Page 4 of Deadly Misfortunes

“Well, all is good. Unless someone else drops something and sets you off.”

Sascha felt bad for him, figuring he had PTSD after the previous attempts on his life. It proved that no matter how wealthy he was, he had problems like everyone else. Well, maybe worse than some.

She was certain he was embarrassed by his reaction to the loud noise, but there was something sweet about his trying to save her, not just about his trying to keep himself safe. “See you around.” It was her break time, and it wasn’t very long, so she wanted to make the most of it. “Oh, and the blue paint on your hand is from painting a house.”

Which surprised her. She would think he would have someone he hired to paint a house. She knew it wasn’t acrylic or other hobby paints.

His mouth parted, and he appeared surprised she would be that astute.

She took a minute to survey the guests, then, seeing Camden speaking with his mother, she headed in his direction.

For this evening or any other, the Texas stud—so called because the license plate on his sports car said he was—didn’t interest her. His dark brown hair and hazel eyes just didn’t appeal to her, despite the rest of him being just right. More than that, his interest in her cousin Katrina first bothered her. She wouldn’t play seconds in the game of love with anyone.

Even so, she had to show Gregory Landry that Camden would dance with her and treat her fine, even though he preferred blondes. And that she wasn’t interested in “going after” Gregory, as far as romance and marriage went.

Though she had to admit that when he was lying on top of her, pressed against her, that felt pretty amazing.

When she reached Mrs. Worthington and Camden, Mrs. Worthington gave her a hug. Sascha smiled. Prescott and his brother had undoubtedly told their parents about Katrina and Sascha’s powers. She assumed they hoped someone in the “gypsy” family could find Camden’s true soulmate after two miserable marriages. The Worthingtons always made her feel right at home.

Camden took Sascha’s hand and led her to the room where the dance music played, then slipped his arm around her waist and pulled her close. She wished Damon had moved her to the music with the colorful lights flashing overhead instead, even though she knew in her heart he wasn’t meant to be hers. Her spirit sank at the notion.

Gregory’s blood heated as his temperature elevated with envy. Camden wasn’t interested in redheads. He preferred blondes. Camden always had. So what was the matter with Camden anyway? What did the cousins have that hooked wealthy bachelors with just a flutter of their thick lashes? And why the hell was Gregory feeling envious that Sascha would dance with Camden anyway?

He grabbed another drink from a waiter and headed for the dance floor. No way was he going to dance with Sascha. Yet with Camden’s hands moving lower on her bare back, he wished he held her tight instead. She didn’t seem to mind Camden’s attentions toward her, which irritated Gregory further.

Camden didn’t interest her—not really. She was putting on a show—Gregory was certain. Her fascination centered on Gregory instead. He knew it because the whole time he watched her while she did her readings, he’d moved from one place to another, and her eyes kept searching for him every time he settled in a new place. Was it that she had a thing for redheads too? Or just men with money?

When he’d talked to Damon, he wouldn’t reveal a thing about the family to him. Yet when Gregory had mentioned Sascha’s name to him, there was something that he couldn’t quite catch…the inflection in his voice, something that indicated he’d known Sascha before his sudden engagement announcement to Lucy Brighten.

There seemed to be some difficulty with Damon’s marrying Lucy. Something that bothered him. But he couldn’t get Damon to say what was really going on.

Gregory drank some of his champagne. Damon was a redhead too. This confirmed what Gregory had thought all along. Sascha liked redheads. Camden wasn’t her type at all. So what was she doing? Trying to make him jealous?

She was just the hired nighttime entertainment—a gypsy fortune teller—that was all. Despite his not wanting to feel that way, Gregory desired the moves she made against Camden’s body on his instead, as Camden’s hands worked lower on her back than they ought to have gone.

It hadn’t helped when Gregory had tackled her to the floor, and he had felt all her curves, hot against his body. She hadn’t even made a move to unsettle him, as if she were perfectly happy to be that intimate with him, for a few minutes, anyway.

And damn, Camden had talked Gregory into coming to the party in the first place. Camden had told him the most enchanting redhead would be there, who would cast a spell over him with one look. She had done so, as much as Gregory hated to admit it.

Her red tresses curled over her bare ivory shoulders, while her corset dipped low at the bodice. Just a bend at the waist, and he imagined she would fall out of it. His body hardened with desire at the notion, and he took another swig of his drink to attempt to cool his libido.

She was well endowed like her cousin Katrina. He wondered if their cousin Lucy had the same remarkable genes. But Sascha’s fiery red hair had caught his eye more than once that evening already. He doubted Lucy would have the same kind of hair—thick and curly, vibrant and seductive, gorgeously red, just like he liked.

Then Sascha worked her leg between Camden’s legs, her skirt split up the side, giving him a glimpse of her shapely leg. Gregory finished his drink and handed it to a waiter. He had no intention of dancing with her. Yet when the music ended, he headed straight across the tile floor to intercept her, whether Camden liked the interruption or not.

To his surprise, Camden pulled him away from Sascha before he had a chance to ask her to dance. The music shifted into an exotic, Spanish-sounding rhapsody, and everyone moved away from the dance floor to let her work her body. She served as the nighttime entertainment all right. Her fingers clicked high above her head as her hips swayed and her feet stamped to the rhythmic beat of the music.

Camden leaned over to Gregory. “She’s really something, isn’t she? You better believe no matter where everyone is during the party, they’re all here to watch her dance now. She does only three of these during an event. It takes quite a bit out of her. You arrived a trifle late and missed the first two.”

Gregory kicked himself for being late to the party, but he hadn’t really believed the redhead would be so provocative. Her skin glowed with a light shimmer of perspiration as her body worked into a frenzy. Perfectly choreographed, she twirled her red hair in a circle, then leaned back and shimmied her sensuous curves. He imagined she’d stirred up more than just his interest the way everyone watched her in amazement.

Camden shook his head as Gregory folded his arms. “Your tongue is dragging on the floor. Prescott had the same trouble with Katrina.”

“What’s the deal with this gypsy family anyway?” Gregory asked.

“What do you mean?” Camden sounded clueless.

“Prescott barely knew the woman. And then all of a sudden, he marries her. People talk.”