Perfectly Seduced

Book 2 in the Perfectly Series

Sean didn’t expect his target to be a beautiful woman, and despite all his efforts, he can’t keep his mind and hands off April. Playing the role of a school teacher may not be as thrilling as chasing criminals, but it’s definitely satisfying, especially when the payout for this job will set him and his daughter, for life. 

As feelings intensify and tension grows between Sean and April, so do the risks. With her past catching up to her present, April has no choice but to turn to the one man who can ruin her life. 

When circumstances force the couple to flee, they have no choice but to trust each other. Disguising truth with perfectly crafted lies, Sean is finally faced with the implausible decision to eliminate the one person who stands between his job and fifty-million dollars.

And her name is April.

Get sucked into a story filled with twists, turns and surprises and follow April and Sean’s thrilling adventure packed with suspense, heat and romance, in Perfectly Seduced.

Note: Intended for mature audience only. Perfectly Seduced can be read as a stand alone novel however the author recommends reading its prequel, Perfectly Equipped.

★★★★★ “The storyline was fast paced and smooth. It kept me intrigued from the first page all the way to the end. I adored the characters. The interaction between both the main characters and the secondary characters was wonderful and at times comical. The main character interaction was hot. I can't wait for Millie's book next! I really want to know what the heck happened between her and Dave!” ~ KB,  Reviewer

Perfectly Seduced sneak peek:

Chapter 1

There’s nothing better than cutting into a skull. The sound of bone giving into the pressure of my hand, the slight vibration in my wrist as the saw finds that perfect path to grind through, maybe a piece of bone chips off and bounces off my face-mask: they all give me a rush. It’s been that way ever since I saw my grandfather exhume a body when I was eight. That’s when I decided to become a forensic pathologist. I wanted to know all the secrets a person withheld before they died. Only my career path led me to be much more than that. I solve crimes, investigate murders and suspicious deaths, bring peace to the victim’s families, and help put those responsible behind bars.

At the time, I didn’t know that I would follow in the exact footsteps of my father, and my grandfather, who both worked in the field. Grandpa has since retired, but he held onto knowledge and skills that only a few could dream of. Growing old sucked, especially when your memory began fading as well. On the good days, when Grandpa experienced a flashback, listening to him talk about corpses and tools and how important it was to respect a deceased body was better than listening to fairy tales. Around Christmas, he’d reminisce over those few once-in-a-lifetime cases. His work skills showed up in domestic ways as well, like when at Thanksgiving he taught me how to properly hold a knife in my hand to carve a turkey. Learning to cut into the bird without losing much meat and coming as close to the bone as possible without shaving it off was sort of a test — one I passed quite early. My father looked on with pride sparkling in his eyes.

Dad would often bring me to work. He hadn’t wanted to at first; small children and dead bodies didn’t exactly go hand in hand. Dad eventually caved in. As a young girl I’d questioned him daily about his cases, and after Mom died the day after my eighth birthday, we became inseparable. Soon, I was examining different marks on a corpses body, learning about their meaning, in my mind recreating the last few moments in the deceased’s life. It was always about science to me, not about the victim’s death. I developed a special skill and instinct, and my enthusiasm together with Dad’s guidance made me the best forensic pathologist and analyst in the field.

“April, he’s already dead.”

“What?” Millie startled me, but instinct kept my hands steady. I turned off the saw, set it aside, and headed for the sink.

“You’re cutting into him like you want to murder him.”

My best friend was, of course, exaggerating, but I had to agree that since I’d returned from Hawaii two weeks ago, my usual level of calmness while examining a corpse was a bit off.

“You shouldn’t be here, Millie. It’s a dead body.”

“Looks a lot like my last boyfriend. Limp and cold.”

“Did my dad let you in again?”

“You know he loves me like his own daughter.”

“I doubt it. But I must say I’ve heard him say he could never have a better daughter-in-law than you.” Millie was a foster child and at one point lived with us for a while. Dave brought her in one night and she stayed at our house until Dad was sure her new foster home was safe and secure where both parents were willing to raise a teenager.

“Your dad is hoping for a miracle.”

“Come on, you and Dave were so good together.”

She lifted her hand before I had a chance to continue. “Your brother must have been adopted. There’s no other way someone like him could belong to a nice family like yours.”

I laughed. If my brother had been adopted, how would he have a twin? Dave and Justin were fraternal, each inheriting their good looks from our handsome father and gorgeous mother. Besides, if he’d been adopted, he and I wouldn’t share the same features, and our dad would be able to differentiate between our baby pictures. Even I sometimes couldn’t tell the three of us apart in those.

“My other theory is that he’s been abducted by aliens and probed with an ‘asshole’ transmitter. And I hope that probe was meant for a giant’s ass.”

“Okay, okay. I get it. You don’t like each other – which let me say again I don’t get, because you two belong together. Whatever happened was a long time ago. There’d be nothing better than having you as my sister-in-law, with some adorable ginger-head babies to take care of.”

“Whoa, let’s avoid parking our asses in the De Lorean to travel to future nightmares. Me and kids” – she made a face of disgust – “No freaking way. Too much work.”

I’d met Millie when she was dating Dave in high school, she a junior and Dave a senior. They were the happiest couple I’d seen; until one day it all fell apart, and Millie’s lips had remained sealed since then. Well, at least they were sealed when she wasn’t out on a date with another guy. I chuckled on the inside and shook my head, trying to imagine how nice it must feel to be so frivolous, free-spirited and careless. How relaxing a woman must feel when she can just let it go! The same way I had been on our spontaneous vacation two weeks ago in Hawaii. I would give anything to forget my responsibilities as a mother just for a few minutes and enjoy life. But day-to-day, that woman was not me.

Despite our different personalities, my BFF relationship with Millie endured. She understood me better than anyone. Millie was always there for me, especially after I married Simon and became the wife that was expected of me. In fact, I’d always treated her like a sister. She was also my son’s godmother – which at this moment, given Dave was his godfather, made for an awkward birthday reunion. Still, I had faith those two would one day get back together.

“You love Parker,” I reminded her.

“Because he’s not mine.” She winked, but her ears burned bright red. That girl couldn’t lie to save her life. “Hey, speaking of big probes, are you going on another search for Eagle Man?”

I sighed. The man with the eagle tattoo on his back was beginning to feel like a distant memory, and I wished for Millie’s De Lorean so that I could travel two weeks back in time, when I met him in Hawaii. And yeah, Sean was definitely equipped with one of the bigger and most talented “probes” I’d ever seen and experienced. Though why the heck was I referring to his penis as a probe? It should have been called the magic stick of wonder. The memory of him inside me, filling me wall to wall, hitting my full depth, was beginning to make me itch for sex again. Being single sucked. But having been with Sean, I could never imagine being with anyone else again (especially my ex, the one we’d nicknamed Pinkie).

“No, I think I’ve officially used up all my resources. I don’t know what else to do.”

“Then maybe you gave up too early. For all you know, he’s looking for you too.”

When we’d left the nudist resort in Hawaii (Millie’s idea of a vacation) two weeks ago, unfortunately in a rush and in separate boats due to an erupting volcano, Sean, the man of my dreams, whom I’d only met that morning and who’d managed to revive the glorious beating of a fifteen-year-old girl’s heart in my chest, had promised me he’d find me. But he never did, and I lost the only man I’d been intimate with and satisfied by in two years. It was supposed to be the beginning of a wonderful adventure, but it ended too soon. I’d been so certain that we were meant to be. My instinct had never failed me before. I knew he was the man for me. Wasn’t he? Or had I just been swimming in a pool of lust when he was around?

It was stupid. I was stupid. How could a man I’d known for less than a day make that strong of an impression on me? Was my instinct off? Had I been single for too long to recognize that a perfect seduction was no more than that?

What if he said he’d find me simply to ease my anxiety? What if he’d just wanted to screw me and be free afterwards?

Well, the screw was definitely worth it, but it wasn’t enough. It was the best sex I’d had in my life. The ground literally shook underneath me as I came along with him. Yeah, yeah, I guess I could give credit for some of that ground shaking to the volcano erupting miles away, which had forced us apart. But when Sean held onto my hips from behind, plunging deep and hard, it was definitely an earthquake. Just thinking about it reminded me of that itch I knew only Sean could satisfy.

And now he was gone.

I shivered at the thought of being such a bad judge of character. But I was trained to draw conclusions based on facts, and the fact was that Sean had made a promise. His intentions during the twenty-four hours I knew him had seemed genuine. He wanted to be with me when we parted and he vowed to find me. My first instinct, which I trusted beyond anything, was to believe him — and I wasn’t someone who was that easily convinced. Life had kicked my ass too many times in the past. Swaying my opinion, which came from the gut and from the heart, was like trying to cheat death.

Or maybe he was just that good of a con artist?

While one evening of the most satisfying sex I’d ever had should have been enough, it wasn’t even close. The greed to have him again began blossoming as soon as I came (twice in a row that night). Maybe it was because it had been so long for me, or maybe because I’d never met anyone like him. At this point, I didn’t want to believe that the magical night when nature chose to show her fury by exploding from a volcano, was only a fling.

Stupid nature! It was a good thing Millie couldn’t hear my thoughts. She’d lecture me for an hour. While she was the best friend I could have wished for, she was more like a bird in search of infinite freedom – and add to that, a Greenpeace activist. Nothing close to the mother and conservative woman I’d become.

“I’m not that difficult to find,” I mumbled.

“Did he have your last name?”

“No.”

“Did he even know which city or state you lived in?”

“No.”

“Then are you expecting him to pull your telephone number and address out of his taut ass? Your words. Not mine.”

“Okay, okay. Maybe my expectations are a bit too high.”

I’d already contacted the hotel and the tour company through which Millie booked our vacation to the nudist resort, but of course they couldn’t give away private information. So if Sean tried to find me that way, I knew he’d have a tough time as well.

“You think?”

“Are you still going to ask your travel agent for a favor?” I asked Millie.

“I’m meeting with him tonight.”

“You know you don’t have to sleep with him to get me Sean’s last name.”

“I may not have to, but I want to,” she winked.

I looked behind her toward the hallway that led to her office. “Aren’t you supposed to be working?”

“I finished the paperwork early, and your dad said I could have the rest of the day off. Do you want to get some new lingerie and get ready for when Eagle Man shows up?”

“I have to go to school early. I missed the first week’s parent-teacher meeting and got a note to come to school.”

“Oh? Is everything all right with Parker?”

“Yes, it’s just the beginning of the year, and the teacher has apparently been insisting that I come in. It’s like they actually care at this school about the kids. Definitely different from the big city.”

“So you don’t regret moving to Pinehurst?”

“No way. It was time. And it’s way cheaper.”

I’d spent two long years living in the house where Simon had died. I’d needed a change and a fresh start.

“Okay. I don’t need to know the details. Be the good mother I know you are and go. We can shop another time. Oh wait! I forgot. Eagle Man likes you nakee-ed right away. No clothes necessary.”

“Shut up. Just because we met naked doesn’t mean we’ll wear our birthday suits all the time. Besides, who am I kidding? I have no clue where he is.”

Millie rolled her eyes, as if solving the mystery of Sean’s whereabouts were as simple as choosing to put on a fresh pair of underwear.

“Listen, can you email the scans to the DA’s office and tell my dad to watch out for the back of the skull? There’s trauma there. He should check for hemorrhaging.”

“Yes, boss!”

Millie saluted me at the same time as Dad came into the room, the characteristic sound of quarters jiggling in his pockets. Even with my eyes closed I’d always know when he entered.

“I’m running off to Parker’s school. Millie will fill you in on Jane Doe.”

“Okay, sweetheart. I love you. Let me know when I can visit to spend some time with my grandson.”

“Dad, my house is your house. You’re more than welcome to come over any time. I love you.”

“I love you too.”

I kissed him quickly on his cheek and proceeded to the cleaning area. As I washed the blood off my gloves at the sink, my dad turned on the saw. Calmness was once again restored to my body. Hopefully this day would bring some good news. If I knew Millie, she’d be able to persuade her travel agent to dig up information on the guests at the nudist resort with a few sways of her ass. If she could come through for me, maybe I still had a chance of finding him.

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