Seduction (Club Destiny) Read Free Page A

captivated
as the years went by.
    In order to
ensure his admiration didn’t turn into infatuation, he’d kept as far away from
her as possible, only it appeared that seemed to be a colossal waste of time.
Since she’d continued to ignore him, avoiding him whenever possible, Alex found
himself only wanting her more.
    Then the years
of denying the lust he harbored for the woman he couldn’t have all came to a
screeching halt the night of the Christmas party when Alex held Ashleigh in his
arms. That night, his need to have her escalated. For a brief moment, he swore
he’d seen interest in her eyes, but she had quickly masked it, followed by that
sweet, dismissive smile of hers.
    Now she was
coming back for good, and the timing couldn’t have been better. Alex knew that
Ashleigh would be a challenge, but hell, besides having more business than he
could keep up with, what else did he have to do?

Chapter Three
    ***
~~ *** ~~ *** ~~ ***
    Ashleigh pulled
into the driveway of her new house in record time, traffic on a Friday
afternoon unusually light coming into Dallas. She was never one to enjoy
driving, and she couldn’t say she was anxious to have to do that trip again,
but at least she’d had some time to think and... sing. Although she was fairly
certain what she was doing wasn’t in any way associated to singing. At least
not in a good way.
    She smiled.
    Who cared.
    Parking her
Tahoe beside a big, black fancy truck that Ashleigh couldn’t place, she
wondered who was there. The movers were, she could see them traipsing back and
forth across her lawn hard at work. Her brother was there, his all too familiar
ranch truck was parked near the street.
    Curious, she
grabbed her purse, opting to leave the rest of her things until she was certain
she had a place for them. If she was right, her house would probably look like
that moving truck had thrown up in the middle of her living room because there
was no way they would know where to put anything.
    She wasn’t
halfway up the front walkway when Nathaniel – everyone called him Nate – came
bounding out of the front door, a mischievous smile on his handsome face. The
boy looked so much like his father, it was uncanny.
    “Aunt Ash!” Her
nephew exclaimed, coming right at her with his arms open wide like he was
seven, not seventeen.
    “Nate.” Bracing for
the impact, Ashleigh laughed out loud when he stopped suddenly, standing right
in front of her and waiting for her reaction.
    Ashleigh walked
right up to him, letting the much bigger boy embrace her.
    “Ummm... Nate?”
She smiled, taking a step back. “Did you know you aren’t a little boy anymore?”
    Nate’s whiskey
brown eyes danced with amusement. “Yep. No more boy. All man.” He said in a
Tarzan-like imitation.
    “Last time I saw
you, I could’ve sworn you were shorter than me.”
    “Doubtful.” Nate
remarked, looking thoughtful. “I’m having a hard time coming up with anyone who
is as short as you are.”
    Slapping his arm
lightly, Ashleigh laughed. At five feet eight, she was by no means on the short
side. It wasn’t her fault that the men in her family seemed to steal all the
inches, every one of them, including Nate as it turned out, stood over six feet
tall.
    “So, what do you
think of my new digs?” She asked him, turning to look at her little house.
    “Impressive. I’m
gonna have to grab my fishing pole and come hang out sometime.”
    Grinning,
Ashleigh looked up at him. She wasn’t sure the little stock tank behind the
house even had fish, but if anyone would find out, it would be Nate.
    “Where’s your
dad?” Hefting her purse up on her arm, she turned toward the house.
    “Inside. He’s
talking to Alex.”
    His words had
her stopping in her tracks, before glancing back at the black truck in her
driveway. She should’ve known. Pretending she didn’t care, she forced a smile.
“Have you been to your new school yet?”
    “No.” Nate
didn’t look at her, keeping his eyes on the