Tempting Eve

Chapter 13

***So I'm just going to dedicate this to what I'll call Ethan's Army (whether you like it or not ;)). You guys have been supporting and sharing and voting and commenting since basically day one. You are goddesses. footnoteofhappiness tracisek tannythebored K_Blackwood moapersson83 Skamaddict2 ITS_ME_SP LongTitti Shannnxoxo Audriana15 Adidarose dianaisweird

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The pounding in my head felt like it had a direct link to my stomach, and though I wanted to stay in bed forever, my eyes flew open to search for the nearest trash can.

Only... I had... no mother fucking idea where the hell I was.

I was in an enormous four-poster bed, buried between layers of black silky sheets and a thick velvety duvet that was heavy enough to suffocate me.

I sat up so fast, I nearly passed out. It was fairly dim; faint shafts of morning sun piercing the old double pained windows that lined one entire wall of what looked to be a renovated warehouse. The place was huge and open, high ceilings lined with open pipes and venting painted black, giving it a very industrial look.

Towards the center of the room was a dark brown leather living room set, and at the complete opposite end of where I sat - sick and terrified - was a modern obsidian and stainless steel kitchen.

My stomach turned over again. Freak out later, vomit now!

I untangled myself and ran all the way across the worn, wooden floors and hurled my guts into a deep sink set into the kitchen island. I ran the water, splashing it around as I went, letting it take everything down the drain.

After a full minute, I finally pushed myself away, shaking and clammy. My sweat dampened hair sticking to my neck.

The worst thoughts possible rolled through my mind and I hastily took a mental inventory of myself. I was wearing my sweatshirt. I pulled on the neck of it, and looking down, saw my t-shirt and bra. My jeans were still firmly zipped and buttoned. I even had my fuzzy socks on. The relief I felt was almost palpable. It seemed I was ok, but where the hell was I?

I tried to remember the previous evening as I crept around the enormous space searching for clues. Underneath the old windows was a waist-high bookshelf that spaned nearly 20 feet and was so full of books, some were stacked in front of the others horizontally. On top of the bookshelf  looked like an art exhibit. Sculptures and pottery and beaded mask and a very large collection of Hindu designs were placed neatly along the surface. Some sitting on squares of red velvet, others placed on stands.

It all reminded me of... Ethan. This was his place; I was sure of it.

Thinking his name brought some of the night back. The details were murky, like I was trapped in a frozen lake, beating the ice from underneath. I could see shapes and color, but the details refused to come into focus.

A hallway traveled beyond the bed and I followed it. Once in the recess, I heard the spray of a shower from behind an oversized door.

Expecting the safety of a shower curtain, I pushed through ready to demand answers. But, when I stepped into the biting steam I stopped.