Page 36 of Seduce

“There’s a storm?” She could hear movement on the other end before Max came back on the phone. “Holy crap. Stay home. I looked out. I had no idea.”

“Yeah, I didn’t either. Be safe and tell Sierra I’m fine.”

“I’m sure you are.” The line went dead.

Tessa looked at her phone. It flashed no service. That was odd. Then the lights flickered. Crap. She quickly opened her cabinets and got out her lanterns. A roll of thunder sounded, and the lights flickered again.

“Damon, you better hurry. We might lose power.” Tessa opened the freezer and grabbed a jug of frozen water and stuck it in the fridge. She always kept a couple frozen—just in case.

The bathroom door opened as the lights went out. Tessa turned on one of the battery-powered lanterns.

“Sounds like the storm has intensified,” he said, walking toward her with towels in his hands.

“Yeah. Drop those on the washer. It looks like it will be a while before you’ll have dry clothes.” She glanced over at him; the sweats were a little tight. Where her brother was skinny, Damon was muscled. “Sorry those don’t fit better.”

“They’re okay, but I’m wondering why you have men’s sweats. These would not fit you.”

Tessa laughed. “They’re my brother’s. I accidently packed them when I moved here.”

“He doesn’t miss them?”

“No.” Allen didn’t have time to miss them. He was too busy trying to follow in his father’s footsteps, so three-piece suits were more the norm. “I called Max and told him we wouldn’t be at the club tonight.”

Damon walked over to her balcony doors. “Is it okay if I open them?”

“Sure.”

He opened one door, and the wind whipped into her apartment. Damon shut the door. “What a wind. The way it looks out there, I doubt anyone makes it to the club, not with this kind of storm.”

“Not the night we had planned.” Tessa wondered what they could do. If she was alone, she’d curl up in bed. She could do that with Damon. Her muscles froze. Too soon to think about them in bed together.

“No, but I have an idea.” He moved her small table and chairs away from the balcony windows, then grabbed the cushions and pillows from the sofa and arranged them on the floor. “Now we can watch the storm.”

A quiver slipped up Tessa’s spine.

“What is it?”

Trust him to see something even though the only light they had was from the lantern. “I’m not very fond of storms.” She jumped as thunder rolled.

“Come here.” Damon pulled her to him. He took the lantern from her hand and placed it on the table before leading her over to the cushions. “Sit down.” He helped her down to the floor, but stayed standing.

When she was seated, he slid behind her before lowering his body to the floor, his legs on either side of her body. He grabbed a cushion and put it behind his back before grabbing a pillow.

“Come on.” With his hand on her shoulder, he urged her to lie back until her back met his chest. He placed the small pillow under her head.

“Better?” he asked. His arms looped around her waist, his hands resting on her abs.

“This is nice,” she whispered. It was. His chest was warm even though he had no shirt on. Being held close to him helped her feel safe and secure.

Lightning flashed, and she flinched.

“Easy. I’m right here. It can’t hurt you.”

“Sorry.” Tessa ducked her head.

“Hey.” Warm fingers caressed her chin. “What made you afraid of storms?”

A tremor worked its way through her body. “It was a long time ago, but I’ve never been able to shake it.”

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