Red Hot Obsessions by Blair Babylon Read Free Book Online Page B

the nightstand. We’re going to get through this, he and I. We have to.
    I don’t really feel like sleeping now, for all that I told Calder I was tired. I toss and turn for a little while, but I know it’s a lost cause. Finally I throw off the comforter and climb out of bed. I'm too restless to keep lying here.
    I begin to pace around the room, determined to wear myself out. There are plenty of ways to distract myself in here, at least. For a few minutes I stand by the window, trying to spot the hedge maze through the dark and rain, but I don't see anything. Next I wander back into the closet and peruse the electronic directory, looking for the most ridiculous outfit I can find, but I get bored with that pretty quickly.
    Which leaves me with only one option: to search for secret doors.
    I mean, how often do you find yourself in a house with hidden passages in the walls? Assuming Calder wasn't pulling my leg, of course. I'm one of only a handful of people who will ever get to see the inside of this place; it's my public duty to explore the possibility of secret passageways. Or so my exhausted, sleep-deprived mind tells me.
    I start at the main door and work my way around the room. I find a flat screen television hidden behind a mirror and a mini-fridge behind a panel near the bathroom. Apparently rich people like to hide their conveniences behind expensive decorative items. But I find no doors in the walls, nor any buttons or levers hidden under shelves or behind lamps. I spend a while at the electronic tablet next to the bed, but though I discover a radio, house directory, and even a weather-reporting application among its options, there's no magic “open sesame” button.
    I come to the elaborate fireplace last. If this were a fantasy or kid's cartoon, the fireplace would be the key. The carved stone mantel is ridiculously ornate; all it should take is the right amount of pressure on the right decorative leaf and a doorway will open up behind the gas logs. I've seen it a hundred times.
    I work my way from right to left along the mantel, pushing and prodding every bit of stone. Nothing moves. When I've poked at every leaf and twist of vine, I go back in the opposite direction, trying everything again. Just in case.
    Nothing happens.
    I'll admit it—I’m a little disappointed. If there are actually secret passageways in this house, none of them appear to start in this room. I step away from the mantel, and in the process I trip over the rack with the fireplace poker.
    “Mother fuc—”
    I break off my curse when I hear the scrape of wood and stone behind me. I stand and turn.
    You cannot be fucking serious.
    A portion of the wall has swung inward, revealing a dark hallway beyond. A secret passageway. An actual secret-fucking-passageway. Calder wasn't lying after all.
    I walk over and peer inside. The corridor is pitch black. I can't tell how long it is or which direction it ultimately leads.
    But dark or not, there's no way I'm not going exploring.
    I run back to the bed and grab my cell from the nightstand. Hopefully the light from its screen will be enough to keep me from falling and breaking my neck.
    I can't believe I'm actually doing this , I think. But then again, I never expected to break onto the Cunninghams' property or wear their clothes or eat their food. I never expected to sleep in one of their giant, fluffy beds.
    No turning back now, I tell myself.
    I hit a button on my phone to bring the screen to life, and then I step into the darkness of the passage.

CHAPTER FIVE
    I move slowly along the passage, the phone held out in front of me. The faint blue glow from the screen is just enough to keep me from walking into the walls. The corridor twists and turns ahead of me, and after five minutes I've already completely lost my bearings. I have no idea which direction I'm going or where I might end up. My only consolation is that there's only one way back, so it's unlikely I'll get too lost.
    As my eyes adjust to