Surrender to Temptation (Agent Lovers Series Book 1) Read Online Free PDF

constantly offend Dad. It bothers him, even if he doesn’t always show it.”
    “He is tougher than you think. If he wasn’t, how could he have become so successful and been able to save and rebuild a company on the verge of ruin?”
    John shook his head as if admitting that Liz was beyond help and then walked through the double glass doors into the hall to some of the remaining guests.
    Liz felt sad as she watched him go. It wasn’t easy for her to keep her distance from John. There had always been a special bond between them. They had been able to understand each other almost without talking and had gotten into more trouble together than did many other teenagers her age. At the thought of their adventures, a wistful smile flitted across her face.
    Liz remembered very well the crazy bet that had earned her two months of grounding. She had been twelve years old at the time and John fourteen. Whenever they raced against one another, her brother beat her badly. After losing to him over and over again, she had finally had enough. The next time she challenged him to a race, he laughed and announced confidently that she would lose. But he didn’t mind winning and so he accepted her challenge. The bet stipulated that the loser would have to fulfill any ridiculous wish the winner came up with, for a week.
    The meandering driveway in front of the house served as both the starting and ending point for their race, which consisted of one lap around the enormous family estate. John had suspected none of what Liz had planned to assure her victory. She had deliberately let herself fall behind during the race and when John turned the first corner, she ran back to the driveway. There, she jumped into her father’s black limousine and drove it straight through the garden, over the freshly mowed grass, until she was just behind her brother.
    Distracted by the noise behind him, he turned as he ran and then abruptly stopped as he watched Liz plow through the grounds surrounding the house. Among the things she rammed was the fountain, which she demolished in an attempt to avoid the rose beds her mother loved above all else. Once Liz finally got the car under control, she shot past her horrified brother to the appointed goal. She would never in her life forget the dumbfounded expression on his face that day.
    She won the race that day and the bet, too, although the satisfaction of winning was short-lived. When her parents saw what she had done, she got a scathing lecture from her father first, and then her mother read her the riot act. As a reward for her crowning achievement, she was grounded for two months. That was the worst punishment possible for Liz: being grounded. She hated nothing more than being forced to stay in her room. It really didn’t help that John modified his own activities, keeping his outdoor ones to a minimum so he could share the punishment of staying indoors. As often as was possible, he hung out with her. A better proof of sibling love didn’t exist.
    But that was in the past. The close relationship she’d had with her brother didn’t exist anymore, and Liz had no doubt that this was her fault. It appeared that there was no way back for her.
    She had kept her distance from John and her father in recent years for good reason, and she’d limited her contact with them to only that which was most necessary. They were all she had left. She would never let anyone hurt them because of her; she loved her family too much for that.
    Liz smiled. Temporary jobs? That was a delusion, but she didn’t plan to ever enlighten them.
    For the third time that evening, Liz’s thoughts wandered involuntarily to the past. It felt like an eternity had passed since she was a high school graduate visiting a college with an emphasis on international economics. Just like she’d told John, she’d gone to college because her father had stressed again and again how much her mother had wanted that for her. His recurring statement had hit a