Surviving Seduction (18 page)

“I’ve been doing that al night,” she said with a rueful smirk.

He gave her a stern look and waited.

“Not funny yet?” she asked, lifting the jug to her lips.

“Seeing as the alcohol is stil affecting you, no, not real y,” he answered patiently, sitting down on the bed.

Selena smiled brightly when she’d chugged down a good amount of water. “Wel ! I gotta say, aside from the past forty-five minutes, this alcohol stuff is pretty great! It’s real y hard to be upset,” she mused.

Dan didn’t look like he approved.

“For example,” she went on, handing the jug back to him. “I’m not afraid to say things that I wouldn’t normal y say, like … what did she cal him in that steamy novel I read years back? A complete stud! Did you know that you’re a complete stud, Dan?”

“You didn’t say that to him before you said it to me did you?” he asked with some reservation.

“No,” she smiled, beaming up at him.

After a few seconds of this, he dropped his eyes and rubbed the back of his neck.

Selena gasped dramatical y. “Are you being bashful?”

she squealed.

“No! Jesus. Go to sleep,” he said, pressing her down to lie back on the pil ow.

“You are!” she insisted, fal ing back without resistance and gazing up at him with delight. “Of course you are. Girls expect you to do al the work, or they’re too intimidated to say things like that to you. I’m going to say things like that al the time. It’s going to be fun! Oh!

Especial y in front of everyone else!”

“Please don’t,” he said, staring at her now with alarm.

Selena burst into giggles. “
Why
? It’s what al the girls are thinking anyway.
Saying
it won’t change anything.”

girls are thinking anyway.
Saying
it won’t change anything.”

“Yes, it wil change things. Please don’t,” he said with a pinched brow.

“No reason why I can’t right now though,” she said, trailing her fingertips along his arm. “You think
I’m
beautiful?

Wel I’m nothing compared to
you
. Has anyone told you you’re amazingly beautiful?” she asked.

“No.”

“Wel you’re too manly for that,” she mused.

“Handsome. But handsome doesn’t real y cover it. Cal’s handsome. So’s Jack. But you, you’re …” she struggled for the right word.

“Alright, time to sleep,” he coaxed, trying to tuck her in under the blankets.

“Why didn’t
you
have anything to drink? Oh, that’s what we need to do.
You
need to drink. Have you ever been drunk?”

“No.”

“I want to get you drunk. I want to know what you’d be like.”

“I’d probably cry a lot,” he said dryly, pul ing his shirt off and blowing out the lanterns.

Selena got a glimpse of his muscular frame that was al too brief before it went dark.

“No, you wouldn’t,” she giggled.

Not long after they fel asleep, there was a soft knock on their door. Both of them sat up at once.

“I’l get it,” he told her, coaxing her to lie down again.

As soon as he was through the hal way, she skittered out of bed and snuck into the bathroom, nearly crashing into the doorframe along the way, thanks to the alcohol. It was more of a storage closet now that there was no plumbing, but its solitary window offered a view of the front door, and it was always open, so she could hear what was being said.

She peeked out as Dan opened the door. A woman in a hooded cloak stood before it. Selena sucked in a breath. It was Loraine. Her golden waves spil ed from beneath her hood, reflecting back the moonlight in a soft glow. When Dan saw her, he quietly closed the door behind him and folded his arms over his chest, waiting.

“I’m sorry to disturb you so late,” Loraine’s silken voice told him. “I just couldn’t wait until morning.”

Selena’s lip almost curled.
Why did he have to be
shirtless
?

“I wanted to beg your pardon for my brother,” she explained, casting her eyes down demurely. “He doesn’t know I’m here. Sometimes he causes trouble, but I think tonight may truly have been an accident.”

Dan remained silent.

“I know you could have punished him,” she said quickly. “So I’m grateful that you’ve only asked us to go. But I want you to know that … how do I say this politely?” She went on, gazing at him submissively, “It’s just very rare to find someone who doesn’t know about alcohol, even the most sheltered people usual y do.”

Selena studied the woman’s face in the darkness and fumed.

Loraine gazed up at him openly now, her eyes looking big and vulnerable. “I’m talking to you about this because I’m sure you wil see him again tomorrow, and maybe many times in the future. Jack’s arrogance is his weakness. What I mean to say is he doesn’t know when he’s met his betters.”

he’s met his betters.”

Her voice trailed off pleadingly in the end.

Selena ground her teeth in disgust.

“I have no intention of starting a fight with Jack,” Dan explained gently.

Selena squirmed at his tender response.

“But you have to understand,” he went on, “that if he causes harm, there wil be consequences. And if
he
starts a fight, I can’t make any promises about the outcome.”

Loraine cast her eyes down and nodded. “I understand, and I wouldn’t expect anything different,” she told him in dulcet tones. “Thank you for listening. And again, I’m sorry to take up your time so late,” she said, flicking her gaze up at him tentatively.

“It’s not a problem,” he assured her.

Al too slowly, Loraine turned to go, so Selena walked swiftly back to bed and slipped beneath the covers.

Dan joined her a moment later.

“What do you think?” he murmured.

“How do you know I heard anything?” she asked incredulously. “You’ve got to be psychic or something, I swear.”

“I’m not psychic,” he assured her.

“Then how do you know?” she pressed.

“Your feet are cold,” he answered.

“Oh,” Selena muttered.
Of course.

Eleven

“What the fuck, Dan!”

Selena had been sitting quietly on the bed and now she held her breath. She’d never heard Cal so pissed off.

“What?” she heard Dan reply drol y.

It was stil quite early when Cal had pounded on their front door impatiently. She’d heard Dan open it and now it swung shut.

“You told them to leave?” Cal demanded.

“I told him to leave,” Dan answered.

“Oh great, wel that makes everything better,” Cal said, his voice laced with sarcasm. “How do you know he did it on purpose?”

Selena groaned, assuming now that everyone knew and wondering how the story was being told. She cradled her head in her hands, knowing that the whole thing was being blown way out of proportion.

When Dan didn’t answer, Selena imagined him shooting Cal a knowing look. She heard Cal sit with a sigh.

“Is Selena here? Selena!”

“Yes, I’m here,” she cal ed, stumbling out of bed and dragging her feet to the front room. The two men sat in chairs opposite one another. Dan looked resigned and Cal looked frustrated.

“Do you think he
tried
to get you drunk last night?”

Cal asked her.

Selena opened her mouth, but was suddenly unsure about how she should answer. If she said no, Dan would seem like even more of a “bad guy.” If she said yes, Jack might be blamed unfairly.

“You know what? I’m going to be honest. I think he suspected I didn’t know what I was drinking and chose not to tel me. But I could be wrong,” she added quickly.

“Okay, and he’s getting thrown out for that?” Cal asked incredulously.

“He’s getting thrown out for more than that.” Dan answered, flicking his gaze to hers.

She swal owed hard, remembering Dan walking in on her and Jack in uncomfortably close contact, and Jack’s blatant refusal to back down.

“Now are you going to tel me what the problem is?”

Dan continued diplomatical y.

“The girls are going too,” Cal shrugged as though his issue was obvious and he shouldn’t have to hide it.

“So?” Dan said.

Selena knew he was digging to find out if Cal had discovered Amy’s interest yet. The answer was yes, but Cal looked uncomfortable now, and this was the first time she’d ever seen him that way. She wondered if it was only because she was in the room.

“So … wel , Amy and I –” he gestured with his hands as if that would clarify things. “We’re kind of ... I dunno,” He scratched at the back of his neck.

Dan smiled. “Real y? Good for you.”

Cal smiled awkwardly back, seeming to have forgotten there was a problem. “Thanks.”

Selena giggled before she could stop herself, and tried to bite her tongue when the two men shot her annoyed glances. She stared at the floor meekly, but couldn’t keep from smiling.

Cal frowned at Dan again now that he remembered he was upset. “Wel now the three of them are packing up.”

“So tel her to stay,” Dan said.

“What? I can’t do that! She’l think I’m crazy. It’s way too soon. It’s only been – wel , hours actual y.”

“Al that time wasted on Loraine,” Selena sighed quietly, inspecting her nails. When she glanced up, they were both glaring at her again. “Wel it’s true Cal, you are thick as a board sometimes! Where are they going anyway?”

“I have no idea, actual y. Not sure if they do either,” Cal sighed.

“Wel , let’s find out,” she said, hopping to her feet.

Cal made no move to stand and shot a perplexed glance up at her. “If you were so drunk where’s your hangover?”

“I had a lot of water,” she explained cheerful y, striding back into the bedroom to change clothes. She glanced down at the little bundle of cotton garments that Dan had brought her. “Okay,” she sighed to herself, feeling guilty that they hadn’t been touched. Throwing on the black tank top and a fitted pair of blue jeans, she smoothed her hair again before slipping on her normal leather and hide shoes.

When she hurried back out, Dan stood abruptly, looking at her as though he’d never seen her before. She shot him an obviously forced smile, but that didn’t interrupt his appreciative stare, so she wound up blushing and hastily turned to head out.

hastily turned to head out.

“Wow. You don’t look like a wild-woman,” Cal observed, standing to fol ow her.

“I feel ridiculous,” she replied sul enly, stepping outside.

She blinked as the three of them made their way down the path. The sun was up and the morning was bright.

Breakfast would be served soon. When they reached the fire pit, they saw Loraine and Amy heading toward the wagon with bundles of belongings in their arms.

Dan nodded a greeting before moving off. Selena watched him go, wondering what was on his agenda for the day.

Jack popped out of the back of the wagon when they drew close and did a double take at Selena. He chuckled, returning his gaze to a brown sack as he tied it.

“Nice getup,” he complimented. “You look like those girls in the magazines.”

“Thanks,” she said uncomfortably.

“Where wil you go?” Cal interjected.

Amy came around the back of the wagon and tossed her things in carelessly. She glowered at Jack, and it was clear she blamed him for al of this. Loraine placed her belongings in back, but a lot more graceful y and with a careful y blank expression.

“Yeah Jack, where wil
we
go?” Amy prompted him brusquely.

He folded his arms and leaned against the wagon languidly. While Cal’s and Amy’s eyes were on each other, he smiled at Selena, pausing for dramatic effect. “I was thinking about getting out of these hil s. Maybe somewhere to the southwest.”

His sisters turned sharply to look at him.

“To the Grazers?” Amy asked quietly.

“If they happen to be there, we might trade with them for a bit, I suppose,” he said nonchalantly.

Amy and Cal looked at each other again so Jack snuck a wink at Selena before striding purposeful y toward the front of the wagon. The horses were already hitched up and waiting.

“Hold on,” Cal said. “Aren’t you going to have breakfast before you go?”

“Don’t think it’s a good idea,” Jack answered, tipping his hat as his sisters climbed on board. He slapped the reins on the horses’ backs and Selena watched with Cal as the wagon disappeared on the path, leaving a lonely trail of dust behind.

Cal sighed. “Wel , it could be worse.”

Selena sighed too, but not in relief. As soon as they brought Josie back, Jack would certainly cross Dan’s path.

She hoped to avoid any further conflicts between them.

Although based on their personalities and motives, she knew it was just wishful thinking.

That evening, Selena was actual y nervous when she and Dan turned in for the night. He’d been discreetly watching her whenever he got the chance. It was incredible to her that a change in clothing style could do this to a man.

She found herself puttering around the cabin tidying things up while he just stood there. Whenever she glanced at him, she’d find him looking back at her with a mixture of amusement and eagerness on his face. The suspense grew until she was downright jittery. The clothes made her feel like someone else, and she wondered if he had the same impression. In a way, it was exciting, but it also made her strangely nervous.

To her relief, he eventual y stopped watching her and made for the hal to the bedroom. Then somehow she found herself trapped between him and the wal .

“Got you,” he murmured down to her ear, gripping her waist. “You didn’t think you were escaping me tonight.”

“I –” she started, but couldn’t come up with an intel igent answer. In fact, she felt too shy to look at him for some reason.

“So confident in some ways,” he smiled, sliding his thumbs under her shirt to rub her skin. “But when it comes to this ...” he trailed off.

“Wh-what about the time –”

“I almost couldn’t stand,” he cut her off. “Didn’t count.

Look at you now.” He raised her face so she had to gaze back at him. “Look at you now,” he repeated quietly, leaning down to kiss her tenderly.

He ran his hands over her tank top from her waist to her breasts and to her shoulders, where he pul ed the fabric down with insistence. Selena knew this feeling; like the moment when your horse spooks and you don’t know where it’s going to take you, but you know you’re not in control of what wil happen next.