Take Me Read Free Page B

Morgansterns.
    Anna had been invited, but the Morgansterns had never been her favorite, and so she had begged off, claiming she was going to be hanging out with Katie.

    She walked up the cobblestone walk and into the house, deciding to curl up in bed with a book and a glass of wine.

    A few hours later, the sun had slipped down below the horizon, coating her bedroom in a cozy darkness, broken only by the soft glow of the light on the nightstand by her bed. Anna snuggled further down in the sheets, feeling relaxed and happy. She turned the pages of her book, enjoying the silence and the time to herself.

    At around ten o’clock, she turned off the light and drifted off to sleep.

    She awoke a couple of hours later to the sound of something hitting her window.
    At first she thought perhaps it was raining, and she rolled over and tried to fall back asleep. But the sounds against her window got stronger, coming in harder, more frequent bursts.
    And then she realized it wasn’t rain.
    It was stones.

    She ran to the window and looked out.

    There, on her parents’ front lawn, was Jaxon.

    He was wearing a black V-neck sweater layered over a crisp white T-shirt. The sweater was soft-looking and tight, showing off his broad chest and chiseled pecs. His narrow hips were encased in a pair of baggy jeans, and his feet were in brown work boots. Dark hair flopped over his forehead and ruffled in the summer night breeze. His hands were shoved in his pockets, and there was a bored look on his face.

    Anna’s heart sped up, her pulse racing as she took in the man standing before her.
    She pulled open the window.

    “What are you doing here?” she demanded.

    Jaxon’s lips slid up into a sexy, mischievous grin, the same grin that had caused countless women to think about doing wicked things with him. “What do you think I’m doing here?” His voice was husky, his intent unmistakable. “I would have used the door, but I didn’t want to wake your parents.”

    Anna’s cheeks felt hot, her skin flushed. Her eyes darted to the driveway, where her parents’ navy blue Nissan Sentra was parked. They were home from dinner with the Morgansterns, and she must have been sleeping so soundly that she hadn’t heard them come in.

    Suddenly, Anna flashed back to the summer she’d spent with Jaxon. The way everything smelled of fresh cut grass and chlorine, the way the humid night air would feel against her skin as she opened the window for him. Almost every night he’d be there, coming to see her after they were sure her parents were asleep.

    He’d climb into her room and they’d bury themselves under her pink plaid comforter, staring into each other’s eyes, whispering and kissing until the sun started to rise.

    “I can’t let you up,” Anna said now. She shook her head fiercely, even though every cell in her body was screaming at her to let him in.

    “Come on,” Jaxon said. “It’s cold out here.”

    “No, it isn’t.”

    He looked at her. “Anna,” he said, his voice gruff. “Please.”

    She took a deep breath, then walked to the big oak dresser against the far wall of her old room. She crossed her fingers and opened the top drawer. Inside was the knotted rope ladder she’d used all those years ago.

    She looped one end onto the post of her bed, then threw it out the window.

    A moment later, Jaxon appeared. He gripped the bottom of the windowsill, his muscular forearms flexing as he slid his body into her bedroom.

    “Wow,” he said, shaking his head. “This place looks exactly the same. You’d think your parents would have turned it into a gym or something.”

    His close proximity was stirring up all kinds of different emotions in Anna.
    Sadness, regret, lust, and anger pulsed through her body, swirling together into a formidable tornado that couldn’t be controlled.

    “Where’s the brunette you picked up at the party?” she asked, her tone biting.
    She sat down on the bed. “Turned you down, did