Spirit [New Crescent 2] (BookStrand Publishing Romance)

by Mary Lou George

  Without looking at him, she read the back of the bag and took another chip. She said, “Have you ever noticed that everything tastes better deep fried? It’s like, deep fry a jalapeno pepper and even I’d consider eating it.”

  Chase laughed, but said nothing.

  Anger spent, Reggie looked at him with embarrassment. “You were holding her hand. It looked pretty intimate.”

  “Jackie is a toucher.”

  “And you? Are you a toucher?”

  “When it comes to you I am.” He pulled her into his arms and trapped her mouth with his. He tasted of salty goodness, and Reggie channeled all her excess energy into her enthusiastic response.

  They didn’t make it out of the kitchen. Reggie had a fleeting thought that having sex on her client’s kitchen table might be unprofessional, but at the same time, Chase unzipped his pants, and she stopped thinking at all. God, he was good in the kitchen.

  * * * *

  Sitting comfortably half naked in his lap at the table, Reggie sighed. “I think Constance would be proud of us.”

  “To hell with Constance, I’m proud of us.” He said against her neck.

  She shivered, and goose bumps flooded her body. “I hate to mention this to you, Poindexter, but Constance told me that we have to face Vincent again today.”

  “In the dark? After sunset? Isn’t he stronger when the sun goes down?” Chase said.

  Reggie shook her head. “No, I think that only applies to vampires.”

  Chase looked at her with concern, “Do you feel up to it?”

  “I do now. Had you asked me when you first came home, my answer would have been very different.” She grinned at him.

  If he were a physically flexible man, he would have patted himself on the back. Instead he chose to self-congratulate verbally.

  “I am so good! Careful, Reggie, now I know how to handle your temper. It might get a little awkward if I have to find a closet or phone booth for us at strategic locations all over town, just in case you get angry.” He looked at her and wiggled his eyebrows, with an exaggerated look of excitement on his face. “But hell, I’d be willing to try.”

  “I don’t think that will be necessary,” she said as she pulled the bag of chips away from him, wrapped them up, and returned them to the cupboard. She wrinkled her nose at him. “I’m going to change. Pink cashmere and heels are not the best choice for the modern-day ghostbuster…oh great, now I’ve got that song running through my head,” she muttered as she picked up discarded clothing and walked away. Reggie sang a little off key. “Who you gonna call?”

  They shut Pru and Pita in the master bedroom to keep them out of harm’s way. Reggie could almost feel Constance in the room protecting them. She smiled her thanks as she closed the door.

  She met Chase at the bottom of the grand staircase. Her heart rate increased. It could be attributed to the adrenaline rush impending battle caused. But Reggie thought, Who am I fooling? He looked searingly hot standing there looking up at her. It was the sight of him that made her heart race.

  Pushing her hormones aside for the time being, she rushed down the stairs. She wanted to get this over with. She took hold of Chase’s hand, and said, “I trust you Chase. You’ll watch out for me.”

  He looked down at her intently, “I will. I trust you too, and I know you’ll watch over me too.” They kissed and headed toward the library.

  * * * *

  The gagging smell no longer permeated the hallway leading to the library. Chase and Reggie exchanged a look when they noticed that fact. It gave Reggie hope and she held on to it for dear life. Reggie’s confidence took a cautious step up.

  The room was still sadly dilapidated and the careless waste made Reggie sad, but she refused to let that sadness become anything other than a passing emotion. She didn’t want to hand out even the tiniest treat to Vincent. She could feel that he wasn’t as strong as before and that pleased her.

  The air in the room was still thick and heavy. It was hard to breathe at first, but after a few minutes, they both started to get used to it. They’d brought battery-powered lanterns with them. Reggie didn’t relish the thought of walking into the library in the pitch black. Outside, the harvest moon shone brightly, but there was no evidence of it here. All the windows had been boarded up. Reggie looked forward to transforming this room. To give this feeling a little more weight, she said in a light and happy voice, “Chase, this is such a beautiful room. I can’t wait to restore it. I have all kinds of ideas. I don’t think I’ll maintain everything because it used to be far too masculine. I want the library to mesh the male and female with subtlety.”

  Chase picked up her cue. “That shouldn’t be hard to do. In fact if you’d like, Duncan and his men could gut the place and start from scratch.”

  The hissing started, and Reggie and Chase knew they’d touched a soft spot.

  In a loud, but steady voice, Reggie said, “This room will be the center of this home. Everyone will be welcomed. I’ll fill every shelf with great literature. The lower ones will have all the classic children’s tales.” She smiled brightly at Chase and fought the urge to give that yawning nothingness even the slightest bit of her energy.

  For his part, Chase appeared to be doing the same. The only part of Reggie that was warm was the hand held by Chase. Fortunately, she’d anticipated the cold. She wore just about every sweater she owned, layering them. As she’d put them on, she’d smiled to think the sweaters might also provide some padding should Vincent get physical.

  The longer they spent in the library, the more Reggie could feel her strength waning, and for a second, she considered how easy it would be to let it all go, to give up. She longed to stop struggling. She had no special power, so what was she trying to prove? It was pathetic really. Not so long ago, she’d been kidnapped by someone she’d trusted. Her judgment was suspect. She’d been a fool. Chase had helped rescue her and hadn’t stuck around long enough to discuss what had happened that day, to examine their feelings for each other.. Now she was in love with the man, and he didn’t love her back. She was going to dry up inside before long. She may as well surrender now. Her life was a mess, and she wanted to give up. Her shoulders drooped.

  She turned to look at Chase and could tell he was feeling the same hopelessness. Seeing him so sadly vulnerable broke Reggie’s heart, and all she wanted to do was comfort him despite her own despair. She squeezed his hand to remind him that he was not alone.

  That one small act saved them. It was almost intangible, but something deep inside Reggie held on to that compassion and worked to cast off the insidious depression hammering at her.

  What the hell? Reggie thought. If that worked, how about this. She took Chase into her arms and kissed him, not with passion, but with all the love she had in her heart for him. He responded at the first touch of her lips. The hissing in the library became almost deafening, but they ignored it. They pulled back, their lips mere millimeters apart, and they smiled. His grin kissed hers. Their strength returned.

  In a firm, confident voice, Reggie called out to the entity, “Get out of here. This house is for the living. You are an abomination and we will clear this room of everything you cling to. We will gut you. Go now!” The last words were said with such power they almost rattled the foundation, creating their own low level earthquake. Reggie looked around in confusion. Had that voice really come from her? It must have, because Chase stood looking at her with astonishment.

  The hissing was gone. So was the smell. For the first time, Reggie felt warmth in the library. They’d done it! She wanted to jump for joy, do something impulsive in celebration. She ran to the curved staircase to slide down the banister. Chase tried to stop her but wasn’t quite fast enough.

  Her shoe hit the second step and slipped out from under her

  Chapter 21

  She landed heavily and banged her head hard on the banister. Chase was beside her immediately.

  “Can you stand?” he said with concern.

 
; Reggie laughed with embarrassment. She stood and dusted herself off. “Ah, slap stick comedy, not the most sophisticated, but I must have looked pretty funny. It’s okay to laugh Chase. I guess the nickname Crash still holds.” She laughed again. “Let’s get out of here. I would love some ice cream.” She took hold of Chase’s hand and, with a huge smile, pulled him out of the room.

  Sitting on a stool at the kitchen island, Reggie rubbed her hands over her face. When Chase moved to the freezer for ice cream, she put up a hand.

  “Don’t bother with the ice cream. I’m not interested. I just needed to get out of there, and I didn’t want it to look like we were retreating. We couldn’t appear weak in any way.” She rubbed her backside. “Now this is going to leave a mark.”

  Chase hugged her close. “You were magnificent, Crash, even when you fell to the floor. I don’t know how you did it.”

  “To tell you the truth, neither do I. I knew the smell, the hissing, and the cold had gone. I figured Vincent had retreated for the time being. I wanted to celebrate in an obvious way.” She felt the bump on the back of her head and said, “I didn’t account for the greasy filth that covered every inch of the place thanks to Vincent. When I fell, I could feel his pleasure at my expense. So I pretended to find the whole thing very amusing. I needed him beaten.”

  “You were brilliant. You almost fooled me.”

  She looked at him with disbelief. “Almost?”

  “Yeah, almost. You hit bottom heavily. I knew that had to hurt both your pride and, well, your derriere. I think it was a stroke of genius to act like you’d found the whole thing funny.” He opened the fridge, turned to look over his shoulder at her, and said, “Don’t bother to tell me you’re not hungry, you will be soon. I’ll make us both something to eat. You go take a nice hot bath, maybe take the edge off your aches and pains.”

  Reggie groaned with gratitude. “That sounds wonderful. Thanks.” As she walked away, she thought about what fragrance she’d use in the tub.

  Chase hollered. “Anything but honeysuckle. That scent will remind me of Travis forever more, and I just don’t want to go there.”

  Reggie giggled and decided she’d sink into a hot bath scented with relaxing lavender.

  * * * *

  When she came back down to the kitchen, she could smell chicken baking and sighed. “Thank God, dinner is almost ready. I’m starved.”

  Chase was sitting at the island working on a laptop computer. He immediately closed his file and logged off, giving her his undivided attention.

  “I hope I didn’t interrupt anything.”

  Chase shook his head and smiled at her flannel wear and fluffy slippers, “No, just some business I needed to attend to.” He opened the oven door and took out the chicken. “Have you made any progress on arranging for telephone, Internet, and satellite service?”

  “Yeah, I’ve got all that taken care of, but I need to know where I’m putting everything before they come. That will be one of the last things I do. I want Pat Somers’s final approval before I proceed.” She helped him to set the table.

  Over dinner, Reggie and Chase talked easily. By mutual agreement, they did not discuss what had happened in the library. When they finished, Chase suggested they take their dessert into the living room and light a fire.

  While Chase fussed with igniting the fire, Reggie looked out the French doors. Bennett House was built on ocean-front property, but the sightline to the water had been obscured by years of overgrown trees and bushes. Chase and his men had been working to clear a path, but it was a huge job, and they didn’t want to impact on Mother Nature too much. Only on the second and third levels of the house could one see the ocean in the distance, but Reggie knew it was there and drew comfort from it. Bennett House would be incredible once she and Chase got through with it. But then it would belong to someone else. Reggie turned from the window. “You know, I still haven’t met Pat Somers yet. Have you?”

  He nodded but didn’t elaborate.

  “What’s she like?”

  “I don’t know. Regular. What’s a romance novelist supposed to look like?”

  “Whoa there, information overload. Best not to gossip so readily, Chase.” She rolled her eyes. “You’re such a guy. Now a woman would be able to tell me just about everything about her. I’ll bet if Gillian had been in your place, she’d give me a physical description so good I could pick the woman out of a police lineup.” She shook her head in mock disgust. “Okay, Mr. Magoo, just tell me this, did she carry a big bag? I’ve always imagined that romance novelists carry huge handbags.” She shrugged. “I don’t know why.”

  Chase smiled. “She didn’t carry a huge handbag, at least not that I could see.”

  “Is she as taken with you as Jackie Blake is?” Reggie tried to look unconcerned.

  “Not that I noticed.”

  That meant the woman had to be either happily married, lesbian, or dead. Reggie smiled happily and ate her dessert.

  “How was your bath?” Chase asked.

  With her mouth full of chocolate cake, Reggie nodded and took a huge gulp of her milk. “Glorious, thank you. It was a very smart suggestion.”

  He leaned toward her and sniffed. “Lavender.” He lifted his arm to the back of the couch. She leaned against him and put her head on his chest. He put his arm around her and pulled her close. She fit perfectly in that particular part of his body as if it had been molded to her specifications.

  She sighed with contentment.

  Chase pinched the flannel on her arm and rubbed it between his fingers. “New flannel?”

  She looked up at him and blushed. “Not really, I just haven’t worn them before. Some women have a weakness for lingerie. Besides shoes, flannel jammies are my weakness. Sorry.”

  He laughed. “No need to apologize. I know what’s under all that flannel. It helps to keep my imagination fresh. Reggie, you don’t have to dress sexy to turn me on. You can pretty much take my arousal as a given…when you’re in the room, when you’re outside…downtown…in the county…okay…on the planet.”

  Reggie snuggled closer and said, “For a man who’s never been much for words, you use them beautifully.”

  She turned her face to the fire. Finally, the excitement of the day seeped in, and she dozed off.

  * * * *

  The next morning, Reggie found herself alone in the massive bed in the master bedroom. She turned and looked at the pillow beside her. Chase had slept with her. Good. She stretched until her bones cracked and then snuggled back under the covers and savored the warmth. She could stay here all day except that her stomach growled so fiercely it made her nauseated. When she looked outside, she could see heavy gray clouds gathered. It looked pretty bleak. Rain fell in a steady rhythm and showed no inclination to stop anytime soon. Sighing, she slipped on her robe and walked with Pru down the back staircase.

  Chase wasn’t in the kitchen, but he’d left a muffin and a banana on a plate for her. She opened the door and said, “I know, Pru. The weather sucks, but out you go.”

  Reggie watched Pru pick her way around the garden. She peeled the banana and took a big bite wishing she could spend the day in bed. Her head pounded from her little adventure the night before. She didn’t even want to inspect the bruise she knew she had on her butt, figuring what she didn’t know wouldn’t hurt her.

  Her spirits hadn’t lifted much after her shower. She dressed in beige and wandered about the house making lists of what she still had to do and taking notes of creative thoughts as they occurred to her. If she worked it just right, she might not need to leave the house at all. The thought appealed to her even more when she heard the wind outside. Looking out at the little gate that Constance favored, Reggie wondered if ghosts got wet.

  “We don’t, you know,” Constance said softly.

  Reggie turned in the direction of the voice. “Don’t what?”

  “Get wet. We are not affected by the weather in such a way. I can sense the dampness and cold, but I don’t
actually get wet or suffer from the cold.” Constance said.

  “Ah, but you don’t much like the rain or you wouldn’t have come inside today.” Reggie said.

  Constance laughed. “No my dear, I knew you weren’t likely to venture outside today so if I wanted to talk to you I had to come inside.” She looked around. “You’ve done wonders with the place. I don’t know if you intended to or not, but you’ve put your own stamp on it.”

  Reggie frowned. “It’s not my house, but I guess every designer puts their own stamp on everything they do.”

  “Well, it’s far more beautiful than it was in my day.” Constance looked sad.

  “What was it like coming to this house as a new bride?” Reggie asked tentatively, not really expecting an answer.

  “While Vincent was building Bennett House the entire town was energized. It was exciting. He was such a mystery, and the house was so grand. It fired my romantic imagination. I think I was almost half in love with him before I even set eyes on him. My father wouldn’t tell me anything about this exciting stranger, so I was left to fabricate his life story.”

  Constance shook her head with regret. “New Crescent was so boring to me, and Vincent Bennett brought the outside world with him. I was eighteen years old, beautiful, and inexperienced…ripe for the picking. My power was irresistible to him.”

  Constance paused a moment lost in silent reflection. Reggie listened to the rain and waited. “I entered this house with such anticipation. We’d eloped. The very word sent exhilaration through my veins. My friends were so envious, and when you are young, the admiration of others can mean so much.”

  “You eloped, so your wedding night was spent where? In Boston?”

  Constance looked at her as if just remembering she was there. She shook her head. “No, my husband didn’t touch me until my first night in Bennett House. I had a virgin honeymoon. Every night I’d go to bed and prepare for my husband, but I woke every morning alone, untouched. Vincent wouldn’t discuss it. He told me that I was too precious to spoil thoughtlessly. By the time he brought me home, I’d given up the hope that I’d ever be a true wife. I told no one. I was ashamed. Foolish child, I thought he’d tired of me, so I went to extravagant lengths to temp him. It shames me to remember.” She blushed crimson and looked away from Reggie.