Page 76 of His Haunted Desire

“Relationships are going to be difficult no matter where I live. I don’t know what I’m going to do after college. I might get a job abroad. I might open my own place. I don’t know. A lot is up in the air.”

I grind my teeth. I don’t want to be one of those stupid men who thinks he owns a woman because they’ve had sex and bonded a few times. I know that when I tell her I own her, it’s part of our game, our special dynamic. Nothing more.

It still hurts somehow.

“You’ve got your whole lives ahead of you, both of you,” Grandma says. “No rush.”

“Don’t forget, Grandma, one of us is younger than the other.” I wink at Aurora.

She rolls her eyes. “I’m twenty-three and you’re… what, thirty-five?”

“Thirty,” I say. “And none taken.”

She giggles and nudges me.

“You can’t pretend this is simply a deal,” Grandma says.

Aurora’s warm look vanishes from her face. She bites her lip and stares at the floor. I shoot Grandma a look… Why did she have to go there? Grandma shrugs at me as if to say,Well, it’s true…

“Aurora, don’t worry. We’ve already discussed this.”

She looks at Grandma. “Evangeline, Idolike your grandson, but I’ve got… things I want to do. A life I want to live.”

“I don’t believe love is incompatible with that.”

“Love?” I say. “Take it easy. No one said anything about love.”

“You don’t need to sound so offended,” Aurora jokes.

I shake my head, laughing. “Why do I get the feeling I’m being ganged up on?”

“Is that what we’re doing?” Grandma titters, happier than I’ve seen her in weeks. “It seems we make quite the team, Aurora.”

My cell phone rings. When I see it’s Detective Drake, I almost don’t answer it. We’re nearly at the party. But it might be important.

“Hello?” I say, answering.

“Mr. Blackwell,” she says, voice tight. “I would like your complete honesty about something we’ve just learned. I’m sorry to do it like this, but I can’t risk a leak before we’ve caught him.”

“You’ve got a lead?”

“Do you know anything about a son your father had out of wedlock?”

“Stop the car,” I whisper.

“Excuse me?” the detective says.

“Stop the goddamn car,” I growl.

“Driver–please stop the car,” Grandma says, looking at me with concern.

I stumble out into the rain. My father cheated on my mother? My memories of them are always warm, loving, kisses in the kitchen, dancing through the house, laughter, pure unadulterated joy.

“Mr. Blackwell?” Detective Drake says.

“I’m here. No–I don’t know anything. I’m sorry. This is a shock.”

“Someone has made quite an effort to cover up his existence. We believe he may be living under a false identity. Can you thinkof anyone who might fit this description? This person, if blood-related, might have a motive. If you and your cousin were to die…”