Substitute Seduction (Sweet Tea And Scandal Book 1)

by Cat Schield

  Shivering with foreboding, London quickly found where to plug in the drive but hesitated before inserting it into the slot. Her heart raced, keeping pace with the rumble of hoof beats on the polo grounds. If she was going to do this, it needed to be now. Yet she continued to flounder.

  And then the sound of approaching voices reached her: a woman’s high-pitched laughter followed by a man’s deep baritone. London jerked away from the computer, bumping into the desk chair and sending it thumping back against the wall. The noise seemed to explode in the quiet room and she glanced around wildly, looking for a place to hide before the couple entered. The long drapes caught her eye. In seconds she slipped behind the voluminous fabric, hoping she was out of sight.

  Pulse jumping erratically, she waited. And waited. Expecting the door to open at any second, she tried to calm her rapid breathing but alarm had her firmly in its grasp. Had it been Tristan in the hallway? London recalled their encounter at the Crosby Motorsports end-of-season party. No doubt he had a string of women he entertained. The man’s insatiable appetites weren’t just gossip. He’d cheated on Zoe almost from the beginning of their marriage.

  London wasn’t sure how much time she spent behind the curtain before she realized no one was coming into the study. She eased out and glanced at the desk before making her way to the door. After straining to hear if anyone occupied the hall, she gathered a bracing breath and opened the door a crack. There was no one around, so she slipped out of Tristan’s study and made her way back outside. Not until she reached sunlight and fresh air did she take a full breath. A second later the air whooshed out of her lungs in a squeak as someone spoke.

  “Did you do it?”

  London whirled around and spied Everly standing beside the side door. Her eyes gleamed with feral intensity.

  “I couldn’t.”

  “The program didn’t work?”

  London gripped the flash drive tighter. Would she have gone through with it if not for the near interruption? It was a question she’d be asking herself for a long time. How far was she planning to go to hurt someone she didn’t know just to take revenge on Linc for ending their engagement? Especially when she no longer felt hurt and betrayed.

  When she, Everly and Zoe had first concocted the plan, London had been reeling from the shock and hurt, and was feeling vengeful. But since Harrison had come along, she’d realized that Linc wasn’t the only man in the world for her. Maybe he never was.

  “I didn’t try it,” London admitted.

  “Why not?”

  “I’m not sure we’re doing the right thing.”

  “Why? Because you’re dating Harrison? Suddenly it’s okay for you to back out on our agreement because you’re happy? Is that fair to Zoe? She’s living in the back room of the boutique she opened and can’t pay her rent because the divorce lawyer got all her savings.”

  Because they weren’t supposed to be in contact with each other, London hadn’t had any idea Zoe’s situation was so dire. “I’ll give her some money to get by.”

  Everly ejected an exasperated snort. “You can’t help her like that. The point of what we’re doing is to not have any contact with each other.”

  “And yet you’re here talking to me,” London pointed out, glancing around and seeing that they were completely alone. “And apparently you’ve been keeping tabs on Zoe to know her current situation.”

  “I’m doing my part,” Everly said, not responding to London’s accusation. “If you don’t do yours, then Zoe has no reason to go after Ryan. That man destroyed my sister and I intend to make him pay.”

  “I don’t know,” London hedged, unnerved by Everly’s savagery. “This is all just so much more than I signed on for.”

  “Listen up,” Everly said, leaning close, her manner intimidating. “We made a deal and you’re going to see it through.”

  “Deals can be broken.”

  Abruptly, Everly’s demeanor changed and she became cool and collected once again. “I wondered if this might happen with you. This is one deal you’re not going to break.”

  “What are you going to do to stop me?” London asked, sounding more confident than she felt.

  Everly’s quicksilver mood change intensified London’s concerns. What sort of unbalanced person had she gotten mixed up with?

  “I’ve set things in motion that are going to ruin Linc’s life. That was what I promised I would do. You need to do your part. You owe me and you owe Zoe.”

  “I’m out.” London started to slide past Everly. To her surprise, the other woman grabbed her arm in a tight vise. “Let me go.”

  “If you don’t go through with this, I will reveal to Harrison what you’ve been up to.”

  Panic flooded her and London scrambled for what to say to defuse the situation. The only way she knew to limit Everly’s blackmail potential was to deny her feelings for Harrison.

  “You’ll only blow up this whole scheme if you do. I’ve used Harrison to get to Tristan. He means nothing to me except as a means to an end. If you tell him what I’ve been up to, we all go down.”

  That said, she yanked her arm from Everly’s grasp, feeling the rake of the woman’s nails against her skin as she pulled free. It wasn’t in London to shove the woman before escaping, but if anyone deserved to be knocked around in that moment, it was Everly.

  London walked away as swiftly as she dared, conscious that she’d already been away from Harrison for too long. Heat surged beneath her skin as her heart and lungs pumped adrenaline through her whole body. She couldn’t go back to Harrison in this emotionally heightened state. He would want to know what was wrong. What could she tell him?

  And then her gaze fell on a small group and the one individual who was utterly familiar to her. Lincoln faced Claire Robbins, and from her devastated expression and the anguish on his face, London realized whatever Everly had set in motion between Linc and the woman he loved had just come to a head.

  Grief and rage hit her already raw nerves and London sped away from the crowds as her stomach pitched sickeningly. What had they done? What had she done? Linc didn’t deserve to have his life ruined because he’d broken off their engagement. He’d been right that they didn’t belong together. Only she’d been too busy wallowing in what she’d perceived as her failure to see it.

  Tears blinded her as bile filled her mouth and anguish twisted her heart. She was well and truly stuck now that Everly had exacted London’s revenge on Linc. Her chance to escape the situation long gone.

  London made her way toward the refreshment tent where the lunches had been available earlier. She needed some water and a quiet moment to herself. What a fool she’d been to make such a terrible pact. Her fingers tightened over the flash drive. The moment to use it was gone. And London was relieved.

  Everly’s threat filled her mind. London had no doubt that Everly would tell Harrison what was going on even if it meant ruining everything for all of them. The woman was crazy. Or maybe it was London who’d lost it. She was still trying to figure out how she could get the incriminating information on Tristan and not let her actions destroy what she was building with Harrison. Talk about being stuck between a rock and a hard place.

  * * *

  Harrison had finished a full plate of desserts without London reappearing and wondered where she’d gotten herself off to.

  The day had started out cloudless and warm for late November. Harrison’s optimism had been sky-high. He’d considered their first appearance in Charleston society as a couple to be a statement about their relationship.

  It had been.

  Just not in the way he’d expected.

  Ever since London had spied Linc Thurston, Harrison had noticed a nagging disquiet. No, that wasn’t quite true. He’d been troubled since the first night he and London had slept together after she admitted her mother didn’t believe Harrison was the sort of man Lon
don should date.

  Normally he didn’t care about anyone’s opinions, but the closer he and London grew, the more he wondered when her mother would put pressure on her to find someone more suitable. Harrison had no idea if she’d fight for them or cave to her mother’s will and that bothered him a lot.

  Harrison had assumed he’d come to know London quite well during the last couple of weeks. And he believed he’d seen a change in her. Where she’d been reserved and even a bit prickly toward him at first, once he’d gotten to know the woman beneath the impeccable designer suits, he’d found complicated layers of ambition, passion and vulnerability that intrigued him but also made him leery of moving too fast.

  Her walls went up and came down in ever-fluctuating responses to ways he behaved and how deeply he plumbed her emotions. Yet now as he wondered about London’s views on the future of their relationship, Harrison accepted he couldn’t walk away from what they’d begun. He wasn’t a quitter. And she was a woman worth fighting for.

  “There you are.” London’s overly bright smile couldn’t hide the shadows darkening her gold-flecked blue eyes. “I’ve been looking all over for you.”

  “I’m glad you found me.”

  Harrison put out his hand and smiled as London slipped hers into it. Ten days earlier she would’ve resisted doing something this simple and profoundly intimate. Her level of comfort with him had come a long way in a short period of time. Yet he couldn’t shake the feeling that things were ever on the verge of swinging back.

  “Did you have fun?” he asked.

  “I did. Makes me want to take up polo.”

  “Really?” He’d like to see her barreling down the field, mallet swinging. “Do you ride?”

  “I used to when I was younger. My dad taught me. He loves to hunt.” A girlish smile curved her lips. “You know, ride to the hounds.”

  “They still do that?”

  “Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays during season.”

  Harrison shook his head in bemusement. “Who knew?”

  “Can we get out of here?” she asked, catching him by surprise. “I want to be alone with you.”

  “Nothing would make me happier.”

  But a nagging thought in the back of his mind left him questioning whether she was eager to be with him or just looking to escape an event where her ex was with someone else.

  It didn’t help that she seemed unusually preoccupied during the return trip to Charleston.

  “Anything in particular you want to do?” he asked, breaking the silence as the car rolled along King Street. “It’s not too early to grab a drink.”

  “Sure. Where do you want to go?”

  “The Gin Joint or Proof?”

  “The Gin Joint, I think.”

  Fifteen minutes later they’d settled into one of the booths in the cozy bar and ordered two quintessential Gin Joint drinks. The bar prided itself on its craft cocktails, seasonally updated, with clever names like Gutter Sparrow, Whiplash, Whirly Bird and Lucky Luciano.

  “Delicious,” London commented after taking a sip of her Continental Army cocktail, featuring apple brandy, caraway orgeat, lime, Seville orange, falernum, sugar and muddled apple. “The perfect fall drink.”

  Silence fell between them as they sipped their cocktails and contemplated the snack menu. Harrison debated whether to bring up the topic of her ex and the issues bothering him.

  “I’m just going to come out and ask,” he said abruptly, causing London to look up from the menu in surprise. “Today after you saw Linc, you seemed distracted and upset.”

  Her eyes widened. “I wasn’t.”

  She was a terrible liar, but he decided against pressing her. Instead, he turned to another burning question.

  “Have you spoken with your mother about us?” Harrison winced at his blunt delivery. “I’m asking because I see a future for us.” And he wanted to know what stood in the way.

  “You do?” If it was possible, she looked even more stunned.

  “I think about you all the time when we’re not together and that’s never happened to me before.”

  “But we barely know each other.”

  Concern lashed at him. Were they on the same page or not?

  “I’m not saying I want to get married tomorrow, but I can’t see an end to this thing between us and that’s saying a lot.” He leaned forward and fixed his eyes on her. “I need to know if you feel the same way.”

  “I...don’t...know. That is...” She redirected her focus to the tabletop and an agonized expression passed over her features. “I do like you. A lot. But I haven’t given any thought to the future.”

  Harrison sat back, unsatisfied by her answer. While he had to give her props for being honest, it wasn’t the ringing endorsement of their connection he’d been hoping for.

  “Then you’d be the first woman I’ve dated who hadn’t,” he said, fighting annoyance that he’d opened up while she remained guarded. “Is it because of what I do?”

  “You mean racing? No.” When he snorted in disbelief, she reached both her hands across the table and laid them over his. “My engagement ended a couple months ago after I’d been with Linc for three years. I was just starting to figure out who I am when you came into my life.”

  “I think that’s crap. You know exactly who you are. The question is whether or not that woman can see herself with a guy like me. I’m not someone your mother would approve of. I don’t have any interest in making the rounds of Charleston society. Our daughter would never attend a single debutante event. But I can promise I wouldn’t ever make you regret a single day of our life together.”

  “Harrison...” She blinked rapidly and heaved a sigh.

  “You have to decide what’s truly important to you.”

  “You make me sounds like such a snob,” she murmured, her high color betraying her inner turmoil. “I know what people say about me. That I wasn’t in love with Linc. And that’s probably true. There’s a good reason why we were engaged for two years without ever setting a wedding date. But then there’s the part where I think he was cheating on me.” London’s voice shook as she finished, “What if I don’t have what it takes to keep a man interested long-term?”

  Her words flattened Harrison against the booth seat. Was that what was bothering her? That she believed herself undesirable? How was that possible when he’d shown her over and over how much he wanted her?

  “You have what it takes to keep the right man interested long-term. You chose the wrong guy last time. Have faith in what you want and who you are.” He turned his hands over so that their palms rested against each other. It wrenched his heart that she couldn’t bring herself to meet his gaze. “You have what it takes to keep me interested forever.”

  Her breath caught. “You shouldn’t say things like that.”

  “Why not? You don’t think I’m being truthful?”

  “I think you have a lot to learn about me and what you discover might change your mind.”

  He couldn’t imagine what she was talking about and had no idea how to coax her out of this sudden funk she’d fallen into. “I guess that could be said of me, as well. All I’m asking is for you to be open to exploring who we could be to each other.”

  “I can do that.” She gave his hands a brief hard squeeze and let go. After a large swallow of her cocktail, she fastened a bright smile on her face and said, “How about you and I go back to my place and do some of that exploring you were talking about.”

  Grinning, Harrison threw a hundred on the table and got to his feet, holding out his hand. “Let’s go.”

  Harrison didn’t know what to expect when they got to her condo. London had sent him smoking-hot glances the entire drive. Now the door was barely shut before she backed him toward the foyer wall and then gave a shove that sent the breath whooshing from his lungs. A second later she pressed
her body against his, gripping his hair in a painful grasp while crushing her lips to his. She kissed him hard and rough, making his world go black and hot. Blood rushed through his veins, pounding in his ears as she ambushed his senses with teeth and tongue and ragged breath.

  He was helpless to process the astonishing hunger that gripped her. All he could do was surrender to her feasting and let her set him on fire.

  Sinking his fingers into her silky hair, he savored the soft texture while his other hand slid down her back and slipped over the curve of her butt, lifting her against his growing erection. The move caused her to shudder and suck his lower lip between her teeth. A searing nip, followed by the soothing flick of her tongue, made him groan.

  “I’m going to make you come like you never have,” she whispered in his ear while her fingers raked down his torso until they encountered his belt.

  He was a fan of dirty talk, and her words slammed into him, sending blood rushing to his groin. He’d never expected to hear London speak so boldly or to want to be in charge. It turned him on.

  “I look forward to it,” he said, throwing her over his shoulder and heading to the bedroom so they could get the party started.

  She squawked at the undignified carry, and from the expression on her face as he set her on her feet beside the bed, she intended to make him pay. Harrison stripped off his jacket and tie, and then went to work on his shirt buttons. He couldn’t wait for her to do her worst.

  By the time he’d kicked off his shoes, her clothes were in a neat pile on the dresser and she was naked. Hands on hips, she watched him drop his pants to the floor and step out of them. When her gaze dropped to the erection straining his boxer briefs, a little smile formed on her lips.

  Harrison frowned as he tried to make out the significance of her expression. If he’d believed he had London all figured out, he’d been wrong. This was a new side of her. The woman who took charge when it came to her work was obviously capable of stepping up in the bedroom, as well. He found himself impatient to see what came next.