Page 3 of A Novel Seduction

Not just any notes either. Things like “I’d like to do this to you” and “her eyes aren’t as pretty as yours” graced the empty space on the pages, making Evie light up inside. The feelings she got when reading those notes rivaled what her book boyfriends had made her feel. No one in real life had ever made her feel anything close to that.

When another book arrived in her dorm mailbox the next week, marked up in a similar fashion, Evie didn’t know what to think. She’d devoured the book, enjoying it even more knowing that someone out there not only picked it out for her, but took the time to highlight the fun parts and make little notes. As the semester continued, a new book showed up every week, all highlighted, with notes ranging from sweet to downright dirty.

“You? You were the one writing…” Evie said out loud, trying to process. OMG, the things I thought…did…while reading those notes…

Evie felt her face go bright red at the thought. She’d had such a crush on the hotshot baseball player she’d been asked to tutor. Time spent with him in the library had been the only thing that semester to rival her private moments with her fictional paramours, made more interesting thanks to a mysterious benefactor. She couldn’t wrap her head around that benefactor being Drake.

“How did you know?”

“Your book fell out of your bag one day when you went to the bathroom. I picked it up, and the page I happened to open to was quite…” he trailed off. That impish smile returned to his face as he stepped in closer until they were only inches from each other. Leaning down so his mouth was right next to her ear, Evie couldn’t help the shiver that ran through her when she felt his breath on her ear. “Well, Evie, it was rather naughty.”

“Oh my God, I’m so embarrassed,” she said. She had no idea he knew. What on earth must he think of her? She had to get out of here. “I have to leave.”

Without hesitation, she turned and ran down the stairs, ignoring Drake calling after her.

2

Evie walked down the hall of Kennedy High School, dodging students as she made her way to the main office at the end of a very long Friday. There was something about Friday afternoons that made teenagers especially restless, and today was no exception. However, today had the added bonus of Evie reliving last night’s run-in with Drake Harkins on repeat.

Evie still had a hard time believing she’d even seen him, in a bookstore no less. Maybe it had been the setting, or the reconstructive surgery he mentioned, or maybe it was the fact that he had started graying slightly at the temples, but when he first approached her she’d really had no idea it was him. The more she thought about it, the more she thought she should have known. His rich hazel eyes were still hypnotic, and that mega-watt smile with his perfect teeth was still enough to melt the panties right off her. She’d seen his face, complete with chiseled jaw line, in enough of her fantasies in college that she had no idea how she’d not placed him right away.

But what she really didn’t know was what she was more embarrassed about—the fact that he knew about her love of dirty books or that she’d run away like she had. To this day, the warm fuzzies she got thinking about that semester—and the books that just magically showed up—had been her go-to happy thought when she needed a pick-me-up. Evie had long known that no man in real life was ever going to live up to one of her book boyfriends, but thoughts of the man who had made such margin notes as “reading things like this makes me wonder how you’d react to my touch” had given her hope that someday she would find someone who might come close.

“Oh, Miss Staab! Glad you’re here!” chirped Mrs. Patel, the long-time administrative assistant to the principal.

“Hi, Mrs. Patel, I’m sorry my attendance is late. The app wasn’t working, so I had to print it out and I didn’t get a chance to make it down here any earlier than now.”

“Oh, don’t worry, dear,” she said, waving it off. “But that’s not why. This came for you.”

Mrs. Patel handed Evie a small rectangular package wrapped in brown butcher paper with a simple red satin string tied around it. From its weight and shape, it was obviously a book, and Evie could feel herself blush all over again.

“Are you going to open it?” Mrs. Patel asked. She’d always been nosy. Evie wouldn’t have been surprised if the woman had steamed it open just to sneak a peek.

“Later. I have to run off to meet some people,” Evie lied, turning to leave the office. There was no way she was opening whatever this was there. She had a reputation to uphold. She didn’t need her colleagues—or worse, her boss—knowing about her little guilty pleasure. “Have a good weekend, Mrs. Patel!”

After grabbing her stuff and turning out the lights in her classroom, Evie rushed home to her little one-bedroom apartment. The thought of what exactly was wrapped up in that butcher paper consumed her, but she didn’t dare open it until she was safe at home. Taking the stairs up to her unit two at a time, she let the door slam behind her before quickly locking it and dropping her bag by the door. Half a dozen steps later she was sitting on her couch, brown paper package in hand, taking a deep breath.

Maybe it’s not from Drake, she thought. Maybe someone else dropped it off. Oh, who was she kidding, there was no one else. She hadn’t dated anyone in months, hadn’t been intimate with anyone in even longer than that. With one last deep breath, she tore into the package.

Tearing back the paper, she recognized the teal cover almost instantly. She didn’t even need to read the pretty gold script lettering to know the title. Wicked Designs, by Lauren Smith. It had been an instant favorite and one she had read many times over. It was also the first paperback to feature the mysterious highlighting and margin notes.

He remembered…

Evie fought back tears as she traced her fingers over the letters spelling out the title. Her original copy, along with all the other marked-up novels from that semester, had been ruined in her last move about six months back when the box they were in somehow got wet. While she’d been sad to lose the entire collection, this had been the one that saddened her the most. Even though she had a copy on her tablet, nothing sparked her quite like opening the pages of that book and seeing the faded yellow markings.

Opening this new version, Evie’s breath caught when she saw the inside. Although the highlighter was blue this time instead of yellow, the same feeling overtook her. Whether it was a single word that was marked, or an entire paragraph, Drake had gone through and drawn attention to all the “good stuff” as he had put it last night. In the margins, in neat black ink, were notations in Drake’s distinct all uppercase printing. How had she not recognized it back then?

She flipped to the scene she’d been on the night she discovered the markings. She wasn’t surprised to find it highlighted now, much like it was in the original. Even skimming over the words now sent her right back to that moment.

Curled up in her bed in the dorm, a wave of heat had run through her when she read the words in the margin. Touching you like this would be a dream. Those words hung in her mind as she read the scene over and over, imagining herself in place of the heroine.

Emily flinched as Godric’s hand glided up between her thighs. His fingers touched her sensitive folds and stroked the hot wet flesh. When the pad of his thumb skimmed her swollen bud, she jerked. The sensation terrified her. It was almost too much for her.

Evie felt every emotion and every sensation right along with Emily. Her own body tingled reading the words. Paired with the new text in the margins, she couldn’t help but be turned on. The thought of someone wanting to touch her in such a way, wanting to pleasure her just for pleasure’s sake, not as a means to an end, was something she’d never experienced. Allowing herself to get caught up in the moment, Evie slid her own hand down her body and into her panties.

She found herself to already be wet and wanting. As her fingers caressed her soft folds, she purposefully avoided the small bundle of nerves that was aching for attention. She wanted to take her time, to feel the same long, drawn-out passion Emily had. In her mind, it wasn’t her fingers doing the teasing and taunting. She allowed herself to picture Godric’s hands slowly stroking her, taking his time, taking pride in how her body was reacting to his touch. Soon, however, Godric’s face morphed into Drake’s, making Evie’s pulse start to rush. In her mind, she could feel the roughness of his scruff against her cheek as he whispered in her ear. Imagining the feel of Drake’s calloused hands on her sensitive skin, Evie found her clit and circled it slowly, letting her own release start to build. More than anything, she wanted to feel his hot breath against her skin, to feel his teeth nibble at her earlobe, to hear him whisper dirty things to her like the men did in her books. She picked up the pace and rubbed herself furiously, pushing herself toward the edge. When her climax hit her, she let out a gasp, letting it wash over her as she pictured Drake’s face, a look of pride spreading across it knowing that he’d been responsible for everything she just felt.

The sound of a text jolted Evie back to the present. Her breath was heavy, and she could feel the flush of desire rise up the back of her neck from the memory. She looked around her, just to double check that she was all alone. She wasn’t sure why she thought someone would be in her apartment, but even so, she needed the assurance that no one had witnessed her body’s reaction to the vivid recollection. She pulled her phone from her back pocket and checked the screen.