The last thing I wanted was for Tressa to be involved in this at all. I loved my sister, but she had a nose for bullshit that might blow the whole lie for me.
“Another time,” I said as I stood from the table and tugged on Summer’s arm for her to do the same.
But I’d waited too long.
Behind me, I heard Tressa yell from the hallway, “Anyone home? I’m not too late, am I?”
“We’re in here, honey,” my mother called out as she stood up to cut a piece of roast beef for my sister.
I looked down at Summer, who had no idea what had just happened, and quickly sat down. Leaning over, I whispered in her ear, “Now might be a good time to start that gazing longingly business. My sister Tressa is a much harder sell than my parents.”
Summer smiled, but I saw fear in her eyes. She had every right to be afraid. Tressa was a pain in the ass and would like nothing more than to expose my lie right there at dinner.
My sister appeared in the doorway and stopped dead. “I’m so glad I didn’t miss all the fun. I’m starving, and I’m thrilled I got here in time.”
“We were just talking to Ethan and Summer about Christmas. It’s been unseasonably warm, so we’re hoping to get some snow, even if it’s just for the holiday,” my father explained, unaware that Summer and I wouldn’t even be together by that time.
Christmas was nearly four weeks away. I planned to be single and heartbroken by then.
Tressa sat down next to Summer and excitedly said, “So this is my brother’s girlfriend. It’s so nice to meet you. I never know what to expect with Ethan, but I have to say you’re lovely.”
As the two of them talked and became friendly, I thought my head might explode as I waited for Tressa to say something terrible meant to humiliate me. It was what she did best when it came to me, so to think I’d make it through this get-together unscathed was expecting too much.
Better for me to escape while I could.
I picked up my plate and silverware and said, “Let me clear the table for you, Mom.”
Everyone stopped speaking and turned to look at me like I’d just announced I planned to move to Jupiter. Not surprisingly, I guessed, since I didn’t exactly offer to do things like that ever.
“That’s so nice of you, honey,” my mother said, beaming her happiness.
Whatever it took to get away from that table and the inevitable nightmare that would happen if I remained.
I quickly gathered up the dishes while my mother raved about what a good son I was, and as I walked out of the dining room toward the kitchen, I heard my father say, “I think I’ll help Ethan with the dishes.”
With my hands full, I found a place on the counter to put everything and tried to think of a way to get Summer away from my family and quick. My father walked into the kitchen with his plate and, without a word, stacked his on the others.
Maybe I’d get away with at least not having to discuss my new relationship with him.
“Ethan, I’m impressed with Summer. She’s a very nice girl.”
Damn. No escape for me.
Without looking at him, I nodded. “Yeah, she’s great. I knew you and Mom would love her.”
“A pretty brunette from outside Philadelphia who works in the city. It’s almost as if you ordered her from Central Casting,” he said in a low voice behind me.
I sensed a hint of suspicion in his tone, but I wasn’t sure. Turning around, I studied his expression. He wore that typical Tristan Stone look I’d seen all my life. Emotionless, his face didn’t give any hints to what he thought, but in his dark eyes so similar to mine, I saw some clue how he felt.
Was that pride I saw in them?
“You like her then?” I asked, curious what he thought of Summer.
A wry smile slowly spread across his lips. “How could I not? I married a nice girl with long brown hair from outside of Philly who gave me three wonderful children and the happiest years of my life. Of course, I want that for you, too, son.”
Unable to stifle a chuckle at the thought that he already had me married with children like him, I said, “Well, let’s not rush things. Summer’s a nice girl, but we haven’t even been going out six months yet.”
My father patted me on the shoulder and smiled. “Let’s hope it works out. I know your mother would be over the moon to see you with a girl like Summer.”
As he walked out to return to the dining room, I felt a little bad that all of this with Summer wasn’t real. I hadn’t seen my father look at me like that in a long time, and I liked making my mother happy.
And if I was a couple years older, I might want to settle down with someone like Summer. I couldn’t imagine doing that with anyone else.
I stood there thinking about how that could be a good thing and didn’t see Tressa walk into the room. She stopped in front of me and pointed her finger directly at my face.
“Just so you know, I’m not buying whatever this whole thing is.”
How was it possible that someone could look almost identical to me and be so goddamned different?
“There’s nothing to buy, Tress. Summer and I have been together for about two weeks. It’s pretty simple. Even you can understand that.”
She shook her head before rolling her eyes. “What I understand is this. That girl is so out of your league that I’m thinking you hired her to put on that show out there.”
“Whatever. You have no idea what you’re talking about,” I said as I turned to leave.
But that didn’t stop her.
“There’s no way someone like her would willingly go with you. Not unless she’s been living under a rock for the past few years and has no idea of what you’ve been up to. The strippers, the models, the wannabes. All of them are enough to send someone like her running for the hills. But since I know she hasn’t been under a rock for all your escapades, I have to assume she’s either stupid or naïve. The problem is just from talking to her for a few minutes I can tell she’s neither. That leaves only one other choice. This is all a lie for Mom and Dad’s benefit. You’re probably holding something over that poor girl’s head so she’ll join you in this farce.”
I’d never understood how the bond between triplets worked. Ever since we were children, I could literally feel when Diana was sad, even if she was miles away. Tressa never felt sad, but I knew her emotions as well as my own from as far back as I could remember. I had no idea how she figured out what I was up to, but I had no intention of letting her ruin my plan.
“Maybe she’s just not judgmental like you. Ever think of that?”
Tressa smiled and shook her head. “It’s not judgmental to not want to date a man-whore, Ethan. It’s just common sense for nice girls, and that girl in there is every bit a nice girl. I’m going to give you fair warning. Mom and Dad like her, and I do, too, and I’ve only known her for a few minutes. Whatever you’re up to, try to remember that real women—you know, the kind who aren’t Barbie dolls—have feelings that can be hurt with your games. That includes your mother, too. Remember that.”
“Whatever, Tress. I’m glad you like her.”
I returned to the dining room and sat down next to Summer as my sister’s words rang in my head. Nobody was going to get hurt because we both knew what we were up to.
The problem was I couldn’t help notice the way my chest hurt when I thought about her being hurt. I liked Summer, and if I wanted to date just one woman, I could see me choosing her. She had a lot of what I looked for in someone, and as I’d seen tonight, she was able to do something no one else had ever been able to accomplish.
She impressed my parents and made my father look at me with pride in his eyes.
But I didn’t want to be with just one woman. Not yet anyway.
We said next to nothing all the way back to the city, and when I pulled up in front of her apartment building, she practically jumped out of the car. All I got was a quick goodbye and she was off.
I quickly found a parking spot and followed her up the
front stairs. She was in such a hurry I barely caught her before she got inside.
“Hey, what’s up?”
She didn’t look at me and shook her head. “Nothing. I have to get upstairs.”
Before she could get away, I grabbed her arm to stop her. “Summer, is something wrong?”
“No.” She hesitated for a moment and then turned to face me. “Yes, actually. I don’t want to do this anymore. You have a great family that cares about you. I don’t want to be a part of lying to them anymore. You can tell my boss what happened if you feel you have to, but I’m out. Go find someone else to parade in front of your family, Ethan.”
“So does this mean I won’t see you anymore?” I asked as my chest tightened again.
But Summer just looked confused by the question. “Why would we see each other anymore? I was never the kind of person you’d date. You wanted me because I was exactly the kind of girl your family thinks you should be with. But you don’t want me. You want models who look good or dancers who look sexy. I’m not either of those kinds of women. I’m just me, Summer, a smart, nice girl who guys like you never think twice about.”
“Can’t we at least be friends and still hang out?”
“Do you mean hang out like get-together-and-fuck kind of friends?” she asked with disgust.
“No. I just meant friends. I liked hanging out with you on the plane that day and at my parents’ house for dinner tonight.”
Sadness filled her eyes, and she frowned. “Guys like you don’t have female friends, Ethan. I don’t think I’m the right kind of person to play these games. I had a great time that night, and it was fun getting to know you on the plane ride back. Maybe we should just leave it at that and go back to our lives.”
I watched her open the door to her building and walk inside as a feeling of emptiness came over me. It would be nothing for me to find a woman to spend time with that night, so why did Summer not wanting to see me ever again bother me so much?
Unsure about everything I was feeling, I knew one thing. I didn’t want to lose Summer from my life.
As she waited for the elevator in the lobby, I banged on the glass door to get her attention. I didn’t know what to say when she came back, but I had to do something to change this. She heard me pounding on the door and walked over to open it.
“What?”
“I don’t know. I just don’t like the idea of never seeing you again.”
“Ethan, this city is full of women who would give their left arm to be with you. You won’t be alone for long.”
She really did have an exaggerated view of how appealing I was to the opposite sex. I couldn’t help but smile.
“I don’t know about all of them. I just know I want to be with you.”
“Why?”
Damnit, why did she have to ask so many questions? “I don’t know why. I just like being around you.”
“So what do you want to do? Come up to my apartment and get me into bed? Is that it? Because I don’t have any interest in being any guy’s booty call.”
“No. I just want to hang out. Maybe watch a movie or something like we did on the plane.”
“And you want to do this with me instead of hooking up with some model to have sex?” she asked with disbelief written all over her face.
I couldn’t explain it, either. Until just a few minutes before, I wanted nothing more than to have my plan work and live my life as I wanted to. But now I wanted something else.
Now I wanted Summer.
“Yeah. You can even pick the movie like on the plane.”
She seemed to think about it for a moment, and then she gave me one of her shy smiles. “Okay. Just a movie.”
Walking with her toward the elevator, I didn’t know why not having Summer in my life bothered me so much. I just knew it did.
So for tonight, we’d do a movie. And next time, maybe it would be something more. This whole nice-girl thing was completely foreign to me, so I had no idea what would happen.
All I knew was I liked my life more with Summer in it than not. Now I just had to not screw things up. The problem was I had a knack for doing just that.
About K.M. Scott
K.M. Scott is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of over 30 books. She read her first romance novel before high school (she was a very curious girl!) and began writing happily ever afters years later after she finished grad school and was teaching college students history. Readers love her stories because they're about sexy, intense, and unforgettable love. She lives in Pennsylvania with her family and a herd of pets (she's never met a stray she didn't instantly fall in love with).
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Chapter 1
Scarlett
Snow has a perfect, bow-shaped mouth, and I want to trace it with the tip of my tongue.
Outside the snug Montana cabin, a bitter wind screams and howls. Ice and snow pelt the windows with unmatched fury—but inside, all is warm and dry, with just the perfect amount of firelight flickering out over the living room. Snow and I are cuddled on the sofa, whiskey burning brightly through our veins, and we’re close enough for me to count the tiny creases in her full lower lip, near enough that my arm wraps entirely around her slim shoulders. We’ve gone from a friendly kind of cuddle to something…more than friendly. Which was exactly what I’d prayed for when I asked if she wanted to come to my family’s cabin at semester break, and she’d agreed with a bashful kind of smile. And then when we’d gotten snowed in, there was nothing else to do but snuggle close together for warmth…
“Scarlett,” she murmurs, her eyes falling to my own mouth. “Do you…” She trails off, her cheeks going dark.
“Yes,” I say. I can’t resist the urge to brush a fingertip over her mouth, and her eyes flutter shut. “Whatever you were about to say, the answer is yes.”
Her lips curl into a smile underneath my touch.
“I’m new to this,” she admits, opening her eyes. “I’m nervous.”
I lean forward, the curve of my breast pressing against hers, “I’ll tell you a secret,” I whisper. “I’m not new to this, and I’m still nervous.”
She blinks those wide dark eyes at me. “Really?”
I laugh a little. “I want to get this right.”
“Well, I’ll tell you a secret,” she responds breathlessly. “I don’t think you can do anything at this point to screw it up.”
I cover her lips with a kiss.
Her mouth is so soft under mine, so lush and yielding, and it pulls a low noise out of me, a ragged exhale of desire too long suppressed. I nudge her onto her back as gently as my shaking hands will allow. I follow her and spread my body over hers, wedging one knee between her legs and then purring with approval when I feel her hips rock up against my thigh.
I kiss that lush mouth deeper and deeper, parting her lips with my tongue until our tongues can slide and stroke together, and she moans up into my mouth with a noise so sweet that it sends shudders up my spine and heat bolting between my legs. I’m already so wet for her, and I need to know if she’s wet for me, I need to know where else she is lush and yielding, and—
BOOM.
The front door crashes open, sending in a whirl of snow and a blast of cold air. The wind gusts in, and as I scramble up—both terrified that I’m about to be eaten by a bear and also not a little irritated that my kiss with sweet, perfect Snowdrop Lewis has been interrupted—the fire gutters to the point of near darkness. For a moment, even the pale shapes of my hands bobbing out in front of me while I fumble for a nearby lamp switch are lost to darkness. And then the fire swells back up, fed anew by the influx of fresh oxygen, the glow casting a sudden fierce glare over a huge figure hulking in the doorway.
Bear, I think, in an insensible moment of panic. Behind me, Snow screams.
And in front of me, the bear stagge
rs a step forward, then another step, and I take an equal step backwards, my mind frantically rifling through options. Run to the back room and barricade ourselves in? Try to defend Snowdrop and me with a lamp or a fire poker? I think my dad said something about a shotgun in a safe in the bedroom closet…
The bear lumbers forward once again, framed by furious sprays of snow and infernal-looking firelight, all shaggy and frost-covered and massive. I take another step back, reaching for the fire poker propped against the wall.
“Go to the bedroom,” I tell Snow in a low voice. “Lock the door. I’ll try to be right behind you.”
“I’m not leaving you alone with that thing—”
The bear makes a loud noise—a cracked kind of groan—right as my fingers close around the poker handle, and something about it slows me down just long enough for the bear to move closer.
“Help,” the bear says. “Please.”
And then he collapses in front of me, snow still blowing in over his hulking, unconscious form.
A few minutes later and we’ve got the front door wrestled closed and the shotgun discreetly stashed close by—just in case this bear-man ends up being more bear than man. And then Snow and I finally approach the person prostrate on the floor, nudging at his shoulders with our feet and finally squatting down to get a better look at him.
“Is he breathing?” Snow asks worriedly. “Oh, God, what if he’s dead? What are we going to do with a dead body in the middle of nowhere, in the middle of a blizzard?”
“Hashtag Montana problems,” I joke absentmindedly, already searching through the layers of wet and frozen fur to find his neck.
“Ohhhh,” Snow breathes, rooting for his wrist on the other side of him. “It’s a fur coat and mittens.”
“And a beard,” I add, finally finding his neck through all the layers of hair. The skin of his neck is warm—but not nearly warm enough. There is a pulse thrumming thready and weak under the pads of my fingers, and I’m a little relieved. I don’t want a dead body in the middle of what was supposed to be my romantic getaway with Snowdrop Lewis.
Alphas of Seduction Page 38
