Read Online Seduced by Lies by Stacey Quinn - Free Book Online Page B

the half smoked joint that hung out of one corner of her pouting mouth. In that position, her legs dangling off the edge of the bin with her feet hanging at least a foot from the ground, she reminded Sam of an annoyed child, and he had never felt so protective of anything or anyone. He stood frozen to the spot for a few moments, watching her huff and struggle, before he realized he should probably step in. But what the hell should he say? He’d been so caught up in his excitement, joy and positive thinking that he hadn’t actually thought that far ahead. The boyish butterflies kicked it up a couple of notches in his stomach, while his hands, suddenly slick with sweat, clenched and un-clenched stickily in his pocket. It was at that moment that his twitching fingers came into contact with something small and plastic in his left pocket - his mothers lighter that he had used to light the stove that morning. His heart leapt at this fantastic, convenient coincidence, and he spared a quick second to send a deep and heartfelt ‘thank you’ up to the heavens (not that he actually believed there was anyone up there to accept it), and to hastily wipe his palms dry on the front of his jeans.
                  Before this unfamiliar sensation of ecstatic nervousness could get the better of him, Sam pushed his way through the bushy entrance space, squeezing himself out onto the other side a lot less gracefully, and a lot more noisily than he had hoped, holding the little green lighter out in front of him like a wand.
                  “Jesus fucking Christ!” The girl exclaimed, jumping in surprise at the unexpected intrusion and nearly dislodging herself from her careful perch on the bin. This was quickly followed by a displeased groan of recognition as she looked over at Sam.
    “Sorry!” Said Sam brightly, refusing to let the girls reaction discourage him and plowing on bravely with his plan. “I...I thought you might need a lighter?” He proffered her the device in his hand, holding it further still away from his body but making no move to get closer to her. Her lips curled in distaste at his outstretched hand, but he could see the battle of wills playing out in her eyes, and pretty soon her desire for the joint won out. She stretched her hand out to him, palm flat and unyielding.
    “Fine. Thanks...I guess.” She grumbled in a tone that entirely contradicted her words of appreciation. Sam stepped closer to her and placed the lighter gently in her hand, being careful not to linger too long or push his luck.
                  “Baby steps.” He kept repeating, over and over in his head in an attempt to control his eagerness. He watched her re-light her smoke, noticing the adorable way her nostrils flared as she took a deep drag in. Once she’d got the joint going again, she tossed the lighter back over towards Sam, not bothering to look to see if he had caught it or not. She continued to smoke, forcing thick white clouds out of her nose after each inhalation, her face half turned away from Sam dismissively. A few long moments passed while Sam frantically tried to think of what to do now that he had made his big entrance. He considered mentioning Stephen King again - that seemed to go down well last time. But no - this time it would take something more.
                  “I assume you want some on this then?” The girl grudgingly spoke, waving the spliff back and forth in his general direction and breaking his train of thought.
    “Wha...Oh! No...thanks. You enjoy it. Blaze away!” He replied moronically. The girls expression did not change and she continued to stare Sam down, except her gaze bore into a point on his left shoulder, rather than make eye contact with him. He got the feeling that she was expecting something of him.
                  “You can leave now, you know.” She shot at him, her words greasy with sarcasm. Sam knew his time was running out and so,