I’d barely made it through the front door before Drew cornered me in the foyer. “So, what’s the plan, Sis? Tonight is the perfect opportunity to sink your teeth into Luke. I saw you two eyeing each other all through the meeting. Almost got a hard-on watching it.”
I backed up a bit and turned around to put my purse down on the console table. God, I hadn’t even had the chance to hang up my coat, and he’s already up my ass about Luke. What does he expect me to do? Strip him down and screw his brains out right there in front of the bonfire?
When I turned back around, Drew was only inches away. One step closer, and we’d be taking our brother-sister status to a whole new level. Refusing to back away, which I was quite sure was what he wanted me to do since he loved to make me as uncomfortable as possible, I planted my feet and whispered in his ear, “Don’t worry, Brother. I can be very convincing when I need to be.” Then I let my lips gently graze his ear before I moved away. He sucked in his breath and held it for just a split second.
Two could play that game.
Drew quickly regained his composure and replied, “Well, good. You’re going to need to be. You need to get in this guy’s head and preferably his pants, too. We need Luke on our side. The sooner, the better. Then we can get the hell out of this town.”
I looked around at our new digs, and said, “Oh, it’s not so bad. Did you see the hot tub on the back patio?”
Drew shot me a crooked grin, and suddenly I regretted mentioning it. Who knew what dirty little thoughts were going through his mind?
“Hmmm … hot tub? You might want to work that into the convincing plans you have for Luke.”
As I turned around to head upstairs, I said, “I’ll keep that in mind. I’m going to go get ready. Big night ahead.”
As soon as I made it to my room, I began rummaging through the clothes I’d packed, searching for the perfect outfit. If only we lived in LA and it was 70 degrees out in December. Life would be so much easier, especially when trying to seduce a guy. You could only look so sexy in a sweater and a coat, topped off with a scarf and mittens if you didn’t want to freeze. Even being a werewolf, I still felt ridiculously cold at night. How did domestics survive here in the mountains?
Finally, I settled on a tight, low-cut sweater and my favorite coat. It was form fitting, and when I zipped it up just right, it showed off the perfect amount of cleavage. I’d yet to meet a guy who didn’t sneak a peek. Surely Luke would be no different. From what I’ve heard, he has a hard time resisting anything with a pretty face and a pulse. I just needed to make sure I could hold his attention long enough to sway him to Aiden’s side and divide this pack even further. From what I saw at the meeting, it didn’t seem as if it would take long.
I only had about an hour before we needed to leave, so I grabbed what I needed and hurried to the shower. I needed to look and smell my best. I had work to do.
Forty-seven minutes later, I had showered, shaved, applied the perfect amount of make-up, curled my hair, and pinned it up into a messy up-do so it didn’t look like I was trying too hard. I found my favorite jeans, shimmied into them, and slipped my sweater over my head, careful not to mess up my hair. Then I dug my knee-high boots out of my suitcase and pulled them on over my skinny jeans. Oh yeah, Luke was totally in trouble.
After zipping up my coat to just below the sweet spot, I turned to the full-length mirror on the wall. And there I was, standing there looking just exactly as I had planned. It was me, just somehow not me. It wasn’t like this was the first time I’d gone out planning to catch a guy’s attention, but for some reason, this time it was different. Did I really want to do this? Could I? Truth be told, I wasn’t near as “experienced” as everyone one in my pack thought.
It’s not like I didn’t like Luke. What’s not to like? He’s super hot and seemed like a decent guy. Maybe that was the problem. I did like him. Would this be easier if I didn’t? Definitely not. Then it really would feel like I was “whoring myself out” as my brother so eloquently put it. I took a step closer to the mirror and looked at myself. I mean really looked at myself. Staring back at me was a girl I hardly recognized.
I’d never been an angel, and was about as far from the Mother-Teresa type as you could get. All of a sudden, this whole thing just felt wrong. My own father expected me to lure a guy into falling for me so I could screw with his head. Now, after seeing Luke today at the meeting, the way he was looking at me, the way he made my stomach do freakin’ flip-flops, I wasn’t sure what to think. I tried to remind myself that Luke went through girls like toilet paper. That he probably only wanted to get in my pants. It wasn’t like he was going to fall in love with me or anything.
Unfortunately it didn’t help. I'd jumped at the chance to help my dad so quickly that I guess I didn’t really think about what this all meant. Gavin tried to tell me, but I refused to listen. Suddenly I felt cheap. Slutty. And the girl staring back at me in the mirror only confirmed it.
Just as I was about to find something else to wear, there was a knock at my door. Drew didn’t bother to wait for me to invite him in before the door swung open. He stopped in mid-step, and I watched as his eyes made their way up my body. Just as expected, his eyes stopped right at my chest and remained there as he said, “Holy shit, you are smokin’ hot! Luke doesn’t stand a chance.”
I pushed aside the urge to change clothes, grabbed my purse, and said, “Thanks. Let’s get out of here.” He moved aside only slightly as I walked through the door, forcing me to brush up against him. I tried my best not to outwardly cringe and desperately tried to ignore the fact that he made me feel even sluttier than I already did.
I needed to do this. I would do this. I’d made a commitment to my father and to my pack. It wasn’t an option, and there was no turning back now.