by Lexi Post
Her shoulders slumped. “No, I don’t, but there’s a chance.” She rose from the chair again and strolled toward him. “I want to check on something before we take Holly to her next visit.” Joy actually shivered before continuing. “I’ll meet you back at the church.”
He studied her, but saw no hidden agenda in her movements or eye contact. “Fine, but we won’t stay long there. Holly isn’t going to want to stay if she can’t move closer and we can’t let her see herself there.”
Joy nodded. “I know.” She paused before she continued. “Thank you for not laughing at my stupid love story. My only excuse is I wasn’t thinking with my brain.”
Schitz, he would never laugh at her. “No, you were thinking with your heart.”
“You’re a good man.” She touched his arm then rose up on her toes and kissed him on the cheek.
The contact was electrifying, literally. He jumped back as she did.
She had her hand to her lips.
“What the fux was that?” He rubbed his cheek. “Are you okay?”
She ran her finger along her lips, an erotic gesture under any circumstances. He squelched his runaway thought.
“Yes, I’m okay. That wasn’t just static electricity, was it?” She looked down as if to check to make sure there was no possibility that a rug had caused the shock.
“No, it wasn’t.” It was more like opposites repelling.
“Maybe it’s in your house. You might want to look into that.”
“Right.” That wasn’t all he was going to look into.
“I’ll see you at the church.”
He nodded as she phased. Ever the lady, she floated across the room away from him before rising up through the ceiling, denying him a look beneath her dress.
He grinned. If he wanted to, he could get a glimpse of her sweet ass as easily as he’d glimpsed beneath her façade, but that wasn’t his way. If he decided he wanted sex with her, she would know it up front. And if that moment ever happened, he hoped she said no…for both their sakes.
Chapter Five
Joy took a couple deep breaths, still a bit rattled from the shock. That had been too unnerving, in more ways than one. They had flown in holding hands and she’d touched him on the arm before kissing his cheek, so why the shock?
Feeling a bit more composed, she knocked on Cameron’s door.
“Come in.”
One more deep breath and she entered. “Hi, Cameron.”
“Joy, what a surprise.” He smiled as he stood and came around his desk to welcome her.
She smiled politely as she slid into the chair he’d pulled over for her, happy to sit.
Cameron leaned against his desk and looked at her. “How’s it going?”
“It’s going well, I think.”
“Is my wife happy?”
At his odd question, she took a closer look at her supervisor. His hair was messed and it looked like he hadn’t slept. That never happened in the spirit realm. “Yes, she’s happy. She loves flying and we just brought her to Luca and Milly’s wedding.”
“What?” The concern in his face had her answering quickly.
“Don’t worry. We haven’t let her see herself. We don’t want to influence the outcome.”
Cameron nodded. “I should have known. You’re one of my best guides.” The concerned gaze he gave her made her nervous.
“I think Holly is already open to some change. She’s interested in befriending Sophia.”
“Sophia?” Cameron’s eyes widened. “Ach, I didn’t see that coming. That is definitely a baby step in a new direction.”
Baby step? “Cameron, what would you consider a giant leap? It would help if we had a bit more clarification on your expectations.”
“I…I can’t be more clear than that. I’m sorry.”
“Is it true if we aren’t successful, Malcolm will lose his job?”
Her supervisor moved his hair off his forehead. “Yes.”
“Does that mean he’ll be disintegrated?”
“What?” He moved away from his desk, turning as he strode back around. “I don’t know where you came up with that idea.”
“From Coco and the file.”
He shook his head but didn’t look at her. “He’s not giving you any trouble, is he? I know his methods are not the norm. Is he changing at all?” The note of hope in Cameron’s voice was obvious.
She answered carefully. The one thing she’d learned from her life was never to play with someone’s hope. “I think a little, but I can’t be sure. I don’t know what he was like before. I only saw him once in a while, and we didn’t have any long conversations.”
“And now? Are you having lengthy conversations?”
She could smile at that. “Yes, we are.”
“Good. Good.”
“Cameron, why did you assign me to this case? You knew our outlooks were totally different.”
He sighed. “I didn’t choose you. I let Malcolm choose who he wanted to help him. He chose you.”
“He did?”
Cameron nodded.
Malcolm chose her? Why? A seed of hope blossomed in her heart. Did he like her? Maybe he wanted to change but couldn’t without her help. Could it be that simple?
Her supervisor pushed his hair off his forehead once again, his brow wrinkled with worry. “I’m sorry you had to be involved with this assignment. It can’t be easy working with Malcolm, and this is a very difficult task.”
“It helps to know he asked for me in particular.” She smiled. “That must mean he actually wants my help.”
Cameron’s brow didn’t change. “I doubt that. Malcolm doesn’t accept help from anyone, least of all from women.”
Her hope shriveled up and died as nothing more than a bud. “Why?”
He opened his mouth then shook his head. “I’m sorry, I can’t tell you that. Ask Malcolm.”
Ask Malcolm why he wouldn’t accept help from women? She had a very strong feeling he’d refuse to answer. Then again, if he did, it might mean that he’d started to trust her. He did tell her about Blair. “Does it have anything to do with his death?”
At Cameron’s surprised look, she had her answer, but he didn’t elaborate. “Like I said, you need to ask Malcolm.”
She rose from her seat. “Is there anything else you can tell me that might help us be successful with Holly?”
Cameron frowned, his middle finger tapping a steady beat on the desk as he thought.
She almost thought he wouldn’t answer, but then he grinned as if he’d found a loophole.
“Yes. Don’t be subtle.”
“Don’t be subtle?” She frowned at him. She’d expected a revelation about Holly or someone in their lives.
Cameron. “Don’t be subtle.”
She gave him a frown and turned away. She’d hoped to clarify a few things, but she’d become more confused.
“Joy?”
She had on her hand on the doorknob, but twisted around to look at him. “Yes?”
“Please help my wife.” Cameron’s gaze was anguished.
She sucked in her breath at his look. “I will. I promise.”
She turned back and exited the office. Once outside, she paused. She had to help Cameron and Holly. They were suffering so much. And she had to help Malcolm.
Surprised at Cameron’s unwillingness to share Malcolm’s death with her, she held out her hand. “Malcolm MacLachlan’s life file.” She waited, but no file appeared. Since files could be read or shown like a movie, she rephrased her request. “Show me Malcolm MacLachlan’s life file.”
Still, nothing happened. “Show me Malcolm MacLachlan’s death.” Again, nothing changed. Now that was odd. Was his file locked? Did Cameron do that or as Malcolm said, were they being manipulated by some entity above Cameron.
For the first time, she felt serious concern for herself. Entities above Cameron were extremely powerful as she’d been taught in her Spirit Guide training. Yet all she had to go on was to not be subtl
e. So, they needed to be blunt with Holly?
Malcolm certainly hadn’t been subtle when he pried into her love life. Why had he done that? Was he concerned about her as a person. He did choose her to work with. Or was he simply figuring out what made her tick so he could determine how much he could depend upon her.
It irked a little in hindsight. She’d never let her personal life dictate her work life. Not even while she lived. But you did go to Luca’s wedding. She swallowed at the nudge from her conscience. It would all come full circle with Holly…hopefully.
If she was caught up in the plans Cameron’s superiors had for Holly and even Malcolm, then the weight of her responsibility to help just doubled.
Which begged the question, who would help her?
~~*~~
Malcolm stared at the paper in Holly’s file. It wasn’t what was written, but what wasn’t. Nowhere did it say that Holly should fall in love again, but that was obviously what needed to happen. He’d dismissed the whole “soulmate” idea when he’d first read it, but after recognizing the similarity in his, Joy’s and Holly’s lives when it came to love, he was positive that’s what the higher-ups were looking for.
He wasn’t as sure that was what Cameron wanted from their visit. If he had, he would have said so. Unless he wasn’t allowed to.
Malcolm dropped the file on Joy’s coffee table where she’d left it. It was probably safer here than at his cottage. He scanned the room. Her place was like her, neat with everything in its proper place. At least that’s how it appeared.
Walking to the double doors off the living room, he opened them. Ah, her bedroom. Here is where her secrets would be. He strode directly to her dresser. Opening the jewelry box, he sifted through the southwestern pieces, looking for a false bottom. There was nothing there. “Return the jewelry to the way it was before I opened the box.” Immediately, everything shifted back.
He opened her drawers and looked beneath camisoles and underwear, yoga pants and sports bras, even a few sweaters and a pair of jeans. Nothing hidden. Moving toward the bed, he grinned.
The padded headboard would be a plus if sex got too rough. He very much doubted that ever happened with Joy. He could see her enjoying missionary style sex, or perhaps riding a man because that way her hair wouldn’t get too mussed in that bun of hers. Despite his harsh thoughts, his balls tightened at the image of Joy naked and rocking on her idiot boyfriend.
The headboard was more likely a fashion statement. Joy was very concerned with how she appeared to others, not just in looks but in actions. It was less an ego thing and more a need to be liked and helpful. He’d found he was most helpful when he didn’t appear kind.
Bending, he opened the single drawer in the nightstand. Heat raced to his groin. Inside, in neat rows, was at least a dozen sex toys. From various sized vibrators, to butt plugs to a double dildo with one thick side for the vagina and a thinner side for the ass. His cock, which hadn’t had attention from the opposite sex since he’d transitioned, came to life in an instant. His balls tightened and need overtook him.
Slamming the drawer shut, he spun away, stalking to the other side of the bed. Nothing could surprise him now about his supposedly prissy partner. He stood in front of the second nightstand taking deep breaths, allowing his cock to return to a more comfortable state.
Once he was thinking better with his larger head, he opened the draw, secretly expecting to find a gun. He stared in shock. His own face stared back at him in a small frame. He’d never seen the photo before. He was in his hooded cape but had no shirt on, and it looked as if he was in the process of pulling the hood up. Behind him were the mountains that surrounded his cottage.
A tiny chain was hooked to the corner of the frame, but the other end was beneath the picture. He lifted it out and froze as the end of the chain settled in his palm. His whole body felt as if it would combust and his cock pushed hard against his kilt.
Joy had a piercing? It was the only explanation for the small barbell piece of jewelry in his hand. There were only three hidden places he’d seen women wear those—the belly button, the nipple and the clit. That it dangled from a dainty chain attached to a picture of himself caused more physical and emotional reactions than he could count.
He sat on the bed, staring at the small gold jewelry. The prim and proper nurse from Scottsdale had a very kinky side and obviously indulged. His palms began to sweat as he thought of touching those long legs of hers, running his hands up her inner thighs until his fingers found her moist folds, while his mouth caught one of her nipples only to discover the barbell?
He swallowed hard at the thought of using his tongue to flick it.
What did his picture mean? Did she have it because she’d planned all along to invite him to her bedroom? Or was it her way of getting turned-on? Both ideas upended his conclusions about Joy.
Joy. Did she find joy in sex? More than even he did?
He threw the picture back in the drawer and closed it. He wasn’t here to pry into Joy’s personal sex fetishes. He was here to figure out what Cameron’s supervisors were doing. His gaze snapped back to the drawer. They could very well have planted those items for him to find, throwing him off his stride.
Nothing could be trusted. No one could be trusted. Pulling his hood over his head, he phased quickly and flew into the ether. Until he could determine if Joy’s sex life had anything to do with their assignment, he would continue on his planned path. One way or another, he would discover the real reason Cameron was forced to put him on this assignment.
He landed beside Holly in the church, arriving a second before Joy did.
She gave him a kind smile. “I discovered something.”
Holly turned at Joy’s voice. “You did?”
“Yes, but now we need to leave here and check in on another friend of yours.”
Holly looked back toward the aisle. Milly had reached the end and her father handed her over to Luca. “We can’t watch the rest of the wedding?”
Joy shook her head. “I’m afraid not. You have a lot to see tonight. Besides, you don’t want to spoil it by seeing it before you attend in real time, do you?”
Holly glanced at the bridal couple one more time. “I guess not.”
Malcolm barely heard the conversation, his concentration on Joy’s breasts. Is that where the barbell was as he’d envisioned? Could he tell through the green velvet dress, or was the thicker material, bra and camisole beneath all part of her way of hiding it?
“Malcolm?”
He raised his gaze to her face. “Aye?”
“I asked if you wanted to lead the way.”
Fux, he’d already lost his focus. “Aye, take my hands.”
Joy glanced at him in surprise, but she took his hand and Holly took the other.
He was glad no shock came from their clasped hands. Did their last shock run through her body and the metal jewelry she wore?
She squeezed his hand, and he quickly flew them up and westward.
He moved his focus from Joy to Holly. Holly was their assignment and she was the one he should concentrate on. At the moment she smiled, her love of flying an interesting trait. Many of the living he’d helped weren’t excited about it. They said they felt as if they would fall, but since they would float in one place if he let go of their hand, it didn’t make sense to him.
He could better understand those with an irrational fear of heights. That wouldn’t go away just because a person was made weightless. That was exactly why it was an irrational fear. But Holly obviously loved it as she’d said.
“Where are we headed?” Holly looked at him, anticipation shining in her brown eyes.
Showing her the wedding had been a mistake. He should have never agreed to it. Now she would expect her future to be rosy and that was hardly the case. “We’re headed to America.”
“Oh, to see my family? I just saw them at the beginning of the year, as I promised. Everyone was doing well, though it was hard to resist the pressure they put o
n me to move back.”
He pounced on that. “Why didn’t you?”
“I can’t. Being in Deervale makes me feel closer to Cam.”
He barely refrained from rolling his eyes. Getting her to think of others in more than a superficial way would prove tough. “But you have no family in Scotland. All the people that love you are in America. It must be hard for them to have you so far away.”
Holly’s brows knit together. “I suppose, but they have each other.”
“And so could you.”
Joy squeezed his hand, and he glanced her way to find her scowling at him once again. He ignored her look and flew them through the ether to a few years ahead. When they emerged from it, they were flying over Holly’s home state of New Hampshire.
“Look at all the trees!” Joy’s eyes were wide.
Holly spoke across him. “Haven’t you ever been to New Hampshire?”
Joy shook her head. “I was born and raised in the Southwest and none of my living clients lived here. Are there many people? It’s hard to see houses.”
Holly chuckled. “Oh, there are, and even a few small cities, but my mom and John live in the northwest area and there are a lot of trees.”
He’d forgotten what it was like to gaze at something in awe. His years as a Watchman had inured him to surprise and wonder.
“It’s so…green.” Joy was right.
In the middle of this summer day, with the sun shining brightly, the area was green, dark green like parts of the highlands where the reforestation tracks of evergreen trees were plentiful. Not like the mountains where his cottage sat which were a lighter green made of grass and mosses.
“Oh, there’s the grocery store my mom goes to.” Holly pointed with her free hand. “And that’s the park where they set off the July fourth fireworks.”
“It’s a beautiful town, Holly.” Joy’s gaze moved over the landscape. “I even see some lakes here.”
Holly nodded as he began to descend. “The biggest one in this area is where mom and John live. I grew up with the lake as my backyard.”
He addressed Holly. “It sounds like you have a lot of memories here, too, yet you remain in Deervale.”
