Free Sweet the Sin by Claire Kent Page A

Arching her back slightly, she stretched her body in a way that tightened the shirt against her breasts. She noticed another flare—this one less obvious, more real—ignite in his eyes. “I can’t even think about sex right now,” she lied. “So don’t be hoping to live out some sort of twisted fantasy. I’ll stay here for a little while, until I’m feeling better. But then I’m going to leave.”
    “But—”
    “We’re strangers. We’re
strangers
. Why are you insisting on helping me?”
    “Out of the goodness of my heart?” The upward lilt at the end made the words an ironic question.
    She suppressed a quick laugh at the wry humor, hating herself for thinking he was funny.
    “At least stay here today,” he said after a moment. “You’re not in any shape to drive, and you’re safer here than anywhere else.”
    “Safer?”
    Narrowing his eyes, he said slowly, “My understanding was that someone came after you last night. I assume they’re still after you.”
    That was exactly what he was supposed to think. “Caleb—”
    “Kelly, just stay. At least until I get back.”
    “Maybe.”
    He reached over and put a hand on her shoulder, and Kelly almost jerked away from the touch of his warm hand. “Promise me. Promise me you’ll be here when I get back.”
    He was really laying it on thick. Pulling out a whole armory of persuasive intensity and cool charisma in order to keep her where he wanted her.
    And, if she hadn’t kept reminding herself who and what he really was, it would have worked on her.
    Master of manipulation. Lying bastard.
    But Kelly smiled at him. “I’m not promising anything.”
    “You’ll be here.” He sounded smug, absolutely confident that she would do what he wanted her to do. “In the meantime, make yourself at home.”
    “I’m not here on vacation. And I’m not planning to raid the refrigerator or have a long soak in your hot tub.”
    “Why not?” He gave her a decidedly flirtatious glance over his shoulder. “You’re welcome to raid the wine cellar too, although you might wait until the headache is gone. The tub in this suite should be decent, but the best one is in the master bath. You’re welcome to use it if you’d like.” He cocked an eyebrow. “But I warn you, it has very powerful jets.”
    Kelly saw his face blurring in front of her eyes as she processed the fact that they were actually flirting. But she made herself hide it and playfully threw one of the throw pillows from the bed in his direction as he started to leave the room.
    It bounced off the back of his shoulder before it fell to the floor.
    She could hear his chuckle as he moved down the hallway. Warm, husky, sensual.
    Her whole body tightened in response to the sound of it, which just made her hate him even more.
    —
    She stayed in bed for a few more hours. Once her headache was mostly gone, she got up, took a shower, and ate some of the lunch that had been carried up to her room.
    Her clothes from the night before had been freshly laundered, and the housekeeper found her a pair of more comfortable shoes, so she wouldn’t have to go around in her heels. So she got dressed, clipped her hair up into a heavy knot, and went out to explore the estate.
    Kelly would have expected any home of Caleb’s to be cool, modern, and stylish, but the house was an old brick Georgian that had been beautifully updated, full of both character and comfort. The house was built on a large piece of land, so she wandered around, peering at the lake, the stables, and the stretches of grassy lawn. She avoided the wooded areas. There wasn’t much else to keep her occupied, and she figured walking around was a predictable thing for a guest to do. She knew she was probably being watched by Caleb’s security—he had more surveillance than she’d expected to find—so she couldn’t do anything that looked suspicious. But it was a sunny day and warm for April, and the walk and fresh air revived her considerably and