Bound to Seduction Read Free

to them. Dating is one thing. Taking a relationship to
another level and keeping a man’s interest for more than a couple
of dates is something completely different. I guess I just want to
learn to be more desirable.”
    She thought of Devin. His sandy blond hair
and devastating smile. He definitely didn’t see her as desirable,
even though she’d had a crush on him forever. He saw her as any
other girl in the office. And that chapped Mira’s ass more than
anything.
    The woman smoothed her hands over the box.
Seemed to debate…something. Just when Mira was sure the woman was
going to boot her out of the building, she said, “The opal’s power
is not to be underestimated. It will burn through you, tempt you,
and if you are not careful, it has the power to destroy you.”
    Mira didn’t like the way that sounded.
Claudette hadn’t said anything about being destroyed. She’d simply
said the opal had the power to grant wishes.
    The woman opened the box and extracted a
silver chain before Mira could ask what she meant. A tear-shaped
fire opal, alive with red and orange hues and edged in silver, hung
from the bottom of the chain. Light from the opal seemed to glow
throughout the room, sending shimmering ribbons of color across the
walls. Mira’s eyes widened. The woman held it out to her, and
before Mira could stop herself, her fingers were brushing the
stone, its warmth searing her skin.
    “When you leave here, put this around your
neck,” the woman told her. “Once you make your wish, do not try to
remove it. You will not be able to until your wish is fulfilled.
But heed my warning: Choosing to wear the Firebrand opal opens
yourself to consequences you may not yet foresee. Be sure it is a
risk you are willing to take.”
    Mira held the opal in the palm of her hand,
stared down at the red and orange colors dancing like fire as her
entire arm warmed. Though the woman’s warning made her pause, the
longer she stared at the opal, the less worried she grew.
    She’d never seen anything so beautiful.
Couldn’t seem to look away from the stone. An uncontrollable urge
to keep it with her…always...consumed her. “Wh-what happens to it
when my wish is fulfilled?”
    “The opal will find its way into the hands
of another. That is all you need to know.” The woman rose as if in
a hurry. With the box tucked under one arm, she gestured toward the
curtain. “Now go. And do not put the talisman on until you are far
from my store. I’ll not have its magic unleashed here.”
    In a fog, Mira found her feet. She was still
having trouble looking away from the stone. When the woman pushed
her toward the curtain and out into the store, though, Mira finally
snapped out of her trance and tucked the opal into the pocket of
her jacket. “What do I owe you?”
    “Nothing.”
    “Nothing? That doesn’t seem right. This
necklace has to be worth something.”
    The woman’s silver eyes narrowed once more.
“You will discover its price soon enough.”
    Before Mira could ask what that meant, the
woman disappeared through the curtains, and a chilling silence
settled over the shop.

CHAPTER TWO
     
     
    Mira bit her lip as she stared at the opal
laid out on her kitchen table an hour later. It wasn’t glowing
anymore, and looking at it now, she was pretty sure she’d imagined
that to begin with. The thing was nothing but a pretty necklace,
really. A trinket.
    And yet,
she couldn’t get the shop owner’s warning out of her head. Choosing to wear the
Firebrand opens yourself to consequences you may not yet foresee.
Be sure it is a risk you are willing to take .
    She pushed out of her chair, went into the
kitchen, made herself a cup of tea. On the street below, cars
honked in the Pearl District of downtown Portland. She should be at
work, but she’d taken the afternoon off after visiting that shop,
and she knew there was no way she could work from home right now.
Not when the opal was all she could think about.
    The microwave beeped. She