Lead Me On by Julie Ortolon Read Free Book Online Page A

there really such a thing as recreational sex? I mean, I know you men claim you can do it without any emotion involved, but ... do you think it's possible for a woman?"
    "Sure." He shrugged. "For some women, anyway."
    "What do you mean, 'some women'?"
    "People want different things out of life. Some women are focused on their careers, or they haven't found Mr. Right, or they've just come out of a bad relationship and don't want to get seriously involved for a while, or any number of things. But not wanting emotional involvement doesn't mean they want to do without men altogether. As much as women like to bitch about us, admit it, there are times when y'all like a man's company. Especially when it comes to what a man can do for you in the bedroom. Well"—he backpedaled—"not you personally."
    "No, of course not me." She suppressed a twinge of hurt. Her experience with sex was so limited and so far in the past she was likely a born-again virgin. "Adrian ... do you think there's something wrong with me? Something that repels men?"
    "No, there's nothing wrong with you. I assumed you didn't date because ..." Because you were so badly hurt the one time you did. The words hung between them, unspoken, but there. "Because you didn't want to."
    "I'm not sure what I want." She dropped her gaze to the towel and continued wiping her hands. "I know I'm not interested in getting married."
    "Why not?"
    "I'm just not." She looked up and saw the doubt in his eyes. "I'm serious. I have no interest whatsoever in marriage. But lately I've been wondering ... don't you think it's unhealthy to be completely asexual?"
    "I don't know." He shrugged. "Nuns do it all the time. Or rather, nuns don't do it"
    "I'm not a nun."
    "No, you're not." He sighed. "But if you're thinking of having an affair with a man based solely on sex, don't. You're not cut out for it."
    "How do you know?"
    "Alli, I've known you your whole life. You aren't capable of sharing something that intimate with a man and not getting emotionally involved. Which is why men don't hit on you. When the right one comes along, though, you'll both fall like rocks, and live happily ever after, just like Rory and Chance."
    "I told you, that's not what I want"
    "Of course it is. All women want that, eventually."
    "God. Men!" She tossed the dishcloth onto the counter. "You think you know everything."
    "That's because we do." He grinned at her. "Now, are you going to actually cook that meat loaf, or leave it sitting on the counter all evening?"
    Fuming, she slid it into the oven, and went to the refrigerator to decide on what vegetables to cook. If her brother was right, that men had been avoiding her all these years because they thought she was after marriage, they were all dead wrong.
    ~ ~ ~
    The sound of a car door slamming woke Alli during the night She was used to guests coming and going at all hours, and had learned to roll over and go right back to sleep. Then she remembered: Scott and Linda. They'd left early in the evening, both of them dressed for a night on the town.
    Against her will, Alli lay there listening. With her basement window beneath the veranda, she had no trouble hearing the footsteps on the oyster-shell walkway, followed by feminine laughter.
    "What a crazy night," Linda Lovejoy said. "Wasn't it crazy?"
    "It was that," Scott's deep voice answered. "But right now, I think we need to move this little party upstairs."
    "Oh no, not yet. Let's dance. Come on, don't you want to dance with me in the moonlight?"
    "Actually, what I really want to do is get you into bed."
    "I just bet you do." Throaty laughter floated on the night air, followed by silence.
    Allison lay perfectly still, trying not to picture what was going on right outside. Unfortunately she could imagine it all too clearly: the two of them locked in a passionate embrace. What would it feel like to be kissed by Scott Lawrence? To run her hands freely over his hard body. To have his hands move up her back so he could