Free A Novel Seduction by Gwyn Cready Page A

held only a dozen pictures, random shots of her those last couple of months they were together. In one she held her hair up in a knot, vogueing for the camera; in another, taken in the stands at a hockey game, she frowned as one of the Penguins missed a shot; in a third she gazed into a mirror, unaware he’d had the camera pointed at her.
    As he always did when he looked at these pictures, he examined her face for signs of a change. How had she hidden it from him? And why? Had there been another man? How had Axel—who, after photographing it thousands of times, knew her face far better than he knew his own—missed it? He’d been a fool, and in his foolishness he’d failed her at a time when she’d needed him most. But why, why, why hadn’t she told him?
    He shook off the regret and smiled instead, thinking of the lunch. There was something thrilling about being on assignment with her again, even if, knowing Ellery, it was going to be equal parts adventure and agitation.
    She wheeled into the cube, and he nearly dropped the camera.
    Ellery shook her head. “Always lost in the shots, aren’t you?”
    Axel powered the camera down surreptitiously. “You know me.”
    “Good stuff?”
    “very.”
    “My admin dropped off the trip information.” She slid a copy in his direction. “Everything is set.”
    He kept his face neutral as he scanned the arrangements. Looked like she was traveling with him to Pittsburgh. “Great. Thanks. Are you looking at those books?”
    She gave him a dubious look. “Not often you get to see the word ‘lave’ in the back cover copy.”
    “Pittsburgh, you’ve been hanging with the wrong crowd.”

C HAPTER F OURTEEN

     
    Chelsea, Manhattan
     
    Ellery gazed at the contents of her dresser drawer. Exactly what sort of clothes did one wear to the gates of vampire hell? She held up a pale pink twin set. Jill, who was sprawled on the bed with a textbook, shook her head violently. Kate, who had offered to keep Jill company in Ellery’s absence, stopped paging through
Vamp
long enough to say, “Honestly, have you ever been to a bar?”
    Jill gave her sister a sympathetic smile. “Think edgier.”
    Ellery frowned. There was that black turtleneck. Black was always edgy. She dug down to the bottom of the drawer and pulled it out.
    Kate sighed. She wheeled over to the chest, dug around and drew out a length of lace-edged silk.
    “That’s a
slip,
” Ellery said.
    “A slip
dress,
” Kate corrected. “Very cutting-edge.”
    “Yes,” Jill agreed. “Exactly right.”
    Ellery held it up. The silk was the color of coffee au lait, with a see-through black lace panel running down the seam on both sides. She had purchased it before herthird date with a slightly self-centered corporate attorney, who’d given her a potted Meyer lemon tree to mark the occasion. She’d dumped the attorney and kept the tree. When life gives you lemons…
    “It seems to be a tad, er, air-conditioned for public consumption.”
    “Nonsense,” Jill said. “Nothing a little thong won’t fix. Guys love ’em.”
    Ellery winced. Did her sister have to grow up so loudly? Would it have killed her to pretend she still liked
Dora the Explorer
and
That’s So Raven
?
    “I know this is going to surprise you, but I’m actually not that comfortable having my underthings show through my clothes.”
    “Gosh, I didn’t think about going with no panties, but I guess that’s an option too.”
    Ellery opened her mouth, but her sister forestalled her. “Jeggings,” she said calmly. “I can lend you a pair.”
    Ellery
hmm
ed, throwing the slip into the suitcase and tossing in a nice pair of sweatpants to counterbalance the blow to her psyche.
    “Ahem.” Kate fished them out.
    “I’m not trying to impress anyone,” Ellery said pointedly. “Just hoping to bury myself in my piece.”
    “Sounds like romance novels are going to be the perfect inspiration, then,” Kate said. Jill laughed.
    If Ellery was going to wear a