Seducing Lauren Read online

  “Oh,” Cara sighs, and scowls. “I hate that asshole.”

  “What will happen if Jack finds out? You’re divorced.”

  “But they weren’t divorced when she released them,” Cara guesses correctly.

  “I sold them and released them after we were legally separated, but I don’t know what he’d do or how far off the handle he’d fly if he found out,” I whisper, embarrassed.

  “Has he hurt you before?” Jill asks, and fills my glass. I should stop drinking. I tend to talk too much under the influence.

  “Yeah,” I whisper.

  “What? What did he do?” Cara asks angrily.

  “He knocked me around a bit when I kicked his ass out.” I shrug. “We’re in the middle of a legal mess, and I just don’t need to add this to it.”

  “Our lips are sealed.” Jill’s smile spreads widely across her pretty face. “I know a famous person!”

  “I’m not famous.” I wave her off with a laugh.

  “Uh, Lo, yeah, you are.” Cara pats my shoulder. “Your books are being made into huge movies.”

  “I guess.” It’s still weird to think about.

  “Do you know who the actors are gonna be?” Jill asks.

  “No.” I shake my head and laugh. “The producers have that job.”

  “Don’t you have a say?” Cara asks.

  “They asked who my dream cast was, and they do consult me, but at the end of the day, it’s their decision. It’s their movie.”

  “Wow.” Cara grins. “Do you get to go watch the filming?”

  “Can we come too?” Jill hops in her seat like a teenager.

  “Where are we going?” Josh asks as the guys join us on the deck. Ty’s eyes meet mine. They’re warm and happy, and my body immediately warms, and I know it has nothing at all to do with the alcohol.

  “Can we tell them, Lo?” Jill asks.

  “Ty knows.” I shrug.

  “You told them?” Ty asks me softly, and kisses my forehead.

  I nod shyly. “They were reading it to me, and I couldn’t help it.”

  “I’m fucking lost,” Zack complains. “What are we talking about?”

  “Well?” Jill demands, her body quivering in anticipation.

  “Okay, but first, let me just say, it’s really important that this stays between the six of us. Please.”

  Josh tilts his head to the side, watching me carefully. “Okay.”

  “Of course,” Zack replies. “Who are we going to tell?”

  “You know these books Cara and I have been reading?” Jill asks the guys, showing them my book.

  “The smut books? Yeah.” Zack rolls his eyes.

  “Hey, don’t knock the smut books,” Josh informs his brother, wiggling his eyebrows. “They’re really good inspiration.”

  I giggle and turn my face into Ty’s chest, embarrassed. He rubs his hand over my back and kisses my head.

  “She writes them!” Cara exclaims, pointing at me.

  “Really?” Josh asks with raised eyebrows.

  I nod and bite my lip. “I do.”

  “Why doesn’t everyone know about this?” Zack flips through my book, reads silently, then swallows hard and closes the book carefully, making us all laugh.

  “Jack,” Josh murmurs. “That fucker.”

  “It’s okay,” I assure them all. “I’m fine. I don’t need to go public to be happy. I’m proud of them, and now my friends know, and that’s all that matters.”

  “I’m so excited for you!” Jill exclaims happily. “Can I have sex with the actor who plays Stephan in the movie?”

  “Jesus, Jill,” Zack growls.

  “What?” She blinks at us innocently.

  “Uh, I’ll see what I can do.” I laugh and shake my head at her. She’s nice.

  And she’s my friend.

  “Did you have fun?” Ty asks, and kisses my hand as he drives us back to my place.

  “I did.” I pull my hand from his and push my fingers through his soft hair. “They’re really cool and they make me laugh.”

  “And they love your books, so that must be good for the ego,” he adds dryly.

  “Tonight was good for my ego. It was fun to hear them talk about the books. About what they like about them, and when Cara read from it, I thought I was dreaming.”

  “Don’t you ever interact with readers?” Ty frowns.

  “I do online,” I reply thoughtfully. “And it’s fun. But this was the first time face-to-face. It was fun.”

  “I’m glad.” He squeezes my thigh affectionately as we pull into my driveway.

  “Shit, is that my alarm going off?” I ask in panic as he comes to a stop.

  Headlights fill Ty’s car from behind us.

  “Stay in the car.” His voice is firm as he jumps out of the car as a second car joins the first behind us.

  Thank God, it’s the cops.

  But I’ll be damned if I’ll stay in the car and sit idly by while my house alarm is going off.

  I jump from the car and stomp over to the guys.

  “I told you to stay in the car.” Ty’s voice is exasperated.

  I just shake my head. “No way. I want to know what’s going on.”

  “Your alarm went off about ten minutes ago,” Dan Teller informs me. He’s one of the newest cops on the force in our small town. “Will you please key in your code and we’ll look around?”

  “Sure.”

  “I don’t want you going anywhere near that house until we know it’s safe.”

  “I have you and three cops with me, Ty.” I gesture to Dan, and Kyle and Adam, who pulled in behind Dan. “I’m safe.”

  As Ty swears under his breath about stubborn women, I lead the guys up to the front door and key in my pass code, silencing the alarm.

  “The alarm company said it was a breach in the windows in the back of the house.” Kyle pulls a flashlight from his belt and gestures to the other two. “Each of you circle the house and I’ll go through the back.”

  “I’m coming too,” I begin, but Ty grips my upper arm in his hand and pulls me against him.

  “No.”

  I frown up at him but he just raises a brow, daring me to defy him.

  Talk about stubborn.

  The officers are gone for what feels like forever and I’m just about to tell Ty where he can shove it and go find them when they come through the house to the foyer where Ty and I are waiting.

  “There’s no one here, but we need to show you something.” Adam’s face is grim as he gestures for us to follow him to the pool house.

  “Motherfucker,” Ty growls when we reach the pool. All of the windows in the pool house have been broken. Large rocks from my garden litter the cement floor, along with shattered glass.

  “Don’t walk in here,” Kyle warns me as I take in the destruction around me. The bottom of my pool is full of glass as well.

  “My pool,” I whisper.

  Ty pulls me against him and hugs me tight.

  “Who would do this?” I ask.

  “That’s what we were just about to ask you,” Dan replies with a soft smile. “Any ideas?”

  “I know who did this,” Ty replies. “Her ex-husband.”

  “How do you know?” Kyle asks.

  “No one else would do something like this.” I pull out of Ty’s embrace, keeping his hand firmly in my own, grateful that he’s here with me. “It’s definitely Jack. He knows how much I love this pool.”

  “He must have been served with the protection order today,” Ty agrees grimly.

  “Can you prove it?” Adam asks.

  “That’s your job,” Ty responds coldly.

  I shiver as I glance around the room again. This took work. These windows are strong, and the destruction is extensive.

  “How could he have done all of this in five minutes?” I ask.

  “He couldn’t have,” Kyle replies, his head tilted in thought. “There had to be at least two people doing this.”

  I shake my he
ad, at a loss.

  “What do we do now?” Ty asks.

  “Well, for tonight, we need to secure the house. The door between the mudroom and the pool doesn’t lock, so I’ll have someone come out and change the doorknob,” Adam replies.

  “We’ll stay at my place tonight,” Ty informs me.

  “No, absolutely not.”

  Ty scowls at me as I shake my head stubbornly.

  “We’re going to make some calls and wrap this up for tonight,” Adam continues. “Someone will be out tomorrow to check on things and continue the investigation.”

  “Thanks, man.” Ty shakes all of their hands and leads me into the house and up the stairs to the bedroom.

  “Lo, I really think we should stay at my place.”

  As the adrenaline from the night begins to wear off, I start shivering. I wrap my arms around my stomach and shake my head. “I will never let Jack scare me out of my own home, Ty. I won’t give him the satisfaction.”

  He frowns and pulls me into his arms, wraps his arms around me, and runs his hands up and down my back, as though he’s warming me up. “It pisses me the fuck off that he did that with the intention of hurting you.”

  “I’m rather pissed myself,” I reply softly, and sigh as I lean into his embrace. “Stay with me?”

  “I’m not letting you out of my sight, sweetness. You’re stuck with me.”

  I grin against his chest and nuzzle him, relishing the scent of him, his strength surrounding me. “Thank you.”

  CHAPTER

  Ten

  “Come on, beautiful, let’s have a bath,” Ty suggests after the police and the locksmith have left.

  My heart sinks. He wants to have sex now? I step away and frown up at him. “Really?”

  He smiles softly and cups my face in his hands, pulls me in for a soft, gentle kiss, then pulls back. “As much as I would love to make love to you right now, I think I can restrain myself, Lo. You need a bath to relax. Let me take care of you.”

  He leads me to the bed and, with his hands gripping my shoulders, lowers me to the side. “I’ll be right back.”

  He disappears into the bathroom and I hear the water running in my large soaking tub. It’s big enough for two. I wonder, will he join me?

  I’m too numb to get up and take my clothes off, and surprisingly, hearing Ty bustle about in my bathroom is strangely soothing.

  He returns a few minutes later, shirtless, and my mouth goes dry.

  “It should be illegal for you to walk around shirtless.”

  He smirks and pulls me to my feet. “Why is that, baby?”

  “Have you seen you?” I instinctively reach out and brush my fingertips over his chest, drawing a sharp inhale from him.

  “Lo . . .” His voice is a warning, but I ignore him and continue to explore his chest, abs, hips, with my fingers.

  “You’re so handsome.”

  He takes my hands in his and brings them to his lips, kisses them softly, and watches me with hot gray eyes. “Come on, before I forget that you’ve had a traumatic evening, spread you out, and fuck you until the bed breaks.”

  Well, doesn’t that sound delicious? Maybe I’ve changed my mind from earlier.

  “Rain check,” he whispers, and leads me to the bathroom. Not only did he run the bathwater, but he lit several candles and poured my favorite bath oil into the water as well.

  It’s soothing and soft and thoughtful.

  He helps me undress and holds my hand while I step into the steaming-hot water. I lean back against the edge, close my eyes, and sigh deeply.

  “Feel good?” I can hear the smile in this voice.

  “Hmm. Join me.”

  “I will in a minute. I want to check the house one more time. You soak.”

  He kisses my forehead and is gone, and I let the heat of the water seep into my muscles, relaxing me. I’m suddenly beyond tired.

  “No sleeping in the bath, sweetness.”

  I open my eyes to find Ty standing over me, his arms crossed, gazing down at me with a half smile.

  “I’m not sleeping,” I lie. “Join me.”

  “Don’t mind if I do.” He quickly shucks his clothing. “Scoot forward.”

  He slips into the bath behind me, then pulls me against him. “How do you feel?” He kisses my neck and reaches for a washcloth, lathering it up with body wash.

  “Better.”

  “Good.”

  “Everything okay downstairs?”

  “Yes. It’s quiet down there. The locksmith added a locking knob and a dead bolt.” I nod and am about to ask more questions when he leans in and whispers in my ear, “Relax. There’s nothing more you can do tonight.”

  We sit in silence as he washes my arms, my back, my chest, and down my stomach to the juncture of my legs, never touching me in a sexual way, but in a soothing, cleansing manner that makes me melt against him.

  Finally, he sets the washcloth aside, and while I’m still soapy, his hands glide to my shoulders and begin to knead the muscles there.

  “Dear sweet Jesus, keep doing that and I’ll marry you.” The words slip out before I can stop them, before I even realize I’m saying them, and I bite my lips and cringe, hoping he doesn’t notice.

  But rather than freaking out at the M-word, he simply chuckles and continues to spoil my shoulders and neck. “If I knew the way to your heart was rubbing your shoulders, I would have done it long ago.” He rinses the soap from my skin and tugs me back into his arms to rest against his chest. I curl up against him and sigh deeply as he continues to gently caress my arms and shoulders, kisses my temple, and nuzzles my ear.

  When the water cools and we’re both wrinkling up like prunes, Ty pulls me from the bath, wraps a towel around his waist, and then slowly and thoroughly dries me off, his eyes warm as they roam over my skin.

  “You’re gorgeous.”

  I smile softly as he sets the towel aside and leads me to the bedroom and tucks us both in the bed. He pulls me against him and holds me tightly.

  I’ve never felt so pampered in my life.

  I don’t realize that I’ve spoken aloud until Ty whispers, “Get used to it, sweetness.”

  I’m sitting in my office, my laptop set up before me, sending out e-mails and responding to requests on social media. It’s early in the morning, and I should be writing, but I just can’t concentrate.

  I tossed and turned last night and gave up any hope of falling back to sleep at around five this morning and came down to work, leaving Ty to get as much rest as possible.

  Jack destroyed my pool house.

  I hear bare feet pad up behind me, and Ty’s strong arms circle me as he buries his face in my neck and inhales deeply. He drags his nose up to my ear, sending shivers through me.

  “Good morning.” I push my fingers into his messy hair.

  “I’m getting tired of waking up to an empty bed,” he responds softly. “I’d rather wake up with you under me.”

  “I couldn’t sleep.”

  Ty kisses my cheek, sets a mug of hot coffee on the desk for me, and shuffles over to my chaise lounge, giving me a prime view of his bare back and boxers-covered ass.

  God, he has a nice ass.

  “I made coffee.” He shoots me a sleepy grin. “Why couldn’t you sleep, beautiful?”

  “Just a lot on my mind.” I lift one shoulder in a shrug and lean back in my chair, watching him. “Since I couldn’t swim, I decided to get up and get an early start on work.”

  “Working on a Sunday?” He raises a brow.

  “I work every day, Ty.”

  “I think you need a day off.” He scrubs his hands through his hair with a wide yawn.

  I laugh and turn my attention back to my computer screen. “After I meet next week’s deadline, we’ll talk.”

  “Hmm . . .”

  I glance up to find him tapping his lips with his forefinger.

  “What are you thinking?”

  “What would happen if you were cut off from your comput
er and phone for a whole day?”

  “I’d most likely be set behind.”

  “But it wouldn’t kill you.”

  “No.” I tilt my head and watch him as he takes a sip of his coffee. My phone rings on the desk at my elbow.

  “Hey, babe.” Ty’s eyebrows climb into his hairline at the term of endearment and I mouth the word Emily.

  “Hey, whatcha doin’?” she asks.

  “I was working, but now I’m chatting with Ty.”

  “Tell him I said hello.”

  I pull the phone away from my face and grin at Ty. “Emily says hello.”

  Without responding, he unfolds from the chaise, approaches my desk, and holds his hand out, silently asking me to pass the phone.

  I pull it back to my ear. “Uh, I think Ty wants to speak with you. Hold on.”

  “Thank you.” He winks at me. “Hi, Emily, this is Ty Sullivan. . . . Oh, good, she’s told you about me.” He sends me a wide, happy smile. “I wanted to let you know that Lo will be unavailable for the rest of the day. I’m taking her hostage.”

  I feel my jaw drop as I sit numbly and listen to his side of the conversation. “Ty, I can’t . . .”

  He shakes his head at me and laughs at whatever Em has said on the other end of the line. “I agree, she deserves a day off. . . . Yes, I’ll take good care of her, and she’ll call you tomorrow. Thank you, Emily.”

  He presses END on the phone, powers it off, and lays it across the room from me, out of my reach. Before I can respond, he grabs my laptop, closes it carefully, and also lays it out of my reach.

  “You’re taking away all my toys?” I ask sarcastically.

  “No, I’m giving you the day off.” He walks to me and pulls me out of the chair. “I want to spend some quality time with you today.”

  “I figured I’d be able to work while you did the guy thing and watched football all day. It is football season, isn’t it?”

  He laughs as he pulls me through the house to my bedroom. “Yes, it’s football season, but you’re more important.”

  “Wow, more important than football?” I chuckle. “You must be smitten.”

  “I think I’m more than smitten,” he whispers as he gathers the hem of my shirt in his hands and pulls it over my head, tossing it on the floor. “I’m intrigued.”

  My nipples pucker against the cool air and his nimble fingers as he brushes his knuckles over them lightly.