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

his forehead. The room was growing darker….

“Dixie.” Wesley looked into her face before lowering his head, his lips brushing across hers. She tasted as sweet as he’d remembered. Lord, he’d missed holding her like this. He deepened the kiss.

Sweet. So sweet.

If only they could stay like this forever. They’d been so stupid. Why hadn’t they admitted how much they cared for each other rather than playing such foolish games?

Weakness suddenly swept over him. Ah, no. Too soon. Not enough time.

Don’t leave me, my love.

Dixie heard his thoughts. They wrapped around her, holding her close as her strength ebbed.

“No, I won’t ever leave you, my darling. I’ll always be right here. Forever. Just like we promised.”

Dixie succumbed to the weakness with a sigh. Being in Wesley’s arms had been worth the drain on her spirit….

Trent tasted Selena. Her lips felt so right against his. He pulled her tighter against him when he sensed her pulling away. He ended the kiss, sheltering her in his arms. He wouldn’t let her go.

He was losing her.

Ah, God, don’t leave me. Hopelessness filled him.

No, it wasn’t Selena. It was someone else. He had been someone else. He looked down into Selena’s face. Blond hair, now black hair. It was Selena. Wasn’t it?

Her eyes fluttered open. “What happened?”

He could feel the blood drain from his face. His hands dropped to his sides, and he took a step away from her. She caught the edge of a desk to steady herself. Emotions warred within him: fear, dread, anger.

What happened? He glanced around the attic. It was as dusty as it had been when he’d first opened the door and walked inside. The mirror was still where it had been, the trunk where Selena had gotten the clothes…

Selena.

When his gaze returned to her, his eyes narrowed. “That was a pretty good trick. How’d you do it?”

“Trick?” Her brow furrowed.

She was good. Damn, was she ever good.

He looked around the attic, a little closer this time, moving to the nearest wall. “Yeah, trick,” he said as he tested the boards, looking for wires. Looking for anything that would explain what had happened.

Nothing.

“I think Dixie borrowed my body,” she said.

He noticed she looked a little pale. No, it was just another trick. “You won’t convince me we were possessed by ghosts.”

She opened her hands. “Then how do you explain Wesley being in your body? And don’t even try to deny you felt him using it.”

“I don’t know, but I will explain it.”

“They used our bodies. Why won’t you believe there are things you can’t explain?”

Cons. They were all alike. Did they get some kind of thrill from making fools of people? Of course they did.

She looked as if she wanted an explanation. Okay. Fine. He’d let her know exactly why he wasn’t going to fall for her games.

“Right after my father had his heart attack, a woman convinced me that she could help my family. I trusted her.”

Damn, he’d been so friggin’ young and stupid—not even out of college. But Celeste had been so beautiful with her flashing dark eyes and gypsy looks.

“She promised to help my family. She had connections, investors. Our money was running low. I trusted her by giving her all we had. The FBI was doing a sting operation or she’d have completely wiped me out, including the money my mother trusted me with.”

Celeste had laughed at him even as they were leading her away in handcuffs. He’d felt like an idiot. A feeling that he still remembered as if it were yesterday.

“But I’m not that other woman.”

“And let’s just say I’m not quite as gullible as I was back then.” He sauntered toward her, stopping only inches away. She didn’t step back. No, she wouldn’t show any sign of weakness. Cons were like that.

“I’m not her.” She raised her chin.

Damn, how could one woman be this tempting? Even knowing what she was, he wanted her.

He lowered his head, his lips tasting hers. He’d meant the kiss to punish, to bruise, to warn her away, but something happened. He deepened the kiss as her hands wrapped around his neck, pulling him closer.

She tasted like mint toothpaste: fresh, clean. But when she stroked her tongue against his, she tasted like heat. Hot, searing heat. She tasted like Selena.

And he wanted more.

But he couldn’t have her.

He ended the kiss, more shaken than he was willing to admit.

“Like I said, you’re good, but I won’t fall for your tricks…” He let his gaze slide over her, his lip curling. “Or what you have to offer.”

She stomped her foot as he turned and left the attic. He should feel triumphant that he’d won, but for some strange reason he didn’t feel as though either one of them was a winner.

He went down the stairs to the hallway, walked past his room, not stopping until he stood on the front porch. Planting his hands on his hips, he drew in a deep breath.

There was rain in the air. The clouds were heavy, dark. The wind picking up, blowing leaves across the yard. A storm was brewing.

It suited his mood.

Something had happened in the attic. Whether her crazy family had rigged up something with mirrors or she’d drugged him or whatever, he knew damn well he hadn’t been possessed.

He snorted.

The idea was ridiculous.

Then why did he feel as if everything he knew and trusted, his belief structure, everything was shaken by this one incident?

No, there were no such things as ghosts. There couldn’t be. If there were, then everything he stood for was a lie. He would actually be the one feeding the public a load of bull, and Selena would be the innocent one.

Yeah, sure. There wasn’t a damn thing innocent about Selena. The woman had drawn him into her web. She wanted to devour him. He’d seen her sideways glances. How many other men had she chewed up and spit out?

Yeah, he knew the real Selena. When she had what she wanted, she’d discard him like yesterday’s trash.

“You look like