Spooky Business

by S. E. Harmon

  I chewed on the inside of my cheek. If he wasn’t going to say anything about it, I damned sure wasn’t either. But I had to say something. “Are you hungry? We could stop for Mexican.”

  “I could eat. But I was thinking about that new Thai place downtown.”

  I hummed a little. “That’s certainly different.”

  “Different good or different bad?”

  We both knew he wasn’t talking about Thai food. “It’s growing on me.”

  He smiled, a faint blush staining his cheeks. “Good to know.”

  *

  I woke to Danny murmuring something in my ear. I blinked sleepily, slowly coming awake, trying to get my bearings. “What did you say?” I croaked.

  “You had a bad dream.” His voice was a soft rumble as he rubbed my back soothingly. “Do you remember what you were dreaming about?”

  “No.” We both knew I fucking remembered. From experience, I knew Danny was more than willing to wait me out. His patient silence shredded my already worn nerves like tissue paper. “I don’t,” I insisted.

  “You said no a lot,” he said.

  I’d seen Joey hovering over Danny’s sleeping form in the dream, his hands just inches above Danny’s face. Just thinking about it made me break out in goose bumps. “I just… I don’t want anything to happen to you.”

  “Nothing is going to happen to me.”

  You can’t be sure of that. Once again, we didn’t state or acknowledge the obvious.

  “It’s hard to turn it off, you know?” I sighed. “They’re always there, right on the edges of my consciousness. Maybe I need to drink some of that disgusting tea my mother sent over, just to relax.”

  “I might have a better way.” His fingers probed my hole, which was still relaxed and lubed from our earlier shenanigans. “Can you take me again?” he murmured in my ear.

  Yeah, I could. And even I if couldn’t, I wanted to. I responded with action instead of words, pulling my knee to my chest to give him better access. I let out a breathy sound as he slipped another finger in beside the first. I loved it when he was gentle and careful, but sometimes I needed the exact opposite of that… needed him to wreck me in the best of ways.

  “I’m good,” I urged. “Go ahead.”

  “You’re good? Go ahead?” He sounded vaguely amused even as he continued to work those fingers inside me, wrenching another groan from my throat. “You remember our little talk about romance?”

  I chuckled. “Don’t bogart the dick, Irish.”

  Even though I’d asked him to stop with the fingering, I let out a low whine when he pulled those talented fingers out. I wasn’t empty long. Seconds later, he replaced them with his dick, tunneling into me slowly but insistently.

  We both sighed together because sometimes that’s what you gotta do when it’s that fucking good. He fucked me with a mix of insistent and gentle thrusts, giving me just enough to make me want more.

  I heard a swift intake of breath that didn’t come from behind me. My eyes flew open, landing on a shadowy figure in the corner. It took a few seconds for my eyes to adjust to the darkness, and I could make out Joey’s stone face. His gaze flickered over Danny and then came back to me.

  Despite how good it felt to have him inside me, I’d made Danny a promise. I planned to keep it. I put a stilling hand on his arm. “There’s someone—”

  “I don’t care,” he murmured.

  “You seemed to care before,” I countered. “A lot.”

  “I was wrong.”

  I blinked. “Wait, can you say that a little louder? And maybe let me get my phone to record it, so I can play it when you get too insufferable?”

  He smacked my ass. “This is our life. Our bedroom. Nothing is going to stop me from loving you how I want, when I want. And if that means we have a fucking audience, then we have a fucking audience. You good with that?”

  “Yeah.” I didn’t stop him as he tunneled inside of me again. Joey’s eyes glowed with something I couldn’t quite name. Anger. Hurt. Arousal?

  “You’re mine and I’m yours,” Danny whispered in my ear. My breath caught in my throat as he shoved inside of me again. “And I don’t care who thinks otherwise.”

  Joey winced and disappeared. I wondered if I’d made things better or worse, but I couldn’t be too stirred to care. Not all sticky and sweaty, riding the sex high of all sex highs. I came first, clenching around Danny so tightly that he had no choice but to follow.

  It was a few seconds before either of us could manage to say anything. “Just give me a sec,” Danny finally murmured, already half asleep. “I’ll get something to wipe you off.”

  I listened to his soft, even breathing for a few seconds before I realized he was asleep. Still sweaty and sticky and all worn out, I joined him.

  Chapter 27

  A barbecue at Nick’s place was a damned fine way to end the week.

  The entire team was there, families included. Kevin’s kids were currently creating havoc in the neatly landscaped backyard, as Nick gave them the evil eye from the deck. It was clear he was trying to be the cool uncle to impress his date, a cute blonde who kept gushing how cute the kids were. I wasn’t sure he was going to pull off the act for long, especially when one of Kevin’s kids upended a neatly potted plant.

  Danny had insisted on manning the grill, since he was the only one who knew how to “cook a fucking steak properly.” Nick rolled his eyes so hard it had to hurt, but he relinquished the tongs.

  “I don’t know how you put up with him,” Nick said huffily to me, loud enough so Danny could hear. “Controlling bastard.”

  That’s because he knew better than to try and control me. Except for one place. Especially one place. When we were naked, the more controlling he was, the better. I put on my best poker face as Nick squinted at me. Then he groaned. “Aw, man. I did not need to know that.”

  Wow, I did wear my every thought on my face.

  “Know what?” I asked innocently.

  He groaned again. “I need brain bleach.”

  I flushed as Danny laughed. “Don’t ask questions you don’t want the answers to,” he advised as Nick walked away with his fingers plugged in his ears.

  Tabitha arrived last with her new love interest, a bespectacled, soft-spoken guy who didn’t seem like her usual type. All I really knew about him was that he was an accountant and liked bow ties. Tab introduced him to the group and shut down any real questioning quickly.

  “Ignore them,” she finally instructed the blushing guy, leading him over to the drinks table. “They don’t know how to turn off the interrogation.”

  I grabbed a beer out of the cooler and headed over to the circle of deck chairs. I sat next to Kevin, who sat with his legs crossed at the ankles. He was still using his inflatable donut to cushion his rear, which was mostly healed. He was just dramatic as fuck.

  He continued to graze on a bowl of chips and salsa, looking as though everything was right in his world. I suppose it was—he had his family and food. He’d informed us that the three F’s were all he needed. I grimaced. I preferred not to think about him and Carol doing the last F.

  “I see congratulations are in order,” Kevin said, pointing at my necklace. The pendant and the ring had escaped from my shirt yet again.

  I cleared my throat. “Not really. He hasn’t asked me yet. I mean, he gave it to me, but—”

  “Dead God,” Kevin sighed. “Is anything ever simple with you? What’s the hold up, Christiansen? I need to know now so I can get my tux spiffy.”

  “I don’t know,” I finally said. “It’s a lot to wrap my mind around. Marriage is permanent. Or it’s supposed to be, anyway. I just don’t want him to wake up one day and realize he made a mistake.”

  “Danny’s a pretty solid guy, don’t you think?”

  I blinked at him in surprise. “The best.”

  “If you haven’t scared him off so far, I don’t think you have much to worry about.” Kevin shrugged. “Are you looking for him to
promise you forever?”

  Was I? From the look on Kevin’s face, I could tell exactly what he thought of such naïve thinking.

  “Well, it’s in the marriage vows, isn’t it? To have and to hold, to cherish and honor.” I struggled to pull some more vows out of the air. “Til kingdom come, his will be done… on earth as it is in heaven.” I scratched my head. “I might’ve gotten that mixed up a tad.”

  Kevin struggled not to laugh. “You think? He can’t promise you that nothing will ever happen to him. He could die on his way home from work. He could pull over a speeder, and the driver winds up shooting him.”

  My breath came a little shorter just thinking about it. “Don’t say that,” I said uneasily. “I know all that. I just—”

  “Forever doesn’t exist. Just the right now. He can’t promise you what will happen, just what he wants to happen.”

  Absently, I played with the label on my beer. “I guess.”

  “Just know that he’ll have your back, whatever happens. That’s what marriage is.” He glanced over at Carol, who was wrangling their three-year-old, and the corners of his mouth lifted. “Making a life with the person you want to have your back until the end of time.”

  Their three-year-old squealed loudly as she gave Carol the slip and he winced. “And now I’d better go help her with Maggie before she puts my balls on the grill.”

  I chuckled. His words rang in my mind as I glanced over at Danny. His face was flushed from the heat of the grill, strands of hair falling on his forehead, but he was clearly in his element. Nick tried to grab the tongs out of his hand, and Danny held them out of reach, laughing. I smiled softly.

  When I glanced back over at Kevin, he’d lifted his giggling daughter in his arms. As he started twirling her, the ring on his finger caught my eye. It had probably been shiny at one point, but now it was a little dull and battered. Every scratch, every ding, every line represented yet another year of the life they’d built together. It was never more prevalent in my mind that I could have that.

  I could have that.

  I pulled the necklace over my head and opened the clasp. The ring slid off into my palm. I slipped it on my finger, surprised anew at the perfect fit.

  “You’re going to say yes, aren’t you?”

  I startled at the voice near my ear, almost dropping the necklace. I looked up to find Joey staring at me, his brows drawn together. I’d never seen him so disheveled before, his curly hair wild and tangled, his eyes dark and hollow. Empty.

  I carefully fastened the clasp on the cord and slipped it back over my neck and under my shirt. The pendant rested reassuringly against my chest. “What are you doing here?”

  “Alex is dead,” he said in that same flat tone. “I was finally able to show myself to him in a mirror, and the idiot fell to his knees, grabbing his chest. I think he had a heart attack.”

  I felt a little numb, listening to his matter-of-fact recitation of events. “You scared him to death.” I thought about his two girls, and my chest ached a little with sorrow for someone I’d barely known. “How could you do that?”

  “It’s not my fault,” he burst out. “He couldn’t see me like you can. I was just trying different ways to contact him, so we could finally be together.”

  “I can’t help but notice he didn’t stick around. I guess he had no regrets.” I shook my head slowly. “You’ve been haunting him for years. It was probably something of a relief to just be done.”

  “And like I told you, we’re not done yet.”

  There was a coldness in his eyes that had me surging to my feet. “If you kill me, it will be a long time before you find another medium.”

  “I would never kill you.”

  “Well, that’s comforting,” I said dryly. “I’m glad you’re generous enough to let us live.”

  “I said you.” He narrowed his eyes. “I would never kill you.”

  I didn’t look in Danny’s direction. My heart hammered in my chest. “He’s not part of this.”

  “See that’s where you’re wrong,” he said coldly. “He’s been part of this since the very beginning. He’s exactly the leverage I need, and why you’re going to give me my second chance.”

  The pendant around my neck started to lift, and I grabbed it to pull it back down. I took a step backward, and my calf bumped into the deck chair. “That’s not going to happen.”

  “I was waiting for a medium like you. Waiting for my second chance. Alex—”

  “I’m not Alex! I told you that a million times.”

  “Screw Alex,” he yelled back. “I needed someone stronger than that sniveling coward anyway. I want my second chance, and I’m done waiting.”

  There was a sudden thud near the grill area, and I whipped around just in time to see Danny hit the ground. Time slowed as Nick shouted something and dropped to his knees beside Danny’s prone form. Kevin set his daughter on her feet and sprinted over, yelling for Tabitha to call for a bus. She was already on her phone, talking calmly to the dispatcher. Even though her face was chalk white, she was clutch in an emergency as usual.

  I heard the team’s frantic conversation as if from very far away. “Has he done this before?”

  “How do I know? I don’t even know what’s wrong with him.”

  “Jesus, he won’t wake up.”

  “Where are those fucking paramedics?”

  Someone shook me, hard, and I blinked into Carol’s worried face. “Rain, honey, the dispatcher is asking if he has any health problems. We need you to stay focused.”

  I didn’t bother to tell her that this wasn’t a paramedic situation. “Don’t do this,” I whispered. “Joey—”

  “I told you what I want,” he screamed. “I’m done talking.”

  Funny, because I was sure as hell done listening. I felt rather than heard Danny’s gasp for air, and I knew it was probably his last. I shook off Carol’s grip and faced Joey, anger thrumming in my veins.

  He watched me dispassionately, his arms folded. The wind swirled around him, fluttering his clothes even as he remained motionless. “So now you know I’m serious.”

  “He’s not dead yet.”

  “Give it time. Wonder how long Danny boy can go without air?”

  “Shut up,” I said quietly, and Carol stepped back with a gasp.

  He smiled cruelly. “You can stop this at any time. Take off the pendant.”

  His request only confirmed my suspicions that a ghost with harmful intent couldn’t harm me when I had it on. Without hesitation, I yanked it off with so much force that I broke the cord. I threw it at him as hard as I could and it sailed through his body, landing in the hedges.

  He smiled. “Pleasure doing business with you, Bridge.”

  Bony, bloodied fingers grasped a hand and yanked me forward. He still looked like Joey, but a different version—one who had been dead for quite some time. The unmistakable smell of decomposition emanated from his body like he was rotting from the inside out.

  His arm sank inside of mine, merging with my body. I still wasn’t prepared for the sensation; I doubted I ever would be. A sickeningly strong feeling pulled at my stomach like a physical manifestation of the horror.

  I tried to focus less on our merge and more on finding that elusive energy trail. I spotted it briefly and grabbed the tail end, making Joey growl. My rising panic made it hard to maintain my focus as it slipped through my hands. It was like battling goo—every time I got a hold of the energy, it oozed right out of my hands, and I knew without confirmation that he was winning the battle.

  “God, I think he’s dying!” Tabitha’s cry made me lose the trail of energy altogether.

  I searched frantically, trying to find it again. My breathing grew labored as the pressure on my chest intensified. I could almost see my strength ebbing away before my very eyes as the flow of energy went Joey’s way.

  Carol shouted for help as I went to my knees. “Something is wrong with Rain, too!”

  “I should’ve known thi
s was some supernatural shit,” Nick snapped somewhere near my ear. “Don’t touch him. Let him do his thing.”

  If only I knew what “my thing” was. I couldn’t spare a moment to reassure anyone. Instead, I focused on staying calm and searching for that light. I almost collapsed in relief when I finally found the glow somewhere around Joey’s stomach. I grabbed on to it with both hands, pulling it my way. I pulled so hard that my arms ached, but it wouldn’t budge. I might as well have been battling concrete.

  Without conscious thought, I formed a lasso with the energy. Okay, that’s nowhere in the rule book. Neither was my next move, dropping it over his head like he was a Brahman bull. I pulled the loop tight and, wonder of wonders, it started to work.

  Joey seemed to realize it too. He snarled and tried to snatch the cord out of my hands, but I wasn’t letting go. “We could’ve had something special,” he growled. “If you weren’t so damned stubborn.”

  I remembered the words Dakota had given me to say, and I wasted no time saying them. “Et dimittere de,” I said breathlessly. “I release you.”

  “I can be anyone you want me to be,” Joey pleaded.

  I blinked as he shape-shifted in front of my very eyes. He was suddenly a foot taller, with swarthy skin and brilliant blue eyes. And then he changed again into a man who was blond and delicate with angular cheekbones. He shifted between three or four looks, each one vastly different from the last.

  “I release you,” I said again.

  A smaller woman appeared with long, blonde hair in her trademark braid down her back. Her hazel eyes were warm and soft. “Rain, honey. You don’t want to do this.” She held out a hand, and I swore I could smell her distinctive scent drifting toward me—lemongrass and herbs. “Would you do this to your mother?”

  I shook my head slowly. I couldn’t listen to that voice. It was just glamour—granted, a very good glamour, but that wasn’t my mother. “No,” I said firmly. “I release you.”

  And then I was looking at a familiar face with dark blue, beautiful eyes. He blinked at me for a few seconds and then smiled. My hold on the tail of energy faltered.