Seduction

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This book is a work of fiction and any
resemblance to any person, living or dead, or any events or
occurrences, is purely coincidental. The characters and story lines
are created from the author’s imagination and are used
fictitiously.

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Table of Contents

Note To My
Readers

Seduction

Prologue

One

Two

Three

Four

Five

Six

Seven

Eight

Nine

Lane One: Obsession

Justine Elvira's books

About the Author

Note To My Readers

This series is something special for me and
I'm so glad you're along for the ride. The prologue at the
beginning of each book is leading to Lane One: Devotion (Book
Four). You will get answers, so please do not let this part of the
story confuse you. I promise it will all make sense in the end
:)

Happy reading!

The act of persuading someone to have sex with
you.

Cassie

"Are you ready to head down to the gym, Ms.
Ward?"

Ms. Ward.

Why doesn't even the sound of my name spark
any recognition?

I know the man standing over me in my bed is
only doing the job he was assigned to do. Standing at well over six
foot, his shaved head, rough face and muscular body scare me and
intimidate me. You'd think that Theo would hire someone a little
more comforting to handle my rehabilitation.

Three times a day he comes up here to bring
me to the gym that is on the main floor of the condo I'm currently
staying in. I'm told it's where I lived before the accident. I
guess I still live here. It's hard to picture myself in such a
large place, surrounded by so much white. There aren't many
personal touches to the home and the thought saddens me.

I look up at the large man standing over me,
still waiting for an answer. "I'm kind of tired. I think I'm going
to take a nap. Could we do this a little later today?"

His eyes are void of any emotion as he
crosses his arms over his large chest. "You're on a strict
schedule, Miss Ward. When Mr. Rosely comes home from London he'll
want to know that you followed the best routine for recovery. And
Dr. Beasley will be here in a little over an hour to check on you
so we need to get your walk and stretching in before he
arrives."

Even with all I've been through you'd think
there would be someone to take a little pity on me, but my physical
therapist refuses to feel bad for me at all. Not that I want people
to pity me, but a little understanding wouldn't hurt. I've been
through some major trauma. He could let me rest a little and wallow
in the depression that's taken over this past week.

Waking up in a strange home, not remembering
how I got here is hard enough. Then realizing I don't remember
anything about my life or even my name, it completely sucks.

The door off to my left opens while I'm in a
staring contest with the burly man who calls himself my physical
therapist and I turn my head to see who it could be. In walks the
most gorgeous man I've ever seen, and that's easy to say because I
don't remember all the men I've come across in my lifetime.

But I know nothing about him and looks only
get you so far.

The man walks towards me, his dirty blond
hair untamed, his shirt unbuttoned at the collar and his tie loose
around his neck. The bags under his eyes reflect the little sleep
he must have gotten in the time he's been gone. I think he's been
gone two, maybe three days.

He lays his dress jacket along the chair by
the door and then places his briefcase on top of it before
strolling over to my bed. His arm reaches out to touch me and I
flinch at the movement. He stops mid-air and lets his arm fall to
his side. I can tell he's hurt that after his short trip I still
have no idea who he is.

I wish I could remember him.

I wish I could remember something,
anything.

"How are you feeling?" he asks. His voice is
both soft and rough at the same time, yet in a way it's extremely
soothing and comforting.

I want to believe everything he told me about
us before he left for his business trip. He seems like a
trustworthy man and he's extremely attractive and attentive. I
would be lucky to be dating a man like him. But I don't
remember.

It would be easy for me to believe and comply
with everything he said if something in his home triggered a
memory, but there's nothing personal here to indicate that I even
lived here. My doctor says that some personal things can help
produce memories, but Theo says I wasn't into material things and
had very few possessions.

It's very inconvenient.

"Tired," I answer, looking up into his
piercing, sky blue eyes. I could get lost in his eyes. "I really
want to take a nap but
he
won't let me." I point to the big,
beefy man on the other side of the bed.

I'm ready for Theo to argue with me. To tell
me that physical therapy is a necessity to my recovery, but to my
surprise he dismisses the ogre next to me and then it's just the
two of us left in this big, empty room.

Without my permission he slowly raises his
hand until he brushes it against my forehead. I don't flinch this
time and allow the contact. A little human touch might help stir up
some memories. At least that's what Dr. Beasley says.

"Get some rest. I'll wake you once the doctor
gets here." He brushes the back of his palm against my cheek and
then let's it fall back to his side before turning around slowly
and walking towards the bedroom door.

"Theo," I call out.

He turns around and looks at me expectantly.
I don't know what he's hoping for me to say, but I instantly feel
remorse because I know whatever I say is not going to change the
fact that I don't have a single memory of him from before the
accident.

"Why hasn't anyone come to visit me? Where's
my family?"

This has been bugging me since the moment I
woke up. With the exception of Theo, Chris, Molly, and a little
girl named Alyssa, the only people I've seen have been doctors,
therapists, and medical professionals. Maybe if I was able to speak
to some of my family I would be able to remember more. Surely my
mother could tell me some stories to help fill in all of these
blanks.

"You don't..." he stops, closing his eyes as
he takes a deep breath in and out. "You don't have any blood
family, Cassie." The pain that is clear in his eyes makes me regret
asking him. Of course I don't have any family. Why else would no
one show up to visit me?

Theo sits down on the chair that's piled with
his jacket and briefcase. "You and I came to a beautiful
realization a while back. Do you want to know what that was?"

As much as it may hurt to hear, I do want to
know what it was. I want to know as much about me as possible. I
want to know everything about my life so that hopefully, one day, I
can continue living it.

"What was it?" I ask.

"We'd say 'who needs family when we have each
other? We can be our own family.' And we were, Cassie. You and I
were a family of our own."

Three months
earlier

Cassie

This entire day has gone to complete and
utter crap. I had made the complicated mess of a relationship
between Theo and I even more complicated, which I didn't even think
was possible. I should have just thanked him for the car and then
walked away. Instead I threw myself at the man, the first man I've
every truly been interested in, and he rejected me.

It must have been all about the chase for
him. Now that I was showing interest, the intrigue and fascination
was gone for him.

I let my eyes wander over the dashboard of my
new Lexus and there are far too many buttons and dials to figure
out. I haven't even considered playing with the touch screen in the
center of the dashboard. This car has too many add-ons and
luxuries. I only need a vehicle to get me from point A to point
B.

Pulling out onto the street after leaving
work for the day, I start my drive over to Father Carmichael's
church. It's been a few days since I've been there and I'm already
feeling a little homesick. While it's just a church to the average
man on the street, it’s the place I feel most like myself. I'm not
catholic but I definitely have a relationship with God and I'm most
comfortable when I'm in a place of worship.

The drive doesn't take as long as it usually
does on a Friday night so I'm pulling into the church parking lot
and shutting off my car earlier than normal. The parking lot is
empty, which is exactly what I was expecting. Friday nights are
when members of the church do their youth outreach in the suburbs.
No one will be back here until tomorrow.

I use the key Matt gave me and open the front
doors of the church before slipping inside and locking the large
wooden doors behind me. The church is located in a good
neighborhood, but anyone who lives in Chicago knows that the
quality of the neighborhoods change here every few blocks. I can
never be too safe–even in a church.

The inside of this place is gorgeous.
Beautiful, stained glass windows line the walls of the sanctuary.
Dark burgundy carpet covers the floor that the rows of light oak
pews sit on. The burgundy carpet continues to the front of the
church where the white alter is laid out with candles and flowers.
I take in a deep breath and sniff the smallest hint of sage in the
air. It always looks and smells the same every time I'm here and I
love it. I find the smell comforting.

I approach the front of the church where the
alter is and walk up the three small steps, walking towards the
back. I reach a table with a beautiful flower arrangement on top
and bend down, slowly lifting the white tablecloth and revealing a
dark wool blanket and white cotton pillow.

I grab the pillow and blanket and make my way
down the alter and to the first row, placing the items on the pew
and sitting next to them. I kick off my white Chucks and stare at
the stained glass skylight above me. It's of Mary holding Baby
Jesus. Out of all the different stained glass in this church, this
skylight has always been my favorite one. The story of Jesus and
how much Mary loved him has always pulled at something in my heart.
Maybe it's because I was abandoned by my mother as a baby or maybe
it's because of the promise Jesus left us before his death, but I
could stare at this window forever.

I reach into the pillowcase and find a bottle
of coke, my favorite granola bar and a banana. There's a note taped
to the coke and I pull it off to read.

Aren't you glad you chose this church
instead of a Mormon place to worship? At least here you can feed
your coke addiction. Sleep well and I'll see you in the morning.
~Matt

Matt is always thinking and taking care of
me. He's the greatest friend I could have ever asked for, which is
good because he's also my only friend besides Alyssa. I thought I
would maybe be able to add Theo to that list, too, but it's pretty
clear that he will never be in the friend column for me.

I open the bottle of coke and take a nice
long sip, instantly relaxing as the bubbly caffeine trickles down
my throat. Tightening the cap on the bottle, I look up at the
skylight and talk to the only father I've ever known.

"Well, today has been a bust. I know you're
probably disappointed with the way I've been behaving lately,
lusting after a man who only wants me for one thing. It's just
that.... he is so hard to resist. He's completely charming, he
usually knows just the right things to say, and then follows it up
with the absolute worst things in the world to say, but even when
he is being a complete asshole... Oops, sorry for the asshole
thing," I quickly add, winking up at the ceiling. "Even when he is
being a complete jerk, it's hard to shut out the feelings I have
for him. They're completely irrational feelings because I barely
know this man, but I've never had this kind of connection with
anyone. It's like we're two magnets and the minute I met him our
magnets connected, refusing to be pulled apart."