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“I’m right here if you need anything.”
“Thank you. Goodnight.”
Their eyes caught as she opened her door, then slipped inside. Palming the wall for the light, she turned it on and watched anxiously as the chandelier over the bed sputtered and flickered. Letting go of the door, she set down her bag and tried the lamp on the table next to the bed. It didn’t work.
The door banged shut.
Squealing, she spun around with a hand over her heart. This nightmare of an evening could end any time now. She’d try to get some sleep and when she woke up, she was out of here. Checking the door for a lock and not finding one, she considered using the bathroom, but didn’t want to go into the dim, creepy hallway again. So she tossed back the covers and inspected the bed before getting under the top sheet fully dressed, facing the door, with the light still on.
She didn’t look around. Didn’t strain to listen. Just focused on the rain so it could lull her to sleep. What was Ethan doing right now? Was he in bed, trying his hardest to fall asleep like she was? Hmmm, maybe he was sleeping in his clothes, too… or maybe he was naked. He seemed like the type to sleep naked with his long, hard body draped in cool sheets, one arm behind his head.
Smiling at the mental image, Kimber settled against the pillow and pulled in a few deep, even breaths. Rain pelted the roof and the windows. Wind whipped against the outer walls. Thunder protested quietly in the distance.
And her bladder threatened to burst if she didn’t get up this instant. Groaning, she tried to ignore the persistent ache, but it only grew more uncomfortable as the minutes passed. Stupid castles without ensuite bathrooms!
Yanking the covers back, she hopped out of bed and hurried to the door, determined to make quick work of this and get back into bed as quickly as possible. The hallway was quiet when she opened her door and looked out. Leaving the door open, she dashed to the bathroom, flicked on the light, and made her way to the toilet. It was a rusty, fragile looking thing. Was everything in this castle falling apart?
She sat, whistled a little tune to get things moving.
And the lights went out.
Kimber froze. A giant roll of thunder rippled over the building. The lights came back on, flickered, and went out again.
This had to be a joke. Heart racing, she finished up and palmed the wall to make her way to the door. Why hadn’t she brought her damn cell phone? The hallway was pitch black. Listening hard, her brain conjured up the images of Pel’s guests moving like zombies through the hallways, their brains now mush as they searched for a human sacrifice to feed to the aliens.
Yep, stress wasn’t her forte. She didn’t watch scary movies and hated Halloween for a reason. Hearing nothing, she moved to where she thought her room was. She’d left the door open… but this one was closed. And so was the next one, and the next. Oh, no! Realizing she’d gone too far down the hallway, Kimber turned and went back, palming the doors to see if one of them felt familiar. Not that she’d taken the time to become intimately acquainted with the feel of her door in case of an emergency.
Something moved in the hall. A quiet shuffle of feet. And then another. Fear razed down her spine, her body quickly becoming numb and stiff with the need to hide.
You’re being ridiculous.
Yes, she probably was. But right now, she wanted out of this horror-movie hallway. Choosing a door, she opened it and closed it as quietly as possible, trying not to bring attention to herself. Feeling for a lock, she didn’t find one. Okay. Her door didn’t have a lock, either. The scent in the room was the same. Musty, old. Maybe she was in the right place.
Guessing her way to the bed, Kimber’s foot brushed against something on the floor. Her bag.Oh, thank God.She was in the right room. Senses heightened with fear, she listened for any sounds coming from the hall. Was someone out there, or had her imagination gotten the better of her?
Knees bumping into the side of the bed, she palmed the mattress and felt for the covers, moved them back and slipped stiffly inside.
Ok. She was safe. She’d made it. Happy bladder. No monsters in the hallway. She’d grab her cellphone from where she left it beside the pillow, turn on the flashlight and listen for the rain to stop. Feeling the pillow for the phone where she left it, she frowned when it wasn’t there. Maybe it slipped onto the mattress. Splaying her hands around the cool sheets, she searched madly for her cell.
Had she dropped it?
Flipping to the other side, she continued feeling along the bed for the phone. The temperature in the bed changed. Cool sheets becoming warm. The mattress depressed a little and a strange light subtly appeared from the other side of the bed. It had to be a reflection of the lightning outside the window. It became opaquer as she watched, changing from white to pale purple. What was with this crazy storm?
Desperate for her phone, Kimber scooted down and made a wide sweep of her hand on the mattress. She bumped against something.
Someone grabbed her wrist.
Chapter Eleven
Ethan
Hesensedherthemoment she’d walked in.
Not wanting to spook her and figuring she’d realize her mistake and leave for her own room before spotting him, Ethan said nothing to alert her. She’d been on edge all night—understandably so—and giving her an inadvertent jump scare wouldn’t end well.
He’d planned to slip back downstairs to see what Pel Cappa was up to. If the man was coherent enough, Ethan was going to make him pay for being an ass to Kimber. But now he had a warm, sweet female in his bed. Her chest was heaving. Her hot breath rushed against his face. Even as fear pumped through her, sheknewit was him. She sensed him, too, even if she wasn’t as in tune with her instincts as he was. He’d been fighting his attraction to Kimber since meeting her. Playing the nice human. Being a gentleman.
That was over, starting now.
