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

He’d already been there and done that. Now he wanted the real thing.

He paused before putting away his black notebook.

Selena didn’t think he could seduce her. She’d practically thrown down the gauntlet. But he’d seen the excitement in her eyes. She wanted him to seduce her.

Let the games begin.

He left his room and went downstairs. He could hear her in the kitchen talking to someone, but again he heard only Selena’s voice.

“Are your ghosts here?” he asked as he joined her.

Her head jerked up, and her cheeks turned a rosy hue.

“No, they’re not here. I was talking to myself. Don’t you ever talk to yourself?”

“No.”

“Then I guess that makes me crazy.”

When he didn’t answer, she frowned. He liked the way she frowned. It made her bottom lip poke out. He wanted to draw it between his teeth and suck on it.

“Stop looking at me like that,” she breathed.

“Like what? Like I want to make love to you?”

“Yeah.”

She drew a deep breath and took a doughnut from the box on the table. He could tell she was flustered. When he joined her at the table, she eyed him warily, but he only reached around her and got a doughnut out of the box and bit into it.

“I thought you didn’t like doughnuts very much?”

“I like anything…sweet.” He nodded toward the flowers. “Nice flowers.”

She looked over her shoulder. “Blue. My favorite color.”

Had Matilda given them to her? Probably, since Matilda was working with Selena to convince him that Dixie and Wesley were real. And she’d been picking blue flowers the other day. He was on to their game.

“I’m thirsty.” She put some distance between them.

Running away. He thought so. But she couldn’t fool him. He knew when a woman wanted more. Maybe he and Tye weren’t so different after all.

She pulled a water bottle out of the refrigerator and twisted off the cap. While she was drinking, she glanced at him.

He winked at her.

She choked, jerking the bottle away from her and spewing water everywhere as she began coughing.

Damn, he didn’t want to kill her. He tossed the doughnut on the table and hurried to her, pounding on her back. She sucked in a long, ragged breath.

There was a roll of paper towels on the counter. He grabbed them and tore off a handful.

“You okay now?” he asked while dabbing at her face.

“I’m fine, no thanks to you.” She grabbed the paper towels and ended up with half of them.

“You don’t sound fine.”

“I’m fine,” she repeated between gritted teeth.

“Well, don’t bite my head off. I was just trying to help.”

“By winking at me?”

“No, I was flirting with you then. Now I’m trying to help you.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Stop flirting with me. That would help a whole lot. I told you I’m not going to let you kiss me again.”

“I guess going to bed is out of the question, then.”

That might not have been the best thing to say. Her face turned red, and he didn’t think it was because she was sexually turned on by his nearness.

“Your shirt’s all wet,” he commented.

Really wet. It looked as if she’d spilled half the bottle of water on it. Not that he was complaining. Her top clung to her breasts. The water must’ve been really cold.

“Let me warm you up,” he said without thinking.

“You’re…you’re…”

“What?” he asked. “Crazy? Probably, because I know anything between us would be more than a little foolish. But I don’t always play by the rules.” He pulled her into his arms and lowered his mouth, catching her deep sigh of pleasure.

He tasted her, drank in her essence, and it was even sweeter than before. His hands moved beneath her shirt. He deftly unhooked her bra, bringing his hand around to the front and cupping a breast.

It was all he could do to breathe as he brushed his thumb over the tightness of her nipple. This was what he’d been dreaming about, what he’d yearned for every time he looked at her.

But he wanted more. He stepped back and pulled her shirt over her head, letting it fall to the floor, then tugged her bra off. It landed on top of her shirt. In one swift movement, he picked her up and set her on the counter. Her hands tightened around his neck.

“If I’m asleep, don’t wake me.” He cupped her breasts.

She moaned.

This was exactly how he’d imagined she’d look. He lowered his head and scraped his tongue across first one nipple, then the next. She whimpered, arching forward.

She tasted as hot as she looked. He drew her nipple into his mouth and sucked while his hand massaged her other breast.

She ran her fingers through his hair and pulled him closer. Finally, he was going to have the relief his body had craved since he’d first laid eyes on her.

“Is anyone home,” a feminine voice that he didn’t recognize called out.

He groaned, then drew in a deep breath.

“Oh, crap, Barbara.”

He dragged a hand through his hair as Selena scooted off the counter and scooped up her shirt, yanking it over her head. He wanted to grab her hands, keep her from covering those luscious breasts. He even went so far as to reach toward her, but garnered only a glare.

“Who’s Barbara?” he finally asked.

“She works at the paper,” she hissed as the rat-a-tat of heels drew closer. Selena glanced around, then finally shoved her bra into the nearest drawer as Barbara waltzed in.

“Oh,” Barbara said in a sultry voice. “Did I interrupt?”

Trent thought her short laugh sounded bitchy.

She was hot, he’d give her that. She wore a cream-colored jacket and a matching skirt that showed off long legs. Under the jacket, she wore a peach blouse cut so low it was almost illegal. The shirt might have clashed with her red hair, but somehow she pulled it off.

“No, you didn’t interrupt,” Selena said, anger edging her words. “I spilled my water.”

“So I see.” Her gaze raked over Selena as if Selena were something to be ridiculed.

“Did you want something?” Selena’s eyes narrowed