Seduction’s Canvas (Crimson Romance) Read Online Free PDF

the sound of his mother begging anyone.
    He was just about to lash out but he was pulled back and into his mother’s welcoming arms. He watched as her mouth moved rapidly, scolding as she stared at him with fear and concern in her eyes while dabbing at his eyebrow with a gentle touch. He glanced over her shoulder. The girl was in tears in the other boy’s arms as her father raged on. As he stared, big sobs wracked her thin frame and despite the pain in his head, he wanted to reach for her again, push that other boy away and tell her not to cry. That it was all worth it just for her smile.

Chapter 3
    Samara leaned back on her apartment door and closed her eyes. Why him? And why did she have to make such a fool of herself?
“I want to paint you?”
and
“What are you doing up here?”
What the hell, was she suddenly her father? And what was with the formal “Mr. Thorn” crap? What now, suddenly they were in Soho by way of an Austen period piece. What the effing fuck?
    She banged her head against the steel door then winced as the pins from her up-do pierced her scalp.
    Shit. Smart, Sam. Mild contusion on top of losing any semblance of cool. Good to see you’ve got it all together today.
    Sam ran frustrated fingertips across her head, checking for any damage before pushing off and stepping away from the door. Raising her arms, she took the pins out of the back of her hair and scratched at her scalp, instantly turning her loose chignon into a mass of brown waves around her shoulders. That was better. She needed all traces of this day gone.
    Kicking off her shoes, she shed her blazer, draping it across the big old couch that was the anchor of her loft. She walked toward her partitioned off bedroom, pressing the button on the answering machine as she finally fully unzipped her skirt and let it fall to the floor.
Thank goodness. To be free of that blasted garment.
    As she stepped back into the living room, she listened to the voices that now filled the air. Most of those who left messages had her shaking her head, writing them off. She wouldn’t be returning their calls. They were not her friends and that was why they didn’t have her cell, only her business number. They were acquaintances at best. She’d gotten a new number and cell last summer and had been very select about who she gave it out to. She’d come to learn over the past few years with the come up of Facebook, the term “friend” had been terribly devalued and bantered around way too loosely.
    Sam paused as what was fast becoming an overly familiar tone filled the air through the machine’s speakers. “Sammy!” She groaned. God, she hated how Peter took to calling her Sammy. He’d heard her father say it and thought it the most endearing term, insisting on just running with it. As if he was somehow already family and so familiar. She let out a sigh as he continued. “How come you haven’t returned any of my calls? You know we’re long overdue for that date. Are you playing hard to get? Because you know you don’t have to play with me. Besides, we’ll be seeing each other at your parents’ dinner party. I thought we should get together before that. I’ve spoken to your mother about it. I’ll be calling you again to set something up. Better if you hit me up first.”
    Sam frowned. What the hell did that mean, better if she hit him up first? Was that some sort of threat? Peter was way too chummy with her parents and his comment made it seem like if she didn’t call, he’d go reporting back to Mommy and Daddy. Please. Nothing worse than a mama’s boy, especially if that mama’s boy was your Mama’s boy.
    It was in that exact moment that her cell rang and Sam froze, narrowing her eyes. It couldn’t be, but Sam already knew it could. She walked over to her cell and saw a number she didn’t recognize, but curiosity won out and still she answered.
    “Hello.”
    “Sammy, my love.”
    Hell. “Peter.”
    “Ouch, love. You could freeze a man’s