Free Turn Me On by Faye Avalon Page A

manner to which she’d like to be accustomed. Hell. She
insinuated that when I tried to reason with her. She’s interested in being
married to a wealthy man who can take her to the places she wants to go, buy
her stuff she wants to own, and all around make her life easy.”
    Lissa tried to take it all in. She tried to understand how a woman could
want all that without having her own life, her own dreams, her own goals. Where
was the satisfaction in allowing someone else to provide it all for you? Where
was the motivation? The sense of achievement?
    She didn’t want to admit there was a part of her that currently yearned
for all those things he’d listed. A small part that wanted to agree to his
proposition. To say, yes, take all my
troubles away from me, why don’t you? Make everything all right .
    If she gave in to Reed’s suggestion, she would be no better than the
woman he was trying to evade. He would be taking her where she wanted to go by
helping her set up her own business. Buying her off by giving her the means
with which she could keep the house. He’d all around be making her life easy.
    When she looked up, she found Reed watching her closely. “Well?”
    With a sigh, Lissa shook her head. “I can’t possibly agree to what
you’re asking.”
    “Want to tell me your reasons?”
    “Because I’d be marrying you for all the things she wants. Money. An
easy life.”
    “The difference being this is a business arrangement.”
    “An unequal one. It seems I’d be getting more from it than you.”
    “We both get what we want. We give each other
the opportunity to keep what’s most important to us so we can get on with our
lives . It’s that
simple.”
    Was it that simple?
    As she hesitated, trying to come up with more reasons to reject his
offer, he stepped up close to her. “What have you got to lose?”
    Only what’s left of my self esteem .
    Lissa thought of how stupid she had been to put her trust in Debbie the
way she had, and how she had failed to keep a tight check on the financial side
of their business. What sort of fool does that? When she’d found out about
Debbie’s treachery, it had knocked her self esteem to the floor.
    Then there was Ethan and Marco. Enjoying that threesome had colored her
view of herself still further. The experience had been amazing, and she
couldn’t fault the courteous way the two men had treated her, but instead of
boosting her confidence she had been shocked by her wanton behavior. It was
fabulous, and she didn’t regret it, but…
    A shudder worked through her. If she agreed to Reed’s request, wouldn’t
Ethan find out? The chances were pretty strong that word would get back to his
family. What if Ethan mentioned to Reed that he’d once enjoyed a ménage with
his cousin’s new wife? She could only imagine how that would go down.
    While she didn’t know Reed that well, she knew enough about him to
realize he was possessive, arrogant, and controlling. How would he react if he
found out about her sexual proclivities with Ethan and Marco? Didn’t she
already have enough complications in her life without adding to them?
    She stepped away and thrust the glass she still held toward him. “I
can’t.”
    When he took the glass, she started to walk past him, intending to make
for the bedroom, dress, and get the hell out of there before she started
bemoaning the loss of perhaps the biggest opportunity she would have to put her
life back in order. One that had been presented to her on a silver platter.
    She heard the clink of glass on wood, and seconds later Reed caught her
arm. “Stay.”
    Not wanting to look at him, she kept her gaze on the door. “There’s no
point. I won’t change my mind.”
    Slowly, he drew her around to face him. “Stay anyway.”
    At the first touch of his mouth to hers, Lissa knew she wasn’t going
anywhere soon. He tasted of the brandy they’d shared, his mouth hot and
welcoming. She slipped her hands up the warm, muscular wall of