Free Seduce Me Sweetly (Heron's Landing Book 1) by Iris Morland Page A

writing a story, because it’s of interest to me and, I believe, to a lot of potential readers.”
    “And yet you’re doing it without consulting me, which I expressly forbade you from doing?”
    She burst out laughing. “‘Expressly forbade?’ Buddy, it’s way too early to be using words like that.”
    He scowled, his expression rather thunderous. If Joy weren’t so tired and cranky, she might be freaked out. Then again, she knew how men liked to bluster and bitch. No woman could match a man going on an emotional rampage.
    “I asked you not to write it without consulting me, yet here you are, doing just that? Can you explain that?” He sat back, watching her.
    “Wellllllll,” she said slowly, “I realize I may have given the impression that I was doing what you wanted. But then I thought, ‘This guy isn’t my boss and it’s a free country.’ So, I decided to do the story regardless. First Amendment, you know.”
    “Just because you can doesn’t mean you should.”
    She shrugged. A little bit of guilt niggled at her for her white lie, but Adam had no right to dictate what she could or could not write and publish. She wasn’t writing anything negative. For God’s sake, it was a positive piece to bring in potential tourists, which meant money! Who turned down money?
    “Look, you can be pissy and moan-y all you want. But you should know that this piece is completely positive and was meant to help you. It ain’t libel in the slightest. So calm your titties and drink your coffee.”
    “Are you always this pleasant?”
    “Only to jackasses who try to fuck me over.” She smiled widely. Now she was really cranky. Why did men continue to think they could mess with her and get away with it? The mascara didn’t equate to stupidity, but it was the story of her life that men underestimated her anyway.
    “I’m not trying to fuck you over,” Adam said, leaning toward her, his voice low. “I just would like anything written about my business to have my eyes on it first. Surely you understand that.”
    “Sure I do. But that’s also code for wanting to control a narrative entirely, and I’m wholly uninterested in playing that game. And if you thought about what I was doing for five seconds, you’d realize it would only help you in the end.”
    He laughed, a little stunned. His initial scowl had faded, and he seemed to be looking at her with sheer incredulity. She could work with that, generally speaking, as she was used to it.
    “Is that what you’re doing?” he asked. “You’re helping me by using my business for your own means?”
    Joy threw her hands up in the air. “Oh my God! Yes, I’m writing a story to pay my bills! Call the police, Adam, and arrest me for being like everyone else in this damn country.” She rubbed her temples; stubborn men gave her the worst kinds of headaches.
    “If you had any kind of integrity, you’d do as I asked and actually honor your promise.”
    She stilled. “Now you’re just insulting me.” Anger began pulsing through her, and it took everything she had in her to restrain herself from tossing her coffee in his face.
    He looked smug, the bastard. “No, I’m pointing out the obvious. Do the right thing and we can end this right here.”
    Clenching her mug between her hands, Joy fell silent. She’d put up with a lot in her life—including receiving blame for things not entirely her fault—and she could hear Jeremy’s words to her: If you’d loved me more, I wouldn’t have cheated. If she’d tried harder, been nicer, put everyone else before her own needs at all times, been sweet and thoughtful and demure. If she’d had integrity.
    She wasn’t going to apologize for writing what she wanted. She wasn’t going to apologize for not asking permission to write what she wanted. And she sure as hell wasn’t going to back down because Adam Danvers was the biggest asshole this side of the Mississippi River.
    “You know the funny thing about me?” She looked up