The Librarian's Ghost

by Sean Michael

  “Look at you!” Payne grabbed him as they got to the huge bathroom, kissed him hard.

  He laughed as their lips parted. “And look at you.” He grunted. “In fact, we could be looking at a lot more of each other if we got naked already.”

  “Picky, picky.” Payne turned the water on, started it warming.

  “For wanting you naked? I’ll take it.” Will tugged Payne’s shirt off his shoulders.

  He loved the visual of Payne’s lean body, the pale skin, the promise of need. He kept watching as he worked on Payne’s jeans next, opening that top button again and letting the front flaps fall apart. “Mmm. You are lovely.”

  “Not too skinny?” Payne asked.

  He slid his hands around Payne’s waist. His fingers didn’t meet. “No, you’re perfect.”

  Payne blushed, a smile blooming.

  Leaning in, Will brought their mouths together again. He really liked kissing Payne. It made him feel good down to his toes. Fortunately, Payne seemed to be right with him, hand on his jaw, keeping them together.

  While they kissed, he pushed Payne’s pants down off his hips, letting gravity pull them down to Payne’s ankles. Then he popped his own button and pushed at the denim, working it off.

  They managed to get naked without falling or bashing each other with an elbow, and he gave them props for that even as he continued to devour Payne’s mouth. They stumbled into the shower stall, the steam filling the air.

  The water was almost too hot—almost—falling on them like a summer rain shower. Fuck, Payne made him positively poetic. For these kisses and the water-slick feeling of Payne’s skin against his own, he’d take it.

  Payne groaned, pressing tight against Will, cock making a grand recovery. Grabbing the soap, Will began slicking up Payne’s skin, fingers sliding along it smoothly.

  “Mmm… I love that slippery sensation.”

  “Me too. It’s sexy as hell. You’re sexy as hell.” God, he’d lost his ability to not be cheesy. As long as Payne kept letting him touch, that didn’t really matter.

  Payne stretched up tall, letting him see, letting him touch everywhere. He leaned in to take Payne’s ringed nipple into his mouth. The metal was hot from Payne’s body and the water, but Payne’s skin was hotter still, the hard little nipple burning against his tongue. He sucked even as he looped his tongue through the ring and tugged gently.

  “Mmm….” Payne balanced, hands on Will’s shoulders.

  “Did you get this done to commemorate something? Or for a special someone?” He flipped the ring up and down with his tongue.

  “I did it myself. I wanted to see how it looked, and I liked it.”

  He raised his head, staring at Payne in surprise. That was way more badass than he would have expected from Payne. “That’s hot.”

  “Is it?”

  “Fuck yes.” He thought the idea of… doing that, piercing your own nipple, was amazing. “You like how it feels too, not just how it looks, eh?” He took it between his teeth again and tugged on it.

  “Fuck yes!” Payne sounded shocked and so pleased.

  He twisted it slightly as he tugged it again. He had a hunch he’d be playing with it a lot. It was like a button you couldn’t help but press.

  Payne grabbed his cock and tugged, pulling hard, making his skin burn.

  “If that’s supposed to discourage me from doing this—” He twisted and tugged again. “—it’s not going to work.”

  “No?” Payne laughed. “God, I’m glad I met you.”

  “Ditto.” Leaning in, Will licked the water from Payne’s throat. He did love a hotel shower, where you didn’t have to worry about running out of hot water. They could take their sweet fucking time.

  Part of him whispered that it was so much easier to not be in that house, to be free. Most of him simply enjoyed the man in front of him. He wanted to do Payne up against the tile. Did they have fucking condoms? He searched his memory, trying to think if he had at least one in his wallet. Surely so. He was a healthy, reasonable man. He needed to see if the front desk had more. Though not right this second, of course.

  “Don’t suppose you have lube stashed in your pockets?” The hotel hand lotion would do in a pinch. “Don’t suppose you’re into getting fucked?”

  “I am and I don’t, but there’s a condom in my wallet.”

  “We can use hand lotion or shampoo for lube.” Maybe they should just rub off here and do the actual fucking in the bed, seeing as they had to go find the stuff for it.

  “Uh-huh.” Payne leaned out of the shower, plucked his wallet from his pocket, and retrieved the condom from his wallet.

  “Oh, that was smooth.” Will liked smooth on Payne. He stroked his cock. “You wanna put it on me?”

  “I do.” Payne opened the little package and smoothed the condom on Will with mostly confident fingers. Of course, it probably would have made more sense for him to open Payne up first, but he could work with this. He grabbed the shampoo and squeezed some on his fingers. Oh yeah, nice and slick. “Turn around. Give me your ass.”

  Payne turned, butt pointed out toward him. Groaning, Will pressed his fingers against Payne’s hole, sliding them along the wrinkled flesh.

  “I bet you’re tight, babe.”

  “It’s been a while, yeah.”

  “Then I’d better take some time opening you up, eh?” He rubbed that wrinkled skin some more before adding more slick to his fingers, getting ready to go in. Payne leaned, bracing himself against the sides of the tub.

  Will pressed a kiss to Payne’s spine, then pushed the tip of his index finger hard against the tight muscles. He kept pressing, moaning as Payne let him in. He knew it had to scrape, to burn, and he knew it had to be good.

  He wriggled his fingertip inside Payne, loving the heat, the tightness of Payne gripping him. Groaning, he pushed in deeper, pulled away, pushed in again. He leaned his forehead against Payne’s shoulder blade. That let him concentrate on what he was doing, the warmth of the shower put to shame by the heat of Payne’s body as it pulled his finger in.

  Payne took him, rocking in slow, easy, motions, soft moans joining the patter of the water. He moved with Payne, body moving back and forth.

  God, they were so much hotter than the water.

  He pushed a second finger in with the first. He was trying to take his time, but he wanted inside so badly. He’d make sure to open Payne up properly, though. No hurting. Only pleasure.

  He played his fingers inside Payne, pushing and stretching them apart. Payne was so tight and so hot. Payne went up on tiptoe, rocking up, reaching for the showerhead. It gave Will a gorgeous view of long, lean lines. Will used his free hand to stroke Payne from shoulder to ass, then to rub Payne’s belly and tickle up his sides.

  Payne’s ass clenched around him as he laughed. “Will!”

  He chuckled and pushed his fingers deeper into Payne, looking for the man’s gland to contrast with the tickling. Payne twisted, crying out, the sound a little desperate.

  Aha! There. That was exactly what he was looking for. He stayed at that spot, pinging it repeatedly.

  “Will! Will, come on! Your cock. Give me your fucking cock.” Demanding, filthy words. He loved it.

  “Gotta make sure you’re ready. Won’t hurt you.”

  “Please, babe. Please. I’m ready.”

  “Mmm. Okay, okay. Keep your pants on… or off as it happens.” He giggled at himself—actually giggled—as he tugged his fingers away.

  “Butthead.” Payne laughed with him, though, didn’t he?

  He added more of the shampoo to his cock, then put the head against Payne’s hole, pressing, but not enough to actually push in yet. Payne bore back and took him in, the head of his cock popping through. He moaned as that tight heat gripped him. What had been good around his fingers was even better around his cock.

  He grabbed on to Payne’s hips, driving them together, harder and faster. His balls swung as he thrust, his need soaring. Payne managed to get one hand
around himself. Will could see his arm moving in time with the thrusts. He wanted to see that. Next time. Next time he’d watch.

  He rested his forehead on Payne’s back and slammed in with everything he had.

  “Soon. Fuck, man. Soon.” He could feel Payne’s body milking him.

  “Yeah, that’s good. I’m ready. You’re amazing.” The words poured out of him, one after the other.

  Payne’s ass clenched around him like a fist, squeezing him tight.

  “Oh fuck! Gonna!” It was all he got out before he slammed in hard, filling the condom.

  They swayed together, both of them moaning softly as the water sluiced down around them.

  He didn’t want to come out, but the way they were standing it was going to happen whether he wanted it to or not. So, he grabbed the base of his cock and pulled out with a groan.

  “God, that’s the weirdest sensation….”

  “Me coming out?” Will had to admit he’d never been on the receiving end. Probably because he looked like a biker and guys assumed he didn’t bottom.

  “Uh-huh. I love to be full.”

  “Well, I loved filling you.” He put a kiss on Payne’s spine. “All good things, eh?”

  “Yes. All good things.” Payne’s voice lowered. “I’m glad it wasn’t just the house.”

  “God, me too.” He squeezed Payne in a tight hug, then stepped back and stripped off the condom. They both rinsed off quickly, and then Will turned the water off. “Let’s see what the towels are like.”

  “As much as this place cost us, they’d better be cushy!”

  He grabbed one. Oh yeah, cushy. Pleased, he wrapped it around Payne before grabbing one for himself. They dried each other off, leaning a bit, playing some. It was fun and easy and more than a little wonderful.

  They eventually made it to the bed, and they lay there, snuggled under the covers, nuzzling, kissing, touching.

  “Thank you for suggesting this. I appreciate it.” Payne wrapped around him, holding on.

  “I thought we deserved some time to figure out whether we had something together or if it was all the house.”

  “It’s not an evil place. My gram… she was a fab lady.”

  “I’m sure she was. You know about the history of the house, though, right?” Payne had to—he was a researcher after all. And they’d talked about it a lot. Still, sometimes it felt like Payne had forgotten there was reason for angry ghosts. “There was a lot of bad there. Probably in the basement. I still think your gram has been protecting you. That’s what Blaine thinks, and he’s good with ghosts.” That was why they were going to check the downstairs out. “But that’s tomorrow. Tonight is just you and me.”

  “Tomorrow you’ll be with me, right?”

  “Every step of the way. And if I turn into Mr. Asshole again, ignore me, okay? You know that’s not me.”

  “Fair enough.” Payne hugged him. “I’m scared of that basement. I always have been.”

  “I think there’s a good reason for that. We’ll make it yours again, Payne.” He held on to Payne, stroking the long line of his spine.

  Payne was quiet after that, and Will continued to hold him, to touch him. He wanted to ground himself in this—in what was real between the two of them—in preparation for being in the house again tomorrow morning. In preparation for confronting the ghost—or ghosts—on what was probably their home turf.

  But that was tomorrow. He wasn’t going to worry about it until then.

  Chapter Nine

  THE temptation to beg Will to stay in the hotel had been huge. Huge. He couldn’t afford it—not money-wise and not emotionally. This was his home they were going back to, and he couldn’t afford to be afraid of it.

  Still. The time they’d spent together in the hotel had been… not magical, because that could be taken too literally, but it had been wonderful. Just two guys with crazy chemistry getting to know each other better, both in and out of bed.

  And he liked Will. A whole hell of a lot. What if Will the jerk came back when they went into the house? He knew Will had told him to ignore that kind of behavior, but that was easier said than done.

  What happened if he went in and just passed out? What if he passed out and never woke up again?

  “Payne!”

  Fingers snapped in front of Payne’s face, making him gasp and jerk.

  “You were a million miles away, Professor. We’re here. We’ve been here for the last few minutes, but it’s like I’ve been talking to myself.” Will looked into his eyes. “Are you with me?”

  Payne glanced out the car window at his house. It was beautiful in the morning light, but that beauty hid something horrible. “I’m scared. Stupid, huh?” He tried to grin.

  “I don’t think it’s stupid to be scared of ghosts. Especially when there’s some nasties in the mix. I’m not going to let anything happen to you, though. I swear it.”

  “Okay. I believe you.” He wanted to believe, anyway.

  “Good. The guys just pulled up. Let’s go kick some ghostly ass.”

  Payne nodded and ducked his head. He could handle this. He was a stud. He’d done just fine on his own for months before he’d had help. Now he had five guys with him. He could do this.

  They got out of the car and met up with the rest of the guys, who were unloading supplies from the van. Along with the cameras and ghost-hunting equipment was what looked like a hardware store’s worth of bolt cutters and flashlights, shovels, and even a bat.

  “This is just in case.” Will fondled the bat.

  “You’re molesting the wood,” Darnell teased. “You’re a lucky man, MacGregor.”

  Payne blushed at Darnell’s words, and Will rolled his eyes.

  “You’re just jealous, D.”

  “Of a bat that’s gotten more action in the last thirty seconds than I’ve had in the last three months? You better believe I’m jealous.” Darnell leered comically at the bat.

  Everyone laughed, and it helped ease some of the tension that had been building.

  “How are you doing, Payne?” Blaine asked. “Are you holding up okay?”

  “Yeah. Last night was a good sanity break.”

  Will gave him a warm smile. So maybe it had been more than a sanity break. It had been exactly what Payne had needed, and he wouldn’t change a thing. Aside from having stayed there, of course.

  “Okay. You need to breathe and try to stay with us.” Blaine gave him a warm smile.

  Will nodded. “Give me your hand, and if you start feeling weird at all, squeeze.”

  “You aren’t going to film?” Jason asked.

  “I’ve got it.” Darnell grabbed the better of the two cameras. “I think we need as many hands on deck to keep weird stuff from happening as possible. More than we need two cameras, anyway.”

  Jason considered that for a moment, then nodded. “Yeah, I guess that works. It’ll give it an air of cinema verité if we only have footage from the one camera too.”

  “Thank you. I… It’s good to know Will is right here.”

  “I’ve got you,” Will growled.

  He reached out and took Will’s hand, holding on. Will nodded, hefting the bat in his other hand. He put it over his shoulder and squeezed Payne’s hand.

  They headed in. The house seemed insanely quiet and still, their footsteps loud.

  “You feel anything, Blaine?” Jason asked in a hushed tone.

  “I feel… like something’s waiting.”

  “Great,” muttered Will. Then he straightened and gave Payne a fierce smile. “Bring it on.”

  “Right? This is my house. Mine.” Dammit. He was going to let the ghosts know that in no uncertain terms.

  “Let’s go let the ghosts know.” Jason nodded and led the way, Blaine falling into step next to him.

  They got through the door and moved toward the hall where the basement door was. They’d only just started down the hall when the front door slammed closed, making Payne jump.

  “Oh God.” He hate
d this. He hated being scared all the time.

  “Easy, Professor. We’re all right here, and nothing is going to hurt you.” Will swung his bat once.

  The chandelier above them swung without provocation, and Payne gripped Will’s hand tighter, hurrying him into the kitchen.

  “Okay. We need to go to the basement and cut open the lock now,” Jason said. “We stay together.”

  You can’t go to the basement.

  “Leave me alone. We’re going to go down there.” See him take charge against the things in his house that went bump in the night.

  They all turned to look at him.

  “What?”

  “Who are you talking to?” Will asked.

  “I…. You didn’t hear it?”

  “Just you, Professor. And it sounded like you were replying to someone. Only none of us said anything.” Will spoke quietly, gently.

  “Oh.” God, he was embarrassed.

  “What did you hear?” Jason asked, and Darnell focused the lens on him.

  “I thought….” Maybe he was imagining things. Maybe he hadn’t really heard it and his mind was playing tricks on him.

  “We all believe in ghosts here, hmm? You can tell us what you heard.” Will squeezed his hand again.

  “Someone told me not to go to the basement.”

  “Did they sound angry or worried?” Will asked.

  “Just sure that I shouldn’t go down there.”

  Will looked at the others, and Blaine shrugged. “Could be his grandmother looking out for him or the malevolent ghosts trying to keep him from finding their lair.”

  “Either way, I’m opening that door.” He had to gird his loins, right? He wasn’t going to freak. He wasn’t going to panic.

  “That’s the spirit,” Will said. “No pun intended.”

  They both chuckled, but it felt forced, not like their happy laughter of the night before. He held on to that memory.

  Everyone trooped to the basement door and stopped in front of it. Will squeezed his hand, holding on almost painfully tight. “Stay with me, okay, Professor?”

  “I swear to try.”