Free Seduction (Club Destiny) by Nicole Edwards

straighten.
    “Man, I was just
gonna ask whether you were taking her to Luke’s reception.”
    Fuck. Way to
speak out of turn, McDermott.
    “But now that you
mention it,” Dylan began, “I trust you have her best interest in mind. She’s my
little sister, and I’m protective of her, but you already knew that. I don’t
want her hurt, but she’s also a big girl who can take care of herself. You
won’t see me trying to interfere.” Another laugh. “But I can’t say the same for
Pops. You know he’s going to be all over this as soon as he gets word.”
    Oh, Alex was
more than aware of what Xavier would have to say as soon as the news got out.
Even if Xavier did have a hand in pulling the two of them together, he’d still
have something to say.
    Alex didn’t look
forward to that day.

Chapter Nine
    ***
~~ *** ~~ *** ~~ ***
    Ashleigh no
longer had to worry whether her cell phone was working or not. The call from
her agent proved that it was. Even though her original excitement over who
might be on the other end had been doused when Madeleine’s sweet voice echoed
through the speaker, it had been renewed after five minutes on the phone.
    Her agent was
clearly satisfied with her last submission, the book about the horse and the
barn owl that Ashleigh had pondered over for far too long. At least now it was
out of the way, and she could move on to her current project.
    This one was
keeping her up at night, but not with worry. Her bout of writer’s block had
long since moved on, and she was writing furiously, the pages all but writing
themselves.
    She had one man
to thank for her renewed burst of creativity. At least where the sex was
concerned. As it appeared, her hormones were roaring like wildfire, and she was
able to conjure up some juicy, erotic scenes, which worked out well for her
hero and heroine.
    At least someone
was getting laid these days because it certainly wasn’t her. But then again,
she and Alex had come full circle in the dating game.
    She had
committed herself to making just as much of an effort as Alex, although, at
times, she wondered if maybe she should resume life as she knew it before
moving back to Dallas.
    For the last few
weeks, she’d been busy. Her social life had taken off like a jet airplane,
which meant the time she wasn’t spending with her grandfather and niece and
nephew, she was spending with Sam and Sierra. As for Alex, well, she hadn’t
seen nearly enough of him in the last two weeks for her wellbeing, but more than
enough for her sanity.
    Apparently he
had gotten a look at her list of things she wanted to do, and he was bound and
determined to check off each and every one. There were a few items she hadn’t
written on her list, and sometimes she wondered whether they just might get
around to them as well.
    To top it off,
he was being a perfect gentleman.
    Too perfect in
fact.
    So much so that
they hadn’t shared another kiss since the night he’d invited her over for
dinner. Ashleigh had no idea what was going on with him, but something was. He
was cordial, friendly, but nothing more.
    On top of that,
something or someone was taking him away frequently. She didn’t think he was
going far when he left, but he was obviously going somewhere. One afternoon
when he had taken her fishing, something she had on her list, she’d thought
about asking him, but instead chickened out.
    That had been an
interesting day, but not one she cared to relive. Apparently fishing was not
her forte. Too much down time in her opinion. But hey, to each his own and all
that.
    Delving back
into her work, Ashleigh was trying to work out a scene that she was having
trouble with. A sex scene. Imagine that.
    Lunch with Sam
and Sierra earlier in the week had provided her a little insight, but not
nearly as much as she hoped for. She’d gone with the intention of getting some
hopefully discreet details of what it was like living the ménage lifestyle.
Since she didn’t have any idea about the subject