushing her with his hand as he continued to stir the pot of sizzling onions. Her eyes almost rolled to the back of her head when she saw him drop a pound of ground beef into it. And the smell, oh wow... the smell took her back to a time before Mom’s death, when they used to eat dinner together at the table.
    Hard to believe, but her dad was an amazing cook... when he wasn’t too drunk to stand at the stove. A pot of boiling water steamed on the stovetop.
    “Get the pasta.” He gestured toward the