Page 23 of Vain (The Seven Deadly 1)

“Come with me, Devon,” I smiled sweetly, taking his arm once more.

As much as I was attracted to Devon, I knew my father would kill me if I was anything but what he thought a lady should be and I had already made plans to keep my cool with him. Not to mention I wasn’t exactly in the mood after the day I’d had.

It was also kind of nice for a guy to pay attention to me because he was just polite, no ulterior motive. I wasn’t used to it.

The gardens were a garish feature of our home and had been since I was small, but my mother loved them with their winding boxwood geometric designs, so they stayed and were impeccably kept up.

“It’s very beautiful here,” Devon chimed in after a quiet turn around the main garden.

“Mmm, yes,” I agreed politely.

“Not as beautiful as you though.”

Gag.

“Thank you,” I told him, trying my damnedest not to burst into tears laughing.

We rounded the boxwoods and entered the garden maze.

“Perhaps we should return to the house...” I started before Devon shoved me into the prickly bush maze behind me.

“Or we could just stay here,” he roughly bit out, kissing me so harshly I wasn’t able to speak.

I shoved him off me. “What the hell, Devon?”

“Oh, come on. You know you want to,” he continued, handling me as if I hadn’t just thrown him off.

“Excuse me?” I said, shoving him back again, but he only came back twofold.

“Please, Sophie. I know you’re reputation, and you could do a lot worse than me.”

My chin dropped to my chest. The gall. I purposely fixed my gaze.

“You’re right, but we can’t do it here so close to the maze entrance, someone might hear.”

He backed off me for a moment. “Lead the way, Miss Price.”

“Follow me,” I flirted over my shoulder. “This way.”

I led him through the winding maze and purposely toward a dead end but near a bench so I could enjoy the show. “No one will find us here,” I told him. I grabbed the front of his jacket and settled him in front of me as I sat myself on the bench, reclining on one arm. “Go ahead.”

“Wh-what should I do?”

“Undress, of course,” I playfully teased.

“You’re a kinky bitch.”

What a lovely compliment. “You know it.”

I watched Devon shed each expensive layer of clothing until there was nothing left but the moonlight on his skin. He smiled devilishly at me. I won’t go into how ironic his name suddenly became to me.

“Here I am,” he said, spreading his arms wide.

I stood slowly and walked seductively his direction. I bent slightly to retrieve his tie from the pile and sauntered around him. I placed the tie around his eyes and began to tie a knot.

“Wait, what are you doing?” he asked.

“Just a little game I like to play,” I sang into his ear before kissing his neck. This visibly relaxed him. “Now, I want you to count to ten then come find me,” I hurriedly said while gathering all his belongings down to his shoes.

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