All Jane could do was nod. Her breath came out so fast and furious that speech was not an option. She felt Jake’s heart thumping against her chest.
“Dammit, Jake.” Sara drew everyone’s attention. She was on the ground rubbing her butt. “You didn’t have to drop me.”
Jake released Jane and turned toward her. “Serves you right. What the hell were you thinking?”
“I was trying to hypnotize him,” Sara said.
“And how did that work for you?” Jake shot back.
Sara pursed her lips as if she were sucking on a lemon. “Not so good.”
“Yeah, I noticed. Did it ever occur to you that the ghost animal in there was actually the demon and therefore oblivious to your charms?” Jake was furious.
Sara brushed off the seat of her pants as she climbed to her feet. “Well, now that you mention it, that could be why it didn’t work.”
“Next time, listen to me. You could have gotten all three of us killed,” Jake finished.
That shut Sara up.
Jane walked over and placed her arm around her shoulders.
“Danny, let me see your side.” Jake pulled the flashlight out of his back pocket and shined it on the bite mark. “Damn, but that looks bad.”
The area around the wound was already turning black and blue. Blood glistened where the teeth had broken the skin.
“It’s nasty all right,” Danny answered.
“Make sure you clean it and cover it when you get home so it doesn’t get infected,” Jake said.
“How did you know the lion would be stopped by the door? After all, it is a spirit, not a physical creature,” Jane asked.
Jake focused on her before he answered. “I didn’t. I had to just go with my gut and it told me to leave that house, so that’s what I did.”
“Was it your gut or one of your spirit guides?” Sara asked.
“I really couldn’t say. Everything was happening too fast to analyze it. I guess you could say my flight or fight instinct kicked in and flight was the most sensible answer at the time,” Jake said.
“Well I don’t care about the why or how, just that it worked.” Courtney stood close to Danny in protective mode.
“Amen to that,” Danny said.
“I say we call it a night,” Jake said.
“And I’m going to add a hallelujah,” Danny said.
Jake grinned. “You don’t have to return, Danny. I hope you know that. We would all understand.”
There were nods all around.
“Like hell I don’t. I’m not letting you guys anywhere near my equipment. You just tell me when and I’ll be here. Besides, dude, you couldn’t last a night without my expertise.”
Jake chuckled. “Fine.”
They all got back into their prospective vehicles and took off. Jane made sure that Jake and Sara had everything they needed before she bade them goodnight. It was almost two in the morning when she turned off her light. She lay there in bed wide awake watching the shadows dance along her ceiling from the street light outside.
She wasn’t sure what was keeping her up, the events of the evening, or the idea of Jake sleeping on the couch mere feet from where she lay. She was astounded by her body’s reaction to him. She couldn’t remember another man in her life having that effect on her, including Brad.
Jane couldn’t believe she had been planning on spending the rest of her life with that douche bag. The only way she could rationalize it was the fact that she was in her thirties and her biological clock was ticking.
The relationship was one more of comfort than anything else. They’d fallen into a routine. She could see that now, but why not when she was in it? Did she really love him at all?
She glanced at the clock and noticed it was coming up on three. She got out of bed and silently opened her door. The house was still. She tiptoed into the living room. Jake lay on his back with an arm over his face. His bare chest was visible; the sheet covered him from the waist down. She found herself wondering if he was wearing anything under it.
Shaking her head at the preposterous thought, she continued on into the kitchen. She grabbed a glass and opened the refrigerator in search of the milk. When she closed the door she saw a figure standing behind it in the shadows. She yelped and dropped the container on the floor; milk splashed her legs.
Jake came forward. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you.” His features were now discernible in light from over the stove.
Jane placed her hand on her chest. “Startle? You scared the living shit out of me.”
He grabbed a bunch of paper towels and began mopping up the milk. “I’m really sorry. I heard someone in the kitchen and came to see who was up.”
Jane squatted and helped him with the mess.
“You couldn’t sleep either?” she asked.
“No.” He stood with a wad of paper towels and looked around.
Jane grabbed the wastebasket and held it out to him.
“Thanks.” He dropped the trash and bent to finish the task.
Jane stood over him watching. There wasn’t anything else to do, the floor was pretty much clean.
*
Jake was fully aware that it was Jane in the kitchen, that’s why he was there. Something about the woman made him gravitate toward her. It wasn’t her beauty, it was something else entirely. He’d been trying to put his finger on it since he’d first locked eyes with her at the airport. It was as if he recognized her, yet he knew they’d never met. Not in this lifetime anyway.
“You don’t need to lick the floor clean,” she said.
That’s when Jake realized she was right and stood. He was only inches from her freshly scrubbed face; she smelled like soap. Her eyes twinkled in the dim light, and her lips turned up on the sides. She wore a flimsy cotton gown that ended just above the knees. Delicate yellow roses dotted the fabric.
“I thought that was part of my penance for startling you.”
“Again with the startle. Get your facts straight, you scared me,” she corrected.
“Right, shitless.” He spun her around.
“Are we dancing now?” she laughed.
“Nope, your drawers are clean,” Jake said.
She frowned. “Sorry for the colorful language.”
The apology surprised him. “I’ve heard worse.”
“Not from me.”
“True, but we’ve just met. Give it time.”
“Nope, that’s the worst of it.”
“That’s pretty tame after what you’ve endured the last couple of days.” He found himself staring at her lips.
Her eyes flashed before she turned away and returned the trash can under the sink.
Message received. No kiss tonight.
“Would you like some hot chocolate?” she asked. “It might help us sleep.”
“Didn’t we just destroy your milk supply?”
Jane grinned. “No, there’s another container in the fridge.”
“Would you like me to retrieve it? You seem to have butterfingers.”
This time he lucked into a full-blown smile. The sight melted his heart.
“That was entirely your fault and you know it,” she said.
“Not ready to own it, I get it.”
She made a shooing motion with her hand. “Get out of my way.”
Amused, he stepped right and watched her open the fridge.
She deposited the milk on the counter.
“So far so good,” he said.
Her hands flew to her hips. “Will I have to endure this running commentary throughout the entire process?”
“I haven’t decided yet.”
She turned around shaking her head and bent down to open a cabinet. He found himself staring at her very fine derrière. Abruptly she straightened up and glanced at him over her shoulder as if she could read his mind.
That unnerved him.
Sara had mentioned Jane was a sensitive, but nothing about being a true psychic. He would have to cloa
k his thoughts to be on the safe side. Jake watched in silence as she prepared the hot cocoa. Jane had many layers, all of which he was eager to peel away. As a college professor, she had to be accomplished.
Sara had done a background check and learned that Jane and her friend, Tim, wrote a book about their paranormal research. It hadn’t hit any of the big lists, but it was well received.
Jane handed Jake a mug. “Would you like to sit at the table?”
“Sure.” He followed her over and sat opposite. “I don’t remember the last time I had marshmallows.”
“Oh, I should have asked if you like them,” she said in a worried tone.
“I do, especially these little ones.” Jake’s mother used to put them in his cocoa.
“Phew.” She brushed her hand across her brow. “So, you’re a cowboy.”
“Guilty as charged.” He took a sip of the hot liquid.
“I’ve never met an honest to goodness real cowboy. I didn’t know they still existed.”
“Really. And where did you think your beef came from, the grocery store?”
“Touché.” She blew on her cup. “I just figured like everything else nowadays that large corporations ran the beef industry.”
“For the most part they do, but there are still a few of us left. There were a lot more when I was a kid, but the smaller operations went bankrupt or sold because they couldn’t compete. My father bought out his friends. Although he couldn’t offer as much as the big guys, the locals preferred to sell to Dad because they knew he had heart. When it came to cattle that is.”
“I noticed you added a disclaimer. Why?”
“Let’s just say my father and I didn’t see eye to eye on a lot of things,” Jake said.
“When it came to running the ranch?”
“Among other things.” He stared down at his mug.
“Care to expand on that?”
Jake glanced her way while he decided how much he was willing to share. He didn’t usually talk about himself, but something about her made things different.
“He was a good rancher, but a lousy father. After my mother passed, he became hard. Callous. All he cared about was the ranch. My brothers and I were simply ranch hands.”
“That’s rough,” she said tenderly.
“Yeah.”
“How old were you when she died?”
“Thirteen.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Thank you.”
“How many brothers do you have?”
“Three. I’m the oldest and as such, I was expected to take over the ranch.”
“You didn’t want to?”
“No.”
“What did you want to do instead?”
“I don’t know. I was going to college and trying to figure that out.”
“Did you get your degree?” she asked.
“No. I was one semester shy when he dropped dead of a heart attack. Julio, the foreman, said one minute he was on his horse and the next on the ground. He didn’t even have time to call 911.”
“How horrible. You must have been devastated.”
“Yeah. When I left for college, we weren’t on good terms. Frank Thibodeux actually paid for my schooling because my father didn’t want to waste the money. But in the end he got his wish. I flew back for the funeral and never left.”
“What about your brothers?”
“They were in school. Joshua was eighteen and a senior in high school, Jason was sixteen, and Jeremy fourteen. I really didn’t have a choice.” Jake shrugged it off like it was no big deal, but the wound still festered if he dwelled on it.
TWENTY-THREE
Jane flashed on her father, who was recovering from his own heart attack right now. She’d come very close to losing him as well. “How old were you when your father died?”
“Twenty-two.”
She gazed into her empty mug and tried to put herself in his shoes. “It must have been tough.”
“Yeah, it was. I had to grow up fast. I had a lot of people depending on me.”
“What about now? Can any of your brothers step up and take over?”
“Actually, it’s not all on me anymore. They work for the ranch in one capacity or another and Julio is still foreman for as long as he wants the job, although he is getting up there in years. It makes it so I can travel and do these kinds of consulting jobs every now and then. Getting away for awhile is always good.”
“You mentioned that Frank Thibodeux paid for your college. Why would he do that?” Jane asked.
“There are several facets to the Thibodeux Foundation. It’s not just about people with psychic gifts. Originally it was simply for philanthropy.”
“So you got a scholarship?”
“Sort of. You see, Frank knew I wanted to go to college and my father refused to send me. So we made a deal. I tutored his young charge in exchange for room and board along with an education. I basically lived in his home in New Orleans while I tutored Jon-Luc. See, when Frank met him he was sixteen and living on the streets. He’d never even been to high school.”
“I take it that didn’t go over well with your father.”
“Not at all, but I was eighteen so he had no say. We had a big fight and I left. My last words to him were in anger and that’s something I don’t think I’ll ever get over,” Jake said.
“So, how was it tutoring someone who had to catch up on years of schooling?”
“Hard, but mostly because he was a real asshole when we met. He didn’t exactly like being told what to do. He’d been running with a rough crowd and barely scraping by for three years. It took a bit of an adjustment.”
“For both of you?”
“Yes, but more for him,” Jake said. “He’d had a bad childhood so I sympathized.”
“It doesn’t sound like your life was a picnic.”
“No, but he still had it worse.”
“Well obviously everything worked out since you’re still friends.”
“More like brothers. We’ve been through a lot together.”
“What do you mean?”
“We’ve worked a few cases where we had to rely on the other one having our back. That will make you close.”
“Like what happened to us today?”
“Exactly. When you go through something traumatic like that, you tend to bond with others who went through it with you because it’s something you have to see with your own eyes to be believed. Even then you second-guess yourself.”
“Makes sense. I’ve seen some strange things since I’ve begun my paranormal research, but today was definitely the worst. I was terrified.”
“Me too,” Jake said.
“Wow, it didn’t show. You were in total control. I figured you went through stuff like that all the time.”
“No.” He pinned her with his eyes. “That was a first.”
She felt as if he were looking into her soul. The conversation was forgotten. Her gaze dropped to his naked chest, then back quickly, but not fast enough to disguise her thoughts. His hand reached across the table and landed on hers.
Though the touch was slight, it was a touch just the same. It made her body quiver. Suddenly the room was too hot. She felt as if she would burst into flames at any moment. She started to stand, to get away, but he squeezed her hand and she dropped back in her chair. What was this power he had over her?
Had he hypnotized her, or was she just starved for attention? The way he looked at her was so intense, like she was the only woman in the world. Brad never made her feel that way, especially not during the last six months they were together. Had he been cheating on her all that time?
Jake began massaging her hand with his thumb. His conversation with Sara flashed through her head. He was a widower who hadn’t had a relationship since his wife died. That didn’t mean he wasn’t screwing everything that moved, but somehow she didn’t think that was the case. Whatever his intentions, he wanted her now. That was clear.
And she obviously wanted h
im. Should she throw caution to the wind and go for it? Tim was always telling her she needed to be more impulsive. He always said that the best way to get over a man was to get under a new one.
This time when she stood, Jane kept her eyes glued to his. She went around the table and he scooted his chair back to face her. She straddled his legs, wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. She’d never felt more powerful or sexier.
She, Jane Reeves, was seducing a man.
If only Brad could see her now.
Jake’s tongue touched hers and her body tingled. She rocked back and forth against his erection. He groaned into her mouth and grew harder. He broke the connection of their lips.
“No.” The word came out like on exhale.
“Just relax, darlin’.” That sexy Texas drawl made her quiver. He stood holding her bare ass in his hands and set her on the table. He grabbed the bottom of her gown and she raised her arms dutifully. His mouth claimed one breast and then the other. His pants dropped and she spread her legs in welcome.
“Darlin? Do you happen to have a condom?”
Jane pointed toward the living room. “In the glass jar on the mantle and hurry!”
He gave her a two finger salute. “Yes, ma’am.”
He was back in less than a minute, sheathing himself as he walked and then slid his cock deep within her. She swore her eyes rolled back in her head. Then nothing, he wasn’t moving. Her eyes flew open and found him staring back. “God, you’re beautiful.”
She slapped his ass. “Stop talking and ride!”
He laughed. “Damn woman, you’re pushy.”
“I am tonight.” She’d never felt more free.
Jake made love to her like she’d never experienced before. All her circuits were on overload. She wrapped her legs around his waist to pull him deeper. He moaned and peppered her neck with kisses until he reached her mouth. He kissed her passionately, possessively taking her tongue in his mouth.
This may be a one-time thing, but she was glad she’d taken the risk. This was a night she’d never forget. Because tonight she was his and he was hers. Hers alone. Her orgasm built until she was pulling his hair with her release. He groaned and came along with her.
His back was arched as he stood at the edge of the table holding onto her ass. She stared at the contours of his body, felt the roughness of his hands. Hands used for manual labor. She’d never been with a sexier man. He opened his eyes and gazed down at her. A laugh escaped.
Spirits 04-Spirits of Seacliff Manor Page 15
