I’m not one for playing games though. I’m not going to just silently withdraw from Alex. Once he awakes this morning, I’m going to talk to him and tell him what I’ve decided. In the best-case, long shot scenario, he will confess he feels the same, but quite honestly, I don’t think I have a hope in hell that will happen. And in the worst case scenario …
A clatter sounds behind me and I jump and spin around, fear gripping me like an ice-cold glove. My hand is pressed against my chest when I see Alex standing behind me. He has put his boxer shorts back on. His abs look like slabs of dusky gold in the morning light.
“What the hell, Alex,” I gasp. “Do you have to creep up on me like that? I thought it was … never mind. Just don’t scare me like that again, ok?”
I see genuine concern on his face. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you. The sun is shining, and I thought you’d have heard me moving around.”
He moves and sits on the padded settee and I turn so I’m properly facing him. He looks at me, raising a hand to shade his eyes from the rising sun.
“What are you so afraid of in this house, Cindy?”
It’s not the conversation I thought we were going to have, but I did promise myself I was going to be honest with him and I decide to roll with that.
“I know you’re used to it, but I’m not. And having the ghost of your crazy old great, great aunt, or whoever the hell she is, calling out my name in the middle of the night scares the living daylights out of me.”
“Whoa there, back up. What crazy old aunt?”
“You know, the one they locked up.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Alex says, and to his credit, he sounds genuinely perplexed.
Was it possible that he did not know the story? “Petra and Anastasia told me the story of how one of your ancestors went crazy and had to be locked away in my room, and how she died in it … and now haunts it.”
“You seriously believed those two?” Alex says, his face betraying his complete disbelief.
“Well no, not at first,” I say, feeling suddenly naïve and stupid. “But then I heard it. Alex, you can say it’s the pipes all you like, but it’s my name she … it called.”
Alex shakes his head.
“Well now that I know those two are involved, I can explain it easily enough. This house is full of secret passages and tunnels. I don’t know where they all are, but they definitely do exist. They’re messing with you, Cindy. They’re in the tunnels banging around and whispering your name. They probably broke your heater too.”
My jaw drops open. “Those little bitches!” I curse. Then I realize I’ve spoken out loud and instantly regret it. They are Alex’s family, and I’m being paid to deal with them with class and grace. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.”
“Oh, trust me, I’ve called them much worse than that,” Alex says with a grin. “I’ll tear a few strips off them later today. Rest assured you won’t be tormented anymore.”
“No, don’t do that,” I say quickly. “I don’t want them to know it’s bothered me enough to even tell you about it. Just let them think I haven’t even noticed their little games. I think I want to give them a taste of their own medicine.”
Alex grins at me. “I like your style.”
We go quiet for a moment and then Alex speaks up again. “You know, when I was scoping out the casino and deciding whether or not to buy it, I watched you from afar. And I never would have taken you to be someone who bought into the paranormal. You seemed too … together.”
“I’m a city girl. I have no experience of the paranormal so of course, I didn’t believe in that sort of thing. And by the way, you sound as creepy as fuck when you admit you were watching me from afar.”
Alex shrugs. “It was just good business. I had to know the casino would be in excellent hands once we concluded our deal.”
I should be glad to hear that, surely. It means Alex thinks highly of my ability. I can’t help think it’s a bit creepy though. Like he’s engineered this whole thing and I’ve played right into his hands.
“So this was all some elaborate plan to seduce me?” I ask.
Alex laughs, which is far from the reaction I expected. “Be honest, the idea of investing millions of pounds into a business just to bed you is a bit extreme even for me, don’t you think?”
That was a rusty knife in an old wound, but I have to admit, when he puts it like that, it’s crystal clear I’m over-reacting and letting my emotions cloud my rational judgment. It was me that made all the moves, and even now, all I want to do is reach out and touch the smooth skin of his stomach.