Tempted by Pleasure (Secret Invitation #1) Read Free Page B

walks a few feet to the cash register and picks up the phone. “Mary, I need your assistance up front please.” She hangs up. “Cash or credit?”
    “American Express.” I reach inside my breast pocket and pull out my wallet.
    “She’s a lucky lady.”
    “Excuse me?” I hand her the credit card.
    “Forgive me.” She blushes. “I assumed you were getting the set for your wife or girlfriend.”
    “I’m not married,” I say, hoping for a reaction.
    Her thick lashes flutter as she avoids eye contact. Although she doesn’t recognize me, she’s undeniably guarded. Maybe there’s a subconscious alarm going off in her head. Regardless, the attraction is obvious, whether she knows me or not. And if I have my way, her defensive walls are going to crumble soon. Nothing has changed between us, never will. She swipes my card.
    “Four thousand dollars,” she says quietly, waiting for the machine to spit out a receipt.
    A dark-haired woman joins us. “What do you need me to do?”
    “Finish Mr.—” She sucks in a breath. “Wagner’s transaction.”
    Our gazes lock, and I’m drowning in blue.
    She turns to Mary. “He purchased the Poe collection.”
    “Really?” Mary seems mesmerized. “I’m impressed.”
    I grin.
    Erin walks around the counter, heading to the back of the store.
    “I need to see your I.D., please.”
    “Of course.” I hand her my driver’s license.
    “Foster Everett Wagner,” she reads. “Why does that name sound familiar?” She gives it back.
    I shrug. “Common enough name.”
    The clerk is still trying to place me, tapping the corner of her gold-rimmed wire glasses.
    “I know,” she exclaims. “The Face Forward Gala. Your family hosted.”
    Apparently she reads the society section in the newspaper. “Guilty.”
    “Wow.” She slides the receipt across the counter and hands me a pen. I sign and she tucks the paper in the register, slamming the drawer shut. “You dressed like Marlon Brando in The Godfather .”
    “I’m fond of classic gangster movies.”
    “You don’t strike me as a Poe type.”
    “I’m not.”
    She freezes, frowning. “You just bought four thousand dollars’ worth.”
    “For a very good cause.”
    “Charity auction?”
    “No.” I lift her hair off her shoulder so I have access to her ear. “To meet Erin.”

Chapter 3
    Erin
    OH my God. Foster is standing inside my store. The bastard just bought the most expensive item I have. What’s he doing here? Why didn’t I say something? Coward. That’s what I am. A total loser for not exerting myself. All those nights I spent staring at his photo—dreaming about him—wondering what it would be like to see him again. Hear his voice. And that face . . . 
    Well, I can’t let Katie see me falling apart. I’ve had eight years to get over that arrogant jock. I moved on a long time ago, right? Finished college and opened my store. And I have a bright future. After all, who would turn down a chance to marry a man their parents picked out? I release a breath and open the door to my office, putting on my best I-don’t-give-a-shit smile.
    “You’re still reading about sex clubs?” I’m surprised to find my best friend planted in my chair. “I have a stack of receipts to scan.”
    Katie looks up. “Actually, I discovered something even more intriguing. Have you ever heard of sugaring?”
    “No.”
    “Apparently it’s a newer spin on an old concept sweeping the United States. Young hot women seeking older, wealthy men.” She grins.
    I hope she’s being sarcastic. “Mistresses?”
    She nods. “ Companions is the politically correct term now.”
    “Oh,” I say, wondering why different labels convince people things are less diabolical then they truly are. “Sex for money.”
    “In some cases. Maybe you should see if a sugar daddy can take care of that virgin problem.”
    “I don’t need financial assistance,” I remind her. “I just want a night of mind-blowing sex, remember?”
    “I’m glad