Love's Darkest House Read online

  Table of Contents

  Excerpt

  Kudos for Ginny Lynn

  Love’s Darkest House

  Copyright

  Dedication

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  A word from the author…

  Thank you for purchasing this publication of The Wild Rose Press, Inc.

  “Let’s see if you can stop this, my dear.

  Now we test your will and see if you can feel more than my strength against yours with my lust riding across your delicate skin.”

  I dared not open my eyes as I didn’t want to see him in this way. Not with seduction on his wicked tongue. I pleaded for myself to wake up. Wake from this dream that had grown out of simple chemistry for a sexy male. Wake from the temptation which dared to happen. Wake and break the spell before I was a sleeping victim of this want and desire. But all I felt was the press of his lips as the thunder rolled across our bodies.

  Such an innocent touch was deceiving. The kiss grew like the air that rolled the center of the storm over us. I had become the central area where the line separated dark from light and prey from predator. I knew which I was and it scared me but not enough to shock me awake. He leaned into me as he pulled my arms to my sides, increasing the amount of our bodies touching. As his arms crept along my ticklish waist, I was yanked the last bit against him where my breasts were a mashed ripeness against his ribs.

  Kudos for Ginny Lynn

  2012 WETA Awards Winner

  in Paranormal category

  Love’s

  Darkest House

  by

  Ginny Lynn

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales, is entirely coincidental.

  Love’s Darkest House

  COPYRIGHT © 2018 by Ginny Harrison

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission of the author or The Wild Rose Press, Inc. except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

  Contact Information: [email protected]

  Cover Art by Diana Carlile

  The Wild Rose Press, Inc.

  PO Box 708

  Adams Basin, NY 14410-0708

  Visit us at www.thewildrosepress.com

  Publishing History

  First Black Rose Edition, 2018

  Print ISBN 978-1-5092-1956-8

  Digital ISBN 978-1-5092-1957-5

  Published in the United States of America

  Dedication

  To my Renaissance Friends:

  Melissa, Michelle, Angie, Melinda,

  Karen, Michele, Brittani, and Kim

  Keep reading, dreaming, and flying.

  Chapter One

  As someone who had made a living off breathing life into vintage items, my eyes appreciated the grand beauty of the home in front of my wheezing car. With the chilled air tossing bronze leaves around, I feared the inside of the dwelling would hold no inner warmth for me. I whispered a prayer of thanks that my junker of a car had made the six-hour journey and pulled out the letter that had brought me to this small southern town. The first of three correspondences that had changed the course of my life in the last month. After the passing of my step-grandfather, I came to be the sole inheritor of the sixteen-acre estate and all its contents.

  Dank and inky dark outside, a single burning candle left a subtle light in the front window. Did a housekeeper wait at this late hour? The attorney informed me someone would be at the house to let me in. I appreciated it as I hated the idea of walking into an unfamiliar gothic estate alone at this hour. But why a candle and not a front porch light left on to show my way into the quiet house? It may have looked more in time with the aged flavor of the house, but it didn’t make me feel the security a lit candle was rumored to induce.

  The slightly crumpled paper in my shaking hands had come from Mr. White. He had been the Fenmore family attorney since fresh out of law school. The few words penned had been recited enough times to have it memorized.

  As the last living member of both family lines, you would be required to stay at the estate for a few days as you make your decision on accepting the terms of the will as written by Mr. Fenmore after your grandmother’s tragic heart attack.

  Being in a place I had never even seen, other than in pictures, left me with an awkward sense of being an outcast. But after losing my job to a buyout along with most of my newfound independence, I desperately needed a home to call my own.

  My thin trench coat wasn’t substantial enough to withstand anything under forty degrees. The frigid air made me shiver in my worn denim jeans and simple long-sleeved blouse. But I hesitated a moment to gather enough courage to step up to the imposing thick wooden front door with its enormous lion knocker at eye level for the average adult.

  Average, that described me in a nutshell, except for the visions. Those had ruined my chances of already being married as my last doozy had been when a gentleman caller attempted to kiss me goodnight. It had resulted in me screaming at my internal screenplay as his cool lips had brushed across mine before I fainted. Thank God, he had revived me before he’d run for the hills.

  I still beat my head against the wall of that particularly embarrassing moment in my loveless life. I’d tried to pinpoint my triggers, but the only things they had in common were emotions and anxiety unless you counted random timing. My visions had become frequent enough that sex hadn’t been attempted in over three years. I was even afraid to head into a sex-toy shop as I might have an episode in the swing aisle.

  Reaching a trembling hand to the cold steel knocker, I jumped when the door shook with wind and age as my fist rapped a tone throughout the wind-filled doorway. I stepped back just as the door shuddered with the effort of someone pulling it open. My heart leapt into my tight throat as the door creaked open a sliver more. I paused for a second and saw no one visible in the breath of drafty space that sucked at me from the gloomy foyer.

  “Um, hel-lo?” I stuttered the question, waiting for someone to pop up in my line of sight.

  No reply, not even a scuttle of feet to prove someone had physically opened the ancient door. A stiff breeze pushed me into the open alcove, almost toppling me onto the white marble floor.

  “Is anyone here? Mr. Wh-White?” My thumping heart beat against my ribcage as I straightened up.

  A screaming whirl of wind outside sucked the door shut with a window-rattling shake and snuffed out the candle in the window.

  “Can I help you, ma’am?”

  I squeaked at the baritone voice that rose from the encompassing blackness in front of me. When my vision adjusted to the lack of light, an over six-foot tall, willowy shape stood in the shadows. My mouth went dry. In the instant it took to gulp down my surprise, he stepped closer and struck a match. I jumped but he was only lighting the candlestick in his large hand. The hand led up to a face which made me gasp with a whole new feeling. He was beautiful. Men weren’t usually described in such a manner, but this specimen had a lean body, dark hair, and eyes as mesmerizing as sherry topa
z in the light of the burning flame he held. The flickering emphasized his high-cut cheekbones and elegant nose.

  “Save him,” whispered in my head and then disappeared. What the hell was that? Scrutinizing the vacant space, no other person came forward to claim those cryptic words clinging like ice to my spine.

  “Where did you come from, and why were you hiding behind the door?” I rambled while I pulled myself back together.

  “You knocked on the door and proceeded to walk right in, so I should be asking who you are?”

  “No, I didn’t open the door. You did.”

  “I assure you, ma’am, I did not open the door. And who you are still remains unanswered.”

  “If you were the one with the duty to stay up for me, then you would already know who I am.”

  He sighed deeply, almost blowing out the candle in his still grip. “Let’s say I’m a man of caution where damsels are concerned. Your name, please?”

  “I’m Renata Barkely, granddaughter of the Fenmores, and Mr. White wrote for me to be here.”

  He nodded his head and said, “Yes, Mr. White told me a member of the family would be arriving before sunrise. Sadly, he wasn’t forthcoming with any details other than it being due to the reading of the will.”

  I stared at him and waited.

  “Do you have any bags?” he asked, his tone cool and nonchalant.

  “Yes, there is one in my car.”

  “If it’s unlocked, and you’re willing to hold this candle for me, then I’ll retrieve it for you.”

  In the absence of a valet service, and this guy being a complete stranger, I refused to stay in an unfamiliar house as he rummaged through my few belongings.

  “I appreciate the offer, but I’ll grab my stuff and be right back in. I’d be grateful if you continued holding the light while I make my way back.”

  “Of course, we wouldn’t want any blood spilled on this white marble,” he responded with a hint of a smirk on his handsome face.

  The situation turned creepier by the minute. I stumbled out the door and jogged to my car. For a fleeting moment, I thought to drive out of there as if my life depended on it. I might put that plan into action, depending on how the next few moments played out. Slipping my cell phone out of my battered hobo bag, I dialed the number in the letter from Mr. White’s office. Yes, it was after hours but I prayed someone would pick up so I would have some type of knowledge of what I had stepped into. It seemed as if a presence weighed on the estate, like a thick layer of moss after the rainy season.

  “You have reached the voicemail for Mr. White, attorney at law. Please leave a message at the sound of the tone and he’ll get back to you during business hours. Thank you.”

  “Mr. White, it’s Renata Barkely. Can you call me back on my cell phone when you get in the office, or when you check your messages? I’m at the estate with questions that need answers.”

  I clicked off and wondered what to do next, then realized I had nowhere to run. I had nothing. I was destitute, penniless, and a shell of the passionate woman I had once been. The only light in this tunnel would be to at least stay here for the few days I committed to and happily accept the $5,000.00 stipend to walk away from all of this southern grandeur. Then I would run for the hills as I recreated my future. The problem was dealing with the next few days of uncertainty to get to the goal line. Did I want to put myself through this? No. Was it the only way to get back on my feet? Possibly.

  The earlier whisper of power returned to hum in my ears again. Jerking to see who might be around, I scanned for anyone playing games with me.

  “Who are you?” I questioned of the rustling wind as it brushed me like a body in a crowded hallway.

  “Go. Save him.”

  Reaching out for the firm steel of my old car, I let the chill of it sink into me as did the recognition. The husky voice belonged to my grandmother. Shit! I was losing my mind. There was no way my grandmother would choose to visit me now. She’d been dead from a heart attack almost a year now.

  “Renata, save him.”

  “Granny?” I forced out the question, not believing myself.

  A cloud of warmth enveloped me, like walking through a sauna, and honeysuckle wafted through the thick air. That erased my doubt about it being her, and she needed me to help someone. She had told me years ago that my visions were only the beginning of what else was truly out there for the spirit to conquer. Her body did not rest here, as there were no available plots in the old cemetery on the estate but her spirit had lingered. Had she been waiting for me? Something told me to see what she needed. She had been there for me, and I would do the same for her, especially since I had been taking my college exams when she left this earth. Pulling up my big girl panties, I rolled my college dorm cart back to the dimly lit doorway.

  I stifled my surprise that he stayed inside the house as I knew he had heard me approach with the wheels bumping along the walkway. There he stood, just where I’d left him, as if frozen in that moment of my internal conflict with his lack of chivalry. Had a pause button finally been installed in my life? Strangely, it seemed fitting as I took in the items around us—an array of vintage furniture, worn Persian rugs, and a true grandfather clock ticking away the dusty time.

  I shouldn’t have jumped when he spoke, but my nerves were in worse shape than my checking account.

  “Seeing as how you’re here, and I’m awake, I’ll show you to your room. Do you have any requests, demands, lovers on their way to join you?”

  “I’m low maintenance but a clean bed and a fluffy pillow would be acceptable. No one will be arriving other than Mr. White when he has the paperwork for me to look over. What’s your name and what do you do here?”

  “I’m Kenrick Giles, and my normal title is caretaker, but some would call me the ghost of the property.” The last part came with a look of pure mirth.

  “And why are you escorting me around with a candle? Is there a power outage in the area?”

  His chuckle was sexy as it hung in the air. “No, ma’am, Mr. Fenmore didn’t believe in fluorescent lighting and refused to have any installed when he took possession of the house. The hum they created would annoy him to no end. He was typical of his age as he and Mr. White used to both bicker over the annoyance of modern technology being more of a burden than a gift.”

  “He could have used incandescent lights or did he not know about those?”

  Kenrick continued leading me around the house, but he would turn to face me when he was answering my questions. “I tried when hired, but he claimed to be too set in his ways to need them. He was the type of man up at sunrise and headed to bed at sunset. Your grandmother was the only person who could talk him into any newer comforts, but he had a limit to what he would tolerate in his home. Mr. White finally succumbed to using a cell phone, but he won’t answer it unless he knows who is calling him. I can give you that number, if you’d like it?”

  He began walking away as he spoke, leaving me to stand by another grandfather clock. I looked into the face of the clock and wondered which was more personable, the man or the beautiful clock. Both seemed lovely and useful but daylight would show any flaws. I sighed deeply and rolled after him. I knocked around the unlit rooms as I fought to keep up with the man gliding round items like a modern-day wraith. His body bent around furniture I didn’t see until I was upon it. Did he have wonderful night vision or had he memorized every room in the sprawling house?

  “Excuse me? Do you mind slowing down or at least giving me the light so I can see what’s about to eat me?”

  I heard a sexy chuckle in response as I passed through another doorway and ran into him.

  “Oof.” The air rushed out of my chest at the abrupt halt against the man in front of me. The candle went out in the whoosh of air from my lips.

  There I was, against a hard male body, in a room that surrounded us like a dark shroud. My body shivered as a comforting sensation surprised my trembling skin. A change in air pressure was tangible, as
if a hand pushed at my back. Feeling a breeze coming upon me as he quickly stepped back, I felt oddly cold again as if he had taken all the warmth with him when he’d torn himself out of my personal space.

  Hearing a match scratch to life, the flame carried to the candle where it illuminated the interior of a bedroom lost in time. The walls were an undetermined green with whitewashed moldings and a cream-colored marble fireplace on the back wall. In the middle sat a four-poster bed, and there was a small seating area in front of me with a deep green velvet love seat and high back chair. I couldn’t see all of the details as he only had the single light for me to peruse by. He set the candle on the worn surface of the white side table and then reached for the clear oil lamp on a single long bookshelf in between the tiny areas. Once he had the flame at full height, my eyes could make out the sage of the hand-painted wallpaper and the embroidered pillows along each stuffed piece of furniture and against the whitewashed headboard. Somehow, the room held the poise and delicacy of the female spirit.

  A thin trace of dust covered the room’s belongings but it could never hide the vintage beauty of the room. I moved to run my hand across the cream and black damask fabric of the comforter. The pillows on the bed were of various sizes and covered in an array of black and mint satins. Soon I would be able to crawl into the inviting space, but for now, I glanced over the items on the bureau. There were a few sepia landscape photographs that I guessed were taken around the property when the house had been much younger, maybe in the early 1900s. I picked up his discarded candle and moved on to the marble fireplace with its clean hearth and the lady’s vanity with wrought iron chair and large oval mirror. The fabric seat of the iron chair held a leaf-design tapestry and looked original. All the pieces were in better shape than they should be, for their age, but maybe my step-grandfather had paid someone to restore the pieces to what would pass for mid-1800 styling. It would have no bearing on what would be happening over the next few days, but I would get around to asking questions once I saw what could be listed as a change to my immediate future.