Dark Masterpiece (Serendipity Series 3) Read Online Free Page B

hall, disappearing around a corner.
    Evie stared, acutely aware of her own
heartbeat drumming in her ears. She swallowed, her mouth dry.
    “Evie!” Seth hissed. “Dude, I told you!”
    She blinked and looked at him. “That was not
what I expected.” She poked her head in her room and turned on the
light. There was a queen sized bed with a headboard and footboard
of rich oak and a vanity made of the same. The curtains were a
deep, dark purple, as was the bedspread. On one wall hung a thick
tapestry of a Celtic pattern in black and gray. “I feel like I
walked into a Bronte sister novel,” she whispered.
    “That guy is freaky,” Seth muttered.
    “Seth, go get our bags,” Evie demanded as
she fingered the tapestry.
    His eyes bulged. “Are you out of your mind?
That guy probably has a dungeon and a torture chamber. If I get in
his way, he’ll do awful things to me!”
    Evie scowled at him. “Then
don’t get in his way!” she cried. “Just go, Seth! I’m not going back home!
This is an opportunity for my future. I don’t care how much of an
ogre that man is, I’m staying. Now go!”
    Seth threw his hands up in the air and
started to grumble incoherently as he made his way back down the
hall.
    Evie heaved a sigh and
flopped down on the bed. Her hands were still shaking. She was good
at putting on a front for Seth that she didn’t care how evil
Traevyn Whitelaw was, but the truth was, after that display, she
had no idea how she was going to survive the next three months.
This was not at all what she had expected. She’d pictured Traevyn
Whitelaw as this insanely passionate, yet somehow normal man who
would be patient, show her his technique, and share his life
experiences with her. She had not expected a devastatingly handsome Heathcliff with
no desire to have her in his home at all. The way he had spoken to
her, like she was an intruder in his entire universe, made her
uneasy. How was she supposed to learn anything when her teacher
didn’t even want her there?
    Barrett deBoer’s insensitive words flooded
her mind and made her frown. Maybe she could just get by on her
intelligence, but she doubted it. This man seemed much worse than
Barrett, if that was possible. Maybe if she was some gorgeous
supermodel he would have reacted differently to her presence.
    She all but groaned aloud. What she had
imagined was going to be an amazing experience, she was now
convinced was going to suck horribly.
    It was going to be a long summer.
     

Chapter Three
     
    Evie had never in her whole life felt a week
drag on longer than the past one had. She had barely even glimpsed
Traevyn Whitelaw since their first, rather brutal meeting. When she
had, he had only offered a curt nod. It was getting old. She and
Seth had driven thirty minutes every night to eat at the same pizza
parlor in Monterey because they were afraid to even venture into
the kitchen. The rest of the time they had been living off of snack
cakes and toaster pastries. Not once had Traevyn come to see if
they were all right, needed anything, or were even still there.
    There was never any noise in the house. It
was so silent it was eerie, and the chilling fog that encompassed
it in the morning and evening made everything seem gloomy. All of
the floors on the upper story were hardwood, which made everything
colder when the fog came in. Half the time Evie was sitting in bed,
huddled under a pile of blankets. No one could have convinced her
that it was summer if she hadn’t known any better. She felt more
like she was in a prison than in a famous artist’s home.
    A knock sounded on Evie’s door as she
attempted to sketch something and she called for Seth to come in.
She knew it was him. Who else would it be? He opened the door, then
shut it with a note of irritation. Evie looked up to see him
standing there with a withered expression on his face.
    “This sucks,” he announced.
    She arched an eyebrow.
    “Seriously, I have watched
so many dumb reality shows on MTV