Thursday's Opening Scene from A Second Seduction by Janet Lane Walters

A Second Seduction

Chapter 1

 

            My son.  Mark Blakefield stared at the candid snapshot of the boy and knew without a doube this nine year old boy was his child.  “Damn her.”  His hand tightened on the picture.  Think, he told himself.  “An inn in Vermont.  Cross country trails.  A lake.  Fishing streams.”  Those were some items from the report sent by one of his writers.  “A place for all seasons.”  Mark had intended to send someone to talk to the owner about a spread in Good Travelin’, one of the family’s magazines.  The magazine he edited,  Instead, he intended to make the trip himself.  There was only one possibility for the mother of the child.  Christa Sommers, the woman he’d fallen in love with.  The woman who after a weekend of mind-blowing sex had disappeared.

            He slammed the trunk of his car and slid into the driver’s seat.  Stupid to begin an eight hour drive at nine PM, but he needed to be on the road.  If he grew tired, he would pull off the road and sleep.  Four hours into the drive that was what he had to do.

            At just past noon, he reached the rustic inn.  The number of cars in the parking lot brought a moment of concern.  Were there any rooms available for the weekend or longer he planned to stay.  He would remain here until he learned the truth.  Anger bubbled in his gut.  Learned the truth and had custody of Christa and his son.  An arousal throbbed and brought memories of the weekend he’d never been able to forget.

            He left the car and approached the front door of the inn.  The door opened and two young women stepped out.  Mark halted.  For a moment he thought he saw two Christa’s.  Then he noted their hair was dark brown, not the bright auburn he remembered.  As they drew closer, he saw their features were crude copies of the woman he remembered.

            “I don’t know why she said no.  All I wanted was a couple hundred to go shopping,”  one said.

            “She said the inn has notes that need to be paid.  Something about the economy.”

            “She’s lying.  We’ve been full all week.”

            The pair saw him and smiled.  “Well, hello,”  one said.

            “You alone?”  The second looked to see if anyone followed him.

            “Just passing through.”  Mark walked past them and entered the inn.  He halted abruptly when he saw Christa.  She stood facing away from him, but he knew her face from every angle was etched in his mind.  He reached out and tapped the bell on the counter.  He heard the door close behind him.

            Christa turned.  Mark stared.  She was as beautiful as he’d remembered.  Hair the same color.  His gaze roamed her body.  Her breasts were fuller but the rest of her was as he remembered.

            Mark leaned against the counter.  His body responded to her presence and his memories of how much pleasure they had shared arose.  “What’s wrong?  Didn’t think you could hide forever, did you?”

            She pressed her hands on the counter.  “What do you want/”

            He smiled.  “To see my son.”

            “You can’t know.”

            He put the snapshot on the table.  Your son, age nine plus.  My age nine or so.  Interesting, don’t you think?”

            He saw fear and maybe regret in her eyes.  “What do you want?”

            He smiled.  “Haven’t decided yet.”  He reached across the counter and grasped her hand.  “Just now I want a room.  Not sure how long I’m staying.  Maybe as long as a month.”  He slapped a credit card on the counter.  “I’ll get my bags and be back.”  He turned to leave and nearly ran into the young women.  “Curiosity could get you in trouble.”