Total pages in book: 51
Estimated words: 47359 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 237(@200wpm)___ 189(@250wpm)___ 158(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 47359 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 237(@200wpm)___ 189(@250wpm)___ 158(@300wpm)
She shook her head, hoping to shake some sense into it, or shake her doubts out.
“Reasonable explanation, reasonable explanation,” she mumbled. “You just have to find it.”
And she could do that. It was what she did, hunt down the unbelievable and show how there was a reasonable explanation for it.
“So don’t sit here in fear, get moving,” she scolded again, though didn’t move. It wasn’t that she was a fearless person, because there were times fear could be a good thing and stop you from doing the stupidest things, but having been raised in a cemetery had probably given her the edge over others when it came to fear or perhaps it was that it had given her—a boatload of courage.
Determined, she tossed her jacket and scarf on the bed and slipped out of her high-heeled boots. She zipped open the front compartment of her suitcase and took out a pair of grey flats. If she had to run, she’d have a better chance in flats than heels.
She shook her head again. How did one exactly run away from a vampire, especially when there wasn’t anywhere for her to run? And there was the fact that he knew this house and she didn’t.
“Reasonable explanation. Reasonable explanation,” she reminded again and slipped her shoes on.
Lara felt a moment of panic when she went to reach for the doorknob. What if he had locked her in? She hurried to turn the knob and sighed with relief when it opened easily. She poked her head out first and looked left to right and spied nothing but an empty hallway. She stepped out and wondered which way to go. Right would take her to the closed double doors and left was probably where she would find the staircase, a more logical choice. But something told her it would be wise to get the lay of the land so to speak, find out about the rooms on this floor before making her way downstairs.
The hallway was fairly wide. Between the wall on the door on the left and the double doors at the end of the hall sat an ornate wood console table. A crystal vase dressed in a winter floral display similar to the one in the entry foyer sat on top. An ornate carved bench sat on the wall across from it, though a few feet down. And more landscapes decked the walls along the hall and had Lara stopping to glance at them. Art lights above the paintings cast sufficient light for her to study the detail. She had thought something looked familiar about them and after a moment she realized that the paintings were of the Valaine property. There was the long driveway up to the place with woods to either side, the hills behind the house and where the house itself sat, but without the house. The paintings were of the land before the house was built.
Lara scrunched her eyes to see the artist’s name, but it wasn’t clear enough for her to read. She wasn’t familiar enough with art to tell the age of the paintings, but she had to admit they were beautiful and so very detailed.
She kept her steps light along the Oriental-style runner that graced the dark wood floors and peeked in the room that sat to the right. It was a bedroom, smaller than the one she was in, though decorated just as lovely. The other door was locked, and she wondered why. What secrets did it hide?
Her hand hesitated when she reached for the knobs on the double doors at the end of the hall, but she once again warned herself that it was best she became familiar with the layout of the house. She turned one knob and inched it open slowly, then cautiously peeked inside.
Low lighting and flickering flames from the fireplace cast faint light on the large, dark room. She had to step further in to make out what was in it. She stood a few feet inside the room and turned in a circle looking it over.
Everything was dark from the intricately carved four-poster bed with a grey velvet canopy to the tall, wood armoire more heavily carved than the bedposts and headboard. Nightstands sat to either side of the bed, though they were grey metal and of modern design. Grey and black damask drapes covered the windows, blocking any view, and the lights were a mix of modern and antiques. A modern grey chaise sat at an angle to the fireplace similar to the way the one was situated in her room.
The room appeared as if someone could not quite decide which century he wanted to live in.
The small table beside the chaise held a single crystal wine glass and decanter with what looked like red wine. Lara assumed the room was Michael’s, which had her wondering just what was in the decanter. She took cautious steps over to the table, itching to lift the top and take a sniff, yet worried about what she would find.