Crane sighed. “At least he didn’t throw the coffee cup this time.”
“Yes,” I agreed, giving Wash a smile as I went to add in some creamer from the fridge. “It’s the small victories.” I offered the cup back to Wash, and we met eyes.
His gaze was heavy on me as he took it and brought it to his lips, not once breaking eye contact—until he took a sip and tasted it, and then he closed his eyes and let out a content sigh. Yes, the Headless Horseman swooned over coffee. Who knew?
I nearly jumped out of my skin when Crane appeared beside me, setting a hand on my lower back. He adjusted his glasses with his other hand, studying Wash as he gulped down the coffee with an almost ferocious tenacity. “I never knew how annoying children were until he came,” he remarked dryly.
My lips curled into a grin as I remembered Wash’s first time trying coffee, which then of course led me to think about the whole TV incident. Yeah…that one was just painful to remember, even if it was sort of funny. Needless to say, Crane had a brand-spanking new flat screen sitting in his living room now.
Crane’s hand snaked around my side, holding me harder against him. His eyes fell to my chest. I knew him too well to believe he was trying to get an eye full of my boobs. In the bedroom, when things were getting steamy, was the only time Crane ever acted anything but the regal, prissy rich guy he was. “You’re not wearing the charm,” he said, eyes meeting mine.
I reached up to my neck, feeling its absence. “Right. Must’ve left it upstairs. I think it’s on the nightstand. Wash, will you be a dear and get it for me, please?” I used my best honey-coated voice, batting my eyelashes a bit extra as I glanced to Wash.
Wash knew exactly why I was asking, too. He might’ve been the spirit-slash-man-child of the group, but he knew what I got down to with Crane and Bones. He never spoke, which only made me wonder what he thought of me. The women from his time probably didn’t date two men at once.
No, screw that. They definitely didn’t date two men at once, let alone have feelings for a third. I mean, it was kind of hard not to have any feelings for Wash, because look at him. He was a mountain. He was the sexiest, tallest tree around, a cool, refreshing drink of water in the middle of the desert. Anyone with eyes would drool over him like a kid in a candy shop. Him being the candy.
Wash’s dark eyes met mine, and he said nothing as he went, doing as I asked without complaint—although I could’ve sworn I noticed a muscle in his freshly-shaven jaw tick. For someone who’d wandered the otherworld for God knew how long, he certainly did like to keep himself clean. Or maybe that was the whole reason he had a thing for cleanliness; in the otherworld, I didn’t think bathing was high on his priority list.
Once Wash was out of the kitchen, I turned and slammed my body against Crane’s, pushing him against the fridge. I ran my hands up his chest and grabbed him by the collar, pulling him down towards me. Once his lips were near mine, it was over.
And by over, I meant Crane’s gentleman facade faded and the wild Crane came out.
His hands drew all along me, holding me tightly against his midsection. When it came to me, it didn’t take much to excite him—and honestly the opposite was true, too. Whatever connection we had went both ways; only made us desire each other more.
His kisses were like wildfire, ever hungry and never satisfied. No matter how long we were together, no matter how many times we both came, it was never enough. My tongue slipped inside his mouth, and Crane let out a low moan. I felt the moan in his chest reverberate against my own, and for a moment, I literally thought we were going to have a quickie while Wash was upstairs.
Until the doorbell rang and Bones walked in the house.
Chapter Two
Crane’s mouth left mine, my lips feeling the loss immediately. His arms were slow in letting me go, no longer holding me to him with a frantic urgency he never let himself show anyone else. I took a step away from him just as Bones rounded the corner into the kitchen, his muscular frame wearing his police uniform. Blue pants that hugged each feature of his legs—and, ahem, other parts—perfectly, along with a long-sleeved dark blue shirt. His belt with his gun and other useful things sat on his hips, his badge hanging off it. His blonde hair had just recently been cut, needing no styling.
“Good morning,” Bones spoke to me, reaching for me as if Crane wasn’t even in the room. His hand found mine, and in the next moment I was smothered in a different kind of kiss. An eager, needy kiss that was mostly for show, but still.
It wasn’t like I was going to complain that Bones and Crane were constantly trying to one-up each other. I was the one who benefited from that, one hundred percent.
After leaving me breathless, Bones addressed the other man, “Crane.” His blue gaze dropped to Crane’s pants, which showed the faintest trace of an erection.
Crane was either oblivious to his fading but still noticeable erection, or he didn’t care. My bet was on the first one, for he simply stuck his hands in his pockets and said, “Brom.” You’d think for two guys who’d come to an understanding, two guys who spent a lot of time together because they both wanted to be around me, would act a bit more civil.
Then again, this was kind of fun.
Bones’s stare returned to me, and he noted my lack of charm—after checking out my chest. The difference between the two men. “You’re not wearing—”
“I know,” I said, hearing Wash’s heavy footsteps heading down the stairwell. Within a moment, Wash entered the kitchen, offering me the warded charm. I grabbed it, showed it to both men, just to make them happy, and then fastened it around my neck.
It wasn’t exactly the most stylish piece of jewelry I’d ever worn, but then again, it wasn’t like I had much jewelry to begin with. I had a few rings, a few necklaces, but nothing big. Nothing that was twenty-four karats or anything. The charm was a simple gold chain with an even simpler pendant. The pendant was a circle of stamped metal, some kind of rune etched on it. I had no idea what it meant or how it could repel spirits and stop me from falling into the otherworld, but so far it had worked. The only time I took it off was when I was in Crane’s house. I hadn’t had a visit to the otherworld in…a while.
It was nice, not being scared out of my mind constantly. If I never saw that long-haired spirit with the razor-sharp teeth again, it’d still be too soon.
I also hadn’t seen that book of shadows lately, either, but you know what? Totally okay with that, too. Even though I was still in Sleepy Hollow, I was actually starting to like it here. I was thinking about telling Crane to make some calls to have my stuff packed up from my apartment and shipped here. Meanwhile, Crane had been helping me pay the bills back home—even though I told him I didn’t want his charity. He said it was the least he could do for me agreeing to help him with the research.
I didn’t exactly agree to that, but I kept my mouth shut, knowing if he didn’t help me, I didn’t have enough saved to keep the apartment anyway, and I really didn’t want all of my stuff locked in storage until I came up with the cash to pay back my landlord.
Moving to Sleepy Hollow. Tarry, technically. It was something I never imagined doing a month ago, and yet here I was. I’d come so far, having grown up thinking my dad was pretty much crazy. I always thought his obsession with Sleepy Hollow was what ended my parents’ marriage, and in a way, it was—but his obsession was valid, too. I was the fucking lookalike to the original Katrina Van Tassel. I could hardly walk around in town without someone remarking on it. Spirits were real, the Headless Horseman was real, it was all real, but it was far too late to tell my dad the one thing I wished I could’ve told him when he was still alive.
I’m sorry.
I would’ve told him how sorry I was for being a brat with an attitude during my summers here. I would’ve told him I was sorry for always taking my mom’s side. Honestly, there were so many things I wanted to apologize to him for, but I’d never get the chance, because he was deader than a doornail, and his body was mutilated and posse
ssed by an angry spirit who wanted to jump into me. At least his body was in a grave now, thanks to Crane. It was a grave at the outskirts of Sleepy Hollow’s oldest cemetery, the one people never used anymore, but it was better than not having a grave at all.
Speaking of which, I really needed to go visit him.
“You ready to go?” Bones’s voice broke into my thoughts, and as I met his sapphire stare, it took me a moment to remember what he was talking about.
Oh, right. The town’s annual festival was coming up, when they decked out the town square in a bunch of autumn-y decorations and held a dance in one of the farmer’s barns. There was a play, too. A play that retold the legend of Sleepy Hollow—a play that apparently I was volunteered for, by Bones. This year a forty-year-old blonde woman wearing a wig wasn’t going to play Katrina Van Tassel’s part; I was.
Yay for me, right? With my track record here, absolutely nothing would go wrong.
Please note my use of sarcasm, because at this point, I was starting to think the veil might just tear completely, and all of the vengeful spirits of the otherworld would bleed into this world, while I pranced around in a stupid dress pretending to be Katrina.
Bones was scheduled to survey the setting up of all of the decorations today. Nothing really happened in Sleepy Hollow—other than spirits messing with windows and tossing up rooms—until I came to town. There were murders in the past, but nothing recent. Nothing quite like what happened to Mike, my dad’s lawyer. Yeah, we had Wash to thank for that, but I suppose if he hadn’t done what he did, the spirit might’ve taken me.
It didn’t feel right justifying Wash killing Mike though, even if the action had saved me.
“Yeah,” I told him.
It was a while before Bones muttered, “Is he ready to go?” He meaning Wash, because when I left this house, Wash was always by my side. Inside the house, since it was warded against spirits, was one thing, but outside of it? It was like I had a bodyguard, a protector…a big, muscular babysitter.
I looked to Wash, who steadily stared at me, pretty much like he always did. Him watching me like a hawk was nothing new…and if I was honest, neither were the feelings growing inside of me. God, why did Wash have to have such a handsome, attractive head? I mean, if he was hideous, it would’ve made things easier on me. Or I liked to think it would’ve, anyway.
“He’s always ready to go,” I said.
Bones nodded to Crane, who mumbled something about having fun. I doubted I’d be having much fun because we’d be surrounded by gossipy townsfolk, but then again, it wasn’t like I was accompanying Bones to help the townsfolk set up. I was going so I could spend some time with him away from Crane, sort of like a date.
Because I was dating two people at once, two people who knew each other and were aware I was dating the other.
Truthfully, it still caught me up. I never once imagined I’d be dating anyone from Sleepy Hollow—mostly because I never thought I’d come back here—but here I was, dating a man who looked like he was taken from a Shakespearian play and my childhood buddy simultaneously. No girl could ever imagine something like that growing up. My life was not turning out how I thought it would.
Bones slid his hand in mine, leading us to the door. We headed to his car after walking down the marble steps of Crane’s house, Wash silent behind us. Bones was in his squad car, and he reached for the passenger door, opening it for me. To Wash, he said, “You’ll have to sit in the back.”
“I didn’t know I was allowed in the front,” I mused, getting in as Wash situated his large frame in the back. Seeing him through the black bars crisscrossing between us made me smile.
Getting in on the driver’s side, Bones tossed me a look. “You’re not supposed to be, but you’re always an exception for me.” He leaned over the dash and planted a chaste kiss on my cheek, warming both my skin and the area between my legs.
Holy hell, I was horny.
I said nothing, simply sitting there in silence while trying to get my body under control. It was kind of funny—it was almost like I was a hormonal teenager, just discovering the wonders of the opposite sex and everything their appendages could do. I wasn’t; I’d had sex before Crane and Bones, but…the feeling of being with them versus any of my exes wasn’t comparable. It was like I’d never known what true passion was before giving myself to Crane and Bones.
Sounded stupid, didn’t it? I knew it did, which was why I always kept that little tidbit of information to myself.
The scenery of large houses passed by us. Crane lived in the hoity-toity section of Sleepy Hollow, where everyone had more money than they knew what to do with and yards that required a full crew to keep nice. Myself, I wouldn’t know what to do with a house so large. I mean, there were only a certain number of things you could do with all that space. Extra bedrooms, offices, all that stuff—but it seemed like a waste of space if you weren’t using it. Crane living in his parents’ old house, well, for sentimentality reasons I understood, but in a more logical sense, he had way more space than he needed.
We arrived at the town square within ten minutes. The area was already bustling with people setting up haystacks and cornucopias and other fall decorations. A little ways away, I knew even more people were, because the same farmer who was letting the town use one of his barns was also letting them use part of his field now that harvesting season was over. There’d be a maze for the kids, which I was sure they’d like.
Bones parked his vehicle, doing a bit of parallel parking I was sure I’d fail at, and we got out. We were about to walk away, to head to the gazebo, but we heard the rocking of rubber on concrete. I stopped and tossed a look behind me.
Oh, right. Wash was stuck in the back.
Wash’s dark eyes met mine through the glass, and he started to lift his hand. I’d seen him do it often enough to know what would come next, and so had Bones. His ax, which could destroy anything it touched. Bones hurried to the car, opening the back door to let him out, muttering, “No need to destroy my car, okay, buddy?”
Wash only looked at him, his jaw clenching as he stood, practically a foot taller than Bones. Bones wasn’t the tallest guy around, but anyone would feel like a dwarf beside Wash.
“Right,” Bones added, setting his hands on his sides, not the one to back down, even in the face of a giant who had the power to wield an otherworldly, two-sided ax. “Just…try not to make a scene.”
Wash never made scenes, unless it involved something he wasn’t familiar with, like TVs, or automobiles, or carbonated drinks, or…okay. I get it. He made scenes frequently, but to be fair, there were a lot of new things in the world now, things Wash had never experienced in the otherworld. He had every right to make the occasional scene, just not with his ax. He had to learn to stop resorting to his ax.
I walked with Bones across the road, stepping up onto the grassy square that made up the town center. In the middle of the square was an old gazebo, where most of the play would take place. I had no idea why Bones thought it was a good idea for me to play Katrina, but I knew practices would start soon. Ugh. I had lines to memorize and shit.
Most of the faces helping out were familiar, since I’d spent most of my summers here growing up, but I knew hardly any names. They were all older people, since most younger adults were at work right now. Most of them had gloves on as they handled the hay and the cornstalks, as they leaned them against tree trunks and tied the cornstalks into patterns.
An older woman came up to us, her silver hair pulled back in a low ponytail. Wrinkles lined her eyes and most of her skin, along with sunspots and a few scars. She wore dirty clothes, baggy clothes, the kind you wore when you didn’t care if you added onto the stains already there. I remembered her from before; she was the florist. She was always at the town festivals and fairs, and she was always handing out flowers. Couldn’t remember her name to save my life, though.
“Come on,” she said, waving us over. “I’ll take you to the coffee station. It’s going to be a
long day. You’ll both need it.” Her eyes were a little cloudy, but their color was green. When she smiled, she had perfect teeth, and I immediately thought: dentures.
“Thank you, Bernice,” Bones spoke with a warm, dimpled smile. Those damn dimples would reel you in and pin you to the wall if you weren’t careful.
Bernice. That’s what her name was. It wasn’t surprising at all that Bones knew who she was. He knew who everyone was. He grew up here, stuck here year-round. Everyone in town loved him, just like the residents of Sleepy Hollow had favored Abraham over Ichabod. He was basically the town hero 2.0.
The air was brisk, just a few degrees cooler than was comfortable in short sleeves. I should’ve worn a thin jacket or something, but I said nothing as we followed Bernice to a table set up near a streetlight. A large metal container sat on the table, along with a bunch of Styrofoam cups and lids, and some sugar and stirrers, for those who wanted more sweetness with their coffee.
Bernice grabbed two cups, filling them up for us. She handed the first to Bones and the second to me. Her eyes drifted to the large, silent figure behind us, and she shook her head. “I have never, in all my life, seen a man like that.” She pushed through us, moving closer to Wash.
Bones and I exchanged worried glances, but Wash’s expression read uninterested in Bernice and whatever it was she was about to say. His black eyes were on me, the sunlight on his hair making it look like his dark locks were highlighted with blue.
“You’d make a wonderful Horseman,” Bernice went on, setting her hands on her hips as she craned her neck back to look up at him. Since she was so old, her spine was a bit curved. She was even shorter than me. “I should talk to the mayor. We should replace that—”
“He doesn’t like talking much,” I cut in, giving the woman a smile as she whirled on me. She gave me a frown, and all I could do was blink, not expecting an attitude from her. “He’s even stiffer in front of crowds.”
Hollowed: Return to Sleepy Hollow, the Complete Duology Page 22
