“I suppose anything’s possible.”
“The more I read, the more I don’t really know what to believe.”
They ate in silence for a while. Jenny wasn’t a great cook herself, so she was enjoying Opal’s delicious meal.
“How far back do the journals go?” Cain asked as he pushed his empty bowl away.
“The man who remodeled the hotel in the late 1990s started the tradition. Uncle Charlie stopped doing it a few years back. He didn’t like the idea of people saying the Copper Star was haunted.”
“Can’t say I blame him, though there are dozens of ghost stories about the Grandview. I’ve pretty much just accepted the possibility and let it go at that.”
Jenny thought of the bloody face of the ghostly being who’d been standing at the foot of Cain’s bed. The memory stirred a shiver. “Nell told me some of them.”
He set their pie plates in front of them. “So you’re going through the journals year by year.”
“That’s right. I haven’t gotten very far, but I’m writing down anything interesting, the date of the report, and what room it occurred in. I’m looking for the same events happening over and over.”
“Sounds like a good approach.”
She smiled. “I’ll start again in the morning when I get back to the hotel. I’ve got meetings over here later tomorrow to discuss some options with your bartending staff. I should be around all afternoon.”
Cain gave her a look that said he was thinking of a little afternoon delight.
“I’ll be here to work,” she reminded him.
Cain just smiled.
They finished dessert, cleaned up the mess, and snuggled together on the sofa. Snuggling led to kissing, kissing led to touching, and things heated up from there. Cain carried her into the bedroom and set her on her feet. He took his time undressing her, then stripped off his own clothes, and they settled in the big king-size bed.
Starting off slow and easy, Cain seemed determined to take his time, but in seconds, slow and easy turned hot and erotic. She loved the feel of his big body pressing her down in the mattress, sliding inside her, moving deep. Release came swift and hard. Cain’s release followed.
Afterward, she curled against his side, and both of them slept.
It was the middle of the night when something awakened her. For a moment, she was afraid it was the bloody ghost she had seen before. Then she felt Cain’s hand skimming over her body, caressing her breasts, moving lower, and wondered vaguely how such tough, scarred hands could be so gentle.
Desire burned through her. She was more than ready when he lifted her and set her astride him. She’d wanted a man who took control, but even when she was the one in charge, she could feel the power of him, his driving need, and it set her on fire.
She was limp and sated when she awakened before Cain the next morning. She needed to get up, get dressed, and get to work. She had a lot to do at the Copper Star, and she wanted time to read more journal entries.
Instead, she reached for him and felt his heavy arousal. The morning slipped away in slow-burning need and tender satisfaction. She was curled against him, both of them awake, but still drowsy, when she heard a firm knock on the living-room door.
“Stay here. I’ll take care of it.” Cain leaned down and kissed her. “I should have been up hours ago. You’re a bad influence.” But he was smiling. Stark naked and unembarrassed, he walked away.
Watching him, even after a night of amazing sex, Jenny felt a rush of heat.
Cain grabbed his robe off a chair next to the door and headed out of the bedroom. She should have been up earlier. She had a dozen things to do.
Forcing herself to leave the warm bed that smelled liked sex and Cain, she headed for the bathroom. After a quick shower, she dragged her hair up in a ponytail and secured it with a scrunchy. Makeup could wait. She pulled on jeans and a sweatshirt, grabbed her overnight bag, slung her purse strap over her shoulder, and headed for the bedroom door.
Thank God, Cain had a private elevator. She could sneak out the back way and walk down the hill to the hotel.
Except that when she opened the door, Nell Barrett sat on the sofa.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CAIN WATCHED THE BEDROOM DOOR OPEN AND INWARDLY GROANEDas Jenny stumbled into the living room.
“Well, hello there.” Nell’s smile held the welcome of a mama tiger protecting her cub.
