Seducing Liselle Read Free

would never have been free of Matt. She’d tried moving across the
country but her brother and father always found her. Her life had been hell for
twenty years. She gathered her courage and pushed past him into the warm house,
then turned to face him. John , she told herself. His name is John.
    “John,” she began, savoring the taste of
his name on her lips. “No, it’s not a problem at all. In fact, I’m glad you’re
here.”
    He stepped back, the controlled violence
of his body receding while she watched. He relaxed his hands and tilted his
head, confusion chasing across his face. “I don’t understand.”
    “I was going to look you up next, after I
met Beth,” Liselle forced out. She hadn’t come this
far to chicken out now. “I wanted to thank you.” She swallowed, throat dry. “I want to thank you. You saved my life.”
    He blinked and opened his mouth, but
nothing came out. Before either of them could say more, a teen girl clomped
down the stairs. “Uncle John? Did I hear the door?”
    That voice had to belong to her niece. Liselle braced herself and looked up, but even so, she
gasped as the girl’s face came into focus: light blue eyes, blonde hair
carelessly pulled back into a ponytail. Except for the hair, she was the
spitting image of Liselle at the same age. She had
pictures to prove it. She was the spitting image of Matt, Liselle’s dead brother.
    “Elizabeth?” she managed to croak, feeling
faint. This girl was her family. Even if she never saw her again, at least she
had that much.
    “She likes to be called Beth,” John said,
his voice strangely gentle. Where before he’d seemed
menacing, angry, now he radiated calm, to her surprise. He smiled at her
and all the little laugh lines she’d suspected crinkled into existence around
his eyes. God, he was beautiful.
    Tentatively Liselle smiled back, trying not to hyperventilate. She had to swallow again. If she
didn’t get something to drink, soon, she wouldn’t be able to talk at all.
    “Are you my aunt?” the girl asked, her face open and curious.
    Liselle’s heart gave a hard thump. This girl, her niece, was looking at her
as if she just assumed she would be a nice person. Liselle didn’t remember the last time she’d felt that way when meeting someone new. She
briefly mourned the innocence she’d never really had and squared her shoulders.
She had to clear her throat in order to speak.
    “Yeah, I’m Liselle .
You don’t have to call me aunt,” she said quietly. “I wasn’t around when you
were growing up, so…” She shrugged, vaguely ashamed, though she’d had no idea
the girl even existed.
    “Aunt Liselle ,
let me take your coat,” Beth offered, coming the rest of the way down the
stairs.
    Liselle smiled. She couldn’t help it. What had she done to deserve this?
Beth grinned at her and Liselle felt something hard
and cold inside her chest break apart. “We have the same eyes,” she said, like
an idiot.
    John’s face darkened unexpectedly. “Yeah,
that’s all she got from that—”
    Liselle tensed, but before he could finish, a woman bustled down the hall,
wiping her hands on a towel.
    “John! You didn’t tell me she was here,”
she said, cutting him off.
    Liselle looked at the newcomer: shoulder-length blond hair, same green eyes
as John. She must be one of the sisters ,
she thought, unbuttoning her coat slowly. She used the time to get herself back
under control.
    “Hi, I’m Jenn Steele, Beth’s aunt.” The woman offered her hand.
    Liselle took it and shook tentatively. The woman’s hand was warm and
slightly damp.
    “I’m Liselle Parker. Um—” she broke off, not wanting to bring up her brother’s name.
    “Yes, I know, Beth’s long lost aunt. We’re
happy you’re here.”
    Liselle’s brows rose. The woman seemed completely serious. Maybe this visit
wouldn’t be a disaster. Beside her, she sensed John calm down, to her relief.
    “Thanks.” She slid her scarf off and
stuffed it into the sleeves