Seduction Read Online Free

eyes are red. “Don’t press me.”
    “Were you raped?”
    “No.” I stomp my foot. I’m not accustomed to answering to anyone in my family anymore. I don’t like it. She strokes my cheek.
    “Are you lying to me?”
    “I
don’t
want to discuss this anymore, Robyn. Please.” I’m desperate to change the subject. “Isn’t there something better to talk about? Your marriage or pregnancy? This beautiful home…” I look around again. Fine artwork—crystal—china—granite countertops and matching floor tile. “This place is a palace.”
    She blushes. “Thank you. We’ve done a lot of renovating over the last year. Especially the kitchen. Dad and Mom were very generous. They paid half the costs.”
    My mouth drops open. “You’ve made peace with them?” If that’s the case, I’ll fall over. My sister was kicked out of the house at fifteen, which caused a lot of problems in my family. I hated the way my parents treated her—like she didn’t exist, just because they thought she’d lied about my uncle, who behaved inappropriately with her. Trying to get her drunk—touching her.
    When Garrick and Robyn got engaged, Mom and Dad softened a bit and promised to start over. I’m hopeful they followed through.
    “I wouldn’t call it
peace
necessarily. But they did admit guilt about showing preferential treatment to their other children and gave me a nice check as a wedding gift.”
    “I’m surprised you accepted it.”
    “Things are better between us, Marisela. We talk often and even have dinner together once a month.”
    My sister will never change. She’s always so willing to forgive and forget. “Are you happy?”
    Color floods her cheeks. That’s answer enough. “I never thought I’d find love like this.” She cups her tummy. “And now…”
    I smile in appreciation. “At least one of us made the right choices.”
    “You’ll find happiness, Marisela. I promise.”
    “If I can stay in one place long enough. Do you mind if I head to the mall to get some clothes? I have a little money left over from selling my guitar.”
    “Sure—want me to go?”
    “Only if you’re willing to ride on the back of my bike. I have the need for speed.”
    “If it were only me…” She smiles. “Go ahead. Be back for dinner at six.”
    I nod and then head upstairs to get dressed.
    —
    I’m about to walk inside the main entrance of La Palmera Mall when I see Marisela’s motorcycle a few feet away in a no-parking zone. She’s leaning against it with her back to me, wearing red leather pants and a gray hoodie. She thinks she can hide her tiny waist and ass or that beautiful hair underneath that oversized shirt? I walk closer. She’s on her cell, arguing, oblivious to anything going on around her.
    “I’m never coming back!” she yells. “It’s none of your business where I’m at. Really? You think so? You already took everything away from me…”
    I can only imagine what the asshole on the other end of that call is saying. I’ve heard it a hundred times before in the dressing room. Insecure boyfriends making every kind of threat, some of them even making good on it. Only this time, I need to protect the intended target. I’m obligated to look after this girl. Kid. Woman. I haven’t quite settled on a label yet. When I recognized her at the club, memories flooded my mind. Good and bad. I remember the night I met her. Her reaction to me. What she called me—
asshole Craig.
I don’t want her thinking that way about me. I’m not like that anymore.
    She’s pacing, waving her free hand wildly. “No. There’s no one else. I’m capable of making it on my own. I start a new job tomorrow. No, I can’t tell you…”
    I’ve waited long enough to intervene. I sneak up behind her and yank her hood down. Her hair spills out. She twists around and stares at me, unblinking, those big, stormy blue eyes sweeping me head to toe. She lowers her phone, covering the microphone with her hand.