Punishing for Pleasure by Avery Gale Read Free Book Online Page B

just outside of Austin. Meri’s entire life had been centered on being groomed to follow in her father’s footsteps. Business journals all over the country were referring to her as “Fundraising’s Golden Girl”. She was well on her way to establishing herself as one of the nation’s top foundation leaders. And through all those years of preparation for this role, her mother hadn’t let Meri’s business education push aside or overshadow all her earlier lessons in gentility either. Diana Dillon-Lanham made sure her daughter knew exactly how to present a public persona that was precisely what everyone expected…and Meri had performed flawlessly until the day she’d gotten up the courage and called Kent West.
    Even though their parents ran in the same social circles, Meri had never known either Kyle or Kent well, but their paths had crossed often enough over the years that Meri knew Kent was the more approachable of the two. It had only taken her a few days to discretely set up their lunch meeting. Thinking back on that day still sent a flash of embarrassment through her and she hoped the two men sitting beside her were too caught up in their anger to notice. “Want to share that thought, pet? And I’ll advise you to give your fondness for editing some serious reconsideration.” Ash’s words might have sounded casual, but the steel under them was pure command. Damn Dom thinks he can just waltz in and make demands like he’s the king of all he surveys. As if…
    She took a minute to think through the wisdom of the snark that had initially popped into her head and decided this wasn’t a battlefield worth dying on. Meri took a deep breath and sighed. “I was just remembering how hard it had been to call Kent West when I first heard about the club he and Kyle had opened. I met him for lunch and it was…well, let’s just say it was an interesting conversation.” She’d wanted to meet at Uchi, but Kent had just laughed and told her that raw fish was bait. Meri hadn’t been surprised when he’d suggested Jeffrey’s, it was an upscale establishment, and served enough steak and potato fare to keep even the purest Texas heart happy. Add in the gorgeous bar and it was perfect. In the end she’d been grateful because a happy, relaxed dinner companion was much easier to talk to than one who was continually frowning at his plate.
    “Why did you call Kent? Were you friends?” She knew Ash had tried to keep his questions nonchalant, but she hadn’t missed the tinge of jealousy he’d tried to suppress.
    “Not really, but we were acquaintances. Our families’ circles of friends overlap some, so we’ve all known one another for years. You don’t have to know Kent and Kyle well to be able to see Kent is the more personable. And since I was already nervous about the meeting…well, you know.” She felt her face heat again and cursed the fact she blushed so easily even though she always looked like she’d just returned from the tropics. She had her dad to thank for her perpetual tan and dark hair, but her sparkling green eyes had definitely been a gift from her mom.
    Meri felt her heart clench when she thought about her parents. God she missed them even though they’d only been gone a few weeks, but on days like today it seemed like forever. Taking a deep breath to push back the tears she felt starting to fill her eyes, Meri tried to focus on how much the two people she loved the most deserved this time of freedom. This past year they had actually been gone on so many “adventures” as her mom called them, that Meri was finally—reluctantly, very reluctantly—starting to adjust to being alone in the enormous home they all shared. Granted she had lived in the mansion’s west wing since she’d been sixteen. Her mom had called it “Autonomy Training”. Meri smiled as she thought back on all the different parenting strategies her mom had tried. Through it all, her dad had just smiled and continued to listen and