Free Banshee Seduction (Montgomery's Sin Book 1) by Diane Saxon Page A

confusion. She raised her long, slender fingers and rubbed them to straighten out the crease between her eyebrows. “I…can’t remember. I think I must have had too much to drink myself.”
    “No. I don’t think so. The last time I saw you, you were dancing with Daniel.”
    “Daniel? I don’t recall a Daniel.” She rubbed harder as though trying to rid herself of a headache.
    Ginny opened her mouth to explain, and then thought better of it and changed the subject. If she told her best friend what she knew, the woman was likely to have a hissy fit. “Point being, Roni, I don’t want to go out again tonight.”
    Roni pouted. “Don’t be a spoilsport. You know I’m a night person.” At Ginny’s snort, Roni gave a persuasive smile. “Besides, I found you a new dress.”
    “I don’t want a dress; it’s my shoe I lost.”
    “Your shoe?”
    “Yes. I thought I told you.”
    “No.”
    “Well, just before I poofed, I got my heel caught in a crack in the sidewalk. I left it behind. In the hands of The Dane.” She sulked “One of my favorite pairs of shoes.”
    With a genuinely sympathetic pat on her shoulder and a friendly kiss to the top of her head, Roni gave her a moment before her impatience got the better of her. She strutted to the two-seater sofa, opened the box she had carelessly dumped there earlier, and flicked out a stunning ice-blue sheath dress.
    Ginny’s heart stuttered. “Oh my.”
    “Indeed. Try it on.”
    The moment Ginny touched the waterfall of material, she knew she was defeated. She glanced at Roni, saw the triumphant smile spread wide, and heaved a sigh. “What time?”
    “I’ll pick you up at nine. Be ready. We are going to hit the town. Or Montgomery’s Sin, to be more precise.”
    Concerned, Ginny stared at her friend for a moment and narrowed her eyes. “Are you sure that’s where you want to go? Some very strange people frequent it.”
    “Of course I do. That’s what makes it interesting. It’s where all the action is.”
    Confusion filled her. How strange Roni didn’t appear to recollect all the events of the previous night. It was as though a curtain had been drawn over her memory.
    •●•
    He didn’t understand why he’d had such a hell of a job trying to persuade Daniel to come back to Montgomery’s Sin. The man was being perverse. He’d moved hell and high water to get him to go the night before, and now he was hedging. Damn him.
    Matt scanned the huge array of aftershave bottles lined up on his bathroom shelf. Donated, all of them. He gave a lopsided grin as he met his own eyes in the mirror. Not by a woman but by various perfume companies, desperate for him to promote their brands. Huh, it didn’t bother him. If he liked a brand, he was happy to say he did.
    He hovered his hand over the top of them. Something subtle. He reached for a ceramic white bottle, removed the lid, and took a whiff. “Whew.” His nostrils flared as the aroma almost took his head off. Not that one. He re-scanned. His gaze landed on an ice-blue bottle reminding him of Ginny’s eyes. He took a sniff. Mellow. He caught the flavor on the top of his tongue. Fresh lemon after-notes. Yes.
    He splashed a little on—not too much. He had the distinct feeling she wouldn’t be impressed if he appeared to have made too much of an effort. Not that he knew whether she was going to be there or not, but how else was she supposed to find him again? She was hardly the type to come waltzing up to his front door. No, he just had a feeling. A gut feeling that slid right down to his belly and gave him a desperate, hungry hope.
    He strolled through to his bedroom, glanced at his faded jeans laid across the bed—the ones the designers had kindly ripped holes in for him. Nah. Something without rips. He turned to his closet, pressed the remote control, and allowed the shelf units to turn on their carousel, stopping it when it came to the third unit of jeans. Unripped. His gaze wandered from top to bottom,