Seducing Texas (So Not Prince Charming Book 2)

by Diana Downey

  Niki’s cheeks flame red with anger. She looks like she could kill me. “You were supposed to take me to dinner and then you cancel to be with her?”

  “I couldn’t tonight. We had an incident at the tower, and I have work I have to get done.”

  “Why are you with her?” Niki asks.

  “Were not exclusive, Niki. I told you that.”

  Cyn kicks me under the table. I can’t deal with this much longer. I’m not a cheater.

  “I’ll call you later,” I say.

  “Maybe you shouldn’t,” Niki says.

  “That’s okay by me,” I say.

  Cyn isn’t grinning. Her hands are grappling my cock and balls that have gone squeamishly soft. I won’t be making any sudden moves.

  “We’ll talk about this later, Shane.” Niki stomps away in a huff, and I can only hope we have no further contact.

  “Aren’t you suppose to wire up for her?” Cyn asks, her hand now gently rubbing my cock that is slowly awakening. “That will be a waist of time and piss me off.”

  “Yeah. The feds probably have enough data to track the culprits without her. I don’t know why Timmons insists on me to continue seeing her.”

  We eat and bring home dinner for Willa. I have a ton of work to get done.

  On our way back, I reach for my girl’s hand. “You’ve been a huge help to me, Cyn, and I will repay you.” In more than one-way.

  “Let’s hurry home. I don’t like leaving Willa alone too long.”

  When we get home, Willa’s not there, and my heart hammers in my chest. Cyn calls her cell and leaves a message. It looks like she cleaned the place up, which she must’ve done once she got out of school today.

  Cyn’s breathing comes in short bursts. “She wouldn’t leave without telling me where she’s going.”

  “Start calling her friends,” I say.

  Cyn speed dials them, one after another. After she’s gone through all of them, panic has set into her eyes.

  “What about Fay?” I ask.

  Cyn calls her and puts the phone on speaker.

  “Have you tried Aedan?” Fay asks, her voice strained with concern. “He seems to like her, and he left the filming right after we shot today.”

  “I don’t have his number,” Cyn says.

  “I have it,” Fay says and rattles off some number. How the hell does she have his number?

  Cyn calls, but there’s no answer, and we’re at a loss what to do next.

  Chapter Willa

  My cell phone is dead because the battery died hours ago. I was so flustered when Aedan asked me to dinner at some fancy Italian restaurant that I forgot to charge it when I got home from school. He came by my school, picked me up, and asked me then.

  Most of my good clothes were destroyed, so I borrowed one of Cyn’s flirty, snug-fitting designer dresses and shoes that I can barely walk in. Heels hurt. I don’t know how she wears them.

  “You look beautiful,” Aedan says, his eyes never leaving the dress and then my face.

  Wearing dress pants and a pressed shirt, he takes my hand. He’s let his beard grow out for the last two days, and it’s neatly trimmed. It’s painfully hot. If he doesn’t help me along, I’d melt onto the sidewalk. He’s so different from the drunken stupor I found him in.

  I can’t stop thinking about him. Instead of listening to my chem teacher this morning, I actually doodled his name in my notebook. It’s so juvenile, but Cyn got her not so Prince Charming Shane, and I can only hope for mine.

  Aedan’s cute, and I love that sexy accent. Every time he opens his mouth and speaks, I melt and would follow him around like a lost puppy. I feel dopey next to him, too young, and definitely not the smart girl I am. He’ll never think of me as anything but a little girl.

  And once he takes my virginity, which my disloyal body would gladly give him, he’ll dump me. That’s what happened to Fay. Cyn dumped Trevor after losing hers and left him out in the middle of nowhere. We got a hearty laugh out of that.

  I work hard at staying upright in these shoes. I don’t know how to act sexy to get a man. I’ve never really had a boyfriend. Will our relationship even get that far?

  I should be worried about losing our reality TV series contract. If they catch us, we could lose it, but I don’t want to lose this chance. Cyn almost lost Shane, and he’s the best. Aedan and I both love film, he loves his sister, and he’s Irish. I hope I’m not just infatuated, and Aedan could be my Shane.

  Aedan opens the door to the restaurant, his hand resting on the small of my back. It’s such an intimate gesture that I want to curl into it and dissolve.

  We’re seated in our own private cove next to a blazing fireplace and the air conditioning blowing. It’s amazingly romantic. Could he really like me? I know how guys have let my sisters down, especially Cyn. Her husband cheated on her with a man. I can’t help but think I will never get my happy ending. I don’t want to be taken for granted, and I’ve met plenty of guys like that.

  “Willa, yer look amazing.” He nuzzles into my neck, and now I understand how my sister fell for Shane. She said he lit up the cold nights in Alaska like fireworks.

  “So was I an arse the first time we met?”

  He was adorable and a little scary, but now that I know he was pissed over Dallas treating his younger sister so poorly. It’s sweet. “Yes and no. You were kind of cute.”

  His rough hands work underneath my long hair to clasp my neck and pull my lips to his. He’s so affectionate, and I completely love it. His tongue dips into my mouth, and I’d love to make out with him, but we’re in a restaurant.

  A fire blazes up my neck, but I don’t stop kissing him.

  His breath dances on my cheek while he says into my neck, “Kind of cute? I’ve lost my skills as a man.”

  The waiter stops by and clears his throat. The blush burns my cheeks as I break away from him, casting my eyes down.

  Aedan orders sea bass in a red pepper cream sauce for me and a bottle of red wine for us. I feel like I’m sitting on a cloud. His hand rests behind my back while we eat.

  “How’s Caitlin doing?” I ask.

  “She works hard in school, but she misses Ma and she wants a family. That’s why I came here.”

  “Do you miss Ireland?” I don’t want him to return home.

  “Yes. I miss drinking with the boys after work, morning walks in the countryside, and the laid back life.”

  “Will you go back?” Please tell me you won’t.

  “Caitlin isn’t, so I won’t. Besides, I have this beautiful lass who likes to kiss me and can’t seem to stop.”

  I can’t help it. My cheeks hurt from smiling too much. “You kissed me.”

  He grins and kisses my neck. He’s smooth, maybe too smooth. “Don’t be making up tales.”

  I don’t know if I can handle him. He could be playing me. “I’m not.”

  “Even in my wasted state, I could see yer were the prettiest lass I’d ever laid eyes on. Are you a witch? Did you slip me a potion?”

  “No.” My neck prickles with intense burning. I’ve never been this turned on by a man. He’s handsome, tall, and firmly built—all male. He smells of liquefied heat and whiskey.

  He breathes into my mouth, and his tongue slips into it. My thighs clench together. No man has ever made me crave his touch or made my sex ache with need. I want him to touch me everywhere.

  He kisses me throughout the meal and my body lights up as if struck by lightning. Now I know why Cyn talks about sex like it’s a religion.

  We barely finish our meals, the flames of our passion licking and wetting us. He pilots me out of the restaurant, our breathing heavy and his hand slipping around my waist. It’s like we’re on fire.

  Aedan opens the truck door and helps me up into it. Before I get in, his hands cup my face and his lips assault my mouth. It’s wild, untamed, and seductive. Excitement sparks all over me, tightening my nipples and shocking my sex. I may have an orgasm just from his passionate kiss.


  “I want you,” he says.

  Am I ready for this? Am I ready to lose my virginity? My body says yes repeatedly.

  While I sit in the truck, his hands draw me against his chest, and all I feel is solid muscle, taut and unyielding.

  “We should get a room or go back to my place,” he says.

  Nerves give into reluctance. “I need to call my sister.”

  “You can call her from my house,” he whispers into my neck, tickling and peppering it with tender kisses. “We better go before I take you right here in front of the restaurant.”

  I like Aedan, but I want my first to last a lifetime.

  He climbs into the truck, and as we pull away, I spot a low rider, but this time the guy leaning out the window wears a navy blue bandana. This isn’t Juarez’s gang. The men belong to Manny. Bile burns my throat. Why would Manny have his gangbangers follow me? Oh God.

  Tears blur my vision. “Please take me home.”

  “What’s wrong?”

  “We’re being followed,” I say, my voice and hands shaking.

  Aedan glances in his rearview mirror. When the low rider bumps us from behind, he slams on his brakes.

  “Don’t stop,” I plead.

  “They hit me.”

  I pull my gun from my purse, but I’m so terrified I drop it. “They have guns—lots of guns.”

  “Why are these hooligans after you?”

  “It’s a long story. My uncle is Manny Diaz. He’s a big time drug runner. He put a hit out on my mother and sister. I don’t know what we’re going to do, but Shane and Cyn are smart. I hope they figure something out.” Before someone else in our family gets killed.

  Aedan scratches his beard and continues driving.

  The gangbangers turn off before we’re even close to my townhouse, but my nerves are shot. Cyn and I can’t live like this.

  “We probably shouldn’t see each other,” I say.

  My heart swallows the words and crushes them in my soul. I want to see him again, but this isn’t fair to him or his sister. I can’t put them in danger.

  Chapter Aedan

  When I returned Willa to her sister after dinner, she got into big trouble. She’s only texted me a few times over the past week. It sounds like she can’t or won’t see me, though her kisses told me otherwise.

  After our date, she scooted into her townhouse with what sounded like a permanent goodbye. I should run, but my stupid cock has other ideas. She’s too young and the hooligans harassing her toting guns should strongly discourage me, but they don’t. What kind of man would I be if I didn’t come to her aid?

  It’s Saturday now, and Willa is supposed to have a date with Lynch. He’s the one bragging about his dick size, not an appropriate date for a wee lass.

  After his two offenses, Travis is out of the picture now. One suitor is down, and there are two to go.

  Today, Lynch and Willa are riding horses through the canyon lands, and we meet the cast at the entrance of the park. Lynch is all duded up for riding while Willa has on cutoffs, sneakers, and a tight fitting tee that has already affected the annoying part of my body. It’s bent at an uncomfortable angle and straining to see her.

  Cyn had dropped off Willa and specifically tells her that she will come pick her up in a couple hours. I ready my gear onto the rail dolly. We’ll be following Willa and Lynch for several miles, not the most ideal shooting conditions.

  She gives me a tight expression I cannot read. She may be young, but she’s smart—smarter than me. Every viewer was told she’s the valedictorian of her school. I’m no dummy, but I screwed off in high school.

  Willa chooses a dark bay with a little more spirit than the pinto Lynch climbs upon. From the way she mounts and sits upright in the saddle, she’s an experienced rider. She can shoot and ride, though carrying a cup of coffee presents a challenge. I grin at the thought. All I want to do is hold this sweet lass in my arms, even though my cock is not thinking straight.

  Leering at her arse, like a wanker, Lynch rides up beside her. “Let’s see how far we can take this.”

  Willa fakes a smile. “Let’s see how far we can ride,” she says, kicking the horse and pushing it into a gallop.

  Lynch keeps up with her, but we don’t. The camera crew has to drive ahead of them and ask them to slow down.

  The other cameramen and I follow them for an hour when Lynch finally climbs down for their romantic picnic. I tamp down the most primal urges to punch the tool beside her and carry her off.

  As Lynch helps her off the horse, her shorts ride up even higher. I don’t like that he’s touching her, but I need to corral this insane obsession and possessiveness I feel. I like her. Hell my damn cock can’t stop talking about her, and I shouldn’t be thinking that way. She’s off limits.

  They walk over to the blanket laid out for them. His hand gradually seeks lower ground around her soft, pliant arse. I want to go over and ring his scrawny neck, but she pulls his hand away as she should. I haven’t tried that. Nerves have kept me from doing so because I like her.

  Willa waits for him to sit before taking a seat a good meter away. Through the lens of my camera, I zoom in on her smile and laughter.

  She should be on this date with me, not the douche. He feeds her strawberries and other fruits, and she gives him a half smile. Her fingers work worry knots into the blanket’s frayed edges.

  “You need to spice this up,” the director says. “We got great footage of Fay yesterday with Tanner. How about a little kissing?”

  Willa rolls her eyes but then glances my way. It’s almost like her upset expression wants me to help her. Dammit.

  Lynch leans in to kiss her, and all I see is red. Swallowing down my rage, I continue videoing, taking in his sloppy kisses on my girl.

  Lynch lays more kisses on her neck while her body stiffens. “When are you going to invite me to the Fantasy Suite?”

  “Never,” she mouths.

  As if he hasn’t heard a word, his hands move onto her hips. She shudders, glancing over at me with a help-me look. He swiftly pushes her down, and his hands roam up her shirt.

  Fuck this. I leave my camera, rush over, and pick him up by his shirt. It rips, and his fist lights into me. The blow shoots stars around my eyes, and pain rips into my jaw.

  “What the fuck are you doing?” Lynch snaps.

  Willa is up on her feet in no time. Lynch throws another punch, and I block it. I throw an uppercut and send him reeling backward. I’ve participated in my share of bar brawls in Ireland and did a bit of boxing in college. With both fists up, I jab at him, and his nose crunches.

  “Are you getting this?” the director asks another cameraman.

  Lynch comes at me but never lands another solid hit.

  The director steps between us. “Enough.” When we stop grappling each other, he says, “You’re fired.”

  “Me? For stopping this arse from feeling up a young girl? She’s only eighteen.”

  “No. For you taking her to dinner. You know the rules.”

  How the hell does he know about that? The other cameramen haven’t stopped filming.

  “Please don’t fire him,” Willa says. “It won’t happen again.”

  “Really?” I ask. I’d rather lose my job than give up seeing Willa.

  “Yes,” she says, pleading with her smoldering dark eyes.

  “We could end your contract,” the director says to her, “but your ratings are up. The show is doing well. I can’t have one of my cameramen distracting you, Miss Diaz.”

  I pack up my gear.

  Willa takes a Kleenex to Lynch’s nose, which he obligingly accepts. He grins and rests his hand on her back.

  “You need to take this a lot slower,” she says, not once looking my way while removing his hand.

  It’s like she dropped a cinder block on my head. I give her one last look, walk back to my truck, and set my gear into the extra cab. She doesn’t once look at me. I don’t understand. She was receptive to me the other
night.

  I shouldn’t have screwed this up. I need the money to help Caitlin. Now, I’ll have to look for another job. Damn.

  I saved her from that wanker, so what the hell did I do wrong? Willa needed me, and I want her to need me.

  Fuck. Today went arseways on me.

  Chapter Cyn

  Before Shane and I get into his truck to meet Juarez, he gives me one of those panty-melting kisses that leaves me breathless and wanting more.

  “I don’t think you should meet with Juarez,” he says. His deep hypnotic voice almost draws me under his spell.

  I cannot live without this man and would follow him to the ends of the earth or in his case back to the wilds of Alaska. “I have to for Willa. Uncle Manny is crazy, and after what he did to Mom, I need to figure out a permanent way to stop him from coming after us.” And that means killing him. If I went to prison to protect her, it would be worth it, but giving up Shane would be pure hell. Can I get conjugal visits in prison?

  He pats his gun under his sport coat. “How come this feels more like a shootout at the O.K. corral that we’re going to?”

  “It could be.” I double-check the gun in my purse, even though this won’t even up the odds. Juarez and his gang will be packing, and he’ll have an entire posse.

  Shane drives us across town. “We have company,” he says, glancing in his rearview mirror.

  “Gangbangers?”

  “Feebies.”

  “We should lose them. Otherwise Juarez won’t show.” And I do want to talk to him. He may have some ideas about silencing Manny. They’ve been enemies for years.

  Shane speeds through a yellow light and then detours onto the highway. It’ll take us a few minutes out of our way but worth it.

  “I think I lost them,” he says.

  He takes me to our meeting place. It’s some popular fast food chicken on the south side of town, and I wonder if this is some sort of front like Breaking Bad.

  Shane waits by his truck, standing outside and sipping on bottled water. He’s so damn hot and notices me staring at Secretariat.