Entice (41 page)
Authors: Ella Frank
Bracing himself, Cole stuffed his hands into his wool coat and waited.
Bring it on, Blue.
***
Rachel hit pause on her music and turned to tell Cole yet again,
Thanks, but no thanks
. But, as soon as she looked up and locked eyes with his hazel ones, all her thoughts left her brain.
What is it about this guy?
She’d only seen him a couple of times, and each time she had felt such a pull to him that she had tucked tail and ran—much like she wanted to do this moment.
Maybe it was because he was always so put together, and now was certainly no exception. Dressed in a long black, perfectly tailored woolen coat and what she could only assume was an equally expensive suit of some kind underneath, he exuded calm and cool sophistication. He exuded confidence.
“Are you stalking me now?” Rachel asked with a forced smile, trying to be flippant.
She watched as he lifted his hands and pushed them into his coat pockets, drawing her eyes down his tall body.
Damn! Even his shoes are shiny.
“Not at all,” he replied, his voice deep and his words clipped. He was a man who said exactly what he thought. “Stalking would imply premeditation. This was more a spur of the moment decision.”
“To follow me?” she clarified.
He nodded once in assent as she watched his serious mouth tilt at the corner.
“Yes, to follow you.”
Rachel finally allowed her eyes to move over him and shook her head.
Yes, okay
,
he really is incredibly hot.
Most would call him handsome or attractive, but as she stood there, looking up into his eyes, the blazing heat she saw staring back her screamed one thing.
Hot.
Sizzling, scorching, set-you-on-fire hot.
Determined to end this and forget about the dirty-blonde hair, the hot hazel eyes, and the perfectly tailored suit, Rachel ordered herself to relax and move on.
“That’s just ridiculous.”
“Not really,” he pointed out. “Trust me. I’ve met stalkers, and
this
is not stalking.”
Rolling her eyes at the absurdity of the conversation, Rachel internally slapped herself in the back of the head. She knew he wasn’t stalking her, but she couldn’t make her stupid brain say anything else. He rendered her mute, which was currently annoying the shit out of her.
When he stepped closer, Rachel also found that he had the super power to freeze her where she stood because she was suddenly incapable of moving. She watched as he removed a hand from his pocket, reaching up to tug the earbuds from her ears.
“You look different outside of work,” he observed.
Rachel found herself frowning as she tilted her head to the side. “I’ve never seen you
at
Exquisite while I’ve been working.”
Taking one more step, he moved, so they were almost touching. As he leaned down slightly, he replied, “No, not there.”
Blinking up at him, Rachel shook her head. “Well, you must have me mistaken for someone else because I
know
I have never seen you in the flower shop.”
Rachel could feel her breathing accelerate right there in the middle of the damn train station, and she was starting to think this guy was weaving spells.
He lowered his face another inch closer to hers. “No. Not there either.”
For one insane and anticipatory moment, Rachel thought he was going to kiss her.
God help me, I want him to.
However, at the last moment, he turned, his mouth intimately brushing her ear. Rachel felt a shiver run straight up her spine.
“I mean at the place where you put on a uniform and play a part. I mean at Whipped.”
Special Thanks
I would like to take a moment to thank some amazing people, who have gotten to know my work and me over the past few months. It has been such a pleasure becoming a part of the wonderful indie-writing community.
First and foremost, I must thank my fantastic editor, Jovana Shirley, whom I was lucky enough to have found through Taryn Cellucci from My Secret Romance Book Reviews. What a great day that was when I saw a link to your site! You have been nothing but supportive and professional throughout our duration of working together, and I appreciate all of the time and effort you have put in to making
Entice
the best version of itself.
Second, I’d love to thank a few of the amazing bloggers that I have had a chance to work with: Shh Mom’s Reading, TotallyBooked Blog, Scandalicious Book Reviews, Flirty and Dirty Book Blog, Reviews by Tammy & Kim, Zee Book Truth, Swept Away by Romance, Reality Bites! Let’s Get Lost!, THESUBCLUBbooks, Romantic Book Affairs, My Secret Romance Book Reviews, Sinfully Sexy Book Reviews, Three Chicks and Their Books, Natasha Is a Book Junkie, and The Indie Bookshelf. All of these blogs offer some of the best recommendations in books, so if you’re looking for some advice, I would go to one of these ladies straightaway. Thank you for all being so helpful with the
Entice
Blog Tour, and I look forward to working with you all in the future.
I also would like to thank Samantha Young, author of
On Dublin Street
, and Tiffany Reisz, author of
The Siren
, for writing two of my favorite reads of 2012!
Okay, it must be mentioned. You didn’t think I’d forget, right? Thank you to all the wonderful people I have met along the way through Goodreads. If you are an avid reader, I suggest you go and sign up! It is a wonderful place to meet like-minded people with the same addiction, who love to read and maybe write too much.
And (haha, Alyssa) this doesn’t even need to be said because they know they are loved: To my Four Critters! You are always in my head when it comes to saying
thank you
, but since I do it about one hundred times a day…well, I know I’m covered.
So, Ninj, Alyssa, Mends, and Brits, you guys rock, and you all know I wouldn’t be able to do even half of what I manage to without you in my phone all day!
xx,
Ella
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