Free Seduction (Club Destiny) by Nicole Edwards Page A

matter, she was hoping for
details from the experts so she’d gone out on a limb and asked for their help.
    So how she ended
up sharing way more information with the two of them than they had shared with
her, she had no idea. Although she got a brief glimpse into what it was like to
be the focal point of two men, Ashleigh had found they were way more interested
in understanding how she was still a virgin.
    And no, maybe a
twenty eight year old virgin wasn’t the norm these days, but it wasn’t unheard
of. By the look on Sam’s face, Ashleigh would’ve thought she was the oldest living
person yet to have ever had sex. It was comical actually. Kind of.
    Much to their
dismay and her own, Ashleigh couldn’t answer the question as to why she’d never
had sex. There had been a couple of men in her life who had sparked her
interest, but they’d never made it that far. Could’ve been cold feet on her
part, or it might’ve been the hope that had been burning bright and obnoxious
in her chest for ten long years.
    Either way,
Ashleigh would admit to having harbored some crazy, mixed up feelings for Alex
through the years. Anger, admiration, hurt, love. Pick one.
    If she thought
about it – which she did... a lot – she could almost put a name to those
feelings. Infatuation. The man encompassed everything she hoped to find in a
lover – he was gorgeous, intelligent, and dominating. Yes, the last one
unquestionably had caught her interest when she was old enough to know what it
actually meant. Or what it could mean.
    Ashleigh
remembered the day she met him. It was at her grandfather’s house and she’d
just gotten home from school. She’d been a high school senior, she remembered
that much. And in her teenage mind, he’d been much older than her, although she
didn’t know by how much. At the time, it hadn’t mattered one single bit. She
had fallen head over heels in love the moment she laid eyes on him.
    It didn’t take
long for Alex to become a regular fixture at the Thomas household and in her
teenage dreams. He quickly began working as the head of security for XTX on a contractual
basis. Then he’d established a friendship with Dylan, which had Alex coming
around when her brother was home. He and Logan were friends – college roommates
if she remembered correctly – which meant Alex was invited anytime Logan was
present.
    Needless to say,
she saw as much of Alex as she did her grandfather there for a while. At first,
she’d been smitten.
    It wasn’t until
he started treating her like she had a contagious disease and if he came
anywhere near her, he’d be stricken with it. That didn’t stop him from sneaking
glances of her from time to time. She was aware of each and every one, but over
time, she grew irritated with his aloofness and she moved on.
    Looking back on
it now, Ashleigh had been far too immature for him, especially considering the
age difference. At twenty eight, twelve years didn’t mean a thing. But at
eighteen or even twenty, it meant everything. They had absolutely nothing in
common. Other than a little physical attraction.
    Then there was the
small detail of his marriage. By the time she met him, he’d been divorced for
years, but knowing he had been married, Ashleigh had accepted the fact that he
wasn’t likely going to be a one woman man, though she had no idea why they had
split up. She still didn’t know.
    Not knowing the
story, she didn’t care to be enlightened back then, although now she was more
than a little curious. Just the fact that he had been married put him in an
entirely different category than any boy or man she’d ever met. Suffice it to
say, she kept her distance. And so did he.
    Until that one
night.
    The week before
graduation, Ashleigh had convinced Pops to let her stay in the guest house for
a few weeks while she got ready to go off to college.
     
    Since Dylan
didn’t live at home at the time – he’d already gotten married to Meghan, and
they had even had both