Seduced
The Lottery Winners Series
By Elizabeth Lennox
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Copyright 2018
ISBN13: 9781944078782
All rights reserved
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. Any duplication of this material, either electronic or any other format, either currently in use or a future invention, is strictly prohibited, unless you have the direct consent of the author.
The Lottery Winners Series
Hoping for Forever – Scarlett’s Story
Surrender – Jane’s Story
Tempted – Daisy’s Story
Rescued – Ivy’s Story
Caught – Marilee’s Story
Charmed – Mark’s Story
Seduced – Tony’s Story
Table of Contents
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Epilogue
Prologue
Julia stepped through the doors of the restaurant, hunger making her shaky. But she straightened her spine, pulled her shoulders back, and pretended that she wasn’t about to faint. Was her hair okay? She didn’t have a brush. Pinching her cheeks, she tried to add a hint more color, not wanting anyone else to know how close to passing out she might be.
“Can I help you?” a snooty voice asked.
Julia turned her head, pulling her threadbare hoody closer around her too thin shoulders. It didn’t offer a great deal of warmth against the brutally cold winter wind, but it was better than nothing. And it hid the only shirt she owned, which was even less presentable. “Um…I was told that you might have a job opening?”
The horrible, condescending man continued to stare and it took every ounce of her meager self-control not to fidget nervously under his haughty stare. Instinctively, she knew that fidgeting would be seen as a sign of weakness and she didn’t want anyone to know how truly desperate she was.
The man’s gaze roamed up and down her body and it took a whole lot of restrain to keep Julia from slapping him. “Do you have any experience as a waitress?” he asked dutifully, his tone conveying that he doubted she had experience in any profession except one.
Julia looked around, not sure what he meant. “Um…I know how to carry food from the kitchen to the tables, if that’s what you mean,” she answered, trying very hard to keep the sarcasm out of her voice.
A deep chuckle came from behind her and she turned away from Snooty Jerk. But what she saw frightened her more than anything else. The biggest, baddest, scariest man she had ever seen moved out of the shadows of the elegant restaurant, his silver eyes sparkling as his firm lips quirked up into what she suspected he might consider a smile.
“Give her the job, Jerome.”
Julia pulled her eyes away from Scary Man and glanced back at Snooty Jerk.
Snooty Jerk huffed a bit, his shoulders wiggling in outrage. “But, sir, she doesn’t have any experience and…”
Scary Man lifted a hand and the arguments stopped immediately. “Give her the job,” he repeated with firm authority.
Snooty Jerk’s chin lifted higher, making him appear to be even more of a snob. Julia was sure that he was going to say no. So she was surprised by the next question as well as the flippant response. “And if she drops food on someone’s lap?” he demanded, his nose going up a fraction of an inch higher, showing his disapproval.
Scary Man lifted a dark eyebrow at Snooty Jerk. “Then I will assume that you didn’t train her well enough and you will be fired,” Scary Man answered softly. A moment later, Scary Man walked out of the restaurant and into the bright sunshine.
Leaving her alone with a thoroughly pissed off Snooty Jerk.
Julia wasn’t sure what the appropriate response was. Should she look away, pretend like she wasn’t here or hadn’t heard? Or maybe she should look down and act as if she were on Snooty Jerk’s side.
She did neither since she didn’t have time.
Once again, Snooty Jerk’s eyes moved up and down her figure and Julia was painfully aware that she was basically skin and bones. Well, plus a few other things she wasn’t going to let this jerk know about, she thought as she once again pulled her hoodie closer, covering as much skin as she could. Could he hear her stomach grumbling in hunger? Actually, no. There was no grumbling. Her stomach had given up on any signs of hunger long ago. She was well beyond hunger.
Julia hated this feeling. Begging was humiliating and demoralizing. Unfortunately, she needed a job. She needed to eat! She was so hungry, she could feel the sides of her stomach touching. She hadn’t eaten in two days and the smell wafting from the kitchen was making her light-headed. So, if Snooty Jerk wanted to look down his nose at her, Julia vowed she would stand here and take his abuse. If she got the job, that is.
Snooty Jerk sniffed. “Fine. You heard the boss, you’re hired.” His lip curled in disgust and anger. “But you need a shower. And you need a white shirt and black pants.” He turned away from her. “Come back tomorrow and I’ll start training you.”
Julia stared at him for a long moment, not sure she’d heard him correctly.
He glanced over his shoulder at her and rolled his eyes. “Close your mouth! You look like a fish,” he snapped and turned away. “That will be the first thing we’ll train on.”
Julia ignored the insult as she continued to gape. “You mean, I got the job? I get to work here?”
He sniffed again. “If you can manage to scrounge up a decent white shirt from that backpack you stuffed behind the mailbox outside.”
With that, he walked away. Julie stared after him for a long moment, wanting to dance. Or jump up and down. She did neither. Taking a deep breath, she walked out of the restaurant, grabbed her backpack from behind the big, blue mailbox, and headed down the street. When she was hidden by a copse of trees, only then did she dance and jump up and down, yelling “Yes!” while she pumped a triumphant fist into the air. “Finally something positive!” as she happily shuffled backwards, shaking her butt a bit as she reveled in her success. A job! She had a job! One that paid her money and she could get some food! Maybe even enough money to find a place to live! Oh, goodness, today was a wonderful day!
Tony stopped in his tracks while he watched the young beauty celebrate. She had a slow, painfully dignified walk away from the restaurant, but once she thought she was hidden from prying eyes, she dumped her backpack onto the ground and did a victory dance. Obviously, she’d tried to hide before doing the dance-celebration. And for most of the world, she was well hidden. It was only from this angle that he could see her wiggling, jubilant excitement. When she did the fist pump up in the air, he swallowed past the lump in his throat.
He remembered that feeling. It was a bit of a relief-high that happened when everything in one’s life was going wrong, when you think that life can’t get any worse and yet, it does. Tony remembered what it was like to feel as if the world was conspiring against him in so many ways and then….
Something good happens.
He smiled, silently sharing the moment with her. She couldn’t see him, especially not when she danced backwards like that, but he knew the feeling.
The moment he’d met Daisy, Ivy, and Marilee so many years ago at that truck stop diner had been that change for him. Those three women had saved him. The four of them were all about the same age, but the three beautiful ladies had mothered him until he’d regained his confidence. They’d also convinced Janice to give him a chance at cooking in that horrible diner, which had probably saved his life. If not for those three women, he probably would be in jail right now. That morning, he’d been so desperate, so hungry and miserable, he’d contemplated stealing someone’s wallet just so he could buy something to eat.
But Daisy had seen him and waved him into the relative warmth of the diner. She’d slipped him a sandwich, pretending it was a mixed up order. Tony knew perfectly well that Daisy had paid for that meal out of her tips. Marilee had convinced Janice to hire him, and Ivy let him sleep on her couch for the whole first month.
Looking at the girl who was still dancing in the copse of trees, he wondered how long she’d been walking the streets. A long time from the looks of her shoes. There were holes in the soles of her sneakers and the hoodie she was wearing wasn’t warm enough for the winter weather.
He pulled out his phone and sent a text, standing back to watch. Sure enough, moments later, the church minister walked out the front door of the church, heavy coat in hand as he glanced around. Tony spotted him and pointed in the direction of the trees. The minister caught sight of the girl and nodded, hustling down the block.
Tony continued to watch. Thankfully, after a bit of convincing, the girl took the coat with a grateful smile. A few minutes later, the minister was leading her towards the church.
All would be well, Tony thought with satisfaction. The people of LowPoint, Kentucky always took care of people in need.
Chapter 1
Years Later…
“No!” Julia cried. “Oh, please don’t do this!”
But as she pulled the egg casserole out of the oven, she accepted defeat. The edges were burnt while the middle was…well, still liquid. “Yuck.”
“What the hell are you trying to do?”
Julia spun around, hiding a groan as well as the burnt, soupy mess of her egg casserole. So many years, she thought as she drank in the sight of Tony. At first, their relationship had been merely boss and employee, but after so many years together, and too many promotions to count, she considered Tony to be one of her closest friends.
And the man of her dreams – but that was something she kept to herself at all costs!
“Julia?” he asked as he walked deeper into the restaurant’s kitchen, a warning note in his voice.
Julia mentally jerked back to the present, pulling her eyes away from his tall, muscular body.
What was she doing? Uhh…eggs! Trying to cook! Oh boy. Cooking was Tony’s specialty and he was going to be furious that she hadn’t come to him for help.
“Nothing,” she snapped and pulled a dishrag over the disgusting mess. She glanced at the trash bin and wondered if she should just shove the whole thing, dish and all, into the garbage. The edges looked to be adhered to the casserole dish, so it was going to take her hours of scouring to get it to come off.
Tony came closer, then whipped the rag off the casserole and examined it. Then looked down at her since he was almost a foot taller than her five foot, four inch frame. “If you wanted something to eat, why didn’t you just grab something out of the fridge from last night’s dinner?” he demanded. “Or even better, ask me to cook something for you. You know I’ll make anything you want.”
She sighed and turned away. “It wasn’t that I wanted something to eat, Tony. I am trying to teach myself to cook.”
He stared at her, stunned and more than a little bit confused. “Why?”
She rolled her eyes, throwing her arms up in the air with exasperation at his question. “Because I’m a full grown adult and I burn water! I want to learn to cook!”
He crossed his arms over his muscular chest. “Okay, I’ll teach you to cook.”
Julia was so horrified by the idea, she backed up a step, her sandy blond hair swinging back and forth against her shoulders. “No! No way!”
“Why not?”
She took the casserole dish by the edges, holding onto it with the rag. “Because you’re mean in the kitchen.”
He chuckled, not denying her charge. “I’ll be nice.”
She cringed as she set the dish in the deep, metal sink. “When it comes to cooking, you don’t know how to be nice.”
He moved closer to her, those sharp, hazel eyes showing his sincerity. “I’ll be kind. Very sweet.” He took her hands and led her mercilessly back to the prep counter. “You’ll be amazed at how gentle and patient I can be.”
Julia thought about shoving her elbow into his ribs and running as fast as she could. “Tony, you’re not human when you start cooking. Even your sous chefs have trouble keeping up with you. I’m not trained and you’re…”
He pressed a thumb to her lips, silencing her in ways he most likely didn’t understand. She desperately tried to hide the trembling from his sharp eyes, but the man wasn’t an idiot. He was shockingly smart and would wonder why she was…well, she didn’t want to go there!
“We’ll go slowly,” he promised. Stepping back slightly, he rubbed his hands together and that was her first indication that she was in trouble. “Why eggs?” he asked, grabbing a clean bowl and cracking several eggs into the metal depths. His hands so sure and practiced, he could crack, open, and dump an egg with one hand, not getting a speck of shell into the bowl.
“Tony,” she sighed, leaning a hip against the counter.
He cracked another egg, looking over at her. “What?”
She looked at him pointedly, then down at the egg in his hand. The third one since she’d said his name. “Nothing,” she said, slowly backing away. “Continue.”
He glanced down at his hand, then at Julia as she inched closer to the door. “You’re trying to sneak away, thinking I’ll get distracted by cooking and won’t notice that you’re gone. How are you going to learn to cook if you’re trying to escape from me?” he teased with a wink of those wickedly sexy green eyes. Walking over, he pulled her back to the counter. “Here,” he put an egg in her hand. “Crack four more of those.”
Julia sighed with resignation, wishing she’d kept her mouth shut. And experimented with cooking in her apartment, where it was safer. But darn it, Tony wasn’t supposed to be here this morning! He was supposed to be at the gym, which is where he normally was at this time of the day.
“It works better if you gently smack it against the edge of the bowl,” he told her, that teasing note in his voice that sometimes made her laugh and other times, she wanted to smack him.
She frowned up at him. “I know how to crack an egg,” she snapped.
The jerk only chuckled. “Yeah, well, you were glaring at the egg, so it sort of looked like you were trying to crack it with your mind.”
Julia focused her glare on Tony. “Mocking me won’t help.”
Another laugh, but she pushed the delicious sound out of her mind, focusing on cracking the egg carefully, so no bits of shell got into the bowl. She tapped it cautiously this time, but nothing happened. She did it again, harder, and it cracked, but not enough. So, she hit it harder still and this time…it crumbled into the bowl, shells and egg and goop and…it was a mess.
“What am I doing wrong?” she groaned, stomping over to the sink and dumping everything down the drain. “This shouldn’t be so hard!”
With a soft laugh, Tony pulled her back to the industrial countertop. “You’re trying too hard, honey.” He handed her another egg and a clean bowl. “Try again,” he soothed.
When she messed this one up, he moved behind her. “Here, try it like this.” He stood with his powerful chest pressed lightly against her back, his head
lowered so that his tantalizing lips were too close to her susceptible ear. He handed her another egg, but this time, he put his strong hand over hers, curving around her fingers. “Just a gentle tap, enough to break the shell in a smooth line.”
Julia wasn’t paying any attention to the egg. Her whole focus was on Tony’s body pressed against hers. She wanted to lean back against his chest, press her bottom against his groin. She wanted to feel the heat of him surrounding her, making her shiver and tremble. At this moment, she couldn’t give a damn about cooking. She didn’t want to learn anything more about cracking an egg. She wanted to know how to “do” Tony.
“It’s better if you have your eyes open,” he teased.
Julia hadn’t realized that she’d closed her eyes and popped them open, turning her head. But with that move, she realized how close he was. She could see the yellow band surrounding the hazel of his irises, almost feel the scruff of his beard, since he hadn’t shaved yet today. She thought about telling him to never shave again, but that might not be good.
“Eyes open,” she repeated, but the words were whispered.
“Eyes open. Good.” His voice seemed deeper all of a sudden. Was it huskier? Or was that just her imagination?
She felt his hand smooth along her wrist. And then another egg was placed in her palm. “Try it again,” he suggested with that sexy, deeper voice.
Slowly, Julia looked back down at the egg. What would happen if she threw the egg across the room, slid up onto the metal counter, and asked him to make love to her? Ho boy, not a good thought. Especially since she’d probably finish that thought in her dreams tonight – and wake up hot and bothered. Again.
His husky voice only added to her fantasy. “Treat the egg with respect. Crack it gently and it will open for you.”
“Is that how you do it?”
He shook his head, a slight smile to those firm lips. “No. I make sure that the egg knows who is in charge. I show them who the boss is.”
Seduced (The Lottery Winners Book 8) Page 1