Free Seduction (Club Destiny) by Nicole Edwards Page B

Stacey and Nate by then – Ashleigh had wanted to see
what it was like to live on her own as well. Reluctantly, Pops had given in to
her request.
    To celebrate her
graduation from high school, Pops had thrown a party the likes of which
Ashleigh had never known before. There had to have been one hundred or more
people in attendance, yet out of all those people, she’d never seen Alex. Not
until he stopped by the guest house a couple of hours after she went home.
    Being eighteen
and finally out of school, Ashleigh had a misconception of what it meant to be
an adult. And adults had visitors, so she’d invited him in.
    That was her
first mistake.
    He was more than
a little intoxicated, barely able to stand on his own, but she was all grown
up, she could handle anything he could dish out. Or so she thought.
    They had talked
for a little while, neither of them having much to say because it was blatantly
obvious, they had absolutely nothing in common. Likely the dwindling
conversation had led to what happened next.
    They had been
sitting on the couch, not much space between them, when Alex leaned over and
kissed her lightly on the lips. Her first kiss.
    Ashleigh
remembered it like it was yesterday.
    “What was that
for?” Ashleigh asked, shocked by the intensity of her body’s reaction to the
feel of Alex’s lips against hers.
    “It was just a
kiss.”
    Just a kiss?
There was nothing “just” about that kiss. She knew she shouldn’t push the issue
because it was evident Alex was intoxicated, but Ashleigh couldn’t seem to stop
herself. “Why’d you kiss me?”
    “Don’t know.” He
said, leaning in a little more.
    Ashleigh knew it
was going to happen again and despite the intense feelings that one kiss had
ignited she knew she shouldn’t want him. But the intelligent side of her brain
was being suffocated by her hormones and she found herself hoping he would.
    Instead of
waiting for him, Ashleigh leaned in closer, her eyes locked with his before
catching a brief glimpse of his perfect lips. Before she knew what happened,
she was on her back on the couch with Alex’s impressive body on top of her,
pressing against her in the most delicious way, infusing her with heat and
longing.
    “I shouldn’t
want you, Ashleigh.”
    For the life of
her, she didn’t know why not. They were both consenting adults, and there was
something obviously between them. So when Alex pressed his lips to hers yet
again, Ashleigh gave into him, pulling him closer and giving back as good as
she was getting.
    Shaking off the
memory, Ashleigh tried to push it away. She would not go there. Not right now.
Thinking about that night never did anything more than put her in a bad mood.
    ~~*~~
    Alex tossed his cell
phone into the center console, throwing the truck in Drive. Pissed off and in
desperate need of a bright spot in his week, he pulled out of the XTX parking
garage and aimed the truck toward Ashleigh’s house.
    After that phone
call, he wanted to simply turn off the ringer, hang out with the one woman who
would be able to make him smile at this point. That had been his plan all day
anyway, and though the phone call from Jessie had been somewhat expected, he
was going to pretend it never happened.
    His ex-wife had
made it her life’s work to suck him into the mess she called a life, but today
he didn’t have the patience, nor the desire to try and rescue her from herself.
He’d been spending way too much time with her as it was trying to talk to her,
calm her down, or chase off that good for nothing boyfriend of hers.
    Not today.
    Ten minutes
later he was pulling into Ashleigh’s driveway, trying to get his bearings. He
was frustrated, and he knew he needed to take a minute to clear his head. The
last person he wanted to see his temper was Ashleigh. Having not seen much of
her in the last two weeks, showing up at her house unannounced was going to be
bad enough.
    He needed to see
her. Need being the key word.
    Ever since their
afternoon