been asking about the house’s history,” Ella continued despite his comment. “I thought you might like to help her out with that.”
Adrien only wanted to help her out with one thing, and it had nothing to do with the past. He was much more interested in the immediate future. After folding the paper in precise creases, he set it aside. “What do you suggest?”
“First, she needs a set of blueprints,” she said.
He opened a drawer, withdrew a cardboard tube and offered it to her. “Here.”
Ella waved his offer of the plans. “You give them to her. It wouldn’t kill you to be nice to her.”
If Ella only knew how badly he wanted to be nice to Selene, she’d probably rescind the suggestion. “I’ll think about it. But right now, I have some work to do. Anything else that needs my attention?”
“Yes, shâ. Your manners.”
She spun around and headed out the door before Adrien could even offer a parting good-night. He wasn’t expecting to have a good night. He’d rarely had one for almost two years now. Sleep had been as elusive as peace over the past months, and last night had been no exception. It hadn’t helped that he’d encountered a woman who had shattered all his expectations. A woman who’d started a slow burn that had begun to heat up at a rapid pace.
Maybe Selene would like to spend a little time with him tonight. If she wanted to explore some history, he could accommodate her. He would willingly take her on a different kind of exploration, if she gave him some kind of sign she welcomed his attention. He had no cause to think she might, at least not now.
But he wouldn’t let that deter him. He would have never gotten anywhere in business if he’d avoided challenges. Now he had to convince Selene Winston she had nothing to fear from him, as long as she never learned the truth.
Three
When Selene crossed through the “angel arena” on the way to her room, an eerie feeling slowed her steps on her ascent up the spiral staircase. As she turned the corner into the dark corridor, her heart immediately jumped into her throat. A few feet away, Adrien stood in the hallway, dressed in a steel-gray shirt and black slacks, one shoulder leaned against the wall, hands firmly planted in his pockets. He was as stone-still as the statue behind him, although he had much more physical appeal.
Selene planned to send him a polite greeting and goodnight before she retired to her room. But before she could even utter a word, he said, “Going to bed already?”
His voice was low and provocative, but then so was he. A sullen stranger set in shadows. The light was muted, but at least now she could fully appreciate the details of a face that could have been sculpted by the angels keeping vigil nearby. No horrid disfigurement. No mask of death. No real innocence, either, especially when it came to his eyes. Those deadly cut-glass blue eyes that he kept trained on her while she simply stood there as if in a trance.
Again Selene hugged her arms to her middle and finally snapped out of her stupor. “I’ve had a busy day,” she said. “I’m tired.”
He pushed off the wall but kept a safe distance. “Too tired for a little adventure?”
The question shook Selene’s waning calm so strongly she couldn’t speak for a few moments. “What kind of adventure?”
He took a slow step toward her. “Ella told me you’re interested in the history of this house. I have something that might satisfy you.”
His emphasis on satisfy shook her up even more. “What exactly would that be?”
“I could tell you, but I’d prefer to show you.”
Selene checked her watch, more out of nervousness than true concern with the time. Although it was barely past nine, she said, “It is getting late.”
“I’ll make it worth your while.”
He’d lowered his voice a notch and Selene responded with a slight shiver. A pleasant one that was both unexpected and inadvisable. “Where exactly would we be going for this adventure?”
He nodded toward the opposite end of the corridor. “To my office.”
An office seemed relatively safe, but could she really be safe around him? She had two options—to trust him or use her gift to sift through his thoughts. She opened her mind briefly, but came up with nothing. No visions of him holding her hostage or doing her bodily harm. At least not yet.
“Lead the way.” The words spilled out of her mouth without any further consideration. If she really intended to work for him, she had to give him some of her trust, unless he proved he didn’t deserve it. And hopefully not after it was too late for her to turn back.
She followed him down the hall, past the stairway and into the wing Ella had described to her during the initial tour, a place she had yet to explore. They passed by the closed door leading to the nursery, Selene presumed. When they reached another door adjacent to that, Adrien opened it and stepped aside for her to enter.
The large office was thoroughly modern, from the solid oak desk lit by a lone lamp to the computer sitting on a counter in the corner. Several binders were stacked neatly in an in-box and a silver canister housed various pens. Everything in its place and not at all what Selene had expected. But at least the room was sufficiently cool. In fact, it was cooler than most of the house, thanks to that modern convenience known as a window unit. Might have been nice if someone had bothered to install them everywhere.
When she heard the door close behind her, Selene fought the urge to spin around and display some serious panic. For all intents and purposes, she was trapped. He could do with her what he wanted and she doubted Ella would hear a single cry of distress.
Still, she wasn’t getting any strange vibes or sense of looming disaster. When she faced him, she did get the full effect of Adrien’s slight smile. The first she’d witnessed so far. “What do you want to show me?”
He slid his hands into his pockets again and looked much more relaxed than she felt. “A journal.”
Selene had learned nothing was of more value in recreating the past than personal writings. “Where is it?” she asked, her tone revealing her enthusiasm over the discovery.
Adrien crossed the room to his right, opened a door and flipped on a light. “Up here.”
Selene moved closer to see a dimly lit, narrow staircase and made a mental note to have someone replace all the low-wattage bulbs in the house as soon as possible. She took a mental step back when she realized she would have to accompany her employer into a remote area. “It looks like you might find a bat or two up there.” She’d said it with humor to mask her wariness.
He hinted at another smile. “No bats, but maybe a few spiders.”
“Lovely.”
He studied her for a moment. “Are you afraid of spiders, Selene?”
Insects had never been her best friends, but she wasn’t exactly arachnophobic. “No. As long as they keep their distance.”
“Are you afraid of me?”
A
