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I put an arm around her and press my lips firmly against hers. She whimpers as her fingers clutch my tie. I know she doesn’t want this, but right now, it’s the best way for us to escape suspicion.
I can feel eyes boring into my back but only stop when a throat clears behind me.
“Excuse me.”
I turn around and see a man in a black suit, probably a member of security.
“Yes?” I ask him.
“You’re not supposed to be here,” he says.
“Right.” I stand up straight and fix my tie. “We were just looking around the house and we suddenly felt like doing it. This is my fiancee, by the way.”
I put an arm around Ellis, who pushes her glasses up her nose and looks away.
“I’m sure you have your own room,” the man says.
“Yes. Yes, we do. And we’ll… continue what we were doing there. Sorry.”
I usher Ellis out of the room and down the hall. Once we’ve gone down the stairs, I let out a breath of relief.
“Promise me you won’t go snooping around again,” I tell Ellis.
“I wasn’t snooping,” she says.
Yeah, right.
“But thanks.”
“For kissing you? Anytime.”
In fact, I feel like kissing her again.
“For helping me,” Ellis says. “I don’t know what I would have done if I’d been caught alone there.”
I take her hand. “Well, if it helps, I’d never have let anything bad happen to my fiancee. In fact, heaven help the one who tries to hurt her.”
Ellis stops. I stop in my tracks as well and look at her.
“What?”
“Nothing.” She pulls her hand away. “For a moment there, you sounded like you…”
“Like what?”
“Nothing.” She shakes her head. “Let’s go back to the room.”
“Yup. That’s what I was thinking.”
I’m still curious about what she was trying to say, though. I sounded like what? Like a real fiance?
Of course not. This is all just pretend. I’m not the engaging or marrying kind. I’m the kind who enjoys great sex, though.
“You know what else I was thinking? That there’s a fireplace and a nice bed back in our room.”
“A big bed,” Ellis says. “With plenty of pillows that we can easily put in the middle.”
I frown. It seems like I’m not going to be able to get any sex tonight – or sleep.
Chapter 13 ~ Family History
Ellis
I should have slept on the couch, I think with a yawn as I walk down one of the corridors of Northup Manor. Outside, snow blankets the entire landscape, though it seems to be falling more gently now.
I’m not sure if that’s good or bad for hunting, which is apparently what Rainier and some others are doing this morning. I hope they don’t catch a hare, though. Those innocent, fluffy creatures shouldn’t have to die for sport.
I didn’t tell Rainier that, though. I didn’t say another word to him after lying down in bed, afraid that if I did, a word would lead to a conversation and the conversation would lead to something else. I tried to pretend he wasn’t in the same bed, in fact. I arranged the pillows in between us and turned towards the wall. Even when I closed my eyes, though, I still knew Rainier was there. I felt him there. Try as I might to shut him out, I kept remembering the last time we were in a bed together. I knew he wanted it to happen again and if only I turned around and tossed aside the pillows, it would. And there was a part of me that wanted it to, including the part between my legs, which at one point burned like the fire at the foot of the bed. I had to bury my hands under my pillow and think of surgery to keep them from touching it.
Oh, why did I agree to pretend to be his fiancee?
I glance at the diamond ring on my finger. Each time I remember it’s there, I have to resist the urge to take it off. It’s heavy, after all, and this whole acting thing is just absurd.
This is what I agreed to, though. This is the price I have to pay. And so far, it’s been worth it. I’ve been able to meet the Northups. Well, I’ve met one, at least, though Suzannah made it clear she wished she hadn’t. And now, I know that my mother lived in this house. I’m pretty sure that was her in the portrait.
Now, I just have to find out what happened to her.
As I walk around, I try to look for Norman. Instead, I find Vivian in the ballroom where last night’s party was held. At least, I think it’s Vivian. Her dark blonde hair is tied in a bun at her nape, right above the collar of her black dress. She’s standing in front of the giant Christmas tree in the corner, silently staring at it.
