And for the first time in a long time, I was actually looking forward to the future.
d p g r o u p.o r g
Excerpt from Honor Bound
If you enjoyed Forever Bound, you might also enjoy another book in the series, Honor Bound.
Feeling pleased and victorious, I pushed the window up.
It really wouldn’t be that hard for me to climb inside.
I stood for a minute, trying to decide whether I should do it or not. No one was around. What harm could it do? If I was caught, I could always say I was checking out the building for possible use in the charity event.
It wasn’t dangerous. And it would be a first step toward seeking justice, restoring my family’s honor.
Feeling a rush of determination, I leaned in and saw that the window opened to what definitely looked like an office. My heart raced as I started to climb inside.
“What are you doing?”
I froze, halfway in the window, when I heard the unexpected male voice from behind me.
My mind whirled with fear, embarrassment, and desperation as I tried to remember the excuse I’d just thought up a minute ago.
This wasn’t supposed to be happening.
I’d started to ease myself down from the window, when I felt a pair of strong hands on my waist. They startled me so much that I jerked and turned around too quickly.
I bumped my head on the window and stumbled into the man who was now right behind me.
I would have fallen had he not caught me. I found myself looking up at the face of the best-looking man I’d ever seen in my life.
He was about five or six inches taller than me, with a fine, athletic body. He had vivid green eyes and strong features that were so handsome they were startling. His expression was half-questioning and half-amused as he gazed down at me.
“Ouch,” I said stupidly, rubbing my head where I’d hit it on the window.
His expression transformed to a full smile. “That’s what happens when you try to climb in somewhere you don’t belong.”
Ridiculously—absolutely ridiculously—I wanted to smile back. His expression was just so warm and amused.
He wore a pair of khakis and a black t-shirt, and I figured he must work on the grounds somehow, since he seemed to belong here when I clearly did not.
“I wasn’t trying to climb in,” I lied, thinking as quickly as I could. “I was just looking inside to see what was in there.”
“Why would you need to see inside the guest cottage?”
A guest cottage. Oh. That was what this this place was. Not a secret office hideaway housing tempting secrets. Definitely not worth the embarrassment of getting caught like this. “I didn’t know what it was,” I said, speaking the truth in this at least. “I’m the assistant of the event planner. I was just checking out what the building was to see if we could use it somehow for the big charity gala.”
The man’s mouth tilted up slightly in one corner as his green eyes ran up and down my body. His gaze looked appreciative—as if he liked how I looked—so maybe he didn’t think I looked like a school marm. “I guess you could use it for couples who want to sneak off for sex. Maybe reserve it by the half-hour so you can offer it to as many horny couples as possible.”
He spoke with such a deadpan expression that it took me a minute to realize he was joking. When I realized it, the clever humor hit me so hard that I burst into laughter.
His expression changed as he watched me, and I sobered, feeling suddenly self-conscious.
Like he could see me. All of me. Even the parts I didn’t want anyone else to see.
“Who are you?” he asked at last, his voice softer, something almost awed in his husky tone.
My cheeks warmed with feeling stronger than self-consciousness. “I told you. I’m the assistant to the event planner. Ali.”
“Ali,” he repeated. “You have the most beautiful smile I’ve ever seen.”
Okay, I admit it. I blushed even hotter. I could have said the same thing to him. He had the warmest smile I’d ever seen. And the most beautiful eyes. And the best shoulders. I didn’t say any of that, though. I’d always been quiet. Just a little shy. I certainly didn’t tell strange men that they were the sexiest thing I’d ever seen.
Even if it happened to be true.
To distract myself—even more than him—I glanced back at the guest cottage and said, “Well, maybe I can charge a fee for its use and make a little extra money.”
He blinked for a minute, as if it took him a minute to process my words. Then he leaned his head back and laughed.
I had to look away, since he was just too good-looking for my mental health.
“Anyway,” he said at last, “I don’t think there’s anything over this way that’s going to help you with that gala, so you probably should get back to the main house.”
“Yeah. Sorry.” I looked down at the paver stones beneath my feet, feeling a strange jittery excitement that was completely irrational.
Just because I met a hot man who thought I had a nice smile didn’t mean anything about my life was going to change. I would probably not even see this guy again. Nothing to get excited about.
“I’m not sorry at all.” His voice was warm, almost but not quite flirtatious.
I gave him a quick look up from beneath my lashes, and then I started walking toward the house again, telling myself that there was no reason to linger. No reason to keep talking to him. Even if I wanted to.
I had a job to do. And then I had to find out where Ken Gentry kept his home office and his files.
To my surprise, the man fell in step with me.
“This is a beautiful estate,” I said, searching for some sort of innocuous conversation because I was feeling awkward.
“I guess.”
I looked at him in surprise. “You don’t think so?”
“It’s too big and flashy for me.”
I couldn’t help but smile, since it somehow pleased me that he didn’t like this beautiful estate, as it was associated with people I hated.
“Yeah. I think so too.”
He looked like he was going to say something else, but then his phone rang. He glanced at it with an apologetic expression. “Sorry,” he murmured. “Duty calls.”
“It always does. I think I can find my way back.”
He gave me a smile over his shoulder that took my breath away. “I’ll find you later.”
I couldn’t help but smile back. “You might have to look pretty hard.”
“I’m good at hard.”
So I blushed again as I felt a rush of excitement at the innuendo, but at least I managed not to giggle as I watched him walk away.
The man also had the finest butt I’d ever seen.
I spent the next hour collecting the photos and notations that Cheryl needed, trying to suppress the bubbling thrill of interest at the thought of the man I’d met. He was probably one of those guys who flirted with all women he encountered and so it didn’t mean anything at all to him.
I really shouldn’t get excited about him. I didn’t even know his name.
It had been a really long time since I’d been interested in a man, though.
Cheryl and I were leaving when I saw him again. He was talking to Ken Gentry, and something about the way they were interacting made me rethink my initial idea of his being a grounds worker.
Ken waved Cheryl over to where they were chatting in the entry hall, and I had no choice but to trail behind.
The good-looking man’s expression changed when he saw me, and he gave me a covert smile that I was hard-pressed not to return. I had to turn away and tighten my lips to maintain a professional expression.
“Let me introduce you,” Ken was saying to Cheryl. “Sebastian is heading up security for the gala. You’ll want to touch base with him about your final plans to make sure he gives you the okay.”
“Of course,” Cheryl said with her best smile. “It’s nice to meet you, Sebastian. I’m Cheryl Hoo
ver.”
The man, whose name was evidently Sebastian, reached out to shake her hand. “Nice to meet you.” He turned toward me with obvious purpose.
Cheryl blinked, since she may or may not have been planning to introduce me to the men too. Then said, “This is my assistant, Ali.”
“Nice to meet you, Ali,” Sebastian said, taking my hand in his and squeezing around it—firm but not hard.
“Nice to meet you too.”
He didn’t let go of my hand immediately, and I felt another rush of giddy excitement.
He really did seem to like me. Maybe he wasn’t just a natural flirt. Maybe he was genuinely interested.
“Sebastian is Mr. Maxwell’s son,” Ken said to Cheryl, as casually as if he were offering a cup of coffee. “He and some friends have just started a security firm, so I decided to use him for this event.”
I froze, all the warmth and excitement and interest draining out of me in an instant. He finally released my hand, and I managed to get it back to my side, where I wiped it discreetly on my pants.
Sebastian. Sebastian Maxwell. Heir to a fortune. Son of John Maxwell, CEO of Maxwell Industries. The man who, with Ken Gentry, had destroyed my family.
He wasn’t just a nice, hot guy who I happened to run into.
His family was the reason my family was ruined.
He was here to protect the premises. I was here to infiltrate it.
This was not—absolutely not—a man I could be attracted to.
***
You can find out more about Honor Bound here.
About Noelle Adams
Noelle handwrote her first romance novel in a spiral-bound notebook when she was twelve, and she hasn’t stopped writing since. She has lived in eight different states and currently resides in Virginia, where she teaches English, reads any book she can get her hands on, and offers tribute to a very spoiled cocker spaniel.
She loves travel, art, history, and ice cream. After spending far too many years of her life in graduate school, she has decided to reorient her priorities and focus on writing contemporary romances. For more information, please check out her website: noelle-adams.com.
Other Books by Noelle Adams
One Hot Night: Three Contemporary Romance Novellas
A Negotiated Marriage
Listed
Bittersweet
Missing
Revival
Seducing the Enemy
Playing the Playboy
Holiday Heat
Married for Christmas
Salvation
Engaging the Boss
Excavated
A Baby for Easter
Duty Bound
Overexposed
Honor Bound
Road Tripping
One Night with her Boss
Stripping the Billionaire
A Family for Christmas
About Samantha Chase
New York Times and USA Today Bestseller/contemporary romance writer Samantha Chase released her debut novel, Jordan's Return, in November 2011. Although she waited until she was in her 40's to publish for the first time, writing has been a lifelong passion. Her motivation to take that step was her students: teaching creative writing to elementary age students all the way up through high school and encouraging those students to follow their writing dreams gave Samantha the confidence to take that step as well.
When she's not working on a new story, she spends her time reading contemporary romances, blogging, playing way too many games of Scrabble on Facebook and spending time with her husband of 25 years and their two sons in North Carolina. For more information visit her website at www.chasing-romance.com.
Other Books by Samantha Chase
Jordan’s Return
The Christmas Cottage
Ever After
Catering to the CEO
In the Eye of the Storm
Wait for Me
Trust in Me
Stay With Me
A Touch of Heaven
Mistletoe Between Friends
The Snowflake Inn
The Baby Arrangement
Baby, I’m Yours
Baby, Be Mine
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