Seducing Lauren Read online

  “Unless you have something else you’d rather read?”

  “Nora Roberts?” I grin.

  “I have nothing but respect for that woman, but I don’t think I’m her target audience.”

  “No, you’re probably right.”

  I spend the next thirty minutes reading to Mr. Darcy, getting lost in the story with him. He grunts or mumbles during certain parts, but for the most part he just listens with a small smile on his lips.

  “I’m sorry I can’t read longer, but I should get back to work.”

  “Who is your young man?” he asks, ignoring my other comment.

  “What young man?”

  “Don’t try that with me, Lauren. I know better. I hear it in your voice.”

  I swallow and frown, thrown. “Really?”

  He just nods and waits for me to talk.

  “Ty Sullivan.”

  He nods slowly and taps his lips with his finger. “Ty’s a good kid. Despite that time I caught him and the King boys toilet-papering my maple trees in the front yard.”

  I laugh. “Not so much a kid anymore.”

  “You’re all kids to me, girl.” He reaches over to pat my hand. “He treats you nice?”

  “Better than I probably deserve.”

  “Good.” He nods once and takes the book from me. “Get to work.”

  “I’ll see you next Monday.” I kiss his cheek and hug him hard before leaving his room and heading home.

  When I pull my phone from my purse, I see I’ve missed two calls and have three texts.

  The first call is the pool guy; the second is Ty, as are all the texts.

  Ty: Just got to your house.

  Ty: Your front door was standing wide-open. Where are you?

  Ty: Lauren, answer me.

  Shit! I dial Ty’s number as I pull out of the hospital parking lot toward home. I don’t live far, just on the other side of town.

  “Where are you?” His voice is hard and panicked.

  “I just left the hospital.”

  “What?! Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine, Ty. It wasn’t for me. I go there every week to see a friend of the family.”

  “Are you on your way back?”

  “Yes, I’ll be there in ten minutes.”

  “Drive safely.”

  He hangs up and I toss my phone on the seat. Why was my door wide-open? I know I set the alarm.

  When I pull into my driveway, Ty is waiting on the porch, his hands in his pockets, looking as delicious as ever in his white button-down with the sleeves rolled up. I just saw him a few hours ago and I want to jump him again.

  “What’s going on?”

  “When I pulled up, your front door was standing wide-open and you weren’t here.” His eyes are blazing, making me stop short.

  “Are you mad at me?”

  “Hell yes, I’m mad at you. Why didn’t you set your alarm?”

  “I swear I did.” I frown as I think back. “I was preoccupied with the story and with getting over to see Mr. Darcy.”

  I march past him and into the house.

  “I think we should call the cops.”

  I glance around and sag in relief when I see that nothing has been touched. “Ty, it’s been windy today. It probably just blew the door open.”

  “We don’t know that.”

  “No one has been here.”

  “How do you know?” He’s exasperated with me now.

  “Because I can feel it! Nothing has been touched.”

  “You can feel it?”

  “Yes.” I shrug and continue back to the kitchen. “I probably forgot to set the alarm and the wind blew the door open.”

  “I’d feel better if someone came out to check the house out.”

  “Ty.” I take his hand in mine and kiss his palm before nuzzling it with my cheek. “I love how worried you are, but I’m quite sure this was just a mistake on my part. I’m sorry that I scared you. I didn’t do it on purpose.”

  He exhales deeply and pulls me against him, holding me tightly. “I was scared.”

  “I’m sorry.” I hold on tight. “I’ll be more careful.”

  He tips my chin up to look him in the eye. “If something happened to you, it would kill me, Lauren.”

  “Nothing happened. I’m fine.”

  “Oh, hi, Lo.” Michael the pool guy saunters in through the mudroom, startling both of us.

  “What the fuck are you doing here?” Ty demands.

  “Ty, this is Michael, the person who maintains my pool.” I pull away from Ty and prop my hands on my hips. “I thought you were coming tomorrow?”

  “Didn’t you get my message? I had time today, so I came by. I got the glass out of the pool and you’re ready to go. It’s all clean. I did cover it, though, until you get that glass replaced so it doesn’t get leaves and crap in it.”

  “How did you get in?” I ask.

  “The front door was open. I’ve cleaned the pool when you were gone before. I just assumed you left the door open for me, so I called to let you know I was here.” He frowns and looks between an angry Ty and me. “Was I not supposed to?”

  “I swear I locked the door,” I murmur. “It’s okay, Michael, but in the future, if I’m not home, I’d rather you didn’t come in.”

  “No problem.” He holds his hands up like he’s surrendering. “I didn’t mean to scare you. My fault.”

  “Was the door standing wide-open when you got here, or was it just unlocked?” Ty asks.

  “It was unlocked.”

  “Did you close it behind you when you carried your supplies through?” Ty crosses his arms over his chest and looks every inch like the lawyer he is.

  “I thought so, but I could be wrong. Hey, I didn’t mean to scare anyone. I’m sorry, Lo.”

  “It’s okay.” I offer him a smile. “Thanks for cleaning up the pool.”

  “It was a bitch.” He shakes his head and lifts his toolbox from the floor, then looks Ty up and down before turning his smile to me. “He’s hot.”

  “I know.”

  “The hot ones are always straight,” Michael grumbles, and walks to the front door. “Call me if you need me!”

  “You’re hot.” I grin as I turn to Ty, but he’s not amused.

  “He comes and goes as he pleases?”

  “He’s come to service the pool when I’ve been gone before, yes.” I scowl and cross my own arms, mirroring Ty’s stance. “What’s your problem?”

  He shakes his head and curses under his breath before muttering, “Nothing.”

  “I don’t have time to deal with your weird mood, Ty. I have to work. Stay if you want to stay, go if you want to go. I’ll be in the office.”

  I march away, but before I reach the door to the office, Ty spins me around and kisses me hard, then pulls away. “I have work to do too. I’ll be in the living room.”

  With that he stomps away.

  And men say women are moody.

  CHAPTER

  Twelve

  TY

  She’s gorgeous when she’s asleep. For the first time since I’ve begun staying with her all night, she’s still asleep when I wake up, and it is a sight to behold. She’s curled on her side, facing me, her hands tucked under her chin. She’s breathing deeply as I gently brush her hair off her cheek and kiss her forehead.

  I want nothing more than to pull her under me and wake her up with my cock inside her, but unfortunately, that’s not in the cards for this morning.

  I have a surprise.

  I move gently, careful not to wake Lo, pull on my jeans and T-shirt, and pad down to my car to pull the poster-size prints along with my tools out of the back of my Jeep.

  I hope she likes this. It could go either way.

  As carefully as possible, I hang the three pictures on her office wall and stand back to admire my handiwork. Whoever did these covers is an amazing artist.

  Now to go get her.

  She’s still curled up on her side when I walk back into he
r bedroom and crawl onto the bed. I wrap my arm around her, lining my body up with hers, and kiss her cheek, breathing her in.

  “Wake up, sweetness.”

  “Mmm.” She wiggles closer to me, snuggling against me.

  She’s so fucking sweet. “Hey.” I push my hand into her soft auburn hair and gently caress her scalp. “You need to wake up.”

  “Okay.” She sighs and wraps her arm around my waist and goes right back to sleep.

  “I know you’re sleepy, but I have something for you, baby.”

  “Sounds good.” She grabs on to my back and then frowns and opens those amazing blue eyes. “Why are you dressed?”

  “Because I have something for you.” I grin.

  “Do I have to get out of bed?”

  “Yes.” I chuckle and kiss her forehead. “Come on.”

  “Why don’t you get undressed and we’ll try out that whole morning-sex thing you’ve been talking about?”

  “Very tempting, sweetheart.” So fucking tempting.

  “Okay.” She rolls to her back and stretches, yawns, and flutters her heavy eyes. The blankets fall, revealing her pink-tipped breasts, and I can’t resist leaning over and kissing one hard nub. “Keep that up and we’ll stay here.” She sinks her fingers in my hair.

  “Fair enough.” I pull away. “Let’s go.”

  She takes my hand as I help her from the bed, and I wrap my white shirt around her, buttoning just the middle two buttons.

  “No naked today?”

  I laugh as I guide her down the stairs to her office. “I get distracted when you’re naked.” When we get to the doorway, I hold my hands over her eyes and guide her inside.

  “Surprise,” I whisper in her ear, and pull my hands away. Her hands cover her mouth as she turns a half circle, gazing at all three of her covers blown up and framed, hanging on her wall.

  “When did you do this?” She turns to me and watches me with wide blue eyes.

  “I had them made yesterday after you left my office, but I hung them this morning.”

  “I can’t leave them up.”

  I step to her and tip her head back to look up at me. “Yes, you can. This is your home, Lauren, and you should have these on your wall. No one but you and me comes in here anyway.”

  “Why did you do this?” she whispers.

  “Because I saw you looking at my diplomas on my office wall. You need to have these on display. It’s a big deal, Lauren. Be proud of yourself. God knows I’m so fucking proud of you I’m bursting.”

  She jumps in my arms, wraps those long-as-hell legs around my waist, grips my face in her hands, and kisses the fuck out of me. I plant my hands on her ass and carry her over to the wall, where I can support her with my body and I can touch her freely.

  “I want you, right now,” she murmurs against my lips. Her hands are clenched in my hair, holding me still so she can continue to plunder my mouth with her own.

  I let her set the pace. She’s circling her hips against mine, pushing her naked pussy against my crotch, and my eyes roll to the back of my head.

  I swear to God, her lithe body is going to fucking kill me.

  She grips both sides of the shirt she’s wearing and yanks hard, ripping the buttons free. “God, I can’t get close enough to you.”

  “I fucking love your body,” I growl, and pull a nipple into my mouth, tugging with my teeth, rolling my tongue over it.

  “Shirt off,” she orders.

  “I kind of like this sexy bossy side to you, sweetness.”

  Her eyes are hot as she watches me jerk my T-shirt over my head and toss it aside.

  Just when I thought I couldn’t get any harder, she leans down, bites my shoulder, and makes me want to come out of my skin.

  “I love your tats.” She grins and traces the yin and yang with her fingertip.

  “I’ve noticed.” I laugh and plant my hands on the globes of her ass, hitching her up higher. I pull one hand around to her clit and then slide two fingers easily inside her. “You’re so fucking wet, sweetheart.”

  “I want you right now, Ty.” She leans in and kisses my ink, and I almost come right then and there.

  I push my jeans down my hips and thank God that I didn’t throw on any underwear as I position the head of my cock at her entrance and slide home.

  “You feel so damn good, baby.” I bury my face in her neck and push and pull, over and over, increasing speed, losing myself in her warmth, in her amazing body.

  Her legs and her pussy tighten around me and I know she’s about to come. Her chest rubs over mine, sending electricity straight down to my cock, and I’m right there with her.

  “I’m gonna come,” she whispers.

  “Look at me.”

  She opens her eyes and pins me in her hot, blue stare as we ride each other in a torrential storm of lust and pure, unadulterated passion.

  She bites her lip and bears down, groans, and shivers, coming over my dick, in my arms against the wall, sending me over the edge right along with her. I can’t stop rocking against her as my body continues to come endlessly inside her.

  “You do things to me that I’ve never felt before,” she whispers as she rests her forehead on mine. “It scares me a little.”

  “It scares me a lot, but you’re stuck with me, sweetness. You’re mine, do you understand?”

  She offers me a small smile and drags her fingers down my cheek. “I get it. It’s not such a bad deal.”

  “So glad you approve.” I pull out of her as she slides down my body. “I have to get to work.”

  I don’t want to leave her, but today is a court day, and I don’t have a choice.

  Jesus, Sullivan, grow a pair. You can survive without her during the workday.

  She grins and pulls my shirt closed over her breasts as she licks those plump lips of hers, made even puffier from our rough kisses.

  “I have to work too.” She turns back to look at the book covers hung on her wall. “They look so beautiful.”

  “Is it okay?” I ask hesitantly.

  “That you did this?”

  I nod.

  “It’s obviously okay, Ty. I just attacked you.”

  Every Tuesday night from mid-May to mid-October, Cunningham Falls hosts a farmers’ market in Frontier Park. Local farmers and businesses set up tents and tables to display everything from fresh seasonal flowers to jellies and jams and handmade crafts.

  In the center of the park is a temporary stage where musicians set up and play for the evening as well.

  “Oh, God, these brownies are to die for,” Lauren moans as she nibbles on a sample from Mrs. Blakely’s booth. “I’ll take four.”

  “There are only two of us,” I remind Lo with a laugh.

  “These are all for me. If you want some, get your own.” She elbows me in the side and tucks her wrapped baked goods tightly to her chest.

  “I had no idea you were so selfish.” I tug her hair back from her face and bend down to kiss her cheek as we walk past the next table. “I bet I could talk you out of one of those brownies.”

  “No way.” She giggles up at me, her big blue eyes shining in the cool fall air. She’s wearing an orange vest over a long-sleeved, gray T-shirt and jeans. Nothing fancy at all, yet she completely takes my breath away.

  “Way.”

  “I don’t see how. These brownies are my favorite.”

  I wrap my arm around her waist and tuck her against me as we walk and whisper in her ear, “If you’ll give me a brownie, I’ll bury my face in your pussy and eat you out until you can’t remember your own name.”

  Her jaw drops and her breath catches and then she smiles up at me. “I guess I could part with one.”

  “You’re so generous.” I kiss her temple as she laces her fingers through mine and leads me eagerly to a vendor selling fresh apples and apple cider.

  “I need some of these.” She grins at the man, Lane, behind the table. “We’ll take three pounds, please.”

  “Sure thing.
Hey, Ty.”

  “How’s it going, Lane?”

  “Can’t complain.” He measures the apples and then passes the bag to Lauren, but I reach over and take them before she can.

  “I’ll carry the heavy stuff.”

  “Yes, three pounds of apples is just too much for my fragile frame to carry.”

  “You guys should come check out the pumpkin patch this weekend,” Lane says.

  “It’s opening already?” Lo smiles wide and claps her hands. “I love fall. This is my favorite time of year.”

  “Yep, we open this weekend. There will be hay rides and the corn maze is ready too.”

  “No haunted house this year?” she asks, disappointed.

  “It’s there. Gorier than ever.”

  “Yes!” She fist-bumps Lane and grins over at me. “I enjoy Halloween.”

  “So I see.” I smile as we wave at Lane and carry on. “I take it we’ll be at the pumpkin patch this weekend?”

  She nods and grins. Her cheeks are pink from the cold air.

  “Are you too cold?” I cup her cheek in my hand.

  “No, I’m just right. We should invite Jill to come with us to the pumpkin patch.”

  “Yeah, that’s exactly what I want to do, take my little sister along on a date.”

  Lo slaps my arm and scowls at me. “Be nice. It’s the pumpkin patch, not a date.”

  “Easy, slugger.” I offer her my most charming smile. “Every day is a date with you.”

  “That was really cheesy, Ty.” She rolls her eyes.

  “A bit too much?”

  “Just a smidge.”

  “Oh, hey, Lauren.” Our heads turn to see Jack, holding hands with Misty, Lo’s former friend and the bitch of all bitches.

  I look down at Lo to catch her reaction. Her eyebrows climb on her forehead and then she pastes a fake smile on her lips. “Hello.”

  “I was sorry to hear about your pool.” Jack’s lips curl, evidence that he’s not sorry at all. “I know how much you love it.”

  “Aww, poor Lo can’t swim.” Misty offers a fake pout and then the two laugh together.

  “It can be fixed.” Lo shrugs and tilts her head, watching them scornfully. “You both look like you could use a swim. Have you gained a few pounds, Misty?”

  Misty gasps and glares at Lauren. “You know I work hard every day to stay in shape.”