Desire Lies, and Deception.(Excerpt)

When 15-year-old Dominick began a relationship with a woman more than twice his age, he had no idea their secret rendezvous would tear his family apart.

* Cosmo's very own senior books and articles editor, John Searles, has written a tome of his own. And it's so fabulous (if we do say so ourselves), we just had to share it with you. This page-turner tells is the story of a teenage guy, Dominick Pindle, whose sexually charged relationship with his father's seductive mistress leads to a shocking accidental death and the uncovering of long-kept family secrets. Dig into this gripping excerpt and we guarantee you'll be dying to read the rest.

Tricked by a Temptress

I first met my father's mistress, Edie Kramer, last summer, when I went to her house in search of him. After that fateful night eight months ago, my father took off on a cross-country road trip, and Edie and I began our own relationship. She was blond and beautiful--the sexiest woman I had ever laid eyes on. And I was completely infatuated with her. When I found out that Edie was desperately in need of money, I started skimming cash from my mother's biding places-inside her music box and under her bed. Edie had given me her word that she would pay back every last cent when she was on her feet again.

It all went wrong, though, one winter night when I was at Edie's house. I had fallen asleep in her bed, and when I opened my eyes, she was gone. I had pulled off my shirt and pants the way I always did when I slept and was dressed only in my underwear. The bedside clock read 1:30 A.M. My mother was probably freaking out wondering where I was, so I sat up and reached for the floor in search of my pants and shoes. Nothing. I felt under the bed and found an old sneaker that I had left behind last summer. I put the shoe on and laced it up. My foot must have grown, because it was almost too tight to wear. I shoved one of Edie's oversize funy slippers onto my other foot to keep it warm on the cold floor. Then I grabbed a thick wool blanket off the chair to drape around my shoulders and made my way down the hall to look for her.

I was about to call out to Edie and ask her why she hadn't woken me, when I heard her voice. I followed the soft murmur until I was outside the kitchen door. I opened it just a crack and could see her reflection in the picture window. Her back was to me as she talked on the phone. It seemed weird that she'd be making a call in the middle of the night, so I stood there longer than I should have without going in. I listened as she talked about selling a bunch of her ex-husband's furniture. Then she went on about some sort of package that had never been delivered. Then she was quiet, and I worried that she had spotted me. I realized, though, that she was just listening to the person on the other end of the line.

"We'll leave in the morning," she said quietly after a moment, "then check into the room together."