Page 44 of Pure Seduction (Chamberlin Brothers 1)

I WOKE UP with a jolt and the porch swing began to sway. I reached for the arm of the seat to steady myself.

Oh my God. My heart was racing and my cheeks were damp. It was just a dream. Just a really horrible dream. I hadn’t thought about that night in years, but it was no surprise it had resurfaced now.

As I tried to calm myself, I couldn’t stop the shiver from racing up my spine. No. I wasn’t going to do this. I wasn’t going to let myself get upset about the past, especially not tonight. I closed my book and got to my feet, and with a glance at my watch I saw I had time to go in and redo what I assumed was a messed-up face.

I headed for the door and pulled it open. As I stepped inside, I made a promise to myself: I would enjoy tonight no matter what, then I’d replace my first time with Noah with whatever the night brought.

21

Noah

IT HAD JUST turned eight as I made my way out onto the front porch of Wilhelmina’s and took a seat on one of the rocking chairs to wait for Laurel.

It was a beautiful night. There was a cool breeze in the air but nothing that would make you avoid being outside. The sun had set a couple hours ago, and I had a feeling that today might just be the first day that I didn’t resent Harry for bringing me back here.

The midday make-out session under the bleachers hadn’t hurt either. Along with the baseball game, which had been fun, despite that jackass Laurel knew trying to crack me in the head with his hard swing. But I wasn’t going to think about him. I was focused on one thing—or person—only, and she was currently walking my way.

Damn. Laurel knew how to dress to kill, that was for sure. If her goal was to prove I was a slave to her every move, then she was going to get her wish.

As she made her way up the stairs, I drank in the sight of her red heels, long legs, and the little black dress and sheer shawl she wore. Her blonde hair was styled in a sexy wave that made it look as though she’d just spent the day rolling around between the sheets. “Wow.”

She softly laughed and smiled. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“Good, because it’s about all my brain can think of right now.”

“Then I should just go home?”

She went to turn away, and I reached out and took her elbow, halting her. Then I stepped in closer and ran my fingers down her cheek. “Don’t even think about it.”

Laurel angled her face up toward me, and under the lights of the balcony, her blue eyes twinkled. “No?”

“Definitely not.” I touched her lower lip with my thumb, and when she sucked in a breath, my brain kicked back into gear. “You promised me dinner.”

“I think you have that the wrong way around.”

“Hmm, well, either way, I’m not letting you leave just yet.”

Laurel nodded, and when I released her, she turned around to walk away from me.

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.”

When she reached the edge of the stairs, she dropped the shawl to mid-back and glanced over her shoulder. “What?”

Oh, she knew exactly what I was talking about. The back of her dress—or should I say the nonexistent back of her dress—was cut low and was left completely open. It was all I could do to stop my tongue from rolling out of my head.

Jesus Christ, was it even legal to wear something like that in public?

When I finally managed to send the message from my brain to my legs and make them walk me to where she stood, I said, “You wore this on purpose, didn’t you?”

The grin she gave was that of a siren to a flailing ship, beckoning it to come closer to that which would end it.

“It seemed only fair, since you like to…tease.”

My cock kicked in response as she walked off ahead of me. As I jogged to catch up with her, I knew one thing for certain: that dress, and the woman inside it, was going to torture me all damn night.

“SO WHERE ARE we going?”

As we pulled out of the B&B’s parking area, I looked at my passenger and cursed myself for not renting a small, sporty car so she’d be much closer to me.

It was probably for the best, though, if I wanted to get us from point A to point B without injury. As it was, I was finding it difficult to concentrate with the scent of her perfume and the knowledge that her dress was pretty much all she was wearing, judging by the revealing nature of its back.

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