Possessed by a Stranger (15 page)

Hannah rose from the chair. She directed a
warning glare at Garret when he made a move to slip his arm around
her waist. She walked toward the foyer with him a safe distance to
her side. The probability of him doing anything violent was slim
with his parents only a scream away but she wasn’t one to take
chances. He stayed behind her as they went up the stairs. Garret
politely opened his grandfather’s bedroom door for her to enter.
The nurse scurried out of the room avoiding eye contact with
Garret. He had stayed in the room during her visit. She couldn’t
fault him for his speedy exit after witnessing Garret’s temper
first hand.

“There you are. You should have ridden with
Garret. He might look big and scary with all those muscles but he’s
safe. It’s all those years in the Special Forces that make him look
tough.” Pride in his grandson steadied Pops voice.

“I love to walk. But I appreciate the
gesture.” Hannah moved close to Pops, taking his hand in hers. His
feisty attitude under the circumstances was admirable. She took the
chair beside his bed. Garret sat on the other side with Pops
separating them. Garret’s adoration of his grandfather shown in his
eyes but it wasn’t able to mask the pain in his heart. She
sympathized with Garret knowing from experience the loss he would
soon face. He had all these past years with Pops that she wished
she had with Grammy. She hoped he realized how lucky he really
was.

“I forgot to ask you how things went for you
after Abbey died. She worried about you.”

On no, she wasn’t turning over that rock. Her
childhood, if you could call it that, was buried in her past. The
past couldn’t be changed but the memories could be forgotten. “As
she expected I would assume. Enough about me … I brought Louise’s
journal to read to you. It spans over her time with Grant until she
died.”

She skipped over Pops’ question. He would ask
his grandfather what that was all about later. Whatever the answer,
it caused her pain, she wasn’t able to hide. He found that odd
since she turned out so well rounded. If there was trauma in her
youth she emerged unscathed as far as he could tell.

Garret noticed his grandfather’s lively
response to seeing Hannah. She showed him the same respect he did,
which was more than the rest of his family allotted him. He stayed
in the room as a protective measure and to learn more about Hannah.
Her reason for being there had sounded feasible but Garret didn’t
accept anything at face value, not even her. His trust wasn’t
given, it was earned and there was a lot about her that remained a
mystery.

The day proved to be interesting and
entertaining. He learned things about his grandfather’s past that
he might never had known, if not for Hannah. He hadn’t thought
about his grandfather being a boy. Turned out, Pops was a rascal
from the beginning. Hannah read from Louise’s journal, and then
Pops would add what he remembered.

Hannah’s laughter had a musical quality
enticing you to join the chorus. The sparkle in those sky blue eyes
reminded him of when they sparkled under him right before they
hazed over. He wanted to hear her moans that went along with those
eyes. Damn, he was horny as hell and the obstacle to his finding
satisfaction elsewhere sat across the bed from him.

She seemed to like wearing dresses. That’s
all he had seen her wear, except for the tight ass-hugging business
suit. She probably thought that suit gave her an appearance of
professionalism. There wasn’t a man alive that wouldn’t by-pass
professional going directly to sexy as hell with her body. The body
he had enjoyed and planned on enjoying again.

Garret glanced at his watch. It was close to
lunch time. The nurse would run them out of here before too long
and he would get her alone. He might have to charm the thong off
her this time but it would come off.

They stood to leave as the nurse brought in
his tray of food. Garret circled the bed to claim her waist with
his arm, taking advantage of his grandfather’s presence. She
stiffened slightly, which he ignored. For the last couple hours all
he had thought about was touching her. He led her to the door. They
were a step away from being alone in the hallway where he would
taste her lips when Pops’ voice stopped their exit.

“Seeing you two together reminds me of the
portrait. Garret, you take her up to the loft and find the painting
of Louise and Grant.” He would have to thank Pops later.

“Oh, we can do that another day.” Hannah
spoke quickly. By saying another day, she meant a day Garret wasn’t
there. He had been on his best behavior in front of his family. She
had seen that change in a heartbeat. Like now, with his uninvited
arm touching her as his muscular body grazed hers. Damn it, he felt
so hot, so dangerous, and so darn sexy. Going into an attic, alone
with him, wasn’t something she planned on happening.

“No, I insist. You’ve got to see it. It was
her best piece. Louise painted it after Grant died and that picture
came from her heart. I would love to see it again. Seeing all the
paintings together could lead us to the treasure. I promised Abbey
to solve the mystery before I joined her.” Garret smiled and winked
at his grandfather, even at ninety-two he was a sly old dog. That
old man knew exactly what he was doing.

Oh crap, he had to bring her grandmother into
the request. She knew this was a rare chance to see the portrait
that started the legend. The offer may be forgotten by the elderly
man.

“I can go by myself. He can stay here with
you and visit. Just point me in the direction of the loft.” She
gave it one last ditch effort to not be caught alone with him. Her
curiosity had already won. She had to see that portrait.

With his arm still around her waist he led
her out the door.

“We’ll go look. Come on, you can’t go digging
around in the dark by yourself. If you fell we would be liable. I
wouldn’t want you to get your hands on any of the family fortune.”
He stoked the fire of her anger that he would soon turn to
passion.

She failed to see the humor in this situation
that the amusement in his voice portrayed. As soon as they were out
of the room, Hannah reminded him why she didn’t want to go. “I
think it would be easier to sue you for assault. Can you recommend
a good lawyer before we go to the attic?”

Garret whipped her in front of him, pinning
her against him with a firm grip.

“I made you a promise. Yesterday was out of
character for me. My temper got away from me but I didn’t
intentionally try and hurt you.” His words, eyes and grip sternly
reinforced his commitment. Damn, she felt good. She needed to get
over that one little indiscretion so they could move on to the
fantastic sex. This woman made him work way too hard.

“Well, excuse me for being distrustful, when
it sounds like you’re ready to beat your point across.” That man
had a screw loose somewhere in his brain. He thought results of his
actions, disappeared with a snap of his fingers. She had the
bruises to prove otherwise. The display of his brute strength
wasn’t a reassuring gesture either, she reminded herself as her
body melted into trembles of wanton need against his.

“You’re right. I’ll have to prove I’m
trustworthy. The best way to do that is show you how gentle I can
be.”

With his finger and thumb on her chin he
lifted her head. He brushed his lips sensually over hers. His cheek
grazed hers before he whispered in her ear. “You just need reminded
how good we are together. I do want to beat my point across just
not in the same context you are insinuating.” He remembered their
night in vivid detail. She wasn’t escaping again. Once he had laid
claim she belonged to him. She had postponed the inevitable and
nothing more.

Darn it, his warm breath on her neck reminded
her of a lot of things. The sensual gesture was filled with
promises, awakening desires she knew he would fulfill. He knew her
weak spot and attacked with a full on assault. Was there a big red
start button tattooed on her neck? She pushed on his chest to get
free of his hold. At least she thought she was. Feeling his lips
nibble her neck, she wasn’t sure and no longer wanted to be free.
The rippling effect of her aroused desires spelled surrender in
capital letters. Her body trembled accepting his touch.

He relaxed his hold, running his hand down
her smooth arm to interlace his fingers with hers. “Now let’s go
find that painting.” He started walking, pulling her with him.
There wasn’t any doubt Hannah Greer would lay in his arms tonight.
She was accountable for a lot of lost time with her hide and seek
game. He had found her now and it was time to pay.

This was a perfect example of why she needed
to keep a safe distance from him. He had some secret connection to
her body. Garret had formed an alliance with her wanton body to
terminate her common sense. From the fire twitching in her stomach
there was a possibility he would win. She knew distance was her
only chance at a defensive front.

Garret opened the attic door, flipped a light
switch on the wall, before leading the way up the narrow steps. The
attic was a huge expanse of open space with a maze of bare support
beams. The single light bulb left most of the space in total
darkness. Garret felt his way around the clutter raising the shades
on the small windows. What was pitch black became filled with
shadows of boxes, crates and discarded furniture. He made his way
back to her and handed her a flashlight.

Her eyes reflected glimmers of the sunlight
filtering through the windows. They danced around the room before
landing on him. He would get lost in those sparkling blue gems soon
enough. But for now, they needed to find the painting he would use
as a peace offering. Logically, it seemed like a fair trade. She
wanted a piece of her past and he wanted a piece of her.

“Answer a question for me before we get
started. Would you have slept with me if you had known I was a
Presley?”

That was an interesting question, one she
hadn’t contemplated.

“No.” She stated emphatically. “Well, maybe.”
She added with less conviction. “Okay, to be perfectly honest yes.
It was probably the circumstances of my day but you could have told
me you were the devil himself and I would have went with you.” She
emphatically added her opposition to the gleam in his eyes. “But
that was before I knew the real you. Can we find the painting and
get this over with?”

Truthful and beautiful, he was in trouble.
“It can wait. Did you make any effort to locate me?” He leaned on a
stack of boxes enthralled with her discomfort.

“Of course not. You were in a hotel so I
thought you were in town temporarily. That was a one night stand. I
knew it from the start. For a man I thought I would never see
again, you keep popping up in my life. Maybe, it’s punishment for
my sins.” His low chuckle warmed her cheeks and she hoped the blush
wasn’t obvious in the low light.

“That should confirm I really am the devil.
You can’t tell me you didn’t want me to find you after sending me
that email. You knew I would come after those paintings.”

Hell yes, she wanted him to find her but she
hadn‘t expected him to be so smug when he did. Why shouldn’t he be
smug? She had shot off a flare directly over her head.

“That’s before I knew you were a
Presley.”

The blush on her cheeks was spreading down
her neck. This wasn’t the only glow he intended to paint on her
body. “The Presley name usually flocks women my way. They all want
the prestige and the wealth that comes with the name. You expect me
to believe you’re different from every other woman.”

Her temper flared after being compared to all
his gold digging sluts. She glared into his smug face.

“Hell yes, with our family history. I don’t
know how you see our conjoined past but I see it as disastrous.
First, my great grandmother falls for your great uncle then my
grandmother and your grandfather have a fling. My father broke the
cycle of Abernathy’s being bred for the pleasure of the Presley’s.
But then, by chance, we come along and start this shit all over
again. So my answer is no, I change my previous answer. If I would
have had one sane thought the night we met and you told me you were
a Presley, I would have ran the hell out of that bar. What do you
find so amusing about this whole thing?” His laughter ran heatedly
through her blood. She was being truthful. She had no intentions of
repeating the same mistakes as her ancestors.

“To begin with, the fact you think
Abernathy’s are bred for virginal sacrifices for the Presley’s.
Although I love that idea since I reaped the benefits. Most likely,
one of my past relatives made a pact with the devil and Abernathy’s
are our reward.” She was adorable with her vivid imagination and
she was being truthful and serious.

“Now, that’s believable. It would explain our
meeting and the circumstances that followed. I was simply possessed
by a curse. Now, with that particular obstacle out of the way we
can move on with our lives, which right now, is finding the
portrait. Do you have any idea how big it is? This looks like we’re
looking for a needle in a haystack.” The faster they found the
painting the faster she could escape. She was relieved they
separated to search.

He debated whether he was being dismissed or
teased but he had wrangled a smile. “Check the rafters. Flat things
have been stored there.”

Hannah stepped over boxes searching as she
went to the far end of the attic. She worked her way to one of the
windows, curious if anyone in the attic would be able to see her
cottage. More to the point, she wanted to see if anyone could see
her in her yard. It was a creepy thought but she hadn’t had a yard
to worry about before now. The roof of her cottage was all that was
visible thanks to the trees. She tried to imagine the view after
the leaves fell off the branches.