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

could be such an ass, but she knew he’d only been goading her. Guilt filled her. Just like she’d goaded him about not shaving. Maybe they were more alike than she thought.

Not!

The attic. Get your act together.

She went out her door and looked down the hall. There was a door at the end that she’d thought was a linen closet. Maybe not. It could lead to the attic.

There was only one way to find out. She went to it and turned the knob. Nothing. The door wasn’t budging. Apparently, no one had tried opening it in a very long time.

Her heart raced. Maybe it did lead to an attic. If no one had been up there in a long time, there could be all kinds of treasures.

Or bones.

Ewww.

Bracing her foot against the wall, she pulled on the knob while pushing with her foot. Just as it started to give away, strong arms grabbed her, keeping her from falling on her butt.

The air whooshed from her lungs. For a couple of seconds she lay in Trent’s arms. The unmistakable scent of Gio whispered over her.

This was nice. His hands were warm on her body. She could rest in his arms like this for a very long time.

So not good.

She tilted her head back and looked into Trent’s face. “Thanks,” she murmured, and wiggled out of his embrace as she came to her feet.

“What exactly are you doing?” he asked.

“Looking for bones.”

One eyebrow quirked upward. Damn, he looked sexy when he quirked.

“Bones?”

She nodded.

“Anyone in particular or are you planning on killing me and using mine for some satanic ritual?”

She crossed her arms and raised her chin. “Don’t tempt me.”

He didn’t look as if he was going to budge until she told him the whole story. She might as well. Besides, if she did find their bones, then Trent needed to be nearby before Dixie and Wesley went toward the light.

“Dixie and Wesley are doomed to haunt the hotel until someone finds their bones and gives them a proper burial.” It sounded even worse when she said it out loud. Like some bad plot from a B movie.

“Did you have too much caffeine this morning?” he asked.

That was exactly the reaction she’d expected. Sure, make fun of her. She didn’t care.

Ignoring him, she turned and tugged on the door again. She’d apparently loosened it enough that it opened this time, and she found herself looking up a narrow, dark staircase.

The stairway to the attic. She felt as if she’d just hit the lottery.

Except it was dark.

Really dark.

She hated dark places.

“Tell me again you talk to dead people, then explain why you get nervous over a dark stairway.”

Apparently, her fear showed. She glared at him. “It was never my choice to talk to dead people. Believe me, at career day I was not standing in the line that claimed talking to dead people was going to be all the rage. I wanted to be a teacher.”

When she tentatively placed her foot on the first step, he moved her out of the way. Heat waves erupted inside her. One touch and she was practically melting at the guy’s feet. She was so pathetic.

“I’ll go first,” he said, letting go of her arm.

His touch had been nice while it lasted.

Selena reined in her thoughts and glanced up the stairs. She was such a coward. She didn’t even care that he knew it, either.

When he started up the stairs, she followed. Being behind Trent really wasn’t all that bad. He’d dressed in jeans, and the way they hugged his backside with each step made her think all kinds of impure thoughts. If she were Catholic, she’d be spending the next two weeks in confession.

There was another door at the top. This one opened a little easier. Trent stepped inside first; she joined him seconds later.

She barely breathed as her gaze swept the room.

Bingo.

The room was huge and filled with odds and ends: furniture, trunks, a standing mirror…the attic was a veritable trove of treasures.

“Look at all this stuff,” she breathed, turning this way and that as she tried to take everything in at once. Not easy since the light was dim from the one window. “We’ve hit the jackpot.”

Trent was quiet. He probably thought she was getting excited for nothing. Damn it, this was good stuff. Surely he could see that.

Not knowing what he thought was driving her batty. She couldn’t stand his silence for another second. “What?”

He looked at her. “This time you might be right. Some of this stuff is pretty old.” He ran his hand over the dust-covered cheval mirror.

She smiled. She wasn’t exactly sure why his words pleased her. They just did. But when he let his gaze linger on her, the attic was forgotten as her body went from cool to very warm. The way he stared at her was almost as if he knew what she looked like without her clothes on.

She came within an inch of blurting out that she had worn a bra. Instead, she cleared her throat and refocused her attention.

Bones. She was here to find Dixie and Wesley’s remains. Sex should be the farthest thing from her mind.

Too bad it wasn’t.

She started to open a trunk near her, but kicked it first. A person couldn’t be too careful. When she didn’t hear anything scurrying about, she opened it. No bones, but lots of lace and ruffles.

“Clothes.” She pulled out a dress of red silk and shook it out. “Isn’t it beautiful?” She held it against her.

“Very.”

When she looked up, she met Trent’s gaze and saw he wasn’t looking at the dress. Warmth swirled around her, settling in the pit of her stomach. Suddenly, she remembered what it was like to feel his hands pulling her close, his lips lowering to hers.

She drew in a sharp breath and turned away, laying the dress across the trunk, and reached inside for something else. A box. And inside, a hat. Laughter bubbled out of her. A cowboy hat. She tossed