Sweetblood 02.5 - Enchanted by Blood by Laurie London

skipping stone hit the bottom. She absently rubbed her thumbs along her finger tips as he closed the door behind her.
    “Look, Charlotte, before we get started, I just want to make sure you know that whatever happened between us back at—”
    Cringing, she held up her hand, interrupting him. He didn’t need to voice all that. “Don’t worry. What happened is in the past. This is business only.”
    A strange expression crossed his face. Relief probably. Most likely he’d expected her to react differently.
    “Good,” he said, confirming her assessment.
    A tiny part of her wished she hadn’t been correct. That he saw her as something more. A woman he wanted to get to know on a deeper level, and not just someone he’d spent one night with and now viewed only as an employee. She quickly shoved that futile longing out of her mind and considered the task before her.
    The place was just as she envisioned. A grand staircase led to a landing and branched off into twin sets of stairs that curved around to the second story. A massive chandelier with thousands of crystals sparkling overhead cast an array of colors against the walls. The effect was almost magical. She made note to capitalize on that somehow with the decorating. Marble flooring, not travertine, stretched in every direction. And straight ahead on a Louis XIV center table, Christmas lilies were arranged in a blown-glass vase.
    She exhaled slowly. “Your home is absolutely stunning.”
    He smiled, his eyes suddenly more blue than gray. A glint of something she couldn’t identify lurked behind them. “Thank you. The estate has been in the family for many years.”
    “Is it just you here?” She couldn’t believe she hadn’t brought that up on the phone. At her place, she’d casually asked if he’d ever been married, to which he’d answered no. Sure, he could’ve been lying, but she was almost positive he wasn’t. And yet now that she was here, she felt a little…uneasy.
    “Except for my grandmother, who arrived yesterday for the holidays, yes.”
    “Your grandmother?” A rush of relief eased her tension.
    “Yes, I’ll introduce you in a few minutes. You’ll love her.” An undefinable expression crossed his face for a moment. Resignation? Defeat? Was she reading him correctly? If so, for some strange reason, it made her feel…happy.
    She took a few steps farther in the foyer until she was almost directly under the chandelier.
    This place, these things seemed oddly familiar. As if she’d been here before, which was impossible and yet… She imagined hearing Christmas music playing in the background, silverware clinking against china, the sounds of laughter.
    Something else was there, too. Something she couldn’t quite put her finger on. Her skin prickled as if brushed by another lick of cold air and she rubbed the back of her neck.
    Something frightening. She shivered and fingered the tiny beaded tassels on her wool scarf.
    For goodness’ sake, she chastised herself as she unbuttoned her coat and slid her purse from her arm. There was nothing frightening about Christmas. Halloween—yes. Christmas—no.
    Like any designer who could visualize things before they became reality, she simply had a vivid imagination. And this was a huge, if not Gothic, old mansion.
    “Okay,” she said, shaking off those ridiculous sensations. “Let’s get started.”
    WHAT THE HELL had he agreed to? Trace asked himself as he led Charlotte into the sitting room. He was a weak man. That’s all there was to it. That, and a damn liar.
    As the limousine pulled up the long driveway and stopped at the base of the stone entry steps, he’d watched from the upstairs hallway. The door opened and it had been those legs of hers he saw first as she climbed out. Her skirt had ridden up high on her thighs. A few more inches and he imagined he’d have seen her panties. She did a cute little shake of her ass as she pulled down the skirt then closed the gap in her coat. Heaven help