Entice - By Ella Frank Page 0,50
at the fountain. He chose this park because I was baptized in that church over there, St. John the Baptist. We would always come here and make a wish before tossing in a penny.” She paused, taking in a deep breath. “I just wanted to remind myself of that before I see him tonight. When you meet him, you’ll understand why.” Then, she turned, walking back through the park.
Mutley stood and looked up at him while Josh pulled a penny out of his pocket.
Staring at the huge cathedral that was lit up and peeking out above the trees, Josh was pretty sure he’d never seen anything so spectacular.
He thought about what Shelly had just told him and wondered what he was going to witness this weekend. Before he turned away, he brought the penny up to his mouth, closed his eyes, and made a wish. Then, he kissed the penny and tossed it into the fountain.
Chapter Twelve
As Josh turned the truck onto a small pebbled lane, all he could see was darkness.
“Are you sure you haven’t forgotten how to get there?” he asked around a laugh.
“Funny, Josh. It’s just up here around the bend.”
The truck crawled along slowly, bumping and swaying over a couple of potholes. As it made the final bend in the road, Josh felt his mouth drop open.
Right in front of him, like something out of Gone with the Wind, was a driveway lined by huge oak trees draped in Spanish Moss. They were stunning all on their own, but when the six light posts on both sides of the driveway illuminated them, they were absolutely spectacular.
As Josh turned into the drive, he saw a huge white plantation-style mansion at the end of the road. He abruptly stopped the truck.
He turned to the woman beside him and asked, “This is your house?”
She gave him a lopsided grin and nodded. “Yep. This is home.”
Josh turned back to the opulence in front of him, suddenly feeling extremely intimidated. “That is not a home, Georgia. That’s a damn mansion.”
He heard her chuckle beside him.
“Try not to be too impressed when we get there. My father loves to gloat.”
Josh could understand why. He looked down at his thirteen-hour worn shirt and jeans, and then back at Shelly.
“Maybe we should go somewhere and change.”
She looked him over quickly and raised her eyebrows. “If we go somewhere and you take your clothes off, I’m not going to leave until you’ve been inside of me.”
Josh felt himself harden, and his eyes widened. “We are right outside your family’s house. I don’t think now is the time to be acting that way.”
Suddenly, she started laughing, hard.
“What?” he demanded, knowing her laughter was at his expense.
“You.” She paused to giggle. “You’re so proper all of a sudden. It’s just a house.”
“Georgia. That is not a house. My place back in Chicago is just a house.”
He watched her bite her lip to keep from laughing.
“Well, I wouldn’t know. I haven’t seen your house.”
He grunted at that. “Well, maybe you can visit when we get back.”
She moved across the truck, putting her hands on the middle seat to lean up to him. Josh looked down at her.
She whispered, “I have another deal for you.”
Josh shook his head and suddenly felt like this woman was weaving her hot Southern magic around him again.
“Oh yeah? And what’s that?” he asked like the stupid lust-hazed fool he was.
“I don’t have to go back to work until Wednesday. So, when we arrive back in town, if you show me your house on Tuesday morning, I promise not to put on a stitch of clothing until I need to head home on Tuesday night at 10:00 p.m.”
Josh looked at the woman who was seducing him with her words, instantly deciding he could call Cole and postpone their meeting. He muttered, “You’re trouble.”
She leaned in and flicked her tongue across his bottom lip. “And you love it.” Sitting back up, she said, “Let’s get this show on the road, Josh. I suddenly want it to be Tuesday.”
***
Shelly took a deep breath as the truck made its way up the long driveway. Josh was right. This place was a mansion, and she knew it was extremely impressive whenever people saw it for the first time.
She had loved growing up here.
It was a cool night, but nowhere near cold when compared to Chicago.
A lovely breeze was blowing through the majestically large trees that were draped with moss. The leaves and branches danced with the wind giving