by Sean Michael
“I think if we can deal with the malevolent ones, the others will be easier—may not even matter.”
Blair held the door open for everyone, giving Payne his first glimpse of the inside of the barn. It was surprisingly comfy and cozy looking. There was even a fireplace in the living room. The furniture was mismatched and obviously lived in, but it all looked like it was made for comfort rather than style.
“This is great, guys. Seriously.” It was a real homey building, somewhere to hang out.
“Not bad for a barn, eh?” Will’s eyes lit up. “Pizza! We haven’t eaten all day.”
“It’s early afternoon, Will,” Darnell said dryly.
“Twenty minutes for you guys was all day for us. My stomach believes those pizzas are necessary for life.”
Payne shook his head and chuckled. If he was going to get locked in his bedroom with Will again, he’d better put away a much bigger stash.
8
They chowed down on pizza and Cokes, Will finally feeling full after six slices. Crazy, but he honestly hadn’t eaten all day, no matter how much time had passed for the guys. Sure he’d had snacks, but that didn’t count as eating, not really. Again, it had been eight to ten hours. That was a long time without anything substantive. And who knew what the time warp did to one’s body.
He wasn’t going to consider how freaky the whole twenty minutes versus a whole lot of hours deal was. Ghosts were one thing, time moving differently in one room from the rest of the world was quite another. He didn’t like to think about it too hard, or about that beady black eye he’d seen, though he supposed he would have to say something when they started talking shop.
On the bright side, it seemed the attraction he and Payne felt was real and not because of the house. Maybe the desperation to their first kisses had been house induced, but the chemistry seemed to be all theirs.
He and Payne were squished together in the easy chair, Payne half in his lap. Neither of them were complaining about lack of space, and Jason had stopped with the weird accusations regarding their relationship. Seemed that might have been house induced as well. Payne was dozing, heavy against him, one hand sliding and drawing shapes on his thigh.
“I don’t think he’s gotten much sleep.” Will was feeling very protective. “Maybe we can let him get some zzz’s for a bit.”
“I can only imagine how exhausting all this is. Seriously.” Jason shook his head, the look sympathetic.
“He’s been doing it all on his own for so long. And we’ve all felt what it’s like there.” It was crazy. “I think this is the first malevolent haunting we’ve done. At least of this magnitude.” He needed to tell them about the eye. He needed to. It was freaky and a little unbelievable, though, so he really didn’t want to.
“Yeah. It’s a little… unnerving really.” Blaine shook his head. “Really.”
“Yeah. Yeah, it affected me hard right from the start, didn’t it?” He opened his mouth to keep going, to tell them about the eye. Then he closed his mouth again. God, why was this so hard? He wasn’t a wuss. He wasn’t a scaredy-cat. Hell, how many haunted places had he been in? Tons. He’d been able to tell Payne. Payne had believed him.
“What is it?” Jason asked.
He wasn’t sure how Jason had known.
“I can read it in your face you’ve got something to tell us. Come on, we’ve known each other forever. Spill.”
He cleared his throat. Three times. It felt like there was something in there, blocking his ability to speak. He growled. This was crazy. The house was over an hour’s drive away. Everyone here was family, aside from Payne, who he was hoping was headed in that direction.
He laid it out there as simply as possible. No theories, no feelings, just the facts. “Okay. So while we were trapped in the bedroom…. Near the start—Payne was still unconscious and I was wandering. I tried the door, and it was locked. I couldn’t get it open. Well, I looked through the keyhole, and something looked back.”
Blaine stared at him. “What? Who, I mean?”
“I don’t know. But it wasn’t friendly. Black and beady and glaring like it was super angry. Frankly, it scared the shit out of me when I first saw it. When I looked again to be sure, it blinked. That was enough for me—I didn’t look again.”
Payne fussed a little in his sleep, and Will stroked his arm, soothing him.
Blaine tilted his head. “Did Payne see it?”
Will shook his head. “I told him about it, and he believed me. He didn’t want to look.” Not that Will blamed him. He didn’t want to see it again. Ever.
“No. No, I can see that. Maybe we’ll put cameras up,” Darnell suggested from where he was stretched out on the floor. “That way no one gets an eye put out.”
“Sounds like a plan. You guys think the big bad guy here is the original homeowner? The research showed he was a nasty man.” Which was putting it mildly.
“Either that or his victims. Maybe both.” Blaine chewed on his fingernail.
“Dude. That hadn’t even occurred to me. You think they’re after Payne because he’s a direct relation?” Will blinked. “Do you know what the original owner looked like? Is it close?” They were related after all, so it would make sense if they had similar features.
Jason stared at his computer, pressing keys until his fingers suddenly stilled. “Oh my God.” He turned his laptop around so they all could see. “That’s Angus MacGregor, the original owner.” They all leaned in to take a look. Angus MacGregor was the spitting image of Payne. Or vice versa, Will supposed.
“Dude. Dude, look at that!” Will stared at the image. He could hardly believe it. He would have thought it was actually a picture of Payne if it hadn’t clearly been a digital copy of a painting. That and the style of the guy’s clothing. “Dude!”
Payne snorted and woke up, shaking his head. “Wha—” He cleared his throat. “Sorry, I think I fell asleep.”
Will looked at Payne, then back at the computer. “Did you know you could have been Angus MacGregor’s twin?”
“Huh? I mean, I look like my dad a lot….”
“Show him, Jase.”
Jason turned the laptop so Payne could see.
“I mean, he’s wearing the old-time clothing, but otherwise, he could be you.” Will thought it was a touch creepy how much they looked alike. Especially given what they’d read about the original MacGregor.
“Weird! That’s… that could be me.”
Flynn nodded. “Yeah. And if the evil presence is made up of the people who died or were hurt under Angus MacGregor’s rule, they might think you’re him.”
“I think your grandmother is trying to help you, though. She’s working hard to protect you.” Blaine sighed. “I think they might have pushed her down the basement stairs, and she’s trying to keep you away from them. My bet is that the basement is where the ghosts congregate. That would be where the servants would have lived.”
“I really want to try and preserve the door.” When they started to argue, Payne held up one hand. “Even if we have to take it off. It’s an original. It’s special. It’s history.”
“We’ll go in tomorrow with equipment to take it off, then. We’ll bring bolt cutters for the heavy lock and a lockpick kit, stuff to take the pins out to take the door off if we need to. Heavy duty flashlights too. We don’t want anyone else taking a header down those stairs.” Jason made notes as he talked.
“No. No more falling.” Payne sounded very sure about that.
“Are you going to be able to handle us going down there?” Will asked Payne. “We could leave you outside the house, or even leave you here or at a restaurant somewhere.”
“Why would you want to leave me behind?”
“Because every time we’ve gone near that basement or pushed the issue with it, you’ve either gone weird or passed out. We will promise to keep the door intact, but I think it’s safer for you if we do this without you.” Will didn’t want anything hurting Payne.
Payne shook hi
s head. “I’m not sure I can do that. My whole stomach clenches thinking about it.”
“We might need him there,” Blaine said softly. “If we’re right, he’s who the ghosts are mad at. They may not even manifest if it’s just us.”
Will didn’t like it. He didn’t like it at all. “I think that’s bullshit. I think they’re going to show up no matter who comes.” He took Payne’s hand. “I’m worried about you. You’ve been under the influence of that house for a long time.”
“I don’t know what to do,” Payne admitted. “I mean, I’m totally lost.”
“We’ve got your back, Payne. We’re going to fix it for you.” Will squeezed Payne’s hand.
“If we can,” Jason amended.
“We can and we will,” Will insisted. He wasn’t sure how, but Payne was… well, he was smart and he was nice and he was hot and Will liked him.
Jason gave him a warning look, but he didn’t back down. He was making this promise, and he’d do everything he could to make it come true.
“Thank you. I just… it’s my family estate. I’m supposed to be there.”
“As long as it doesn’t kill you.”
“Right. No killing. At all.” Payne’s lips firmed. “So is this like that movie where we’re going to go downstairs and find my great-great-etc. grandfather’s body in the basement?”
“I think we’re more likely to find the bones of the servants he worked to death,” Blaine muttered. “That’s my feeling.”
“So what? We… bury them?” Payne asked.
“Salt and burn them first is the standard.” Flynn put his plate down.
“Ew.” Will and Payne spoke together.
“I know, but it needs to be done.” Flynn pointed at Jason. “Make sure you add supplies for that to your list. Salt, accelerant, and matches.”
“A fire extinguisher,” Darnell suggested. “Just in case.”
“Don’t use my barbecue grill.” Payne gave them all a pointed look.
Will tried not to laugh, but the others went off, and they all started laughing.
He loved how Payne was pressed against him, belly bouncing with his chuckles. He wanted to take Payne somewhere private and make love to him. And that was all him—they’d definitely left the house behind. He wanted to strip Payne down and explore him, every inch.
“So have we got our agenda set for tomorrow?” He would take Payne to a hotel. His place was tiny and Payne’s was, well, crowded.
“I guess so, yeah. We can have a big slumber party here. Watch movies and all.” Blaine looked so pleased.
“Oh.” He glanced at Payne, seeing the bags beneath his eyes, the stress lines around his mouth. “I think I should get Payne settled at a hotel so he can get some sleep. Not that the slumber party doesn’t sound like fun, but Payne looks exhausted.”
Blaine blinked at him, Darnell’s eyebrow lifted, but Jason just grinned.
“Payne? What do you want to do?” Will asked, letting Payne decide.
“I am pretty tired….” Oh hell yes.
Will had to keep from cheering. He couldn’t control his grin, though. “I’ll take you whenever you’re ready.”
“Yeah? Is now okay?” Payne’s hand slid along his spine.
“Sure. That way we won’t get sucked into Blaine’s lousy taste in movies.” He gave his friend a wink.
“Hey! I’ve got great taste!”
“In your mouth,” Jason muttered.
Will chuckled as Flynn giggled, and Darnell outright cackled.
“All right guys, we’re going to go. How about we meet back at the house tomorrow at eleven so we’ve got a lot of hours of sunlight left.” That would give him and Payne a nice lazy morning tomorrow too.
“That works. We’ll bring the tools.” Jason gave them a little wave.
“And we’ll bring ourselves.” Will led Payne out, one hand on his lower back to guide him.
“That was nicely done, Will.” Payne’s voice was soft, amused.
“Thank you kindly.” He took Payne’s hand as they cleared the door. “I’m glad you’re on the same page.”
“I am. It’s not the house.”
“Yeah. I know. This is just you and me.”
They got into the car. “So do we want some little no-tell motel or something medium or something ritzy?” He could go dutch for ritzy for a night.
“Let’s do something nice. A big bathtub and room service. We can split it.”
“We’re still on the same page, Professor.” He directed Payne back toward the edge of town, where there was a Hyatt.
“Good. I… I’m craving you. I want to explore, you know?”
“I hear you. It’ll be good to spend time together. The two of us away from the house, away from ghosts and people. Just away.”
It didn’t take long to get to the hotel, and they made short work of getting a suite with a king-size bed, a huge bathroom, and twenty-four-hour room service. It was just what the doctor ordered.
They stood there in the middle of the room, looking at each other. It was like they didn’t know what to do now that all the outside influences were gone.
Will finally laughed, breaking the tension. Then he pressed his lips to Payne’s. It was sweet as hell, the way Payne opened up to him. He dipped his tongue into Payne’s mouth, the flavor there magical.
Payne’s hands pushed up into his hair, holding him close. He liked that, liked feeling precious, wanted. Moaning, he wrapped his hands around Payne’s waist, fingers pressing in. He dug in harder as the kiss deepened, trying to keep his footing. Maybe they should have started this next to the bed—his knees felt weak. He liked that, liked how the simple kisses resonated through his whole body.
Opening wider, he invited Payne into his mouth. He loved Payne’s flavor, the taste sweet with a hint of salt.
Payne was vocal, making happy sounds that vibrated his lips.
Will didn’t know how long the kiss went on, but it was a while, like they were both reveling in it. The heat was building, but slowly, letting them enjoy the journey. Groaning, Will closed his lips around Payne’s tongue and sucked on it.
Payne pulled Will’s shirt out of his jeans, fingers dragging along his belly. Oh, what a tease. Will sucked in, then pushed his belly out, rolling it, giving Payne’s fingers something to do, something to chase. Payne laughed, the sound happy, merry. Damn.
He let go of Payne’s hips so he could pull Payne’s shirt out of his slacks too. He went a little farther, though, teasing his fingers up to just below Payne’s nipples.
One of those tiny nips was pierced with a single ring. “Oh, what a surprise!”
Payne blushed, the color high in his cheeks. Will kissed one cheek then the other. Careful not to touch Payne’s nipple yet, he toyed with the ring. It was simple, solid, and this secretly sexy thing, and it thrilled Will to no end.
“You have any more surprises for me, Professor?”
“Do I? I hope so.” Payne bit his bottom lip.
Oh fuck, that tease was so hot. Groaning, Will pounced, taking Payne’s mouth again, hitting it hard enough their teeth clacked together. He pushed Payne’s shirt up higher, but he couldn’t take it off while they were kissing. He didn’t want to give up the kissing, though, so he was stuck, his brain not able to figure things out right now.
It was okay. They had all night. All fucking night long. He walked Payne slowly backward as they kissed until his back hit the door. That let him press up against Payne as they kissed, and the door helped hold up Payne’s shirt so Will could let go with one hand and get back to touching.
He tugged the ring, pulled one tiny nipple. Payne cried out, so he did it again, grinding their lower bodies together as more sounds poured into his mouth. He spread his thighs, and Payne curled one leg around him.
God, they needed to have their pants out of the way. He had a feeling that wasn’t going to work out any better than their shirts had. He didn’t care, though. He only cared about their dicks touching.
&
nbsp; Grunting, he got a hand between them and tugged open buttons, pulled at their zippers. Each time his fingers fumbled against his own cock, it made him jerk.
“Oh. Get the edge off? Please?”
“God yes.” Will fished into Payne’s slacks, found the velvet flesh, and grabbed it. It felt so good in his hand, all that heat against his palm. Payne matched him, touch for touch, the firm fingers on his dick making him gasp.
He started jerking Payne off with long strokes, working Payne from base to tip. Every time he hit the root, he’d probe Payne’s balls with his little finger. Payne widened his stance, pushing up into each touch.
So fucking hot.
Will moved faster, paying attention to every brush across his cock. Payne was leaking, aching for him, the way getting slick.
“Soon.” Warning, prayer, or whatever, he let Payne know.
“Please.” Payne’s grip tightened, dragging along his shaft.
“Together.” He grunted the word out, moving to bring their cocks together. Then he grabbed them both in his hand, squeezing hard. Payne arched, rocking up on tiptoe, driving them together.
Will bit at Payne’s lips, his kiss growing desperate as he got close. He wanted to tell Payne to do it now, but he was beyond words. He grunted and shoved up against Payne as his balls emptied, come spraying up between them. Payne’s orgasm joined his, heat coating his fingers.
Groaning, he rested against Payne and just breathed.
“Damn. That was… can we do it again?” Payne asked.
“God, I hope so.” He laughed and rubbed their lips together quickly. “You wanna try out the bed next or the tub? If it’s big enough, I hear shower sex is pretty awesome.”
“Mmm. Let’s get wet and slick.”
“I like the sound of that.” He tugged Payne’s slacks back up, and closed the top button, then did the same for himself so neither of them tripped and killed themselves on the way to the shower. That would be a hell of a downer to their evening.
“Me too. I love shower sex.” Payne grabbed his ass. “I like getting wet and soapy too.”
