by Deanna Chase
I let out an involuntary shudder.
Julius slid into the bed and wrapped his arms around me, pulling me close. “What is it, Pyper?” he whispered.
He was so warm, his body a comfort pressed against mine. I shook my head. “Nothing. I was just seeing Vienna go over the railing. Even though I know it happened years ago, it didn’t feel that way to me. It was like I was right there, watching her life come to an end.”
He pressed his lips to my temple, kissing me gently as he trailed his fingers up and down my bare arm. “I can imagine.”
I was sure he could. One doesn’t exist as a ghost for over a hundred years and not see some crazy crap go down. “If we figure out who her killer was, do you think it will free her from reliving her death?”
His hand stilled. “Probably. But only if you can reach her long enough to give her answers. You haven’t actually been able to communicate with her, have you?”
I turned over on my back and stared up at him. “No, not really. Nothing beyond an acknowledgement that she could see me. But I thought you had.”
His brows furrowed together. “No. What made you think that?”
“Back at the elevators. She was focused on you, while you… What were you doing? All that magic, it sort of looked like you were trying to—” I clamped my mouth closed and shook my head again. “I don’t know what you were trying to do, but Vienna looked solid and coherent like your magic was grounding her or something.”
Julius pushed himself up on his elbow and gazed down at me for a second before sitting all the way up and running a hand through his dark hair.
I mimicked his movement and pulled the blanket up, covering myself. It was stupid, really. I was fully clothed and had nothing to hide, not that I ever worried about that anyway, but in the darkness after such a draining night, I couldn’t help but feel exposed. “What is it?”
He stared straight ahead, focusing on nothing. “I don’t remember.”
I let out the breath I’d been holding. “I was afraid of that.”
“The magic. Vienna. How I got to the elevator.” He turned his head and stared me straight in the eye. “I don’t remember leaving the ballroom.”
A flicker of fear flittered through me. “You’re saying you blacked out?”
He nodded. “I guess so. Or… disappeared.”
The hollowness in his tone made my heart sink. When Julius had been a ghost, he’d been able to show up in solid form for short periods of time, then he’d just disappear. That hadn’t happened since Bea had worked a spell to turn him permanently human. It didn’t make sense it would happen now. Unless her spell was backfiring. But he was here, solid as could be, and I refused to entertain that line of thought. I reached for his hand, gently taking it in both of mine. “You didn’t disappear.”
“How do you know? Were you with me?”
I shook my head. “You know I wasn’t. I was on that stage dealing with Bootlegger.”
His hand tightened on mine. “How did that go?”
A small shudder accompanied the memory of sucking Bootlegger from Cal as if I were a succubus, but I ignored it. “It went. I’m fine. So is everyone else. I’ll tell you about it later. Right now I’d rather talk about what happened with you. You’re shaken.”
He let out a long breath. “It’s disarming that you can read me so well.”
I gave him a small smile. “Better that than a clueless girlfriend.”
That got a chuckle out of him. But he sobered instantly. “I don’t know what happened. One minute I was in the ballroom, watching you, but then I heard something. Or someone. A voice calling to me. So I turned around, spotted Vienna Vox in the doorway, and then… nothing.”
“You don’t remember leaving?” I’d seen him moving toward the doors. The crowd had been rowdy, a little out of control, and Julius had been the one person not enjoying the party. At least now I knew why.
“No. I saw her and then the next thing I knew, I heard you calling my name, the electric remnants of magic clinging to my fingers.”
“Holy crap. That’s… unnerving.”
He got out of the bed and started pacing the small room. “It’s worse than that.”
“How?”
Stopping, he gritted his teeth, then said, “I was lost. Blank. How do I know I didn’t just fade out again? Like I used to before Bea did whatever she did to bring me back from the shadows?”
My heart sped up at his words. He feared the same thing I did. “You think Bea’s spell is fading?”
He raised his hands. “I have no idea. I can’t remember anything.”
I climbed out of bed, desperate to touch him. To reassure myself he was whole, even though the fact that he was solid was as clear as day. But when I reached out for him, he shook his head and took a small step back.
Disappointment exploded in my chest. He was pushing me away. Just like last time things got hard. “Don’t do this, Julius,” I said softly. “A week ago, you promised me you wouldn’t run again.”
“Last week I thought I was here to stay.”
Here. He meant here as in on Earth as a flesh-and-blood man. Not one who faded in and out of my life. “But you are here to stay. I saw you. I saw you leaving the ballroom and I saw you with Vienna. I don’t know what happened in between, but you were here. And you were powerful. The magic you were wielding…” I sucked in a breath, remembering the fantastic light illuminating the both of them. “The magic was powerful. Intense. Not something a ghost could do. So you may not remember. We can work through that. Maybe you wielded too much magic and it caused temporary memory loss, but you were here. And when Vienna vanished, you didn’t.”
He averted his eyes, appearing to process my words. Then he bowed his head in my direction. “Thank you.”
This time when I took a step, reaching for him, he pulled me close, giving me a fierce hug.
“There’s nothing to thank me for,” I said, my voice muffled against his bare chest.
He kissed me on the top of my head. “There’s plenty. But for now I’m thankful just to be holding you.”
I let out a sigh as my bones melted. Thankful to be holding me. No man had ever whispered such tender, intimate words to me before. Never been so honest and vulnerable before. Never made me feel cherished before. Tears stung the back of my eyes as raw emotion welled up from the depths of my soul. But I blinked them back and pulled away, staring up into his deep green eyes. “I’m thankful for that too.”
His lips curved into a whisper of a smile. Then he pulled away, and keeping his hand wrapped around mine, he tugged me back to bed. “Come on, my beautiful one. It’s been a long day. Let’s get some sleep.”
I waited for him to climb back into the bed, then followed. He lay on his back, arms open to me. I snuggled in next to him with my head on his shoulder. And when his arms came around me, holding me tight, warmth filled all the empty crevices of my heart and soul.
He was my one. I was sure of it.
I only hoped he felt the same.
12
“Late night?” Jade asked with a knowing smile. We were in the main dining hall having breakfast. I’d been doing my best to tune out the din of the other diners as they scraped their utensils against the china and planned their days. All I wanted to do was sleep.
I covered my mouth as I yawned. My eyes watered, and although it was only ten in the morning, I was already contemplating a nap. “Yep, but you can stop looking at me like that. Nothing happened.”
Kane moved his hand to Jade’s knee and whispered something to her that made her blush.
“At least nothing happened in our room. You two on the other hand… Looks like you both are rather, um, satisfied.”
Jade’s face turned scarlet as Kane chuckled.
I shook my head at her and let out a laugh of my own. “Damn, Jade. You’re married. And trying to start a family. I don’t think you need to be embarrassed about having the sex.”
“I’m not,” she quipped as she strai
ghtened her shoulders. “I’m just remembering.”
Oh man. Not the conversation I needed to be having with my best friend’s wife. “Kane?”
“Hmm?” He finally tore his eyes from Jade and glanced at me.
“Cut it out.”
He frowned. “I’m not doing anything.”
“Right. I can see your hand drifting up her skirt from here. It’s not exactly what I need to see at breakfast. You know?” Especially since Julius had been gone before I’d even woken up. He’d hadn’t even left a note, and I still hadn’t seen or heard from him this morning. Which meant I was the third wheel.
Kane cleared his throat and put his hands on the table where they could be seen. But the disappointed look on Jade’s face had me rolling my eyes.
“You guys are either adorable or gross. I can’t decide.”
“Adorable,” they both said at the same time.
I pushed the eggs around my plate and silently agreed. They were perfect for each other. I’d known it almost instantly. At least from Kane’s end. I’d never seen him fall for someone so quickly. And Jade, she was strong, didn’t put up with his bull, and understood him in ways no one else could. He was a demon hunter, and she was a white witch. They spent more time fighting the evil forces of New Orleans than they did anything else. Who else would put up with that kind of life disruption?
“Do you want to join me at the spa today?” Jade asked, pushing her plate away. “Or do you have plans with Julius?”
I glanced up at her, suddenly aware I’d been staring at the same lump of eggs for who knew how long. “Spa? That sounds wonderful. But I should probably find Julius first and make sure we don’t have other plans.” Not that he seemed to be worried about what I was doing. Still, I would be unsettled until I talked to him.
“He’s right there.” Kane pointed over my shoulder.
I spun, finding a freshly showered and shaved Julius sitting at a table with Muse, the sexy rocker. Frowning, I stared at them. He was animated, talking with his hands as she threw back her head and laughed. Seriously? He’d left without waking me up, and now he was sitting at a table with Muse, cracking jokes while ignoring that I was less than twenty feet away?
Why was I on this trip again? Because I could’ve done without the body-snatcher escapade the night before.
I saw Muse slide a piece of paper over to Julius right before she stood up.
He tucked the small folded-up note into his front pocket and leaned back in the chair, legs stretched out as he watched her go. And I really do mean watched her go. His gaze followed her all the way to the double doors, only breaking when she disappeared from view.
“Ass,” I muttered. But I’d miscalculated and his head jerked up.
His frown turned to a grimace.
That was quite enough. Stalking over to him, I placed my hands on my hips. “Having fun?”
He stood. “Good morning.”
I raised one eyebrow. “Is it? It’s not quite how I’d pictured this would go.” I hadn’t woken up in his arms, hadn’t had breakfast in bed, and I’d completely missed the glorious sunrise over the Gulf. And lazy morning lovemaking? Nowhere on the horizon at this point.
He moved to stand in front of me, his expression apologetic. “I’m sorry, Pyper.” He tucked a lock of my hair behind my ear, and I jerked back.
“Sorry for what exactly? Flirting with Muse? Or disappearing this morning without leaving a note? After last night, a person could’ve been worried about you.”
Although he’d stiffened when I’d rejected his touch, one side of his mouth twitched up as my voice trailed off. His eyes softened as he gazed down at me. “You were worried?”
Frustration took over, and I slammed my hand against his chest, pushing him back. “Yes, I was worried, you idiot. You couldn’t remember last night after the incident with Vienna. Then this morning your side of the bed was empty and didn’t even look disturbed.”
He let out a soft chuckle and moved in closer as he covered my hand with his. “I didn’t sleep on my side. I slept on yours.”
The softness in his tone combined with the glint in his eyes deflated my anger, and I let out a breath. “You could’ve woken me up, you know.”
“I should have.” He bent and brushed his lips over my cheek. “Hell, I wanted to. But you were sleeping so soundly I didn’t want to disturb you.”
My pulse started to quicken. “And a note?”
“Didn’t even occur to me as I was trying to make as little noise as possible. It was before dawn.”
I pulled back and stared up at him. “Before dawn? Did you sleep at all?”
“A bit. Mostly I just held you.”
My heart melted and the anger finally dissipated. Who could resist that? But then I remembered him sitting with Muse and the note she’d passed him. “Care to tell me what you’ve been up to since before dawn?” Crap. That sounded more like an accusation than a question.
“Thinking mostly.” He tilted his head toward an empty table, and when I didn’t resist, he tugged me over and pulled out a chair for me.
Gentlemanly. That was Julius. Considerate and kind. Usually. “Thanks.”
He took his seat and waved over a waitress. After ordering a black coffee, he turned to me. “Want something?”
I ordered a double mocha latte and a chocolate muffin. Ever since last night, I’d been craving chocolate something fierce. When she left us alone, I gave Julius my full attention. “So…?”
“So,” he echoed. “I couldn’t sleep, and I was restless. Agitated, really, after blacking out a portion of the night before. And instead of waking you, I decided it was best to go to the gym. I did a lot of sit-ups and push-ups, then moved on to the treadmill. By the time I got back, you were already gone.”
Sit-ups. My gaze dropped, imagining what was hiding under his cotton shirt. I’d seen him shirtless just the night before, and those abs… Wow. My fingers twitched to be touching him right then and there.
“Pyper?” he asked.
I jerked my eyes back up, meeting his gaze. “Yeah?”
He gave me a knowing smile, having had no trouble figuring out what I’d been thinking. “Perhaps you’d like to join me next time. Hold my legs while I do my reps?”
My mouth went dry thinking about touching him. Holy hell. What was wrong with me? My hormones were raging like an eighteen-year-old’s. I cleared my throat. “As enticing as that offer may be, I suspect you don’t really need my help.”
“It’s not a matter of need,” he said, his voice suddenly throaty.
I gave him a slow smile and leaned forward. “I think the next time I see your abs, I’d like a little privacy.”
His eyes smoldered as he gazed at me.
Everything heated, and I wondered what he would do if I asked him to take me back to the room without waiting for our food. But just then the waitress arrived with our coffees and my muffin. The rich aroma of the coffee reached my senses and I let out a sigh, deciding if I couldn’t have Julius right then, then the mocha latte and the muffin were close second choices.
The warm chocolate muffin melted on my tongue, and I closed my eyes, letting out a small moan of pleasure, lost in my little moment of ecstasy.
And when I opened my eyes, Julius’s intense gaze made me flush.
Leaning in, he said, “Do that again.”
I swallowed thickly. “Do what?” Flush? Because I was pretty certain my face was already resembling a ripe tomato.
“Make that sound. It drives me a little bit insane.”
My insides started to tingle. But as much as I wanted to devour the muffin, to give him what he wanted, I pushed it away. “Not until you tell me why you were having breakfast with Muse.”
All the heat and sexual tension drained from his face as he sat back, cupping his coffee mug. “Right.” He took a breath. “What little sleep I got last night was dream-ridden. Unsettling dreams about Vienna Vox’s death. Not what you saw, her being thrown over the ship railing, but
fear she was going to die in all kinds of horrible ways. Like I knew her death was coming, but couldn’t do anything to stop it.” He shrugged. “I suppose it’s because I interacted with her last night, and it may mean nothing, but for some reason I can’t shake the feeling that she knew she was going to die before it happened.”
As horrible as that was, it wasn’t necessarily a surprise. If she’d been stalked and harassed long enough, it would’ve been a fear she lived with. “And Muse? What does she have to do with this?”
He flattened his hands out on the table. “She was part of the band back then. I wanted to hear her take on what happened.”
“You asked her about Vienna’s death, and that turned to flirting and laughing?” Even though I didn’t believe for one minute Julius was interested in the rocker, though she was sexy when she wasn’t falling-down drunk, it was hard to believe one would find humor when speaking about a friend’s death.
“She didn’t want to talk about Vienna past the basics that we already know. But she did want to flirt and tell me all about the upcoming tour her band has signed on for. Forty cities in forty days. Starting in New Orleans when we get back.” He reached into his pocket and produced the note she’d given him. It had a phone number and the name Jack Jackson. “This is who I call for VIP tickets if I want backstage passes to hang out with the band.”
I eyed the number, ire and full-on girl rage flaming to life in my chest. “She invited you, just you, to hang backstage with the band?”
He crumpled up the paper and pushed it to the side of the table. “I have no intention of indulging her.”
That was what I liked to hear. A small smile tugged at my lips and I started to feel like a bit of an idiot for being jealous. Julius had never done anything to make me think he was interested in anyone else. I snagged the paper and stuffed it in my pocket. “Just in case we need access to her at some point.”
