Charmed Spirits (11 page)

“If
I go outside when I’m like this, it’s hard to come back from wherever the hell
I go. So hard in fact, I might not come back. If I’m not here, then I can’t get
back to my physical form.”

If possible,
her eyes widened even more, and she took a shuddering breath. “Matt…” She
choked back a sob then shook her head and took a deep breath. “Why didn’t you
tell me?”

He
shook his head, the cool drafts of the house flowing through him and sending
chills down his translucent body. “I couldn’t, Jor. I haven’t been able to tell
anyone.”

“Your
brothers?”

He tried
to smile. “No, not even them.”

“But
you tell each other everything. The Coopers are the closest family I know.”

“I
can’t, Jor.”

She
wiped her cheeks and nodded. “I understand… I think. I just wish you didn’t
have to bear this alone.”

A
slight weight lifted off his shoulders at the thought that she knew and wasn’t
running. Someone else knew his secret and she was handling it, at least as well
as could be expected.

Jordan
stood up, walked to the living room, and sat on one of the couches covered with
a tarp. Dust flew around her, and she coughed.

“Sorry
about that. I haven’t been too much into cleaning.”

“I
wouldn’t think so.” She straightened her shoulders and got that look she always
had when she was trying to figure out a problem, namely, him. He walked toward
her and sat next to her. Her eyes widened, but he didn’t touch her—couldn’t
touch her. “Okay, so you said you don’t know how you ended up this way. Tell me
what you remember. We can get to the bottom of this. I mean…you can’t be…de—”
She choked off the last word, and Matt wanted to hold her with every ounce of
his being.

“So,
for five days a month, I’m a ghost. Or whatever the hell I am.”

“Five
days? Every month? God, that’s so much.”

He
nodded. “Tell me about it. It all revolves around the full moon.”

“Oddly
enough, that makes a weird sort of sense.”

“Only
a witch would say that.”

“Okay,
so I guess it’s two days before and two days after.”

“Right
in one. I need to be here by sunset on those days.”

“Or
you won’t come back or get your physical body back,” she whispered, her eyes
filling again, but not crying.

“I
don’t know.”

“What
do you feel when it happens? I mean what does it feel like to be a ghost?”

He
shrugged. “There’s a bit of…pain. And cold. Yeah, cold.” And lonely.

“I’m
so sorry, Matt.”

He
shook his head but didn’t respond. Did she know that she was the culprit? That
her leaving must have triggered something? Well, maybe, he didn’t know for
sure, but he had his guesses. No, why would she?

“When
did this first happen?”

His
head shot up, and he blinked. “Eleven years ago.” There, let her think what she
wanted.

“You
mean…” Her hands shook, and he had the overwhelming urge to hold them and
comfort the woman who’d made him this way. Anger and disappointment flooded him
that he couldn’t do that.

“Yep.
That night I was out here waiting for you. Remember?”

She
nodded and bit her lip, the tears freely flowing this time.

“Well,
Stacey showed up, and we drank some beer. She left, and I waited. I didn’t
think much of it at the time. In fact, I didn’t really want her there. I knew
you two hated each other, with good reason on your part. But you were so late
that I thought you weren’t coming. And we’d had that fight earlier in the day,
I thought I’d be alone all night, I guess. So, I let her stay and we drank. She
left, and I waited. When the sun set, I changed for the first time.”

“I’m
so sorry, Matt.”

“I’m
a ghost, Jordan. There’s nothing you can really do about it.”

“But,
Matt, I don’t think you’re a real ghost.”

He
looked down at his body—through his body—and gave a dry chuckle. “I think the
fact that I can see the couch through my legs begs to differ.”

“No,
I mean, you didn’t die. That means you aren’t a real ghost.”

A
small kernel of hope sprouted in him, but he had to ignore it. “How do you know
I didn’t die?”

“Wouldn’t
you have mentioned it? You’re alive for over three-quarters of a month at a
time. You have a real life, a real physical body and the ability to interact
with the real world. You’re alive, Matt. You didn’t die.”

“Maybe
I don’t remember.”

She
shook her head. “But you remember everything else about that night. And ghosts
don’t go walking around in corporeal form in the daylight.”

“Maybe
I’m special.”

“Oh,
baby, you’re special all right. But you’re not a true ghost.”

“What
does that mean?”

“That
means, if we figure out the initial trigger, we might be able to fix it.”

His
body shook as his emotions went haywire. Could Jordan fix this? Should he tell
her that he blamed her, as irrational as it was?

“How
do you know so much about ghosts?”

She
shrugged. “I’ve met a couple ghosts and helped them move on.”

His
eyes widened. “That wasn’t what I was expecting. Is it because you’re a witch?”

“I
think so. I can sense ghosts more than the average person. I don’t like seeing
people, even ghosts, walk around sad and without a purpose because they don’t
know what to do and where to go.”

“So
you think you can help me?”

“I
hope I can. I want you to be okay, Matt. I…I care about you.” She wrung her
hands together, and Matt took a deep, cool breath.

He
loved the woman on this couch, and she only cared about him? Maybe she was just
too afraid to say anything else. After all, they hadn’t been together in eleven
years. A lot could have happened, and did happen, in that time…like him
becoming a ghost.

“Hey,
why did you come here anyway?”

“Oh,
I don’t know. I just wanted to, I guess. I felt this pull to come here. Maybe
it was you?”

He
smiled. “That attracted to me, are you?”

She
laughed away the last of her tears, and Matt felt a small victory. “That must
be it. Ghost and all.”

“Ah,
so you do only want me for my body.”

“You
know it.”

He
shook his head. “What are your plans now? I don’t think hanging out with your
ghost boyfriend, or whatever the hell I am, really constitutes fun.”

“Boyfriend?”

“Really?
That’s what you took from that conversation?”

Her
smile fell, and she reached for his hands before pulling them back at the last
minute. “I’m still leaving, Matt.”

Even
though he blamed her for his condition, he still wanted her, loved her. She
couldn’t leave. He had to make her stay.

“One
day at a time, Jor.”

She
nodded but didn’t smile. “Okay, then I guess that means I’m not leaving yet.”

“What?”
His heart raced.

“I’ll
stay the night,” she said quickly as Matt’s pulse died down.

Odd
that he still could feel his pulse even though he could see through himself.
Really weird.

“Yeah?
You want to do some other worldly hanky-panky?”

She
laughed and almost fell off the couch. “Hanky-panky?”

“Don’t
knock it until you try it.”

She
shook her head. “Oh, I know I’d love it. But what century are you from? Hanky-panky?”

“It’s
Holiday, Montana, Jor. We live to be outdated.”

“Okay,
I believe you. Now, what is it a ghost like you does when they’re all alone in
the house?”

He
shrugged. “I read, play chess with myself, fix up some of the interior. The
tools were already here so I can touch them.”

“Wanna
have a partner for chess? I’m not that good, but it has to be better than you
playing against your right hand.”

“Hey,
it was my left, and be warned, he’s very good.”

She
laughed and followed him to the parlor where he’d laid the chess board and
pieces.

“I’m
glad you’re here, Jor.”

She
gave a sad smile and traced a hand over his jaw without touching so she
wouldn’t go through. Her warmth seeped into him, and he shivered. “I’m glad
too.”

The
urge to grab her and never let go shot through him. Thankfully, his
non-corporeal form hindered that. He didn’t want to scare her, and his being a
ghost was the least of his worries when it came to that. Professing his undying
love might do the trick. And that was scary as hell.

****

Jordan
cracked open her eyes as the sunlight shone through the slits in the boarded-up
window. She’d gone to sleep late the night before after losing to Matt for the eighth
time. Apparently, being alone in a spooky house—and being the one who haunted
it—made him a really good chess player.

She
shifted and froze, forgetting she wasn’t alone. An arm wrapped around her waist
and cupped her breast. She moaned and smiled.

Ah,
now she remembered. She’d fallen asleep on the couch with Matt lying behind
her, but not touching. Now that the sun was up, he could touch all he wanted.

She smiled
and wiggled her butt as he rocked forward, the bulge in his pants pressing against
her.

“Good
morning, wicked one.”

She curved
back into him as he slid his hand under her shirt. He spread his fingers across
her belly, and she shivered.

“Good
morning, spooky.”

He
groaned and pulled back from where he was nibbling on her ear lobe. “Really?
Spooky? That’s the best you can come up with?”

“Sorry,
I was distracted.”

“Hmm,
I think I can distract you some more. What do you think?”

Tendrils
of pleasure wove around her, and she tried to turn over. He pulled up and
shifted so he was kneeling between her spread legs. She wrapped them around his
waist.

“I
think you can try.”

His
eyes darkened, and she traced his unshaven jaw with her finger. She’d done the
same the night before but hadn’t been able to touch him or feel his skin.

Matt
was a ghost.

But
her ghost, at least for the time being.

He
lowered his head and took her lips. She slid her tongue against his and rocked
her hips so she cradled his. He deepened the kiss, their tongues warring with
each other. The room filled with the sounds of moans, pleas, and promises.

Her
magic pooled in her stomach, her limbs growing heavy as she kissed him. Her
body felt like honey was sliding through her; rich, warm honey. Desire and need
flooded her. God, she wanted this, wanted him.

He
pulled back, both of them breathing heavily. “I want you, Jordan Cross. I want
you naked, writhing beneath me. I want to slide into you and feel you clench
around me. I want to lick you all over and see what you taste like when you
come on my tongue.”

She
almost came at his words. She moaned and lifted her hips so his erection rubbed
against her clit. He smiled and held her hips down. She let out a whimper.

“No
you don’t, baby. Not until we’re clear on one thing.”

God,
this man drove her crazy, but the good kind of crazy that made her want to
strip them down and ride him like a pony.

“What
one thing?”

“We’re
in this together, Jordan. I want you. No stopping. No holding back.”

Her
body cooled slightly, but she nodded. She could do this. She could. Maybe.

He
kissed her softly then stood up.

“Where
are you going?” He couldn’t leave her now, not like this. Damn man.

Matt
smiled and lifted her into his arms and started walking toward another room in
the house. “The better question is where are
we
going. Because that
couch isn’t comfortable. No, I need a better place so I can take you properly.”

“Oh,
I like it when you think ahead.”

He
stopped and cursed. “Fuck, I don’t have a condom. Damn. Damn. Damn.”

He
stared to put her down, and she tightened her grip. “It’s okay, I’m on the pill.”

“Is
that enough?” He looked into her eyes, and she tried to kiss the worries away.

“I’m
clean.”

“Me
too.” He let out a breath. “Oh, thank God. I don’t think I’d have been able to
wait to go to the drug store and get a box. And then there is the whole thing
with the gossip of this town. They’d know we were having sex before we actually
got to enjoy ourselves.”

“Matt?”