AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Carmen’s the strongest woman I know,” Rex said. “She stepped in and took on the challenge of her mother’s business when she was barely twenty-three.”
“I’m not talking about business, Rex.”
The woman was taking such pleasure in having all their attention on her. Then she grasped Rex’s arm.
Rex jerked free, reacting. He no longer cared who saw and heard. “What the hell did you say to her?”
Amanda smirked. “Just pointed out what she was missing. Same as it ever was, poor frigid little Carmen, chaste as a nun dreaming about the event.”
“Don’t be ridiculous.” Barely withheld anger beat at the back of his temples. “You’re more wrong than you’ll ever know and you’re way out of line.”
Amanda laughed. “Carmen had a crush on you for years and she was so uptight she couldn’t do anything about it. From the look of it, that situation doesn’t seem to have changed. Ask yourself how many lovers she’s had.”
How many lovers? There were so many things he wanted to deny, but the information was too sudden, too intense, for him to verbalize what he felt. His primary instinct was to protect Carmen, and it was more powerful than anything he’d ever felt. That confused him, because it wasn’t something he’d ever known before.
Storm in a teacup, all you have to do is tell Amanda to bugger off and get Carmen back on side. It wasn’t that simple, because Amanda’s comments had raised so many questions for him.
Had Carmen wanted him that much, all these years? She’d seemed reluctant at first to satisfy the lust that had been between them years ago, yet set on having the manor. He knew there was chemistry, that they were attracted to each other. Sex simply had to happen between them, they both knew that. God knows he was playing into that now by bargaining with her for what he’d always wanted a taste of. Was it more than that, though, and if so why couldn’t she tell him?
Amanda was on a roll, aware that she had the attention of everyone in the room. Beyond, the music faded out of significance, the tension in the hallway so strong that it seemed to muffle the sound.
“Her loss.” She lifted her brows suggestively. “She got you all wound up and then couldn’t put out the goods, but I managed to make it up to you, didn’t I, Rex?”
Rex’s hands fisted. Jesus, was that what she’d said to Carmen to upset her? He wanted to kick himself. This gathering was meant to be a surprise for Carmen, an event that would bring life into the house again and make her smile. He’d made a major error; that was more than clear. “Were you always this much of a bitch?”
He said it loud enough for everyone to hear.
Amanda’s expression morphed from smugness to spite.
“I think you should leave now,” he added.
“Don’t worry, I’m going. Men, dense as dirt.” Amanda spat her parting comment at him and pulled her car keys out of her clutch bag as she turned away.
Rex arrested her with a hand on her shoulder. “Amanda, you’re drunk.”
“So what if I am?”
“You may have no sense of responsibility to people you call friends, but some of us do. You’re not driving. Nate, would you care to escort Amanda home.”
“I’m not going home,” she declared. “I’ll find a better party.”
Nate was already at her side, taking charge.
Rex nodded at him.
Amanda laughed. “Silly cow, she’s ruined the party you put on for her.”
“One person has ruined the evening,” Rex retorted. “You. You’re a drama queen and an attention seeker and you don’t give a damn who you upset along the way. Now get out and don’t come back unless it’s to offer an apology.”
The look she gave him was full of spite.
It didn’t touch him.
* * *
REX COVERED THE upstairs of the manor in long strides, frantic while he searched for Carmen. She wasn’t in her room, or his. Thankfully she hadn’t driven there, or he’d be checking on her car. Had she left the grounds? As soon as it occurred to him he raced downstairs to the boot room and grabbed a flashlight from the storage unit there. Once he’d located it, he unlocked the back door and headed out into the night, sweeping the light back and forth as he went. He went down to the lakeside, where she sometimes used to go to be alone. No sign of her. In the moonlight, he saw the boathouse and made his way over. It was empty.
By the time he got back up to the manor he could see headlights making their way down the private driveway beyond the house, the cars headed in the direction of the village or beyond. Back in the boot room, he locked the door and counted to ten.
