The Tycoon's Seductive Revenge(12)
“What for?”
His lids lowered halfway. “Don’t you trust me?”
“No.”
“C’mon, work with me, baby. I won’t let you down.”
She pulled out her master keys and unlocked the door. He swept his arm gallantly before him. “After you.”
That’s what he said the night we were up here together . With the same indulgent grin, the same spark in his eyes, the same tone that said, I can’t wait to be alone with you.
Old feelings overflowed the dam she’d built around her heart, washing through her, strengthening her emotional and sexual attraction to him.
“I can’t wait to see if it’s true.” Carter took her elbow and led her inside.
Together they approached the rungs of a rusty iron ladder. She paused, staring up at the panel that sealed off the attic. “You’re sure you want to go up there? No one has there since...well, since we—”
“No time like the present.” His sly smile told her he knew exactly who’d been up there last. And exactly what they’d done, while the wind howled and rain pelted the roof, drowning out the erotic sounds of their lovemaking.
Eager to get her mind off those inconvenient thoughts, Ellie forced herself to climb. When she reached the panel, she unlatched it and pushed. The thing didn’t budge.
“Let me.” Carter stood on the rung below, his body surrounding her as he wedged the heels of his hands against the aged wood.
She melted into him, just a little. When they were together before, they couldn’t keep their hands off each other. They would’ve made out twice on the ladder by now. Touching, feeling, exploring each other. Tearing off clothes. Never able to get close enough, feel deeply enough, until he slid inside her. She’d never wanted it to end. If only her father hadn’t asked the impossible. If only he hadn’t made her choose between Carter and inheriting the hotel.
Carter popped all four corners of the panel and lifted it with ease. “Ready?”
“Not exactly.”
“Want me to go first?”
“Definitely.”
A private smile touched her lips. He still knew her hesitations, her apprehensions, her fears of the unknown.
She stepped aside and he scaled the iron rungs, until he blended into the blackness.
“Uh-oh.”
“What?” Her heart pounded.
“They never got rid of the bodies. It’s murder and mayhem up here.”
“Oh, stop.” She shoved his calf, which quickly disappeared above her.
Then his head hovered in her view. “Sure you want to risk it? We could be caught in a breaking news story.” He blocked the headline letters out with his hand. “Couple Finds Mass Grave in Attic.”
Couple? Her i nsides pitched at the word. “At least we could defend each other’s statements in court—‘honestly, Judge, we’re innocent.’”
“I’ll always fight for you.” He smiled.
Ellie’s heart skipped a beat.
His smile widened, and he stuck his hand out. She caught it, and he lifted her up into the gloom. “You know what happens to bodies that go unclaimed for too long.”
“Will you quit talking about dead things?”
“Seriously.”
“I don’t know. They become ghosts?” Suddenly, Ellie didn’t want to let go of his hand. The fear of the Montgomery curse made her hair stand on end.
“Worse.”
She edged closer to him. “What?”
He seized her. “ Zombies! ”
“Sheesh!” she shrieked and cuffed him on the arm. “Don’t do that. I hate being caught off guard.”
“You mean like this?” He cupped her jaw.
A second later his lips captured hers.
Carter consumed her mouth as if starved for her taste. He sucked on her lips, feeding her kiss after kiss. Her mind went blank with surprise. Then, to her mortification, a sigh of bliss escaped her.
The moment her lips parted to take in a breath, his tongue dove inside, sweeping through her mouth, curling, pulsing. Probing and searching for the secret longing she’d tucked away for so many years.
When she answered his continuous beckoning, he inhaled sharply. He angled her face, kissing her deeply. Their tongues danced together, a rhythm so familiar, so exquisite, she grasped his wrists to keep him right where he was.
Ellie moaned in rapture. She tasted the secrets they’d shared, the dreams they’d spun, the love they’d made. She trembled, shaken by the power of their connection.
God, she’d missed kissing this man. Things were still so easy between them—but far from simple. Those sweet secrets had become lies, lies became weapons, and weapons had wounded their hearts irreparably.