Double Dating with the Dead by Karen Kelley (best fiction novels to read .txt) 📗

Now that she was safely on the stairs, Trent no longer held on to her arm, and suddenly she felt alone and sad…and sexually frustrated!

She really did need to get a social life.

Chapter 7

Trent watched Selena out of the corner of his eye. She sat in a chair near the window in the hotel’s library and read her book. A romance, of course. As if she didn’t have enough fanciful thoughts. At least it was a hell of a lot better than watching her dig through boxes in the basement.

He opened his black notebook and began to write:

Selena tried to make me believe in what she calls magic. Silly nonsense about a child and a ring. Fairy tales. Nothing more than that. What did she expect me to do? See the imaginary little girl? Maybe that’s the ghost she calls Dixie.

He paused.

Trent almost pitied her. Almost. He looked up, studying her quite openly this time. She’d curled up in the chair like a damned cat, with her feet tucked beneath her.

A smile suddenly lifted the corners of her mouth.

What was she reading that caused the smile? A love scene? A quick flash of last night’s dream swept through his mind. Selena standing naked in front of him, wanting him to touch her, to stroke her soft skin.

He drew in a deep breath. He had to stop thinking like this or he’d never make it through the next two weeks.

Maybe he should try to keep in mind that he was writing an exposé about her. That would certainly dampen any relationship that might start between them.

He looked down at the blank page and forced himself to begin writing again, but when Selena yawned, he glanced up. Ah, God, she was stretching, and her shirt was tight against her breasts.

The woman was a temptress.

For just a moment, he lost himself in the vision of what it would feel like to take her in his arms, lower his mouth and taste her sweet lips.

As quickly as the image formed, he shoved it away. Her tricks wouldn’t work. Hell, she knew exactly what she was doing to him. But nothing would get him to admit ghosts existed. Not even her throwing her sexy little body at him. If she wasn’t careful, she might bite off more than she could chew.

Yeah, like he wasn’t starting to sweat just watching her. He needed something cold with lots of ice in it. Anything that might cool his body temperature.

He closed his book and stood. She glanced up, then went back to reading.

Good, he’d just as soon put a little distance between them. He reached for the doorknob, turning and pulling at the same time.

Nothing.

He wiped his palm on his pant leg and tried again.

Nothing.

“Having problems?” Selena asked.

He set his notebook down and gripped the doorknob with both hands. “It’s stuck.” He jiggled the door and tried again.

Still nothing.

“Dixie and Wesley.”

“Age caused the door to stick. Not ghosts.” The damn thing wasn’t budging.

Selena laid her book to the side and came to her feet. “Want me to try?”

He stepped back and waved toward the door. “Be my guest.” Yeah, he’d like to see her open the door. Once again, he was about to prove her wrong.

“Dixie, Wesley, whichever one of you is holding the door, would you mind letting go? I’m starved and would like to eat.” She reached for the knob and opened it with one hand, then looked at him with a self-satisfied smirk. “Happy now?”

“I must’ve loosened it.”

She snorted. “If that’s what you want to believe, then it’s fine by me.” She waltzed past him and out of the room.

He inspected the door. Maybe she’d rigged it some way when they were cleaning. And he wouldn’t put it past any member of her family to help Selena.

But after examining the door, he couldn’t find how anyone had manipulated it so that it would stay closed. He knew for a fact that ghosts had nothing to do with it. He grabbed his notebook and left the room, shutting the door behind him, then opened it. He shut it again, then opened it.

One stuck door didn’t mean the hotel was haunted. The place was old and doors got stuck. It was exactly as he’d thought. When he’d jiggled the knob, he’d apparently loosened it. That, or Selena had done something. Con artists were good at what they did, but eventually they slipped up, and he’d be there to catch her when she did.

He wandered into the kitchen. Selena was bent over in front of the refrigerator. His heart slammed against his ribs. She might have changed clothes, but she still looked sexy as hell. The shirt had ridden up, and her ass looked pretty damn hot in the leggings she wore. She leaned farther inside, and it became hard to focus. He wanted to walk closer, press himself against her sweet cheeks.

She straightened before he could do much more than have a very short fantasy. He drew in a deep breath, hoping to clear his mind of the vision, but it served only to make him light-headed.

“They have a great pizza place that delivers. I’ll go in halves with you,” she grudgingly offered.

“Yeah, sure.” Hell, he’d agree to eat mud right now.

“What do you like?”

Hot sex. The kind that got down and dirty.

“On your pizza?” she asked when he didn’t say anything.

“Everything.” On his pizza and in the bedroom.

Trent was acting really strange. Was it possible that he might be starting to believe in ghosts? She studied him for a moment. Nah, a jammed door wasn’t going to change his mind.

Hitting him over the head with the door might. It was at least worth thinking about.

“I’ll just get my phone and call it in.” She was still shaking her head as she left the kitchen and went up the stairs to her room.

When she opened the door, Dixie had all Selena’s jewelry strung out on the dresser and was staring at it. She casually