Читать книгу The Firstborn - Dani Sinclair - Страница 14

“What the devil are you doing wandering around in the dark like this?” Bram demanded as his powerful hands gripped her shoulders.

Relief gave way to a surge of adrenaline-fed fury. She punched his chest, shocked to feel firm, bare skin beneath her knuckles. Instantly, he released his hold.

“Stop sneaking up on me like that! That’s twice you’ve done that to me. It isn’t funny.”

“I wasn’t sneaking anywhere. I was looking for you. Why did you blow out the candles? This place is a tomb.”

His description was a little too close for comfort. “I didn’t blow out the candles! You did.”

“No. I didn’t.”

“I suppose they blew themselves out,” she scoffed. “Who were you talking to?”

She sensed his sudden caution. If only she could see his expression…

“I wasn’t talking to anyone, Hayley. You must have been dreaming. I went down the hall to use the bathroom.”

“Don’t tell me that. I heard you!”

“I don’t know what you thought you heard, but it wasn’t me.”

Goose bumps rose along her arms. Her teeth began to chatter because she realized she believed him.

“Then we aren’t alone in here. I distinctly heard two people whispering together. And I didn’t blow out the candles.”

Bram muttered something that sounded like a curse. “Let’s go. I need my flashlight.”

“Why don’t you have it with you?”

“Because it fell off the coffee table when I reached for it earlier, and I didn’t want to wake you looking for it. I didn’t figure I needed it just to go to the bathroom, but I didn’t know we were going to be roaming around in the dark like this. Come on, you can help me find it.”

Bram reached for her hand. His fingers closed over hers, making her intensely aware of his much larger, warmer hand. He seemed to have cat’s eyes as he led her back inside the library without a single misstep. No wonder he hadn’t needed the flashlight in the dark hall.

His touch was strangely reassuring. She was almost sorry when he released her again.

“I think it rolled under the table,” he told her.

She dropped to the carpeting beside the table while he did the same on the other side. Her hands swept over empty air. A second later, she heard his sound of satisfaction.

“Got it.”

A decidedly weaker beam bounced around the room, causing ominous shadows to sway against the walls.

“I don’t suppose you have fresh batteries anywhere?” he asked.

“There might be some in the kitchen.”

Bram set the flashlight on the table and relit the candles. “Wait here while I have a look around.”

“No! There’s someone else in here. What if they’re armed?”

“I don’t think that’s likely.”

His skeptical tone struck a nerve. “You don’t believe me.”

“I didn’t say that.”

“You’re thinking it. I can tell from your tone.”

“Hayley—”

“There were two voices,” she said firmly. “You were one of them, weren’t you? You must have been. Why are you lying to me? Who else is in here?”

“Calm down.”

Furious, Hayley came around the couch to ram a finger against his chest. “Don’t tell me to calm down! I want to know what’s going on.”

Bram lifted her hand from the rock-hard wall of his chest and reached for his shirt, which he’d draped across the back of the other couch.

“I don’t know what’s going on, but I intend to find out.”

He didn’t raise his voice, but there was a reassuring core of steel in his tone. She watched him slip the shirt over his head.

“I’d offer to leave,” he said quietly, “but I can’t walk away under the circumstances.”

“I did hear voices,” she insisted.

Bram scraped a hand over the dark stubble on his jaw. “Hayley, have you ever had a dream where you knew you were dreaming, but couldn’t wake up? Then, when you did, the dream stayed with you like a fog, making you feel disoriented?”

“I was not dreaming!” She couldn’t have been. “If I was dreaming, how do you explain the candles going out? Do you think I blew them out in my dreams?”

Bram regarded her solemnly. “They were lit when I went down the hall. When I came out of the bathroom, I had to keep my hand on the wall to find my way back here. I heard you moving in the other room so I went to investigate.”

Hayley shivered. He sounded so sincere. Could she have dreamed the whispers?

A muffled sound from the hall stopped his words and her heart. Bram spun around. In a flow of motion almost too fast to follow, he glided into the foyer. The sounds of a struggle came almost immediately. Hayley snatched up the flashlight and tore after him. The weak beam trapped two figures locked together near the front door.

“Jacob?”

Bram had the younger man pinned against the wall. The dragon on Bram’s arm looked ready to breathe fire as it pressed against Jacob’s throat, holding him in place.

“You know him, Hayley?” Bram demanded softly.

“That’s Eden’s son, Jacob. Let him go, Bram.”

Bram gave the man a hard stare before stepping back. He looked perfectly ready to resume his attack at the least provocation. Jacob rubbed his throat, swallowing hard.

“Hayley?” he croaked, peering into the light.

She lowered the beam so it wasn’t shining directly in his eyes.

“What’s going on? Who is this guy?”

“Jacob Voxx, meet Bram Myers. Marcus hired him.”

“As what? An attack dog?” He gave Bram a resentful glare.

“Bram’s been creating and installing the wrought iron around the house.”

“Yeah? I noticed the gate. What was wrong with the lions?”

Hayley darted an I-told-you-so look in Bram’s direction, but his attention remained focused on Jacob. Bram reminded her of some large, fierce predator ready to spring. It was all too easy to envision Jacob as his rabbit of choice.

“Why were you sneaking in here at this hour of the morning?” Bram demanded softly.

“I live here. Or at least, my mother does.” Jacob appealed to Hayley. “What’s going on? Where is everyone? What happened to the lights?”

Quickly, Hayley explained.

“You weren’t expected,” Bram said.

“Uh, no. I wanted to surprise everyone.” Jacob looked from Bram to Hayley. “Surprise?”

“Oh, Jacob, I’m sorry. It’s just that we’ve had a scare. I think someone is hiding in the house.”

“You’re kidding!”

It annoyed her when he looked to Bram for confirmation.

“Hayley heard voices,” Bram said neutrally.

“Did you call the cops?”

“No,” Hayley told him.

“Big place to search in the dark,” Bram added, rocking back on his heels. His gaze never left the younger man.

“Well, yeah, but the cops have powerful flashlights. I mean, if someone’s in here, we ought to call them, right?”

“Up to Hayley,” Bram told him.

Thoroughly annoyed, she glared at both of them. “There isn’t much point calling them for help. You know that, Jacob.”

“Uh, look, Hayley, I know you don’t like the local cops, but if someone’s in here, we should do something.”

She sensed Bram’s interest, but she wasn’t about to start explaining her relationship with the local police right now.

“We are going to do something. We’re going back to the library and to wait for the power to come back on or daylight, whichever comes first,” Hayley said firmly. “With all this commotion, any sane burglar is long gone by now.”

Jacob looked at Bram, who shrugged. “You heard the lady.”

Hayley wanted to stamp her foot in frustration. Instead, she pivoted and returned to the library. Plopping down on the couch, she fumed until Bram came in and sank down beside her, so close their legs brushed. His action was as deliberately challenging as the look he directed at Jacob.

Jacob stared from one to the other. “Uh, do you two know each other?”

“Not really.”

“Yes,” Bram said firmly at the same time. “We were spending a quiet evening together when all hell broke loose.”

“Oh.” Jacob seemed to have no idea what do to with the conflicting information. “Where, uh, where’s your sister?”

Hayley tried to shift positions but found herself sandwiched between the arm of the couch and Bram’s hard body. “Leigh’s in England visiting friends,” she managed to reply. And if her voice sounded breathless, neither man seemed to notice.

“Oh, yeah. I remember Mom mentioning something about that. A final fling before she starts her new job, right?” Jacob sank down on the couch across from them and yawned. He looked tired and at the same time unconcerned. “Lucky her. Say, have you met Mom’s newest staff yet?”

“No.” Hayley tried to nudge Bram. He didn’t budge a millimeter. Obviously, he wasn’t nearly as pliable as the rigid metal he worked with. “Jacob, what happened to Mrs. Walsh and Kathy?”

“Beats me. They’ve been gone for a long time now. I thought you knew.”

“Not until a couple of hours ago, when I spoke with your mother on the phone. She said they had a better offer.”

Jacob’s shoulders rose and fell. “Mom said they quit when you and Leigh stopped coming home. She’s had trouble finding live-in help ever since. I think this is the fifth or sixth housekeeper she’s hired. Mrs. Norwhich is sort of built like Bram, here. A little older, and she lacks the tattoo, but she’s a force to be reckoned with. Sort of weird, but nothing compared with the new maid. Wait’ll you meet her. Say, maybe it was Mrs. Norwhich and Paula Kerstairs you heard.”

Hayley shook her head. “I don’t think so. Your mother thought Mrs. Norwhich was staying in town tonight. Besides, wouldn’t she have woken me if she came home and found a stranger sleeping on the couch?”

“You’d think so.”

“Maybe she tried,” Bram offered. “You’re a pretty sound sleeper, you know. You didn’t even stir when I got up.”

Bram’s words and tone implied an intimacy that made her squirm. He made it sound as if they’d been sharing a couch. Before she could correct that impression, Jacob yawned hugely.

“Sorry. I’ve been sitting on the Jersey Turnpike for hours thanks to a multicar accident. I think I’m too tired to worry about prowlers or weirdo housekeepers tonight. As far as I’m concerned, they can do whatever they want as long as they let me sleep. Would you mind if I go upstairs and sack out?”

“Take the couch,” Bram said firmly. “Hayley would prefer us to stay together.”

“But there’re only two couches in here.”

“That’s all right. Hayley and I don’t mind sharing. Right, Hayley?”

A protest leaped to her lips, but a warning in Bram’s expression made her hesitate. She did want them to stay together. Jacob shouldn’t go off on his own until they knew what was happening around here. The men might not believe her, but she knew someone else was inside the house.

“Go ahead and take the couch, Jacob. I’m not tired anymore, and Bram’s going to sit here and tell me all the fascinating details of his life, including how he got that tattoo. Right, Bram?” she asked with mock sweetness.

Bram settled back. He had to hand it to Hayley, the woman had a knack for turning the tables. Too bad for her that he’d had years more experience at it than she had.

“I wouldn’t bore anyone with my life story, but I’m sure we can find something more interesting to talk about,” he said suggestively. “We can start with all the things we have in common. Don’t worry, Jacob. We’ll keep our voices down.”

“Uh, sure. Okay.” But he stared at them, obviously perplexed by the exchange.

Bram was relieved when Hayley settled for glaring at him as Jacob stretched out on the couch self-consciously. The man’s arrival seemed entirely too well timed to be a coincidence. If Hayley really had heard people inside the house, Bram suspected Jacob had been one of them.

“If, uh, anything else happens, just wake me,” Jacob told him.

“Count on it.”

Hayley shifted restlessly. Bram ignored her none-too-subtle hint to move over. He was enjoying the feel of her body pressed against his more than he should. And if there was another incident tonight, he wanted to make sure the only way to reach her was to go through him first.

“Tell me more about the place you work,” he encouraged.

“I’d rather hear about you.”

“I’m flattered.”

“Don’t be. I’m making conversation here. Where did you get the dragon tattoo?”

“Thinking of getting one yourself?”

“You’re being deliberately impossible.”

“Years of practice,” he agreed.

“Is it some big secret? Some gang tattoo or something?”

“Interesting opinion you have of me.” But the set of her jaw told him she intended to be stubborn on this issue. “If you must know, I woke up after drinking all night and there it was.”

He knew his words sounded clipped, but he hated thinking about that period of his life. Not that he could remember much of it, including how and where he’d gotten the tattoo, much less why. He’d been drinking heavily in those days.

“Oh.”

She traced a finger over one dragon wing. Her touch was featherlight, yet it activated every nerve cell in his body. Desperately, he tried to think of a safe topic, but looking into those wide, innocent eyes seemed to be robbing him of coherency. He should not be noticing how soft and kissable her lips looked.

“You, uh, said your father and uncle were both blacksmiths. Is that how you got your start?” she asked, fidgeting.

That wouldn’t have been his conversational choice, either, but if it helped divert his current thoughts, he was all for a discussion of his work.

“Yes. My uncle used to work with real iron, like they did back before car manufacturers discovered they needed a metal with a more uniform strength.”

He droned on in his best lecture mode, conjuring up nearly forgotten facts on the subject that he remembered from his youth. As a boy he’d watched his father and uncle work the forge for hours, absorbing their tales.

Hayley surprised him by actually listening. Even after she closed her eyes and her head began to nod, she’d throw out a sleepy question to indicate she was paying attention. He was running out of things to say when he realized her breathing had slowed and deepened. Her head slumped against his shoulder.

Unable to resist, he stroked the fall of hair running over his chest. He’d been right, it was as soft as a river of raw silk. Inhaling the light scent of her shampoo, he was pleased to note she didn’t favor heavy perfumes. There were far too many things he liked about Hayley.

Jacob snored lightly across from them. Reaching for the afghan, Bram spread it over Hayley and surrendered to the urge to make her more comfortable. He snugged her tightly to his side.

Instead of waking, she nestled against him as if she’d been doing it all her life. Her head fit almost perfectly in the crook of his arm, while her long hair drifted whisper soft against his bare skin.

Something inside Bram tightened—not just with desire, but with a remembered longing. He’d forgotten how good it could be to simply hold a woman like this. While he didn’t welcome this protective feeling swelling inside him, he didn’t know how to turn it off, either. But he couldn’t afford to get involved here. That road led to a pain he had no desire to repeat.

Hayley stirred without waking. Carefully, Bram slid his arm around her, leaning his cheek against the top of her head. She was young. He had to keep reminding himself that he was too old and too jaded for the sort of thoughts he was trying not to have about her.

His father had told him that he’d never really be free until he faced the ghosts that haunted his soul. Funny, he couldn’t help thinking that perhaps the time had finally come.

DUST MOTES DANCED amid the sunlit rays filling the room when Hayley woke. She lay on the couch, covered in the familiar afghan. The house no longer felt empty—but the library was.

Where was Bram? Had she really fallen asleep in his arms? She’d felt his lips brushing hers as he’d stretched her out on the couch. Memory? Or a dream-induced fantasy?

Glancing around, she realized her overnight case was no longer on the floor nearby. Jacob must have seen it and carried it upstairs for her. Bram wouldn’t even know where her room was.

The thought of him seeing her bedroom was unsettling. She folded and replaced the afghans before stepping into the main hall.

The first thing she noticed was the door to the former parlor still standing open. She needed to use the bathroom, yet she was drawn across the hall by something she couldn’t explain. Even in daylight, the room’s atmosphere was depressing.

“Looking for something?”

Bram’s voice sent her spinning around. Her heart gave a leap at the sight of him. Last night, shadows had dimmed his features, but this morning there was nothing to soften the impact of that firm jaw and those dark brown eyes that seemed capable of reading her innermost thoughts.

He was powerful rather than handsome. Now that she was feeling more objective, it was easy to see why Jacob had looked to him for guidance. There was an aura of leashed power, a sense of confidence, that made Bram a natural leader.

He’d changed into clean jeans and a fresh T-shirt and had even shaved. He looked younger than he had last night, despite the tiny lines at the corners of his mouth and eyes. His hair was freshly combed and still damp, the ends curling, darkly wet against his neck. He must have just come from a shower. He looked perfectly at home and incredibly sexy.

Abruptly, she realized several seconds had passed. Flustered to be caught staring at him, she gestured at the room in general. “I, uh, wanted to see this room in the light.” She stepped forward briskly, though it was the last place she wanted to be.

A row of formal chairs gathered dust beneath the drape-shrouded windows that lined the outside wall. The Danish-modern receptionist’s desk looked ridiculously out of place in the formal room, but it did serve to restrict access to the heavy double doors that had once led to the old ballroom and now opened onto Marcus’s exam rooms. She had sensed the unseen watcher standing there last night.

“Hitchcock would have loved this place,” Bram muttered at her back.

Hayley couldn’t argue. Even in daylight there was a disturbing wrongness about the room. Moving around the desk, she reached for the door handle. Locked, just as Bram had told her last night. Hayley felt inexplicably cold.

“What are you doing?” he asked.

“I’m not sure. Searching for proof that I wasn’t imagining things last night?”

Bram touched her shoulder, causing her heart to flutter foolishly. “Do you think you were imagining things?”

“No.”

He nodded without expression. What was he thinking? That she was a foolish, emotional young woman?

“I carried your bag upstairs for you.”

“You did?”

“Mrs. Norwhich told me which room was yours.”

He’d seen her bedroom, still decorated with posters from her high school days. “You’ve met Mrs. Norwhich then?” she asked, to keep from wondering what he’d thought about her room.

“Uh-huh. She came in around six this morning. Didn’t seem at all bothered or surprised to find unexpected company in the house. She told me to help myself to a shower, and offered to fix me some breakfast.”

“How did she know which room was mine? I’ve never even met the woman.”

“Beats me. I put them in the third bedroom down, on the right-hand side.”

“That’s my room,” she acknowledged. “Where’s Jacob?”

“He went out—after suggesting to Mrs. Norwhich that she should count the silver.” His lips curved faintly. “I don’t think your friend Jacob likes me very much.”

“You didn’t exactly make a good first impression,” Hayley pointed out. She tucked several strands of wayward hair behind her ears. “I’d better go up and grab a shower, too.”

“I put fresh linens in your room,” said a dour voice from the doorway.

Hayley spun to gape at a tall, middle-aged woman dressed in a flower-print shirt and baggy slacks. The clothes hung limply on her bony frame. Her stringy blond-and-silver hair was piled in an untidy mat on top of her head. Bony fingers pushed at the wispy strands trying to escape. Her long, seamed face was pinched and sallow and set in a permanent frown. She held a duster in one hand. A pail of cleaning supplies sat at her feet.

“No one’s supposed to be in here. That’s what they told me. Don’t go in the front parlor, they said.”

Once again Hayley was reminded of an old horror film. Didn’t those housekeepers always appear out of nowhere? “Mrs. Norwhich?” she asked tentatively.

Beady eyes hardened. “She’s in the kitchen.” The woman turned and glided silently down the hall, her back stiffly erect.

“Now I know why Jacob said to wait until we met the maid,” Bram whispered near her ear.

“She moves like a ghost.”

“Sort of looks like one, too,” he agreed. “Very skeletal. Want me to walk you upstairs?”

“I remember the way.”

He was suddenly standing much too close. She felt totally unprepared for the emotions he seemed to evoke in her.

“Then I’d better get back to work,” he told her.

His soft, deep voice slid over her, sending all sorts of inappropriate impulses to her nerve endings.

“Thank you. For last night, I mean.”

He lowered his head. Her heart thudded crazily in anticipation. He was going to kiss her.

With one knuckle, he gently raised her chin. His gaze held her captive more surely than any shackles.

“My pleasure.”

While her lips readied for his, Bram brushed a kiss over the tip of her nose, released her and strode to the front door without looking back.

Hayley could barely climb the stairs to her bedroom. Her legs were weak and her heart was racing as if she’d been running a marathon. For crying out loud. If she reacted like this to a peck on the nose, what would she do if he really kissed her?