I felt my lips form a word. “Thomas.” My hands reached up, framed Lucas’s face. His eyes closed, and he groaned.
“Cecile.” It was Lucas’s lips wrapped around that name, but the voice was not his. Love, grief and regret welled within me, and tears bathed my cheeks.
His fingers trailed from my face, down my neck to my breasts. I arched again as his lips followed, raining kisses before he captured one rose tipped peak. I moaned in agonized pleasure as he cupped them both, brushing his thumb over my stiffened nipples.
“So beautiful...I always knew.” He leaned away and stripped off his shirt—Lucas’s shirt—before moving his hand to the snap on my shorts. He dragged his lips from between my breasts, down the center of my stomach, teasing just above the waistband.
“My love, at last.” The voice was feminine and young, definitely not mine although I felt my lips moving.
His hand slipped beneath my shorts. He rubbed tentatively over my underwear, teasing, tantalizing, before hooking two fingers beneath it. His fingers slid within me, igniting my core and setting me on fire.
My groan was pure lust, desire and need. It seemed to trigger something within Lucas/Thomas as he ravished my mouth once again, his tongue plunging between my lips to find mine. Even as he nipped at my bottom lip, his fingers continued to move, sliding over my slickness.
“Thomas. . please!” I nearly sobbed the words.
He answered by tugging down my shorts. I kicked them off when they reached my ankles and fumbled at the snap of his jeans. He helped me, and within a moment we held each other skin-to-skin.
“I never forgot, Cecile. I’ve never left you.” He suckled at my breast again, increased the pressure between my legs, and I thought I might die of ecstasy. I reached for him, reveling in his length and hardness. There was no fear, no timidity. It was as I always knew it would be when we finally consummated our love.
“Never forget, Thomas. Together now. Please...now.”
He smiled against my mouth and plunged into me. I clung to his back, my nails raking him in my pleasure. He cried out my name, again and again, until at last the sensation was so great that I thought I would shatter into a million pieces. He quivered, almost growling, and then we were both still.
“My darling.” He peppered kisses over my face. “I thought you were lost to me. I never believed it was over. I will always come for you. I never broke my promise.”“Nor did I, Thomas.” I held his face, taking it in as though I could memorize each feature. “I knew you would come.”
He lowered his lips to mine again, in the sweetest, most gentle kiss. And as their mouths sealed, I was back. It was me lying on the bed again, beneath Lucas, who was kissing me senseless even as he was still within me.
“Cat.” He rolled off me, and for the briefest moment I was bereft. “What the hell was that?” His voice shook.
I shivered; the room was still cold, and without Lucas on top of me, goose bumps covered my skin. He saw and pulled me close again. I leaned my forehead against his chest, conscious of my own trembling.
“I don’t know. I think maybe we were possessed.”
“It was Cecile and Thomas, wasn’t it? I was kissing you, and then...it wasn’t me.”
“I know. At first I thought I was dying. And then it was different. But I could hear them.” I raised my head and glanced around the room. “Do you think they’re still here?”
Lucas shook his head. “I don’t. I think maybe this was what they wanted. A swan song, one last time together.”
“She was thinking...while we...while they...well, that it was the first time. So maybe they needed that to be able to move on.”
We were quiet for a moment, and then I was suddenly aware that I was naked, that Lucas’s fingers were moving over my lower back. I hugged my arms closer over my breasts.
“I should get dressed.” I moved as though to get up, and Lucas held my arm.
“Cat, I want you to know. That wasn’t me, and it wasn’t you, I get that. They took over the controls. It was wild and kind of scary. But still, I want you to know. You are beautiful, and desirable, and I could see that the whole time. I still want you very much. But next time—me. With you. No one else.”
I lay a hand on his cheek, over that impossible dimple, and I smiled. “Thank you. I’m kind of freaked right now, but I think I feel the same. Tonight, I need to just get under the covers and sleep. Would you stay with me anyway?”
He turned his head to kiss my hand. “Of course. As long as you want.”
The next morning, after Lucas returned to his own room to shower and dress for breakfast, I crept down the steps. I found Miss Jane in her little first floor office, glasses perched on her nose as she scanned a computer screen.
“Miss Jane?” I knocked on the open door. “I’m sorry for disturbing you, but could I have just a moment?”
She was a bit flustered that I’d caught her outside her normal innkeeper persona, but she rallied and offered me a seat.
“I hope everything is all right in your room?” She smiled.
“Yes. Well, mostly. Miss Jane, I hate to say anything that might upset you, but it’s about Cecile.”
She paled just a bit; I might not have noticed if I hadn’t been watching her face. “I don’t know what you mean.”
“I think you do. Cecile has visited my room a few times since I’ve been here. I don’t want to force the issue, but I thought you should know.” I paused. This was where it got tricky; I was conjecturing.
“She’s very sad that it seems she’s been forgotten, Miss Jane. There are no pictures of her, no mention of her. It would make her happy if you’d fix that. If maybe people could know her story...hers and Thomas’s.”
Miss Jane covered her eyes, and I took that opportunity to delve into her mind. She was remembering, and through her eyes, the eyes of a small child, I saw her memories of a young and beautiful aunt, who visited the nursery and took her little niece for walks along the beach and pony rides.
And then the memory shifted, and there was fear. A man...Miss Jane’s grandfather...was yelling. A woman screamed.
“What did you do to him, Allan? Blood...did you beat him?”
And then a man’s shaken voice. “I’ll take care of it, Lenore. Where is Cecile? Find her.”
The child Jane was hiding, frightened by the yelling. She crouched in a corner of Cecile’s room, unseen by her aunt who had slid down next to the bed, weeping hysterically, and then by her grandfather who stormed into the room.
“Cecile!” He grabbed her arm, hauled the girl to her feet. “What have you done? We told you--”
Cecile wrenched free. “Leave me alone, Allan! You don’t know him! I love him. We’ll leave here, run away. You’ll never see me again.” She backed toward the balcony doors, her eyes never leaving her brother’s face.
“He’s gone, Cecile. Left you. Now come here, and we’ll figure out--”
“No!” Her scream echoed in the room, and little Jane covered her ears, buried her face in her knees. She felt rather than saw her grandfather’s heavy tread as he moved toward Cecile, and then heard his shout mingling with the screams of her aunt.
“My God, Cecile!” His anguished cry made Jane look up just in time to see the very edges of Cecile’s skirt disappear over the rail. Her grandfather stood on the balcony, looking down at the courtyard below.
“Allan!” Jane’s grandmother ran into the room. “Where is she?” Lenore crept toward the balcony and followed her husband’s gaze. Her shriek of horror pierced Jane’s ears, and she scrambled out of the room, ran down the stairs.
I was conscious of tears on my cheeks. Miss Jane looked up at me, wonder and fear on her face.
“You know.” Her hands shook and she gripped the arms of her chair. “How?”
“I can’t tell you. But I do.” I reached over and covered one of her hands with my own. “Miss Jane, what did they do? After...when they were both gone?”
She drew in a deep breath. “My fam
ily was wealthy and powerful. The official story was that she had gotten suddenly sick and died. Some of her friends knew about her affair with the tutor, and they’re the ones who started the rumor that she died of a broken heart. My family didn’t like it, but it was better than the truth. Neater.”
“Tutor...Thomas was a tutor?”
“Yes. He worked with my older cousins and my brother in the summer. He lived here at the house, of course, and he and Cecile...” She shrugged. “I suppose they fell in love. I don’t remember much of that, only that they sometimes spent time with me, together, and I wasn’t supposed to tell. And then my grandfather found out. And that horrible day.”
“Did he...was Thomas—dead that day? After your grandfather left him in his room?”
A shadow passed over Miss Jane’s face. “I don’t know. I know he disappeared, and no one in the family ever mentioned him again. My brother brought him up once, and I thought my father was going to have a fit.” She heaved a sigh. “I imagine that Thomas didn’t come out of that room alive, for if he had, I think he would have hunted down the truth about Cecile. I don’t think he had any family, and so no one was there to miss him. Or perhaps my grandfather paid someone off.”
I bit my lip. “I’m so sorry, Miss Jane. And I promise I won’t tell anyone. Do you have any pictures of her? Could you put up maybe just one?”
She smiled a bit. “I didn’t for years. My grandfather burned them all after that day. But then a friend of hers died a few years back, and her granddaughter found some photos labeled with Cecile’s name. I have them, but I haven’t been brave enough to put them up.” She covered my hand with her free one. “I will now. Thank you.”
I stood to leave, and then turned back. “Miss Jane, has Cecile—did any other guests mention anything odd in that room?”
“From time to time, yes. Only if it were a single woman staying there. Music played sometimes...it was Stardust. Cecile listened to that song on the radio and gramophone all that summer...so I thought it might be her, but nothing ever happened when I was in the room.” She pursed her lips. “Do you think she’s still there?”
I shook my head. “I don’t think so. I think she’s moving on now.”
Miss Jane nodded. “That beautiful soul. I hope she finds peace.”
“So that’s the story.”
Lucas and I walked along the edge of the water, dodging small children digging holes, old women in chairs and teens playing catch.
“I guess so.” I evaded a beached jellyfish.
“And Miss Jane told you all this? What made her come clean all of a sudden?”
I caught my bottom lip between my teeth and decided that Lucas had more than proved his trustworthiness. “She didn’t. Not on purpose anyway.”
Lucas stopped and tugged me closer. “Explain, please.”
“You know what I do for a living, right? The people I work with? Didn’t you wonder how I fit in to the puzzle?”
He frowned. “You’re saying you can do something, too. Something out of the ordinary.”
“Yes. I can hear minds.”
Lucas stopped again, and this time I nearly tripped.
“You hear minds? So you know what people are thinking? You know what I’ve been thinking? All this time?”
I smothered a grin at the panic in his voice. “I can control it, and I know how to not hear someone’s thoughts. Don’t worry. I’ve respected your privacy.”
He looked so relieved for a moment that I wanted to roll my eyes. There was no need to tell him that I’d forayed into his mind a time or two. A girl had to have her secrets.
Lucas stood for another minute, looking out over the waves. He nodded. “Okay. I get it. So that’s what you can do. Cool.”
I cocked my head. “That’s it? That’s your whole reaction to my big secret?”
He shrugged. “What can I say? I have an open mind.” He winked at me, almost lasciviously. “Open to you. Hmm, this might be interesting.”
I gave him a small shove. “Behave.”
“Nah, that wouldn’t be any fun. But listen.” He stopped again and turned me toward him, pulling me close as he tipped my chin upward. “I heard what you said the other day, about what will happen when you go back to Florida. And maybe you’re right. But for another three nights and four days, you’re Cat, on vacation, with a very hot guy who wants to spend every waking—and non-waking—minute with her. I want us to have our own nights, Cat, where you’re you and I’m me. Not possessed. And I want to take you to all my favorite places down here at the shore. We’ll be tourists. What do you say?”
I smiled up at into his eyes, laid my hand over that irresistible dimple. “I say...where’s the hot guy?”
Before he could pull away in mock indignation, I linked my hands around his neck. “Kidding. Just kidding. I say...bring on vacation.”
I pulled his head down to mine, and this kiss was sweet, slow and totally us.
***
It was evening. I had the balcony doors open to catch the breeze, but I maintained a safe distance from them. I was afraid that if I happened to glance down into the courtyard below, I might see poor Cecile’s broken body.
Lucas had gone out in search of a bottle of wine for our last evening here at the Star. We had spent the day driving north along the coast, stopping so I could tour Lucy the Margate Elephant, and then made a quick trip into Atlantic City--just so I could say I’d been there, Lucas told me.
I sat at the small dressing table in my robe, brushing my hair and thinking about the past week. It had been wonderful beyond my wildest dreams, and I knew that was all thanks to Lucas.
We’d talked a little about his plans. He’d decided to move to Florida; though he insisted it had nothing to do with meeting me, I’d heard something different in his mind. Maybe I wasn’t the entire reason, but I was at least the tipping point. And I was fine with that. He was my senior, by quite a few years, true; but I’d always thought I’d end up with an older man. His late aunt’s house was three hours south of Carruthers, but once he was settled, perhaps...
“He’s not for you.”
I jerked my head around, my heart pounding. It was dusk, but there was sufficient light to see onto the balcony. In the shadow just beyond the door, I thought I saw a figure.
“Cecile?” I breathed the name. We hadn’t had any sign of either her or Thomas in the past three days. I thought they truly had moved on.
Soft laughter came from the shadow. “No. Your ghost has left the building. At least that ghost has.”
“Who are you?” I was shaking, and I hated it.
“I’m family, Cathryn. Leave it at that. And I’m looking out after your interests.”
Family? My mind spun, and my mental walls dropped. I reached out, trying to get any kind of read on this woman.
Flashes bombarded my brain. Blood, pain, death, lust, regret, hurt...and a single name.
Veronica.
“Pull it back, Cathryn. Pull it back now, for your own good.” The voice was steely and brooked no disobedience. I put up my blocks and focused on protecting my own mind.
“What do you want?”
“I told you. I’m here to tell you that the professor is not for you. Don’t ask why. Just accept it. You’ve had a nice vacation fling. Leave it at that.”
Tears rose in my eyes, and I furiously flung them away. “That’s not for you to say. Lucas—he—I—”
“He’s not for you. His destiny lies in another direction.” There was silence, and then she spoke again. “He’s come back. Enjoy this night. And then let him go.”
I heard Lucas at the door, and I ran to his arms. He caught me and pulled me tight.
“That’s a great way to be welcomed back. Did you miss me that much?”
I reached up to touch his lips. “Kiss me. And don’t let me go.”
He covered my mouth with his own, both demanding and fulfilling. And he didn’t let me go.
***
Other Books by the Author<
br />
The King Series
Fearless
Breathless
Restless
Endless
The Posse
The Perfect Dish Duo
Best Served Cold
Just Desserts
The Seredipity Duet
Undeniable
Unquenchable
The One Trilogy
The Last One
***
Photo: Marilyn Bellinger
Tawdra Thompson Kandle lives in central Florida with her husband, children, cats and dog. She loves homeschooling, cooking, traveling and reading, not necessarily in that order. And yes, she has purple hair.
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Stardust on the Sea Page 6
