Serial Book 1- Tempted to Submit by Rob Read Free Book Online Page B

the man’s name, and anticipation followed, making my skin prickle with gooseflesh.
    I stared at it, willing the brown paper to unwrap before my eyes and give me some hint, some clue, about what I was to face upstairs. All I got was a pencil rapped sharply on the glossy surface of my desk, very near my knuckles.
    “Get going, then, Miss Devon Reid. Unless you think you’re too good to play delivery girl.” With murmured words to the negative I stood, took the parcel in hand and scurried toward the elevators.
    I could feel the older woman’s stare following me, poking at the chicken wings of my shoulder blades. When I turned back briefly after pressing the elevator button, I was surprised to see that the expression the other woman wore was no longer one of annoyance, but worry.
    Why would she be worried about my delivering this package? I was the one who was about to face the unknown.
    Surrender to Temptation Part I: Tempted to Submit / Jameson, Lauren 41
    Why, oh why did that word make something dark and needy twist itself tightly inside me with anticipation?
    I quickly forgot about Mrs. Gallagher as the elevator climbed from the third floor of the building, up and up, sliding toward its goal of floor twenty-six. I caught sight of myself in the mirrored walls, and I wasn’t thrilled with what I saw.
    My black skirt and sweater were tidy, but plain. My hair was in a ponytail, loose ends flying out every which way, and soft bruises under my eyes caused by several sleepless nights were clearly visible through the thin layer of makeup that didn’t hide much in fluorescent lighting.
    It didn’t matter what I looked like, in my heart I knew this. But as I thought of the feeling of Zach inside of me, of his mouth on my breasts, I shivered, my nipples tightening, and I wished—hard—that I had worn something else. Something prettier.
    Something sexier.
    The woman who sat at a desk as big as a lake, directly in front of the elevator doors that opened in front of me, was clearly younger than me—quite a feat, since I was only twenty-four—and had smooth, icy blond hair and an equally slick smile.
    She beamed that smile my way, but I didn’t feel welcome. She didn’t speak, just waited, and I knew that I had been out-bitched in a major way.
    “I’m here to deliver this to Mr. St. Brenton.” I raised my chin up a bit and tried to forget that that morning I had noticed a tiny hole in the seam of my skirt. It was at my hip, covered by my sweater, but I was so uncertain in that moment that I was sure the perfect-looking creature knew.
    She smiled some more, and I held up the box. She reached for it, and I pulled it tight against my belly.
    “I’ll pass that along to Zach—Mr. St. Brenton, as soon as he’s free.” I knew that the name slip wasn’t an accident. The woman was challenging me, and I couldn’t imagine why.
    “I need to deliver it to him myself.” I tried to keep my words steady, though I was hugely 42 Surrender to Temptation Part I: Tempted to Submit / Jameson, Lauren
    intimidated. But facing off with this paper-doll princess was, I was quite certain, shades better than what would befall me if I dared to disobey the order that I somehow knew had come directly from the man whom I hadn’t seen in a week.
    I didn’t know him well, but I knew that he didn’t take kindly to being challenged.
    “Oh, you’re so cute.” The woman smiled again, but there wasn’t any humor in her voice. “But really, you can leave it with me.”
    I clung to the package as if it were a life preserver, feeling as though I was being tested. I opened my mouth, to say what I wasn’t sure, but the words were forever swallowed down when the voice that echoed in my dreams crashed over me like a warm wave.
    “Thank you, Philippa, but I did indeed give Miss Reid orders to deliver that package straight into my hands.” Philippa turned the sweetness in her smile up in wattage, all aimed at the beautiful man who had opened the heavy