Seduction in Session Read Free Page A

in?”
    He didn’t get time to decide? What was he thinking? He didn’t need time to decide. He loved Dax, but fuck the Navy. He could be a CIA agent. He could have everything he wanted. “I’m in.”
    “I’ll contact you.” The mysterious man in the suit started to walk off, then turned, shaking his head. “And don’t ever tell the story of how you boys came to call Hayes Scooter. It could really hurt the kid’s chances when the presidential elections roll around. By the way, a patrol car wason its way out here to investigate the party, but I think you’ll find the locals will leave you alone for the summer. Consider it my graduation present to you, Connor.”
    The agent walked back into the shadows as though he belonged there. Connor realized that he’d never gotten the man’s name.
    “Who the hell was that?” Roman asked. “That dude was creepy.”
    “I’m pretty sure he was my version of a fairy godmother.”
    Roman shook his head. “You’re in a fucked-up fairy tale, brother.” He grinned. “But we’re going to Yale. We’re going to take over the world, aren’t we?”
    For the first time since he’d gotten his financial aid offer, Connor smiled. “Yes, we are.”
    He followed Roman down to the beach and joined the party.

ONE

    Washington, D.C.
    Twenty-one years later
    I don’t really need a bodyguard.” Lara Armstrong took a sip of her chai tea and sat back, staring out the coffeehouse window. Everywhere she looked, people bustled by, their briefcases in hand, cell phones pressed to their ears. They were lawyers and politicians, along with their aides, and anyone else who thought they were important on the political spectrum. Soon, one of the people moving along this street would be a man sworn to throwing himself in front of a bullet for her.
    Connor. No last name. Or maybe that was his last name and he hadn’t given her his first name. She wasn’t sure. She only knew that enigmatic Connor had commanded she meet him here at three thirty. Did he realize how bad traffic was going to get?
    “Look, someone knows what you’ve been doing, L, and that means you need a bodyguard.” Her best friend, Kiki, traded a look with the only male at the table.
    Tom sat forward, his hands around his nonfat latte as though he needed the warmth. “I don’t know. I kind of agree with Lara.”
    Kiki rolled her dark eyes. “You always agree with Lara. You even agreed with her when she broke off your engagement. You’re a doormat.”
    “I’m helpful and practical.” He frowned. “Look, she’s only received a couple of e-mails, and it wasn’t as if the sender attached a bomb or anything. The contents simply stated that they ‘know.’ Know what? That could mean anything.”
    Lara sighed and lowered her voice. Only a couple of people in the world knew what she did for a living and she meant to keep it that way. “He knows I run CS.”
    Capitol Scandals, D.C.’s most fun and informative news site. Oh, most people called it a horrid tabloid rag that aimed to ruin the lives and reputations of politicians and bigwigs, but Lara liked her description better. And she never ran a piece about any deserving public servant that she couldn’t verify. Well, at least not any serious piece. She didn’t personally know the size of the current president’s penis, though several confidential informants had used the words
extra-extra-large
.
    “Shit.” Tom’s thin lips flattened further, and she knew she was in for a lecture. Unlike Kiki, who often wrote articles for CS, Tom thought the site was a horrible idea. “I told you something bad would come of this. You can’t expose the powerful people you do and expect to get away with it. I thought someone had finally realized you spearheaded the effort to remove vending machines from public schools or something.”
    “Those vending machines never sell anything but processed foods. Kids should have healthier options in school,” she began.
    Tom shook his head and