Unveiling Ghosts (Unveiling Series, Book 3)

by Jeannine Allison

  My heart stopped, and her eyes widened.

  She wants me to come back with her.

  She wants me to meet her friends.

  She wants me.

  “I can’t wait.” My words had Sherry’s whole body deflating with relief.

  We both leaned back and reluctantly let go of one another when we saw the waitress approaching with our food.

  “Okay, here we go. One small meat lovers’, and one linguini. Can I get you guys anything else?”

  “I think we’re good for now. Thank you.” Sherry smiled at Andrea before immediately digging in.

  “Oh my God,” she moaned, her eyes practically rolling into the back of her head. “This is absolutely incredible.”

  We were silent for the next few minutes as we devoured our dinner, both of us remembering we hadn’t eaten lunch and were hungrier than we’d realized. When the waitress came back twenty minutes later to nearly empty plates, she laughed and asked if we enjoyed everything. Sherry said something about a food baby before asking for the check.

  Something occurred to me as we were waiting. “How’d you know I was back in town?” I asked.

  “There was an article in the paper.”

  My brow furrowed. “I know. But that was the local paper. I doubt many stories are picked up from a small-town newspaper with a couple hundred in readership.”

  She cleared her throat and looked down at the table. “I set up a Google notification for your name. It automatically sent me the article.”

  “You did?”

  Smiling softly, she said, “Yeah.” Then her expression faltered slightly. “I had been ready to give up.”

  “You probably should have given up long before.” The words felt bitter and wrong, but four years was a long time, and while I was grateful that she cared that much, it also broke my heart to think I had taken away what should have been some of the best years of her life.

  “I’m glad I didn’t.”

  My selfish side won out as I said, “Me too.”

  Andrea came back with the bill and I settled up with her while Sherry went to the bathroom. I waited outside for her, taking in the town I had so many conflicted feelings about. The rain had let up before we left for dinner, but it started to drizzle when we were inside. Thankfully it wasn’t bad and our hotel was close, because I didn’t even pack an umbrella when I came down here, and unless Sherry’s purse was reminiscent of Mary Poppins’ bag, she didn’t have one either.

  I turned back and watched her walk through the restaurant toward me. Her eyes never left mine. She weaved through tables and sidestepped waiters all without looking away from me.

  After waiting nearly four years to see those eyes in person again, I would be perfectly content if she kept them on me for the rest of my life.

  He led me down the street with his hand on the small of my back. A comfortable silence fell over us as we walked through the light rain. We remained that way all the way to the hotel, our feet carrying us to his room. Hunter unlocked the door and waved me through.

  I pivoted back to find him still facing the door, his palm settled above the handle. When he finally turned around, his eyes were trained on the ground and he looked troubled. “Was there ever anyone else?” he asked softly.

  Taken aback, I froze. I thought it was pretty implied that there hadn’t been. My gaze followed his, thinking about how I had tried to get over him. The guilt hit me hard and fast. There were times when I wanted to forget about Hunter, to move on. Now that he was here and asking it felt like a betrayal.

  “Sherry?” His worried voice brought my head up. He looked panicked as his eyes flickered between mine, frantically trying to read my thoughts.

  “Some days I wanted to forget you. Forget I knew you. Forget I loved you,” I said softly, revealing my greatest sin. “Thomas wanted me to move on.” I looked down again, my hands forming fists that wanted to punch all these horrible thoughts away.

  “So I tried to. Once, about a year ago.” I swallowed roughly, pinching the bridge of my nose and closing my eyes.

  “What happened?” I heard the nervous pitch in his voice, the fear and the heartbreak. This conversation was unbearably painful.

  “I was lonely. You were gone and I… it felt like I was just living in the shadow of who I once was. For three years I’d lived that way, and I didn’t want to anymore. That was the first time I truly felt like I wanted to forget you.

  “So I went out one night and got way drunker than I should have. I didn’t plan it, but I ran into a guy in one of my classes. He had asked me out a few times before, and I always said no. But after I’d had a couple more drinks that night, he asked me back to his place. I said yes.” I shrugged and kept my eyes away from Hunter.

  “Ten minutes and a handful of kisses after we’d gotten there, we were on his bed. But I couldn’t… I started crying the second he tried to take off my jeans. He freaked, flew off me, and started mumbling apologies as he tried to hand me my shirt, the only thing he’d managed to take off.” Shaking my head, I let out a sad laugh. “I couldn’t even take it because I was too busy scrambling toward the bathroom. I had just made it to the toilet when I started throwing up. He thought I couldn’t hold my alcohol.”

  “Sherry.” Hunter’s voice broke as he walked toward me.

  “I didn’t know if I’d ever see you again,” I said as I looked at him. There was a panic in my voice I wasn’t prepared for.

  “Sherry—” he repeated, only for me to cut him off again.

  “But if I’d known I’d get you back, I would have never touched anyone. I wouldn’t have even given guys a handshake.” My voice had reached full-on hysterical and I could only imagine the pair of crazy eyes I was rocking.

  “Hey, hey,” he cooed, putting his hands on my shoulders. His eyes were worried, but no longer filled with pain, as they shifted between mine. “Sherry, it’s okay. I’m not mad. How could I be?”

  I believed him. All the worry wasn’t for himself and what I might have done, it was only for me. I still couldn’t help but feel unsettled.

  Hunter had left me. It wouldn’t have been wrong for me to move on, and I couldn’t be blamed for trying. But Hunter’s love was the only love I’d known, and not apologizing felt just as wrong.

  “You could have fallen in love with him, and I couldn’t say jackshit about it because I would have been the one responsible,” he said gently. “I know you feel guilty, but you have no reason to.” His voice was firm and his eyes were filled with so much understanding it nearly killed me. Shaking his head, he cupped my cheeks while tears formed in his eyes as they moved over my face. “After everything we went through together. After everything you went through for me. I left you.” Hunter stopped as the tears spilled over and he looked down. “I’m sorry.”

  When he lifted his face back up, I was floored to see so much emotion on his face. “Every single day I wanted to come find you. It just never felt safe. Not with him still alive. But another reason was my own guilt. I still blamed myself. You lost Bobby; you didn’t deserve to lose your parents, too.” He looked defeated as he whispered, “You didn’t even know where I was. I knew exactly where you were. The entire time, I knew. So, really, who betrayed who?”

  Rapidly shaking my head, I opened my mouth to tell him I understood, when he gently placed two fingers over my mouth, preventing me from speaking.

  “None of that matters, Sherry. We’re both here now. I’m starting to forgive myself for things that I never should have felt guilty over. And you…” Hunter trailed off and cracked a small smile. “This guy you cried on and almost threw up on, you never gave him your heart, right?” he teased, trying to lighten it all with a joke.

  I gave him a small laugh for his efforts, even as I gave him a serious answer. “How could I?” I asked intently. “You’ve had it since we were ten years old.”

  Those nine words blew his expression apart, allowing me to see everything. Relief, that we were able to find our way back to each oth
er, and that his father would never be able to take that away again. Sadness, that we missed four years of being together. Anger, that we’d had to endure this in the first place. And finally joy, that we were lucky enough to have something this special at all. It all flooded across his face right before he grabbed my face and smashed his lips against mine.

  We only kissed for a few minutes before I had to pull away and get my own answers.

  “Did you—” I paused and cleared my throat, keeping my eyes on his hands, which were now holding mine. “Have you been with anyone…?” I was surprised I’d been able to shove out that many words. I didn’t know if I was expected to assume something, but the truth was I had no idea. He’d known where I was, but how much could that matter? He’d thought I was with someone else. He was prepared to live in a world where we weren’t together. What reason would he have for waiting?

  And as easy as it would have been to live in a bubble, to be unaware of the possibility that Hunter may have been with someone else, I needed to know, just like he had.

  When he remained silent for nearly a full minute, I was forced to look up. He looked extremely confused. Then he dropped my hands and brought his own up to frame my face as he looked at me with so much focus I could barely breathe.

  “No, Sherry.” His tone was laced with conviction, and he affectionately pushed a piece of hair behind my ear. “No sex, no kisses, no looks, no thoughts of anyone else. My heart was broken, Sherry. Getting laid was the last thing on my mind, and I didn’t want to forget you. It’s only ever been you. I’ll only ever want you.”

  My smile couldn’t have been wider or brighter. “You could have found someone else,” I teased, shameless in my want for further affirmation. “Like you said, we weren’t technically together—”

  I cut myself off at the disgusted look on his face, like I suggested he lick the toilet seat in an outhouse.

  “Sherry, you’re my best friend. You’re the girl I’ve been in love with since I was fifteen. And the status of our relationship never felt like a free pass to be with someone else. No other women exist when you’re in love, at least not for me. And neither geography, nor time, changes that.”

  I felt tears threatening as I grabbed him behind the neck and tugged him forward, our mouths colliding. His kiss tasted of sincerity and love, a heady combination that had me flying higher than anything I could have imagined. My lips slid from his, gliding along his cheek until I found my way to his ear.

  “I wanna cash in on that promise from earlier,” I whispered before nipping his earlobe.

  “W-w-what?”

  Grabbing his hand, I placed it on my bare leg and slid it under the hem of my dress. “Hmm… how did you phrase it? Something about shoving up this dress of mine…”

  He nodded so quickly I almost laughed. But the heat in his eyes made that impossible, especially as his hand moved farther up my thigh. And when he tugged me closer, plastering our bodies together and dragging me toward the bed, I definitely wasn’t thinking about laughing.

  I RESPONDED IMMEDIATELY, WINDING my arms around his neck and arching into him, trying to get as close as I could. The palms that had come up to cup my face moved down my cheeks, ghosting down my neck and collarbone until he was reverently tracing my curves with his hands.

  How the hell had I lived without this?

  I hadn’t had a choice, but still… it seemed impossible. We exchanged moans, and I could feel him breathing life back into me, erasing the sorrows of the past four years.

  Hunter kneaded my hips, and despite the urgency from a couple of minutes ago, there was nothing rushed or hurried now, not like I thought it would be. We were savoring it, savoring each other.

  He stopped us at the end of the bed and our eyes roamed over each other, neither of us making a move. I raised my hand and it hovered just above his face as tears welled in my eyes.

  “I want to touch you,” I whispered. We had touched many times, so it wasn’t exactly rational but I still couldn’t shake the feeling that he might disappear. “But… I still think this is some cruel trick. And if this is a trick of my mind, I don’t want it to be over yet. If I touch you… you won’t disappear, right?”

  He shook his head and his own eyes filled with tears. When he spoke his voice was rough with emotion. “You’re wrong, Sher bear.” We both smiled at the nickname from so long ago. My heart felt like it had exploded, hearing that stupid name in his voice. It was too much, and not enough. I couldn’t think of anything better, until he spoke again…

  “You’re wrong,” he repeated as his hands came up to frame my face, pushing some of my hair back. “You’ve always been the only one to make me feel real. I could never disappear from your touch—I come alive at your touch.” My eyes closed as the tears finally slipped down my face, and then I was in his embrace again. Warm, strong arms banded around me as he brought me home.

  Oh God, this was real.

  He gently laid me down on the bed, his eyes never leaving mine as he pulled back to remove his T-shirt.

  My breath caught at the beauty before me. He had grown a lot from the gangly teenager he once was. His muscles were more defined, and his skin was a shade darker. Reaching down, he started unbuttoning his jeans when he froze.

  “I don’t… It’s been so long since I’ve had to think about it. I don’t have anything, Sherry,” he whispered, his tone pained and a bit frantic, before leaning forward to lightly kiss my lips. I paused and looked up at him with nothing but desire in my eyes.

  “I’ve waited four years to be this close to you again,” His eyes dipped down, watching my throat tremble with nerves. “I don’t want anything between us.”

  “You’re still…?” Hunter trailed off. The only reason I’d started in high school was so we could ditch the condoms. He was probably wondering why I’d still be on birth control.

  I nodded and placed a soft kiss on his full lips. “Girl reasons,” I evasively explained.

  We melted into one another, love seeping from our every pore.

  He moved the half-inch that separated our lips and I wrapped my arms around his neck. His mouth quickly left mine, slowly moving across my cheek and then down my throat until he settled at my collarbone. Gentle nibbles rendered me breathless as his tongue and teeth did deliciously dirty things to my heated skin. My body arched off the mattress as his hands settled on my hips and slowly moved down, gripping the bottom of my dress and dragging it up my body. When the hem reached my bra, I sat up and quickly tore the pink material off while his hands were preoccupied with my breasts, kneading them roughly.

  “God, Sherry…” he moaned into my neck right before his fingers deftly worked the front clasp of my bra. My nipples immediately tightened into sharp peaks after the cool air hit them.

  I whimpered when Hunter’s mouth descended on my breasts, licking and biting until I was squirming beneath him.

  His hands moved to my waist, squeezing as he rocked against the juncture between my thighs. I stayed silent, even as my mouth opened and formed an O.

  “Hunter, I can’t wait…” I shoved at his shoulders until he was standing, quickly ridding himself of his jeans and boxers, while I frantically pulled the last of my clothes off. We finished at the same time, immediately reaching for one another.

  He tried to move down but I stopped him. “I’ll collect on that later,” I whispered with a smirk.

  Hunter kept himself propped up as he stared at me so intently it stole my breath. “You’ll tell me if it hurts?”

  I smiled before reaching up for a kiss. “Always.”

  “Sherry?” he asked with a mischievous smile.

  “Yeah?” The word caught in my throat when I felt him settle against my entrance.

  “Ours is a love…” Hunter began softly as he slowly slid inside.

  “People write stories about,” I finished, gasping when he was fully inside.

  We both stilled, and I could see the last four years running through his mind. This was how it alway
s should have been, and this was how it would be from now on. It was as bittersweet as it was reassuring.

  “Move,” I urged, wrapping my legs around him, my heels digging into his ass.

  “Yes, ma’am,” he drawled, making me laugh. A laugh that quickly cut to a soft moan as he pulled out to the tip before slamming back in. There was so much force behind it, the bed shook beneath us. My hands flew out, clawing at the sheets as he kept a steady pace that had me losing my mind.

  All my senses felt heightened.

  His hot breath against my neck sent a chill down my spine.

  The soft, sweet words he whispered felt like shouts in my mind, and I could hardly hear anything else. But I listened carefully, not wanting to miss a thing. The sound of his balls slapping against me, the squeak of the mattress springs, the rustling of the sheets around us.

  “Hunter… I’m close.” He moved faster as I unwound my legs and found purchase on the bed, eagerly meeting him stroke for stroke now, both of us chasing. I whimpered, forcing a groan from Hunter’s mouth and causing him to pick up his pace once more.

  Then all of a sudden Hunter stopped, pulled out, and scrambled away from me.

  “What the…” The words died in my throat when I saw him leaning against the headboard, reaching for me, with his hard dick on proud display.

  “Get up here,” he growled, like he wasn’t the one who left me. Somehow I managed to shuffle myself toward him. And when I was close enough, he wasted no time in grabbing my hips and shifting me until I was straddling him. I slammed down on him.

  “Oh fuck,” I whimpered. Hunter knew this was my favorite position: my tits bouncing in his face… his hands wrapped around my ass… my fingers digging into his shoulders… and my breath ghosting over his head as I rode him as hard as I could.

  “Fuck, fuck, fuck…” he chanted. “That’s it…”

  I moved faster. He pushed deeper. We climbed higher.

  Then, all at once, we were both falling, a never-ending spiral down to earth. My mouth was open in a noiseless scream as I shuddered against him. One, two, three thrusts later and he stilled, his words of love hitting my skin as he emptied himself inside me.