Ghost

by Jessica Coulter Smith

  Axel swore. “Then get them the hell out of here. Get a cheap motel room and stall them as long as you can. I’ll text when things have been taken care of here, including removal of the body. As far as those girls will know, Richard just disappeared.”

  “Think it will work?” Ghost asked.

  Crimson shrugged. “It’s worth a shot.”

  Before Crimson could step outside, there was a shout and a gunshot from the front of the house. Ghost, Axel, and Viper charged down the hall toward the living room, only to draw to a stop when they saw Richard waving a gun around. His eyes were wild and bloodshot, his hand standing on end. A quick look at Whisper showed he was down, but still alive.

  Richard swung his gun toward Ghost and squeezed the trigger. He felt the bullet graze his arm and didn’t want to give the man another chance to harm someone. Drawing his weapon, he fired two shots at Richard. One in the knee and one in the wrist. The pimp screamed and dropped his gun before falling to the floor.

  Ghost walked up to him, his weapon still trained on the asshole, and kicked Richard’s gun out of reach. Fury burned in his gut, but he tried to remain objective. What he wanted to do was torture the man for hours, and still it wouldn’t be enough for what he’d done to Shelly. He tried to think about what she’d want. Ghost knew she wanted to be safe, and the only way he could guarantee that was to take Richard out completely. Wounding him wasn’t sufficient.

  “He’s bleeding all over the place. There’s no way the clean-up crew is going to get all this mess taken care of before those girls come home. They’re going to call the cops for sure.”

  Axel shook his head. “I’m not so sure. Prostitutes aren’t exactly friendly with the police. If anything, I’d imagine they would scatter. Possibly find another pimp, or maybe leave the life completely and move elsewhere.”

  “So, you’re saying I can make him bleed some more?” Ghost asked. Maybe a little bit of torture would be okay.

  Axel’s eyebrows rose. “We have limited time here, so whatever you’re going to do, be quick about it.”

  “I’m going to get Whisper to his bike,” Crimson said. “Assuming he can still ride it.”

  Whisper glared at him. “I can ride. I’m shot, not dead.”

  Ghost handed his gun to Axel and removed the large knife from Viper’s belt. Kneeling in front of Richard, he stabbed the man in the thigh, twisting the blade a little. Richard screamed like a girl and tears streaked his face.

  “I’ll give you whatever you want. Just don’t kill me,” Richard begged. “You want Shelly? You can have her! I can hook your friends up with easy pussy for the rest of their lives, free of charge!”

  “We don’t sleep with whores,” Axel told him.

  Ghost watched as Richard paled. He jerked the knife free, then stabbed him in the other leg. The man was a blubbering mess, squealing like a girl every time Ghost stuck the blade in him. Ghost stabbed him three more times, before holding the blade to his throat.

  “I’m not sure you’re worth a bullet. What do you think, Axel? Should I make him choke on his own blood and bleed out? Do you think he deserves a quick death?”

  “I say let him suffer a bit,” Axel said. “He’s made those women suffer every day since he picked them up. It’s the least we can do.”

  Ghost smiled at Richard. “Any last words?”

  Richard begged for his life again, but before he had finished, Ghost sliced his throat from ear to ear. The shifters watched as the man bled out, then Axel placed the call to Digger to come clean up the mess. Ghost wiped the blade clean on Richard’s clothes before handing it back to Viper. The wolf shifter studied the blade for a moment before putting the knife back in its sheath. Ghost had no doubt he’d clean the thing later.

  They slipped out the back door and kept to the shadows as they returned to their bikes. Ghost didn’t feel the peace he’d thought would claim him once Richard was gone. He didn’t feel bad for killing the man, but he didn’t feel happy about it either. He knew Shelly would be safe now, and that was a good thing, but taking out the drugged out pimp was just another day for Ghost. He’d killed so many men in his life, first with the military and later with the M.C., that it wasn’t a big deal to him. Life should matter more, but the way he saw it, he took out the dregs of human and shifter society, men who needed to be put down. To his way of thinking, he was doing the world a service.

  When they pulled into the lot at the clubhouse, a soft curvy body hurtled into Ghost’s side.

  “I thought I told you to stay in the room.”

  “When Digger got the call to go clean up your mess, he told me it was safe to come out. I’ve been waiting just inside the door.” She smiled at him. “It’s really over? Completely over?”

  “Not even a vampire could come back from that,” Ghost assured her.

  The smile slipped from her face. “Wait. Vampires are real?”

  His eyebrows rose. “That’s what you got out of that? I tell you that your pimp is never coming back and you’re curious about bloodsuckers?”

  She shrugged. “Well, are they?”

  “Yeah.” He sighed. “They’re real, and they tend to be nasty, so pray you never meet one. As far as I know, there aren’t any around Ashton Grove. Not anymore. Word is that the alpha dealt with one before, and his first mate took the bloodsucker out.”

  “Wow. I wonder if I’ll ever be that strong.”

  Ghost kissed her softly on the lips. “Doll, you’re already a strong, feisty woman. My woman.”

  Her smile blossomed again. “Did you see what I’m wearing?”

  He shook his head and she twirled around. The cut she was wearing, that he hadn’t noticed until just then, said Property of Ghost across the back. Hot damn! He wasn’t sure if he should be pissed that he hadn’t been the one to give it to her, or happy that she hadn’t been able to wait to put it on.

  “Now everyone will know I’m yours,” she said. “I noticed Amelia has a tattoo though. She was cleaning the bar earlier and her shirt rode up in back. Am I going to get one of those too?”

  Ghost got off the bike and wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her into his side. “Do you want one?”

  She nibbled on her lower lip. “It’s another way for everyone to know I’m yours, right? And it can’t be removed like a leather vest can. So even if someone took it from me, I’d still be marked?”

  “You know, most women wouldn’t be excited about being marked as property. Especially someone who has been property for the last five years of their life.”

  “Being Richard’s property was demeaning and painful. With you…it’s a way for me to show the world that I love you, and that you love me too.”

  He couldn’t help but smile at her. “I don’t recall saying I love you. Awfully presumptuous.”

  She went up on tiptoe and nipped him on the ear. “You don’t have to say the words, Ghost. You showed me in the way you made love to me. You saved me when no one else would, and then you made me yours in every way that counted. You asked me to be your mate, to spend the rest of my life with you. You wouldn’t have done that if you didn’t feel something for me.”

  “You’re far too observant.”

  “No. I’m just a woman in love with an incredible man. I know we haven’t had a lot of time to talk, Ghost, but you really do mean everything to me. If you hadn’t come looking for me that night, I’d still be in Richard’s clutches. I know you’ll never raise a hand to me in anger, and because of you, the only man I’ll be fucking for the rest of my life is one I completely adore.”

  “I didn’t do anything any of my brothers wouldn’t have done.”

  Her gaze softened. “But you did. Everyone here thought I was a party girl. No one knew that I was a whore. They may have called me one from time to time, but they didn’t realize that Preacher was actually paying for my services. And no one noticed I was missing that night, except you. Or if they did, they just didn’t care.”

/>   “You make me sound like a saint, Shelly, and I’m far from that.”

  “I realize you’re still a man, and while you may be something other than human, you still have your faults—even if I can’t see them yet—but even if you leave the seat up, leave wet towels on the floor, or growl at every man who ever looks at me, I’ll still love you.”

  He kissed her hard. “Shut up, woman, and get your ass to the bedroom already.”

  Shelly kissed him back then practically ran to their bedroom.

  Axel placed a hand on his arm to stop him from following. “You know, that room isn’t going to be very private and you’re going to want a lot of one on one time with Shelly in the upcoming months.”

  “And?”

  “I talked to Viper. Since he’s moved into that house of his, property has been going up for sale left and right on his street. I had planned to run the idea by Preacher, but…what do you think of the MC purchasing those homes and selling them to brothers when they find their mates? Hell, even brothers without mates could purchase them if they wanted some solitude.”

  “Think we have that much money available? I haven’t had a chance to look at the books yet.”

  “I have a feeling the sellers will be very motivated. Just think about it.”

  Ghost nodded. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a mate to please.”

  He clomped up the clubhouse steps, made his way through the main room, and down the hall, and then slammed the door to his room open. When he saw Shelly sprawled out on his bed, completely naked except for the cut, he quickly closed the door and began removing his clothes.

  “You know, I think you’re the only man to make love to me without all your clothes on.”

  He froze in the middle of unzipping his pants. “Ever?”

  “Ever.”

  “Then we have a new rule. We never make love unless we’re both naked.”

  She beckoned him closer, then rolled onto her hands and knees, sticking her ass in the air. “I thought you might like this view. Scarlet said something about Viper getting overly excited when she wore just her cut.”

  That was way more than he needed to know about Viper’s sex life, but he couldn’t deny that seeing his name across her back was a definite turn on. His blood heated as the word mine pounded into his head over and over again. He couldn’t hold back the excited yip of his fox, as he gripped her hips. He pulled her ass back against him and ground into her luscious cheeks, before taking a step back and removing the rest of his clothes.

  “Don’t hold back,” Shelly said. “I can take whatever you want to give me.”

  Damn, if those words didn’t make him want to fuck her into a coma. Gripping her once more, he lined his cock up with her slit and eased into her, watching as his dick disappeared into her sweet self. She was so hot and so incredibly wet. He felt her squeeze his cock and took up a slow, steady rhythm. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to pound into her until they were both seeing stars, or if he wanted to take it slow and easy and tease them both a bit.

  In the end, hard and fast won out. He placed his hand in the middle of her back and pushed her head down onto the bed, lifting her ass in the air even more. With long, deep strokes, he took her like a man possessed. Her soft cries filled the air as he pleasured her, and when she came, she didn’t just coat his cock, she came so hard she squirted. The beast inside of him rumbled in pleasure and pushed her, wanting more. Ghost didn’t stop until she’d come three more times and he’d found his own release.

  As they toppled to the bed, he slung an arm around her waist and pulled her tight against his chest. “You’re going to kill me.”

  She giggled.

  “Oh, that’s funny, is it?”

  “Maybe just a little. Big, strong, strapping man like you? I bet you can take everything I have to give and then demand more.”

  “Give me a minute to rest and we can test that theory.”

  She rolled until she was facing him and cupped his cheek. “You can have me as many times as you want, all night even. You aren’t the only one who feels insatiable. When we’re together, I feel like I can’t get enough of you.”

  Ghost kissed her. “We have a lifetime, mate. A lifetime of showing each other how much we care. How deeply we love. And how much we desire one another.”

  “That’s all I ever wanted,” she said softly.

  Deciding they’d had enough time to rest, Ghost showed her again how much she meant to him. And again. All night long.

  He might have thought he’d never want a mate, that a woman would soften him and make him weak, but Shelly had proven him wrong. She didn’t just ease his lust, she gave him a reason for living. He would still take out the bad guys, even relish it, but the difference was that at the end of the day, he had something worth fighting for. Shelly made Ghost want to be a better man. And for her, he’d do absolutely anything. She wasn’t his weak link. She was his strength.

  Thank you for reading Ghost! If you enjoyed the story, I hope you’ll take a moment to leave a short review and tell others what you thought about it. Not only do reviews help other readers, but I enjoy hearing what you think of my stories.

  Jessica Coulter Smith

  About the Author

  What happens when you get two artistic romantics together? An impulsive marriage proposal – and a woman who says yes (on the first date)! While Jessica’s husband may not have intended for the words “marry me” to pop out on their first date, she surprised him even more by saying yes! That was in 2000 and they’re hoping for many more years together.

  Jessica Coulter Smith began writing at an early age, but it wasn’t until 2008 that someone convinced her to have one of her stories published. When she received her acceptance letter in August 2008, it set her on an incredible journey, one she hopes will never end. In 2010, she decided to stay home with the kids and write full-time. It’s a decision she hasn’t regretted, and one that will hopefully result in many more stories to come.

  Jessica loves to interact with her readers on Facebook and Twitter! But if you send her a friend request, be prepared for cute kitty pictures and kids getting into mischief, as well as updates on her writing.

  Visit her website and register for updates: http://www.jessicacoultersmith.com