Betrayal - By Lee Nichols Page 0,15
Rachel. Or just the emotional exhaustion of the day.
I blinked blearily when Bennett gently woke me and escorted me into the lobby of an intimate and chic hotel that my mother would’ve loved. I suddenly yearned for her. She’d never been the comforting sort, but she was at least good for a cuddle when things got this low.
Which was more than I could say for Bennett—we couldn’t even hug. Still, when he sat me in a chair while he checked in, I couldn’t help wondering if he’d reserved one room or two. And though I knew we shouldn’t touch, when he came back with two keycards, my heart sank.
We found my room first, and Bennett waited at the door.
“Will you come in?” I asked. “I don’t want to be alone.”
“Only for a minute,” he said as we went inside. “You need to sleep.”
I nodded, relieved that he wasn’t deserting me. “Do you mind if I jump in the shower? I need to get out of these clothes and … scrub the wraiths off my skin.”
“Yeah, I know what you mean. Go ahead.”
The bathroom was large, considering the size of the room, with elegant fittings and warm beige tile. There were fluffy white towels and lush bath products, and the whole place felt about a thousand miles from the Knell.
After the shower, I slipped into the gray silk robe I’d packed and applied a little lip gloss—and heard the door to the room close. Had Bennett grown tired of waiting for me? I poked my head out and found him sitting on the chair in a fresh navy T-shirt and jeans, his own hair wet.
“I showered, too,” he said. “My room’s the next one over. I tried to be quick.”
I crossed the floor and stood in front of him. “The first time we met, did you know who I was?”
“You were Max’s little sister.” He glanced away. “Don’t you have pajamas? Something high-necked and flannel?”
“You know what I mean, Bennett. Did you recognize me? Know that I looked like Thatcher’s Emma and the one in the tapestry?”
“When I met you, you looked like a geeky little girl in braces.”
“I didn’t wear braces!”
“No, but you looked like you did.”
I narrowed my eyes. “You’re trying to change the subject.”
He took a steadying breath. “Yes, I recognized you. The lady in the tapestry is legendary, Emma. And you not only share her ancestry, but her name.”
I didn’t want to ask my next question, but I had to know. “Did the Knell tell you to pretend to be in love with me, so I’d do what they wanted? Is this all a lie?”
“No.” He took my hands. “Emma, ever since I met you, I knew I shouldn’t care for you. But I did—even then. I couldn’t help how I felt. The last thing the Knell wants is for us to be in love. They think I’ve betrayed them. But I’m sorry, there are powers stronger than ghostkeeping.”
I felt my heart loosen as I stared at our interlocked hands. “I just want to touch you.”
“Me, too,” he said, his voice rough.
I was suddenly aware of my nakedness under my robe. “Couldn’t we … just once?”
He brought my hands to his lips. “You don’t know what you’re asking.”
“I want to be with you. I want to be who we really are, a girl and a boy who fell in love. For one night, can’t we pretend there are no wraiths and no deaths? I want to be a normal girl, who’s not worried about anything except if her boyfriend is going to kiss her everywhere she wants to be kissed.”
He exhaled, and his warm breath caressed my fingers—then he pulled me into his lap. I felt his hands, rough and strong on my skin. He kissed my neck and my ear and whispered, “Yes.”
I touched him, wanting to hold onto every inch of him, forever.
“Just once.” He brushed his lips across my eyelids. “I love you.”
And I closed my eyes, overcome by a wave of love and desire and the aching need to be everything for him.
He lifted me into his arms and said, “Where else do you want to be kissed?”
Later, as we lay entwined, he said, “It’s not that I don’t want to.” He ran a fingertip across my brow. “It’s just that once won’t be enough.”
I looked into his bright blue eyes and cuddled closer. “This is perfect.”
5
Bennett was gone when I woke the next morning. We’d fallen asleep together, and for the first