Read Online Seduced and Ensnared by Stephanie Julian - Free Book Online Page B

uncomfortable feeling that, despite his obvious treachery, she might throw herself at him.
    Last night had been amazing, he’d been right about that. And the more she thought about what he’d said about Uncle Daniel, the more she knew that at least some of it was true.
    Something was going on at BD Enterprises. She’d been ignoring the signs because she hadn’t wanted to dig too deep for fear she’d discover something she didn’t want to know.
    How much of a coward did that make her? So here she was, sitting in her parents’ cabin hidden in the hills near the Appalachian Trail in northwestern Berks County. Her parents had used this rustic one-room structure on weekends. It had a toilet, sink and shower stall in the back left corner, a small kitchen with a refrigerator in the right corner, a bed to the right of the door, a couch to the left and a fat woodstove in the center.
    Her parents had said they used the cabin to escape. Escape from what, she’d never really known.
    Since her parents’ death, she’d only spent a few nights here since graduating from college. Her uncle had occasionally asked if she wanted to sell the house and twenty acres, but she couldn’t do it.
    He’d never questioned her attachment to the place, never pressured her to sell. Now she had to wonder why she’d wanted to keep the cabin all these years—considering this was where her parents had died. Well, not in the house but on the property.
    While some people might not have been able to return to the place where their parents had died, Stella had always felt close to her parents here. The rest of the world fell away when she came here.
    But now she found it hard to relax. And it was all his fault. Damn him for invading this once-sacred space.
    She was so pissed at him she could scream. At the same time she was angry at herself. For being taken in, for falling for him. He hadn’t been slick, he hadn’t bowled her over with charm. Hell, he wasn’t even all that good-looking.
    Grimacing, she took that last observation back. She had to admit he was gorgeous, just not in the way of a poster boy.
    He’d seduced her just by being himself. Which begged the question, was he telling the truth about everything?
    She was not ready to think about what else she’d seen Cam do. About the other man who’d disappeared before her eyes—right before she’d done the same.
    She’d never discussed her ability to think herself somewhere else with anyone. And she’d never used the power if there were other people around to witness it.
    “It’s a useless, stupid, deadly gift, sweetheart,” her mother had said on the rare occasions they talked about her power—or curse—just after she’d realized she could make herself invisible. It’d been a shock the first time she’d willed herself to disappear. After she’d reappeared, her mom and dad had looked at each other, the fear in their faces enough to let her know this wasn’t a party trick.
    Obviously Cam had a similar gift—which raised all sorts of questions. Where did they get these powers from? Were they born with them? Did others have them? What was she? Was she human? Or something else?
    There was no one to whom she could go for answers. Her closest living relative was her uncle. Her mother’s parents had died before Stella had been born. Only her dad’s mother was alive but she was in a nursing home in Florida and probably wouldn’t be much help, because the power had come from her mom, who was the sister of Uncle Daniel. Did he also have powers? And why did she believe Cam when he told her not to go to her uncle with questions?
    “Oh this is stupid. You’re not getting anywhere…and now you’re talking to yourself.”
    Throwing her hands in the air, she decided she needed a nap. Maybe some sleep would help clear her mind. Then she could decide what, if anything, she wanted to do—
    Something crashed into the door, making her jump and startling a cry out of her.
    Running to the