Surviving Seduction by Maia Underwood Read Free Book Online Page A

you blush,” he whispered. “It’s like this is the first time anyone’s talked to you like this.”
    A moment of quiet fol owed. If his silken words were making her feel things she didn’t want to feel, his silence was much worse. He only looked at her now, searchingly, as his mischievous smile grew.
    Selena knew she was way out of her depth here.
    Somehow, he had made it final y impossible not to smile back, so before she could let that happen, she covered it up with a scoff and stepped around him to head back to camp. She had a feeling he knew he’d gotten to her, but she was determined to pretend he hadn’t. Her intentions were the thing that mattered most, weren’t they? So her long life of isolation made her il -equipped for this kind of thing. There was no reason she couldn’t make him think he was misunderstanding her.
    Jack fel in step beside her as she walked up the hil .
    “I’ve never met a woman so stunning, who didn’t know she was. Most girls act like they are God’s gift when they are only half pretty. How have you been living? Do you come from a smal family? Have you been alone your whole life?”
    Selena halted to eye him suspiciously. His gaze explored her face again with the same look of fascinated delight. He is so open and his feelings so unguarded. It was strange and disarming.
    “It’s none of your business,” she forced herself to say in a tone that was polite but firm.
    She worried that he would be offended but to her surprise, he seemed more entertained than before. His smile grew wider than ever.
    Selena made no effort to hide how incredulous she felt. Something between a chuckle and a guffaw emerged from her and she shook her head, continuing her hike up the hil .
    “I’l make sense of things,” he promised her quietly as they drew close to the wagon. “I wil , whether you tel me or not. This is going to be a lot more interesting than other places.”
    “Jack,” Loraine admonished when she saw them.
    “Are you bothering the girl?”
    Selena kept her face careful y blank and made her way to her bedrol . It was the first time Loraine had acknowledged her in any verbal way. Her concern didn’t sound al that sincere, but Selena was glad she’d said something nonetheless.
    “Just getting to know each other a bit,” Jack smiled.
    It was clear from his tone that he didn’t care if his sister knew or objected.
    Just before climbing under her blanket, Selena glimpsed Amy’s unveiled irritation with her siblings.
    “What, no fire tonight?” Jack asked Selena innocently.
    She grabbed her little sack of provisions and waved a stick of dried meat above her like a flag.
    “I’m tired,” she answered flatly and took a bite out of her food.
    Jack shrugged and the three of them fol owed Selena’s example. Getting to sleep sooner was better than later. Tomorrow at noon, they would meet Shane and most everyone else at Dead Tree Hil .
    If Selena had been eager to see Dan before, she felt nearly frantic about it now. When Jack saw them together, he would have no choice but to keep his distance. No one crossed Dan. Wel , a few men had, but they were dead now.

    The four of them awoke before dawn, perhaps because of their anticipation for the coming day. Not much was said that morning while they readied themselves for the continuation of their journey. Even Amy and Loraine were quieter than usual.
    Jack watched Selena as careful y as the night before and seemed less concerned than ever with hiding his interest.
    Her stomach roiled now that she knew his sisters were aware of what was going on between them. It was bad enough being at the receiving end of his attention. Now she had to worry about his sisters’ curiosity about her.
    Breakfast was just like dinner the night before. They each scrounged up food from their provisions before quickly leaving their campsite behind.
    The hours crawled by much too slowly for Selena’s taste. Although riding took a lot of energy, she found herself