The Beckoning of Beautiful Things (The Beckoning Series) Read Online Free Page A

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    “No, Jason, I gave you two minutes and now it’s my turn.”
    “I’ve got a better idea. Let’s get those leggings off of you and take this a little deeper.”
    “In the front yard?” she spluttered. “No, Jason, no, no, no. I’m done.”
    He leaned forward and tried to kiss her.
    She impulsively bit his lip.
    “Ouch! What the hell? What’s wrong with you?” He tapped his lip with his index finger.
    “The crystal ball mind-fuck is over.” She got up, glaring.
    He winced. “I wish you wouldn’t use such strong language. It was a beautiful moment.”
    “For you, maybe. Jason, we’re…”
    “ Look, I’m bleeding!” He held his bloody finger out to her like a child.
    “Put a Band-Aid on it after you get out of my yard.”
    “Oh, I know what’s going on,” he said, as if a light bulb had clicked on over his head.
    “What?”
    “You’re just tense over your date.”
    “I’m just tense because I want to break up with you.” There. I did it.
    The sentence just rolled over his head like a tumbleweed. “You’re just not used to dating other people while you date me. You’ll get used to it.” He stood up, clearly pleased with himself.
    “I don’t want to date other people while I date you. I don’t want to date you at all anymore.”
    “You’ll change your mind. You’re just tense.”
    “Get out of here.”
    “It’s nerves.”
    “Go.”
    “Jitters.”
    “We’re done.”
    “You’ll see.” He grinned and leaned forward to kiss her again.
    Her jaw dropped and she shoved him away. “Are you nuts? Go!” She stabbed her finger at his car.
    Turning to walk to his car, a 1969 beater, navy blue Ford Fairlane Fastback, he called, “I want a full report. Later, baby-doll.”
    “Not if I can help it,” she yelled back. “My new life begins today!”

Chapter 2
    In her bedroom , Marissa scrutinized the clothes she had chosen and laid on the bed. She picked up a Vivienne Westwood toga top that her sister Jill always liked on her. The long-sleeved, asymmetrical hemmed, purple and light brown pullover had a high neck in the front and a low dip in the back, revealing her shoulders and upper back.
    Sober romped in with his squeaky Kong ball. He looked at her expectantly and squeezed the ball between his powerful jaws. He dropped it at her feet and barked. Marissa picked up the slimy ball and regarded her dog. “Who’s better than a part-time boyfriend?” she asked the mutt. “You are. Want the ball?” He stood up and barked. She opened her bedroom window wide and threw the ball out in the yard. Sober sailed gracefully over the low window ledge and raced out to retrieve the ball.
    She turned her attention back to her clothing choices. “Sexy, sexy, sexy,” Jill had told her when she’d seen the Vivienne Westwood garment. “Wear that and get rid of the surfer dude for once and for all.” Both her sisters liked Jason. They just thought she should trade up for something more permanent and ambitious. “He’s going to be a child for the rest of his life,” Jill had lamented last week. “You need a man.”
    Is Daniel what my sisters would call a man? Something about the man intrigued her. Something about him aroused the hell out of her. Something about the man was as dark as a moonless night. She couldn’t put her finger on it but it was there, in the back of her mind like a glowing cinder stuck to her skin.
    A couple hours later, dressed in the toga-style top, brown leggings, comfortable leather flats, with her hair piled loosely atop her head, Marissa paced in the front room. Sober Dober laid on the rug in front of the fireplace, watching her every move. “You want me to sit down?” she asked the dog. She sat at the edge of the couch, picking her fingernails. Sober gave up watching and rolled over with a groan.
    At 6:50, the doorbell rang , and she yelped. Sober’s head popped up out of slumber, scrambling to his feet.
    She ran her palms up and down her leggings and nervously