Page 21 of Pure Seduction (Chamberlin Brothers 1)

“That’s enough time, right? I mean, how much more could you possibly need to read today?” I plucked the book from her hands and rolled to my back. We’d picked a sunny spot under one of the large oaks at the end of Willow Lane.

It was Laurel’s favorite place to come, because there was only one house at the end of the road—that was currently empty—and other than that, the place was secluded. Perfect for reading and relaxing, according to her.

Me, however? I was getting restless. I hated sitting still, even for ten minutes.

“Noah, give it back. I want to be finished before next class, and—”

“We only have to read to chapter twenty. You’re already up to”—I flicked through the pages of her book—“chapter twenty-five.”

She leaned over to take the book, and I dropped it to the grass to grab her arm, pulling her down over me. She landed with a cute little oomph, and her long blonde hair fell forward to curtain our faces.

“Now this is better.”

“How is it better? We have an exam tomorrow, and I need to study. You need to study.”

“I am studying.” I kissed her gently, her soft lips always so tempting. “I’m studying the shape of your mouth. The color of your hair in the sun. The way you feel squirming around on me the way you are.”

“I’m not squirming.” She planted her hands on either side of my head and pushed up from me. “I’m trying to get away from you so I can study. I need this grade if I’m going to have a chance at that scholarship.”

She was right, and suddenly I felt like a total asshole for interfering with that.

“Sorry,” I said, and reluctantly let her go. “I wasn’t thinking.” I picked up the book and handed it back to her, before settling in against the trunk of the tree.

“Don’t be sorry for wanting to kiss me.” She laughed. “That’s why I’m working so hard. I want you to be able to kiss me for the rest of my life, and you won’t be able to do that if I’m stuck here and you’re—”

I placed a finger to her lips and grinned. “What did you just say?”

She frowned, and I swear I could see the wheels in her head rewinding. Then a rosy flush hit her cheeks. Yep, there it is.

“I didn’t mean that like it sounded.”

“You didn’t? ’Cause I kind of like the idea of you and me for the rest of our lives.”

Laurel looked down in her lap as she fiddled with the edge of her book. “You do? I mean, I know we talked about going to USC together and getting out of here, but—”

“But what? You don’t think I’m going to let you go once we get there, do you?”

She raised her head so we were eye to eye.

“I’m not letting someone else have you. You’re mine, Bonnie. We go together, you and me. Forever.”

Her shy smile made my heart thump. Laurel put her book to the side and moved to her knees next to me. “Give me your keys.”

“What?”

“Your car keys. Give them to me.”

I handed them over and watched as she began to carve something into the trunk of the tree, and when she was finally done, she sat back and grinned.

“There.”

I looked at her handiwork, and when I saw what she’d written, I smiled. Bonnie & Clyde, and under that, Together Forever.

“Come here.”

Laurel nodded and closed her eyes as she moved into my arms and snuggled into me. “I don’t want to read any more.”

“No? I thought you wanted to finish the book.”

She shrugged and tipped her face up to mine. “You were right. We only have to read to chapter twenty. I was being ambitious. Overreaching, as always. I just don’t want to mess this up for us.”

“Stop worrying. You could never mess this up.”

She smiled at me, and with the sun in her hair and her blue eyes twinkling, I knew I was done. Laurel was my forever, and I knew I’d love her—always.

YEAH… FOREVER HADN’T really worked out for us, and it seemed Laurel was content to leave anything we did have well in the past.

In fact, I didn’t think I’d ever seen a woman run away from me so fast in my life. But as Laurel had shoved out the door of Dave’s Coffee House, you could all but see the cloud of dust in her wake.

Not that I could blame her—up until she’d asked about Italy, we’d slipped back into familiar territory as we tried to reacquaint ourselves with one another. There was too much history there, however, too many landmines to dodge. So it wasn’t that much of a surprise when one of them blew up in my face.

I finished off my coffee and headed back to where I’d parked my car behind the courthouse, and when I climbed inside, I pulled out my cell. For a minute I just sat there staring at the screen, trying to come up with a solution to the problem facing me.

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