Spirit of Seduction (3 page)

She caught another whiff of his manly scent,
which didn’t help her tamp down her desire one bit. “What do you
mean?”

He turned off the main road onto a narrow
one that cut through the woods. “If you grip the armrest any
tighter you’ll probably rip it right off the door.”

She looked down at her hand. Her knuckles
had turned white. She immediately let go and laced her fingers
together in her lap. “I told you, this stuff makes me nervous.” But
in truth, her desire for Ryan nearly as unsettling than the
prospect of channeling Becky’s spirit.

She’d crushed on him pretty hard years ago
but she was a different person now, an adult, and she couldn’t deny
that he seemed more confident now, sexier than he’d been back
then.

They turned left off the paved street onto a
narrow dirt road. The truck bumped over the rough terrain up a
steep hill. The house came into view when they cleared the woods.
It looked just as she remembered, like a white Victorian dollhouse
in a pastoral setting.

Ryan shut off the motor and faced her.
“Ready?”

She shook her head. “I need a minute.” Her
heart raced. She didn’t want to let fear control her but she wasn’t
sure how to master it.

He slid across the seat and draped his arm
over her shoulder. “I won’t let anything happen to you. Do you
believe that?”

The cops had assured her they’d protect her
last time. Why should she think Ryan could do any better? “I
guess.”

“Look, we don’t have to do this. If you want
to turn around right now, I’ll take you back to Raleigh, but what
if Becky was right and you’re already in danger?”

She shuddered. “Then I guess we have to
proceed.”

He toyed with a lock of her hair. “You’re a
brave woman.”

She shook her head. “I don’t have much of a
choice.”

“Sure you do, but you’re way too pretty to
bury that pretty face in the sand.” His grin took sexy to a whole
new level.

She shifted to a darker spot, out of the
moonlight, afraid he’d pick up on the desire that was surely
evident in her eyes. “Thanks. We should get this over with.”

His expression turned serious. “I was an
idiot for saying what I did to you two years ago. I’m surprised
you’re even speaking to me.”

She patted his hand. “I’ve already forgiven
you.” The heat of his stare turned her into a puddle of a
woman.

“Thanks for coming up here with me. I know
it’s asking a lot.”

She licked her suddenly dry lips. “It’s
okay. I like…being with you.” A pleasant ache settled low in her
belly.

“Yeah? Me, too.” He smoothed a hand over her
hair and focused on her mouth. Could he be as attracted to her as
she’d always been to him?

Her entire body tingled with awareness. She
fought the torrid sensations, a battle she feared she was losing.
It was so tempting to give in to the fantasy she’d kept buried for
so long.

He moved closer, brushed his lips over hers,
then slid his tongue inside. She stopped her halfhearted resistance
and hooked her hands around the back of his neck, twining her
fingers into his hair. He tasted like strong coffee with a hint of
cinnamon.

He moaned into her mouth and tightened his
fingers possessively against her head.

How many times had she fantasized about
kissing him over the years? Encircled in his arms, she really did
feel safe, at least for the moment.

He backed away and met her stare. “That was
nice.”

Too
nice. “But I should focus on Becky now.”

His brow lifted in surprise. “Right,
yeah.”

He cupped her head and kissed her forehead.
“Can we continue this later?”

She wanted to tell him no, but she couldn’t
bring herself to say it. Taking things any further with him would
only keep her in the spiritual realm longer than she wanted to be
there. She’d have to figure out how to control the powerful
attraction sizzling between them, which was way more intense than
she’d ever experienced with anyone else.

Ryan let them inside the house through the
back door. Emily walked the kitchen and living room, trolling for
spiritual energy, touching Becky’s things—antique furniture, framed
photographs, books and the dream catchers Becky had made and sold,
which hung in various stages of completion all through the house.
She sensed her friend’s presence in everything but there was
nothing akin to fear in the lingering energy.

As she neared the front door the vibes grew
suddenly negative and unusually powerful. She grasped the banister
to steady herself as remnants of an angry aura appeared. The energy
glowed a muddy red then turned almost inky before disintegrating.
“She wasn’t far from here when she died.” Fear and dread gripped
her as a grainy vision appeared. Becky was furious and fighting
someone who meant to hurt her—to kill her. Then the apparition was
gone.

Tears burned in Emily’s eyes for her
friend’s terrifying final moments. Foreign emotions filled her
head. She closed her eyes and concentrated. “She knew him and she
wasn’t afraid of him. That made it easier for the killer to keep
her relatively calm until…”

The blood drained from Ryan’s face. This was
harder to hear than he’d imagined. He sank into an antique
loveseat. “Her body was found near the lake, about half a mile down
the road.”

Emily opened her eyes and held perfectly
still. “She didn’t fear him until very close to the end.” Her voice
rang with conviction.

“Was it Tommy?” He got up and took a step
toward her, his brain buzzing with questions and emotion, but he
stood back when Emily held up her palm.

She shook her head, frowning. “I don’t know.
I’m not getting anything else. It’s like there’s a force blocking
me.”

“But you did see something.” He was talking
to a woman who claimed to be psychic and he actually believed that
she was somehow tuned into the spiritual world. Until twenty-four
hours ago he’d have laughed off psychic powers and ghosts. What a
difference a day made.

And an experience with a ghost.

“Yes, there’s definitely energy here.” She
closed her eyes again and seemed to mumble.

He made out his sister’s name but not much
else.

She furrowed her brow and fisted her hands
at her sides. After a minute or two she faced him. “Where’s her
grave?”

“Just up the road.” When
she questioned him with her eyes, he went on. “The original
property has been in the family for three generations but it was a
lot bigger back then. Much of the land was sold off over the years
but we still own the cemetery, or rather,
I
do. I’m the only one left.” A stab
of grief nudged at him.

Emily rubbed a gentle hand over his arm,
reminding him that he was alive and still capable of feelings other
than pain and frustration.

Staring into her dark eyes,
he shoved away the sadness of the past in favor of the beautiful
woman standing before him. He’d never seen a complexion similar to
hers—perfectly smooth and unblemished, the color of
café au lait
. He
shouldn’t want to kiss her at a time like this but nor could he
pretend the emotion wasn’t there.

Aside from his sister’s funeral, the last
time he’d seen her she’d been just a kid, eighteen or nineteen. But
holy hell, she’d grown up. What she lacked in height she made up in
stacked-to-the-max. Details of the sensual part of his visions
flooded his memory and need coiled tightly inside him.

“Is there anything I can do?” Thick, dark
lashes fluttered as she stared up at him.

He had to remind himself why they were there
and that she could be in danger. Tamping down his arousal, he
cleared his throat. “Did you want to head over to Becky’s
grave?”

She squared her shoulders. “Not really, but
I suppose we should. Maybe I’ll pick up on something more
there.”

After he locked the house up, they got into
his truck. He reached across the seat to take her hand and inwardly
smiled when she didn’t pull away. They didn’t speak most of the way
to the cemetery but as he rubbed his thumb over her hand, he sensed
her trying to combat her trepidation. “Sure you’re up for
this?”

She gave him a small smile. “It’s important.
I have to do it.”

After he parked he tucked his .45 into his
belt then climbed out of the cab. He checked the area and found it
deserted so he helped her out of the truck, then led her past the
graves of his parents and grandparents. He’d let Becky down after
he’d vowed to take care of her, to protect her. He wondered if he
could ever forgive himself. The reminder that he was the only one
left weighed heavily on his heart, but Emily’s presence felt
strangely comforting.

The air shifted when they neared Becky’s
grave with its brand new headstone gleaming in the moonlight.

“Whatever happens, promise me you’ll stay
back,” Emily said.

He tightened his grip on her. “If a ghost
grabs you or something, I’m going to fight them off.” He kept his
tone light, but he meant what he said.

A hint of a smile lifted the corners of her
mouth. “Fine, but otherwise, just let me be. Seeing a spirit for
the first—or second time—can be pretty frightening.” Suddenly she
stumbled backward, gasping. She’d have fallen if he hadn’t
tightened his grasp on her.

He checked for a rock or a hidden obstacle
on the ground but there was nothing but the flat plane of grass.
“What happened?”

She was trembling. “I don’t know. Felt like
someone gave me a shove.”

“But there’s no one here.”

“No one we can see, anyway. That doesn’t
mean we’re alone. Might have been a spirit or even a live person’s
energy. Whatever it was, they know what I’m about to do and they’re
not happy about it.”

Now on alert, his senses sharpened as he
scanned the area. “I don’t like this. Let’s get out of here.”

But she stood her ground. “No, I have to do
this.”

He tucked her under his arm. “Like hell you
do. Maybe someone’s trying to tell us something.”

“I’m fine, Ryan. Come on, we’re already
here.”

He gritted his teeth but acquiesced,
comforted by the presence of his loaded weapon.

At his nod, she disengaged herself then held
still as death. She took several deep breaths that she exhaled
slowly. Closing her eyes, she lifted her arms as if she supported a
child in them.

His heart pounded as he watched her face, so
pale in the scant moonlight.

“I beseech you, Ramiel, who dwells among the
graves upon the bones of the dead, that you will bring forth
Rebecca Barnes. Raise her up so that she will speak to me without
fear and tell me the truth without deception. Let me be not afraid
of her and let her answer whatever question I need ask her.”

Ryan couldn’t take his eyes off Emily. Was
she really summoning his sister’s ghost? The whole thing felt so
surreal. His gut roiled with a giddy nervousness. He shivered at
the sudden cold but Emily didn’t seem bothered by it. She still had
her eyes shut but she dropped her arms to her sides. Nothing
happened for several minutes and he was about to call it a wash
when Emily suddenly gasped.

She shook and took a backward step as if
pushed. He fought the instinct to grab her and run.

The voice that emanated from Emily was his
sister’s. “Emily, my friend, take care with your life or you’ll
meet the same fate as I, by the very same hand.”

Blood thundered in Ryan’s ears but he
struggled to listen carefully to Becky’s words.

“Someone means you harm for the answers you
and my brother seek. Go carefully or else say your farewells.” His
sister’s specter vanished and Emily suddenly crumpled onto the
ground.

He rushed to her and lifted her into his
arms. “Emily?”

Her eyes remained closed and her body
limp.

“Emily?” Terror clawed at his throat.

She grasped his arm and her eyelids
fluttered a few times before opening. “I’m okay, just…out of
practice I guess. Channeling always takes a lot out of me.”

He finally exhaled then started back to his
truck with her, mentally kicking himself for putting her in danger.
“I’m so sorry. I had no idea this would be so rough on you. We’ll
find another way.”

“Put me down, please.”

He didn’t want to let her go, couldn’t bear
the thought of not smelling her floral scent or of breaking contact
with the curves that pressed against his chest and his arms. When
he set her on her feet, she hooked her arm through his and let him
lead her.

He helped her into the truck, skimming his
hand over her her silky shirt. For God’s sake. Since when did a
woman’s back get him excited?

“There
is
no other way, Ryan. You heard what
Becky said, didn’t you?”

He started the motor and backed out of the
parking spot. “She had to be talking about Tommy. I know in my gut
that bastard killed her.” He took a right onto the road that would
lead them to the Interstate.

She narrowed her eyes. “Why are you so
sure?”

“He was their only suspect besides…” Damn
it. He didn’t want to say that he’d been on their list, too.”

“Besides who?”

Before he could answer, something slammed
into the back of the pickup, lurching them forward. “What the hell
was that?” He glanced at Emily. “You okay?”

She nodded but her eyes were wide.
Thankfully she had on her seatbelt.

Checking his rearview mirror, he saw a black
SUV with no headlights back up then start toward them again. “Hang
on!”

“What’s going on?” Her voice was high
pitched and wobbly.

He spun the wheel then floored the
accelerator. The truck whipped three hundred sixty degrees around
and his headlights caught the other vehicle hightailing it out of
there. “What the hell was that all about?”