Free Bizarre Life of Sydney Sedrick by Mandi Casey

stairs. After I had a moment to appreciate the relaxed pose he had taken on the couch, he turned and looked at me. It was in his eyes. He liked what he saw as his gaze slid up and down my entire body. And we were going to be alone in a car together? He will not charm his way into my world. He will not talk me into getting naked and letting him do all sorts of naughty things to me. I couldn’t let him. The vampires wouldn’t take well to me going out with the heir to the werewolf pack. Hopefully my cold ‘don’t mess with me’ attitude whenever Blake was around would make him quickly lose interest.
    Blake stood, after searing me with his sensual ‘oh the things I want to do to you’ stare. Standing when a lady entered the room was certainly a gentlemanly move the men in Chicago didn’t partake in.
    Aunt Judith turned and smiled at me. “Sydney, you look nice, dear. We were just talking about how cold winter has been this year and how hopefully it will warm up soon.”
    “Yes, it has been a cold one, Aunt Judith. It sure must be nice for them not to have to bother themselves with coats.”
    Okay, that might have been an unnecessary comment. But I needed to set the tone right away to keep a cool distance. The sooner that was set, the easier it would be to handle Blake and his advances. Just looking at him was hard enough without thoughts running through my head of seeing him naked, standing in front of me. As soon as was politely possible, Blake would be bringing me back home. The faster the dinner was over with, the better.
    “It is nice not having to worry about coats and such, like humans do. You’re right, Sydney.” Blake laughed.
    My attempt at offending him didn’t work. I’d have to work harder at being mean and distant.
    “Sydney, why don’t you two go ahead to your dinner? I’m just going to get cleaned up a bit and go to bed. Don’t worry about being home late. The store doesn’t open until eleven tomorrow so you can sleep in.”
    To my utter astonishment, Aunt Judith looked at Blake and winked at him! I’d have to let her know he didn’t need anyone encouraging him and his bad-boy behavior. Now Blake knew there was nowhere for me to be, so Aunt Judith had effectively ruined my plans of calling it an early night.
    Blake chuckled under his breath. He knew he’d charmed my aunt to the point she was even encouraging us to spend time together. It didn’t make any sense. She was so worried about Brianna being with the wolves, but it was just fine for me? What was the difference she saw between the two men? They were both werewolves, so that made them both extremely dangerous.
    “Blake, why don’t you go ahead and start the car so it’s warm?”
    “All right. It was ever so nice to meet you, ma’am.” He shot me a knowing grin as he tipped his head to Aunt Judith, then left.
    As soon as I was sure he was out of earshot, I faced my aunt. “Aunt Judith, what is going on? Just yesterday you said you didn’t like or trust the werewolves, and now it seems you don’t mind me, pretty much against my will, having to go to a dinner I’ve been so-called invited to go to?”
    “Sydney, nothing is going on. Your friend Blake seems like a very nice man. He doesn’t give off the same vibes Michael does. And there is a difference. Sweetheart, you have to associate with these people because you are the Selected. Brianna doesn’t, and as far as I’m concerned, your sister should stay as far away from them as possible.”
    “So you don’t think we should, uh, date or anything like that, right?”
    Aunt Judith smiled like a schoolgirl daydreaming about the boy she’d like to date. “Well, he does seem to be a very enchanting young man, and when is the last time you’ve been on a date?”
    I held my hand up in front of me. “What? No. We are not even going to talk about me having anything but a necessary business relationship with Blake. That’s what this dinner is, a business dinner, and that’s