Deceived Read Online Free PDF Page A

cream and drizzled with caramel. “I surrender. I can’t eat another bite.”
    “Quitter,” Dionne teased as she scooped up another spoonful.
    She laughed. “I’m glad you didn’t have a date lined up for tonight.”
    “Me too. You’re the best date I’ve had in six months.”
    Janelle dropped her chin in her hands. “Good grief, you’re my best date this year too.”
    Dionne paused, spoon halfway to her mouth. “Trouble in paradise?”
    “What paradise? I can’t recall the last time we did anything more than hold hands or kiss at the door. It’s like he’s become a born-again virgin. If that’s the case, I’d respect his wishes, but he hasn’t said anything.”
    “Thought you said it was pretty blasé?”
    Janelle rolled her eyes. “But it would improve as we got to know each other’s likes and dislikes, you know?”
    Dionne grunted. “Not really. Long relationships are not my forte.”
    She didn’t bother pointing out her friend’s persnickety nature once more. She’d refused to see men for having names that she didn’t like, birthdays at the wrong time of the year, and butts that were too flat. It’d be amusing if Dionne didn’t have a life plan that included getting married within the next year. Janelle worried she’d be disappointed if she didn’t make her goal.
    “Well, I’ve heard it gets better.”
    “Hm. I want an explosive beginning, full of sparks and fire.”
    She hated it that she thought of Aidan at that moment. She’d never experienced that level of attraction to anyone and she didn’t like it. “That kind of attraction burns out,” she assured Dionne.
    “If you say so. But it’d be fun while it lasted.”
    She sipped her Coke before excusing herself to go to the bathroom. After taking care of her pressing bladder, she washed and dried her hands. A mom and her daughter entered the bathroom as she was exiting. She held the door for them.
    “Janelle?”
    A shiver raced down her spine at the sound of the deep, graveled voice. She turned to face Aidan who was dressed in black from head to toe, as usual. She nodded an acknowledgement.
    “It’s good to see you. Are you here alone?”
    “No, I’m here with a friend.”
    “Ah, I would have asked you to join us.”
    She smiled brightly and made to pass him. “We were just leaving.”
    He shifted so that he blocked her path. “I hope not because of me.”
    “No, um, we’ve been here since I closed the shop.” His gold eyes seemed to eat her up, traveling from the top of her head down to the tips of her beige pumps. “Don’t do that.”
    “Do what?”
    “Stare at me like you’re stripping me of my clothes.”
    He inhaled. “God, Janelle—”
    “I have to go.”
    He grabbed her hand and tugged her along behind him into the men’s room. It was empty. Not giving her a chance to protest, he cupped her face and covered her mouth with his in a tender kiss that left her lips tingling and thirsty for more. She wrapped her hands around his thick wrists with the intention of pushing him away, but found her limbs weak when his tongue teased the corner of her lips. One thrust into her mouth and her knees were wobbly. He explored her palate before tangling his tongue with hers. He tilted his head to the side as though he couldn’t get deep enough. She moaned, heat and moisture pooling between her thighs. Her heart beat a rapid staccato as though it were trying to burst from her ribcage.
    “Sorry, didn’t mean to interrupt.”
    They sprang apart. Janelle was too embarrassed to do anything more than shove her way out of the men’s room. She heard Aidan calling her before the door banged shut, but she ignored him. She flopped back into the booth with Dionne in shock. She’d made out with her boyfriend’s boss in a men’s room! Horrified, she buried her face in her hands.
    “What the heck? What’d I miss?”
    “Nothing. We should leave,” she said briskly, anxious to leave before Aidan could find her.
    Dionne’s brows