Seductive Secrets (The Debonair Series Book 3) Page 5

  Even though she’s only seven, she dreams of becoming a clothing designer. She loves to draw dresses and blouses, and although right now they resemble something you’d see in a Disney movie, I hope she’s able to reach her goals. Besides, she does better than me. All my stick figures wear triangles with ruffles.

  Before taking Maddi to Ryan’s, I filter through a barrage of questions on my attire. Maddi knows I’m not just sitting around the house, and I’ve done my very best not to lie to her. I don’t need her to get her hopes up about me getting a boyfriend—something she often tells me I need. Yup. My life has boiled down to a seven-year-old telling me how to live.

  My nerves rattle my bones as I pull into the parking lot of Sierra’s and spot Max standing under the archway. Part of me wants to slam the gas and burn the hell out of here in a blaze of smoke and glory. The other part—the one that’s not a nervous wreck—wants to run to him and throw myself into his arms…and beg him to take me home.

  “Hey,” I say coyly.

  His white button up shirt flexes against his muscles as he shifts, giving me a better look at just how built he truly is. His chest is large and narrows to a slender waist with a flat stomach. Yeah…my girly bits are ignited.

  When he grins, it’s light and more carefree than I’ve witnessed from him. And it looks really, really good on him. “Hey. Glad you made it.”

  “I told you I’d be here.”

  “You also led me to believe you’d stay.”

  I puff a giggle, peering up to him. “Ouch.”

  He laughs as he pulls the door open. The fabric on his sleeves tighten, revealing arms full of strength and power. His cologne is a gentle scent, mixed with spice, sweet, and sandalwood. And I want to run my fingers through his hair and pull him into a kiss.

  By the way my body is reacting, you’d think I’d never seen a hot man before.

  After the waitress takes our orders and leaves, it’s just him and me. He’s across the table watching me with a predatory gaze. And I’m high-strung, freaking the out on the inside.

  “How long have you worked for your brother?” he asks.

  I almost laugh. “Off and on since he started the company. Right now, I’m helping in the office while his secretary is out on maternity leave. You said your sister works for you, right?” I shift the conversation back to him.

  He nods. “She’s been with me for a few years.”

  “A family business?” I ask, genuinely interested. Ryan has always tried to get me to work with him, but I have no desire to…nor the time.

  “It is. I had worked for my father since I was eighteen and at twenty-three he signed it over to me. My sister wasn’t quite on board with working for the family, but after many years of annoying the hell out of her, she finally smartened up and joined me.”

  “Your winery is absolutely beautiful.”

  He takes a sip of his drink. “So, do you have another job since you’re working for your brother part time?”

  I know this silent interview. He’s testing me to see if I’m only out for his money. I get it and understand it more than he’ll ever know. But the last thing I want to see is that switch when I tell him what I actually do for a living. It never fails. It’s like my small-time fame will bring them some sort of celebrity status, which is ridiculous. When I was younger, I was obtuse to it and it left me with hurt feelings and the life squeezed out of my heart. It made me weary of everyone’s intentions because, let’s face it, guys totally suck.

  “I work for a snowboarding team.” It’s not technically a lie, right?

  “Sounds interesting. What do you do for…?”

  Shit. “I help with marketing.” I purposely skirt around the other part of the question, praying he doesn’t know the ins and outs of how snowboarding management works. “I’m more than likely not your type.”

  It piques his interest and he raises a brow. “And what would my type be?”

  “Someone as sexy and handsome as you are.” I allow my flirtation to make it to my eyes. “I’d say a beautiful model or an actress. Someone just as stunning.”

  “You think I’m sexy, handsome, and stunning?”

  I chortle. “That’s all you got out of that?”

  His laugh is deep and it sets off a slurry chain reaction. His smile shifts his strong jaw, lighting up his face and shining into his eyes so they crinkle at the sides. Butterflies explode in my stomach and I can’t help but to grin back.

  “No. I heard you tell me you don’t think you’re just as beautiful, if not more so, than any actress or model. And to answer you, there’s too much drama and politics within the entertainment world. I’m not interested in big time names. I watched from the sidelines as one of my best friends lived that life and then got burned in the end.” He shakes his head. “I’ll pass on that.”

  “That’s like judging a book by its cover. Not everyone will be like her.”

  He rests his forearms on the table. “You’re saying you don’t look at the cover before buying the book?”

  “You know you have to.”

  “Precisely.” He settles back into his chair. “And who said it was her fault?”

  I lift a shoulder. “Considering you said it was your best friend, I’m only assuming the bad taste in your mouth wasn’t left by him. If so, then you really need better friends.”

  He’s about to say something when he’s stopped by the waitress setting our plates in front of us.

  “Tell me more about you, Avery. You’re very enigmatic,” he says when she leaves.

  “Tell me what you want to know because if not, I’ll end up telling you exactly how boring my life is.”

  His smirk is going to be the golden ticket into my panties. “Have you always lived here?”

  “Concerned that you may have missed me in the streets?” I tease flirtatiously.

  “Yes,” he says.

  “I’ve lived here my entire life minus a year and a half.”

  “Where’d you go for that year and a half?”

  “You’re very interested in me,” I avert from having to replace the truth with a lie.

  “I am.” His voice drops to a smooth baritone as he levels me with a titillating stare.

  My stomach dips as warmth moves across my body in a rush. Trying to hide what he’s doing to my body, I tilt my head and arch my brow.

  He leans closer. “I’d like to get to know the woman who gives me a hard-on by simply dancing with me.”

  Heat claws up the back of my neck and reaches my cheeks. I can’t help but smile a little silly. “Surely I’m not the only one who has ever done that.”

  “Not fully clothed.”

  The response makes me bark a laugh.

  He glances down at his hands resting on the table, shakes his head, and then casts the most delicious gaze on me. “Please tell me you were just as aroused, so I don’t feel like a virginal creeper.”

  I roll my lips between my teeth to contain my laughter. “I had to hang my panties out the window so they could dry.”

  He chuckles. “If that’s not what happened, don’t tell me. I’d like to keep some dignity.”

  I can talk shit with the best of them and I don’t mind blowing up an ego where it’s due. “Trust me. You have nothing to be ashamed of.”

  He scrapes his teeth along his bottom lip. Whatever he’s thinking, whatever he’s forcing himself not to say, whatever dirty thoughts are crossing his mind, he stays quiet. But even without words, the way he’s eating me alive with his eyes is enough to spark burning desire deep within my core. My want for him is intoxicating. Like one lick of his throat or taste of his tongue and I’ll be drunk for days.

  We fill in the pauses between bites with light conversation—learning about one another and just random talk. I don’t know if he could sense my nervousness, but somehow he’s managed to mute it. Our talk is simple, not too deep, and mostly about random things or his winery. When he talks about it, his eyes shine and there’s no denying it’s his pri
de and joy. That’s where he’s most comfortable. That’s where his heart is…wine.

  After our date dwindles down, he pays for the meal, and walks me out of the restaurant toward my car.

  “I’d like to see you again,” he says.

  “You’re quite persistent,” I quip, glancing up to him.

  “Yes. Despite all your hot and cold signs.”

  Ouch. I drop my view to my feet and catch a strand of hair falling, tucking it behind my ear. “I don’t mean to be. I’m standoffish, but I have good reasons why. I’d say I’m sorry, but honestly, I’m not.”

  He bends, placing a gentle kiss on my cheek. It wakes my body up, vibrating and burning with desire. “Quit fighting what your body is telling you.”

  “And that is…?”

  His smirk is charming. “Oh, how I’d love to be the one to show you.”

  I cock my head. “You think you know my body after one lunch date?”

  He moves his mouth beside my ear, his lips brushing the skin. “Avery, your body is begging for me,” he whispers thickly, and dammit, it causes a shiver to slide down my spine. He stands straight. “There’s the cold. If I hadn’t been listening to your body, I’d almost believe the resistance out of your mouth.” He arches his brow almost daring me to refute, but I don’t. He’s absolutely right. “Can I take you to dinner this week?”

  I cave. “I’d like that.”

  Satisfaction relaxes his eyes. He opens my car door. “Ball’s in your court. You have my number. Call me.”

  Avery

  My best friend is the annoying brat of a sister I never had but would probably pay someone to keep her in my life. Isn’t that what having a sister is like? Best friends and worst enemies, arguing over trivial things, but traveling life together as a team? Ready to kill each other one minute and the next ready to kill for each other? I can’t help but love her.

  “Tell me.” She sucks the Cheetos powder off her fingers. “What exactly is stopping you from calling him?” She’s also a damn headache and pain in the ass.

  I check to make sure Maddi is out of earshot before answering. “I don’t want anything serious,” I whisper although my daughter isn’t in the room. That girl has super hearing where she can hear a pin drop from a mile away.

  “Who said anything about serious? Did he?”

  “No. But I don’t want him to think it’ll become serious.”

  “Have you talked to him about where you stand?”

  “No. I didn’t tell him about Maddi or my true source of income. I kind of told him I worked for a snowboard team…” I bite my lip.

  She snorts. “You sound like a hooker. ‘Source of income,’” she mocks with a laugh and then scoots up to the end of the couch cushion. “What is wrong with having a little fun? The old Avery would’ve jumped him in the hallway, but this Avery…” Her lip curls in disgust as she waves her hand up and down. “She’s a stalemate. Boring as ever. You need a man. A dick that isn’t suction cupped to the shower wall. He doesn’t have to know about your life to get in between your legs. You know you want to screw him.”

  I glance down the hall for Maddi. “First.” I hold up a finger. “My solo fun happens in the bed. Second. Yes. I want him. Badly. He gives me…” I trail off uncertain of the perfect word. She’d ream me if she knew how much I wanted him. Probably tell me I’m lost in the unfucked universe, never to be saved. I haven’t necessarily been one-hundred percent truthful in telling her how he makes me feel—the magnetic pull that grips me and yanks me to him in hopes of anchoring down.

  “Heat,” she finishes where I left off. “He gives you horny on a stick and dammit, Ave, you need to let him be your stick.”

  I burst out laughing. “He’s packing, that’s for sure.”

  “Packing? Like a gun or a dick?”

  “Dick, Rave.” I roll my eyes. “Why would I care if he’s got a gun?”

  Her lips contort. “Who the hell knows with you lately.”

  I drop in the loveseat and rest back. “I have a daughter to think about and several upcoming boarding events. You know the moment I tell him about either, he’ll take off for the hills or latch on for the fame he’ll think I am.”

  She groans. “You get burned a few times and you label them all the same. Who’s to say he’d do that? What if he’s different and doesn’t give a damn about either?”

  I gawk her like she’s lost her mind.

  Her brows pinch together forcing her baby face to scrunch up. “Do you really think he’d give a rat’s ass that you’re a snowboarder?”

  “No. But what about Maddi? He’s a bachelor. You know he’s not interested in a woman with a child.”

  “If it’s not serious, don’t tell him.”

  “That’s been my plan all along.”

  “But seeing how she’s your pride and joy, I don’t think you’ll be able to keep her a secret for too long. Your life revolves around her.”

  “I hate having to pretend she doesn’t exist. She’s such an incredible kid. But I also don’t want her to get her hopes up and latch on to someone who won’t be around.” I dig my palm into my forehead to relieve the pressure. “I’ll tell him if things move in a different direction, but for now, I’m not interested in serious. That’s my only justification for being a shitty mother.”

  Raven cackles, slapping her leg. “You’re totally not a shitty mom. You’re just cautious and in a weird position. Speaking of. Call him and have some fun. Get your ass in a position with him, like on your back or on all fours. I’ll help watch Maddi when you need me to. Just promise to wrap it up ‘cause I’m not changing diapers again. Not a fat chance on a snow-topped mountain I’ll do that again.”

  “I’d love for him to get me in any position. And I’m sure he can talk me right into it. He’s really smooth with his words.”

  Wickedness soaks her smile. “So are you.”

  “Momma!” Maddi calls out from her bedroom. “Do I have to go to school tomorrow?”

  Raven and I share a confused look. Maddi never wants to miss school.

  “I got marker on my pink shirt, the one I was going to wear tomorrow. I can’t go to school with marker on my favorite shirt. I didn’t mean to. It was on my chair and I dropped the dumb marker and now it’s on my shirt.”

  “Who cares what other people think of you, Madz,” Raven says.

  “I don’t, but it’s my favorite shirt and I was going to wear it tomorrow.”

  “Oh, but you care what Isaac thinks,” I say and she murders me with a glare.

  Raven jerks sitting up. “Isaac? Who is Isaac?”

  Maddi mutes…which is amazing.

  “Does this Isaac have a job?” Raven jests.

  “He’s in my class. He’s seven and he can’t work,” she replies like Raven is the stupidest person alive.

  Raven crosses her arms. “So, tell me about this Isaac. What’s so great about him that has your attention? Is he nice? Is he cute? Smart? I have all these questions.”

  Maddi doesn’t skip a beat. Isaac is her favorite subject at the moment. “He’s really cute and sweet and he can run really, really fast. He’s a star football player, well they don’t tackle, but he’s the best one on the team. And he wears nice clothes. Sometimes he gives me his strawberries at lunch because he doesn’t like the seeds and he draws me hearts. He got two dollars from the tooth fairy and bought me a chocolate milk. He says I’m his girlfriend and gave me one of those yellow weed flowers at recess. He can swing really high too.”

  Raven looks as amused as I was when she gave me the exact same spiel. I can’t help but smile. This is the first time I’ve seen my daughter excited and animated about a boy. She went from “all boys are gross” to “Isaac is the best.” It’s heartwarming and heartbreaking at the same time. First crushes are normally followed by first heartbreak and I’m not ready for the tears…or her revenge.

  “I’m sure whatever you wear, he’ll like it. Don’t change who you are for a boy,” I tell her.

&
nbsp; She blows a breath, rolling her eyes. “That was such a mom thing to say.” And my sassy little girl turns on her heels and ambles back down the hallway.

  Raven’s cracking up. “She is so you. A four-foot spitfire.”

  I throw myself back into the cushions. “God, I know. Scary as shit, isn’t it?”

  Max

  After going over a few lunch details with Isabella, Marcy, and Ward, I settle at my desk to check out the next month’s dinner ideas. I try mixing it up while keeping all the popular items on the menu. Ward loves it. Says it keeps him on his toes. And I can’t deny I enjoy the feedback.

  My phone rings with an unknown number and instantly a smirk erupts.

  “Good morning,” I croon, resting back into my chair.

  “You were waiting for me?” She sounds surprised.

  “I was.”

  She hums. “Pretty sure of yourself. How did you know I would call?”

  “A hunch.” After the way her body was blazing for me, I had no doubts she’d call. “What are you doing for lunch?” I need to quell this burn to see her.

  “You waste no time, do you? No warmups?” I relish her witty and flirty remarks.

  “How would you like to be warmed up, Avery?” I say her name low knowing how her body reacts to it.

  “If you need directions, I may need to adjust my opinions of you.”

  Her smartass response makes me chuckle. “You’ve already formed an opinion? Do tell.”

  “It’s a bit too early for me to damage your ego.” Her giggle is the most enthralling sound. It causes something in my chest to tighten, like a cramping feeling enveloped by excitement—one I haven’t felt in a decade. And one I didn’t know I missed until this very moment.

  “Maybe I need to give you a better impression. Let me start with a proper dinner date.”

  “You don’t seem like a dating man.”

  “Strange since I’ve asked you on several now. Besides, seeing how your body reacts to me has a lot to do with it.”

  “You’re pretty smooth with your words, Max.”

  I grin. “Are they working?”