Page 24 of Possess Me

He felt a pressure in his chest. The kind of physical sensation he still felt when his wife walked into a room. When she smiled at him. When she looked at him with those beautiful eyes, unzipped her dress, and let it fall to the floor.

Nikki.

Vivien.

He pushed down a wave of unease. The house seemed unnervingly quiet, and the air felt heavy, pressing down like a weight on his chest.

With a small shiver, he looked down at the photo again, noticing the way she seemed to be looking right at him from the corner of her eye. He blinked, then looked again, something gnawing at him that he couldn’t quite name.

The faint creak of a floorboard broke his thoughts, and he looked up to see Nikki standing in the doorway. His breath caught, and for a moment, it was as if the photograph had come to life. She was wearing the dress—the very same dress Vivien wore in the photo. And with her hair styled in soft waves, the resemblance was striking.

Her mouth curved into the kind of smile that promised all sorts of naughty things, and he felt himself go hard as she moved toward him, the satiny rose-gold fabric clinging to her curves.

She was stunning. Sensual. Sexual. Magnetic. And not entirely herself.

The thought came unbidden, and he tried to push it away as she stopped in front of him, her teasing smile drawing him closer.

“What do you think?” Her voice was low and breathy. She did a slow turn for him, then cast him a coy glance as her fingers stroked the snake bracelet, its emerald eyes winking hypnotically in the firelight.

Damien swallowed hard. “That gown was in the attic?”

She nodded, her fingertips lightly brushing her own skin as she traced the low-cut bodice. “It was like it was waiting for me.” Her teeth grazed her lower lip, her eyes hot on his. “You like it?”

He broke eye contact to let his gaze rake over her, relishing the familiar heat that flared inside him. There’d never been a moment when he didn’t want her. When she didn’t make him burn. His skin. His blood. His soul.

And there’d never been a moment when he hadn’t been willing to go into that flame with her.

But now…

Right then he feared that if he touched her they would both get scalded. But damned if he could help himself.

Almost as if he was watching himself in a dream, he moved closer, stopping only when he was right in front of her, so close he could feel the need radiating off her. So close that they were breathing the same air.

“Damien,” she whispered, then tugged something from his hand. The photo. He’d forgotten that he’d been holding it, and the look on Nikki’s face as she studied the picture unnerved him. Because she didn’t look at all unsettled by the fact that she was wearing the dress pictured in the photo. On the contrary, the smile on her face was the kind that came at the conclusion of a long journey—when you’re so close you can see the end.

But what the hell did that mean?

He shook his head, hating that he didn’t understand. That he wasn’t in control. Hating that it wasn’t him she wanted but the damn dress and a life that didn’t even exist anymore.

Someone else’s life.

“What the fuck, Nikki?” The words snapped out, surprising him. What the hell was happening?

But the question was only inside him. Buried deep. And Damien had spent his entire life keeping parts of himself hidden. He could keep that questioning part locked up, too. Hell, yes, he could…

“Sweetheart, what’s wrong?”

She met his eyes, her forehead furrowed with confusion. Slowly, she traced the edge of the frame with her fingertip. “She looks so glamorous,” she said, her eyes dipping to the photo, then back up at him, her mouth curved into a frown. “Do I look glamorous?”

“You know you do.”

“Sexy?” She took a step closer.

“Hell, yes.”

She rose up on her tiptoes, then whispered in his ear. “That’s what you want, isn’t it? Sex? Heat?” Her lips brushed his ear. “Someone who can get you off? Someone who can make you forget?”

His spine and his cock went rigid at her words. Desire, he thought. And danger.