Pure Seduction
Ella Frank
Copyright
Copyright © 2021 by Ella Frank
www.ellafrank.com
Edited by Arran McNicol
Cover Design: By Hang Le
Cover Photography by Wander Aguiar
Cover Models Andrew Biernat & Michelle Hertzberg
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Contents
Synopsis
Dedication
1. Noah
2. Laurel
3. Noah
4. Laurel
5. Noah
6. Laurel
7. Noah
8. Laurel
9. Noah
10. Laurel
11. Laurel
12. Noah
13. Noah
14. Laurel
15. Noah
16. Laurel
17. Noah
18. Laurel
19. Laurel
20. Laurel
21. Noah
22. Laurel
23. Noah
24. Laurel
25. Noah
26. Laurel
27. Laurel
28. Laurel
29. Noah
30. Laurel
31. Noah
32. Noah
33. Laurel
34. Laurel
35. Noah
36. Noah
37. Laurel
38. Noah
39. Laurel
40. Laurel
Thank You
Also by Ella Frank
About Ella Frank
Synopsis
From USA Today Bestselling Author Ella Frank comes a small town, second chance romance.
Small towns are definitely not for me. Probably because I was born in one, raised in one, and eventually run out of one. The understanding was that I would one day return to Chamberlin California. After all, it is my namesake. What my father didn’t count on however, was that once he sent me away, I would never come back—at least not until he was gone.
Which brings me to now, his wake, at the family winery that was supposed to be mine. It also brings me to her. The sweet girl I left behind. The girl who has since grown into the most beautiful woman I’ve ever laid eyes on—Laurel Anderson.
She’s looking at me as though she wishes I was the one she watched get buried this morning. But she’s out of luck. I’m alive and kicking. I’m also stuck in this town with nothing to do but wait until the will is read.
Well, nothing to do but see if I can seduce the pure and passionate Laurel, and change that anger I see in her eyes to something just as fiery…desire.
***
The last time I saw Noah Chamberlin, I was a doe-eyed innocent and he was the boy of my dreams. My future was all planned out down to the wedding dress, until one morning I woke up and he was gone.
You’d think after all these years, I’d feel the same blind indignation and rage that has haunted me since that day. Instead, the second I set eyes on him again, I felt something altogether unwanted and unexpected—lust.
If the rumors are true, he’s only going to be in Chamberlin for a few days. I can handle that, as long as he stops looking at me as though he’s thinking about the last time we were together.
But when Noah’s forced to stay and run the family business, it puts us in dangerously close proximity. And in a town this small, that can only mean one thing—trouble.
Dedication
To the one and only Donner.
This past year tested us all in many ways, but your strength, determination, and desire for a better life are only some of the reasons I have such respect for you.
Thank you for your friendship, patience, and support throughout my writing career.
I love your face, your crazy ass food combos, and the slew of writing ideas you throw out hoping that one day one will stick to a certain French Chateau’s wall. But for now, hopefully this will tide you over.
Xx Ella
1
Noah
HARRY CHAMBERLIN WAS a bastard. A cold-hearted, manipulative bastard who was still managing to run my life from six feet beneath the ground.
If that seemed harsh, it was his own fault. He was a man of little kindness or compassion; my father’s relationships had usually revolved around two things, business and intimidation, and if you were one of the unlucky ones, it was a mix of the two.
I, unfortunately, fell into that category. I’d even go out on a limb and say I had my very own “special” category. One that included threats and blackmail. One that had driven me from my hometown of Chamberlin, California so many years earlier, and had kept me from coming back until now—the day of his funeral.
His wake, actually. I’d missed the funeral. I’d say that was an accident when my mom asked, but it had been one hundred percent intentional. The idea of standing by Harry’s grave and watching the people of this town pretend they were sad to see him go was too much for me to stomach. Especially when all I wanted to do was celebrate his passing. Because to know Harry was to hate him—that was a fact. One he’d worked really hard to cultivate. So why deny him that pleasure now?
I stared through the black iron gates of the property and noted the cars filling the parking area and long drive that led up to the main building of the family business—the winery. It seemed as though everyone in town was behind those gates today, and once again I was standing outside of them.
Nothing had changed, from my situation to the winery inside. The rust-colored gravel still complemented the olive trees on either side of the entryway, and the opulent fountain at the front entrance bubbled and sparkled with fresh water under the sunlight. It was beautiful. But that was the Chamberlin way. Always putting up a good facade.
I drummed my fingers on the roof of my rental car and then made my way over to the gate to push it wide open. This was a bad idea for so many reasons, none of which included the sudden pain in my chest. But I’d be damned if I let Harry give me a heart attack. He’d already ruined my life once before. The last thing I’d do was give him the satisfaction of ending it too.
“I hate you,” I said on the off chance that bastard was still floating around here somewhere, and then I inched the car up the drive at a snail’s pace and pulled into an empty spot.
I sat there for a minute, staring at the main building of the winery, the villa. It was a Spanish-style structure with terra cotta tiles
