Read One Hot Summer Anthology for Free Online Page A

Clearing her throat, she shook her head. “Hi, Carson.”
                  “Are you ready?”
                  “Yes. Just let me grab my bag.”
                  She stepped back to allow him to enter while she walked over to the coffee table where her tote sat. When she turned around, he stood just inside of the doorway, looking as handsome as ever. “I’m ready.”
                  “Great.”
                  She struggled to focus on locking up when he placed his hand at the small of her back. The heat radiating off of him threatened to singe her. How in the world was she going to make it through this date in one piece when he made her so…aware?
                  Carson led her toward a nice luxury sedan parked in the driveway. He opened the door for her, making sure she was settled before heading around to the driver side. Her gaze never strayed from him. It was impossible to look away.
                  When he slid in the seat next to her, his masculine scent hit her hard, as if she weren’t already overwhelmed enough. He smelled nice, like warm sunrays and the beach. She did a discreet inhale. Nope, the scent was all him. She didn’t detect a hint of cologne.
                  He started the car, so she settled back and attempted to get herself under control before they reached their destination. It was easy to do since she had no idea where they were going. Her mind raced at the thought of all the places he could be taking her.
                  She looked outside of the window as he drove. Her eyebrows bunched together once she realized he wasn’t leaving the residential neighborhood to get on the main highway. A few moments later, he pulled into the driveway of a beach home that didn’t look all too different from her grandparents.
                  “Where are we?”
                  He killed the engine as he looked over at her. “Welcome to my home.”
                  Every muscle in her body tensed. “I thought you said we were going to dinner.”
                  “We are. Everything is ready so I hope you’re hungry.”
                  “Carson, I’m not comfortable with—”
                  He placed a warm palm on her bare thigh, stopping her in mid-speech.
                  “Imani, I promise I didn’t bring you here to try anything with you. As a matter of fact, you won’t even see the inside of my home. Well, not much of it anyway. I know you don’t know me well, but I’m hoping you’ll trust me on this. My plan is to show you a good and relaxing time. How about we make a deal?”
                  She studied him warily. “I’ll hear you out.”
                  “Allow me to show you the surprise I have in store for you. If you don’t like it, then I swear I’ll take you home, no questions asked.”
                  She searched his expression for any signs of insincerity. When she didn’t find any, she looked away, biting her lip as she contemplated the idea. She wasn’t afraid take a chance. She was frightened of what might happen if she did. Yet she couldn’t bring herself to demand he take her home. To be completely honest, she didn’t want to leave.
                  Finally she turned her attention back to him. “You’ll take me home no questions asked?”
                  “I promise.”
                  She released a pent up breath. “Okay then, let’s see this surprise.”
                  Before she could blink Carson was out of the car and heading around to her side. He led her up the steps to his home. She found he was true to his word. He ushered straight through the living room, through the kitchen and out to the back patio.
                  “Have a seat here.”