Hosts to Ghosts Box Set

by Lynne Connolly

  He was playing with fire, but he couldn’t leave Karey bound with Susannah. He ached for his wife, but he had to keep alert, because Susannah could return any moment. She could take over completely and expel the spirit that was Karey, or if she left and he did nothing to prevent it, she could return any time she liked. Bernard had made a door, a way in for Susannah, and Jordan had to close it.

  “Are you silk all the way through?” His voice sounded throatier, even to him. When his other appetite rose, as he knew it would, he suppressed it. He would have to take her blood to protect her, to bind her close so he could sense when she was in danger from longer distances. He would take the barest amount, and do it when desire for her wasn’t roaring through him, bringing the inevitable temptation to keep her.

  “Why don’t you find out?” He discovered a Karey he didn’t know, moving sinuously under his touch, but definitely Karey. Delighted, Jordan smoothed his hands up her legs, sliding them under the slip and up over the edge of a pair of silk bikini briefs.

  He grinned. “No thong?”

  She grimaced, wrinkling her nose in such an adorable way he wanted to kiss it. “I don’t like them, but I would have worn them for you before, if you’d been interested.”

  It was his turn to grimace, not at all adorably. “My mistake. I was so career oriented, I didn’t think of anything else until too late.” He caressed her hip, the tiny string under his hand. “I think I could remedy that now.” Jealousy streaked through him. “Was all this for Foret?”

  She reached up and put her hand flat on his burgundy silk shirt. “Was this all for Didiane Merchand?”

  He dropped his chin. “No. I should tell you, shouldn’t I?”

  “Tell me what?” Susannah was back, this time trying to be Karey but he knew the difference now. He saw the change in her eyes, scented the difference in her body.

  He smiled, but gave no clue that he’d spotted the change. “Tell me why you came here when you knew this place would remind you of me.”

  Susannah frowned, puzzled. She was forced to let Karey through again and Jordan breathed out in relief when he saw Karey return. “I wanted a job that would take me away from New York. That reminded me more of you than Auguste did. I didn’t think it would take this long, I’ve never had this trouble cleansing a place before. I can usually do it quicker than this.”

  “Have you started the process?”

  She shook her head. “I’m afraid to.”

  He knew how much that admission had cost her. Karey the fearless, the woman who would enter any domicile, however badly haunted. Because, he suspected, she’d never really believed it before. Now she had no choice.

  He felt rather than saw when she began to crumble and he swept her into his arms, cradling her to his chest. “We’ve both seen and done things we never thought possible, love. Do you remember when we agreed all psychic phenomena were the results of imaginative minds?”

  She nodded against his shoulder. “We soon abandoned that notion.”

  He held her close, his heart rejoicing, knowing Karey wouldn’t have told him that if she didn’t still care. Her confession made her vulnerable, let him in where he needed to be.

  He sensed another barrier in her mind dropping and he firmly took possession, stormed it and passed through. Closer and closer to where Susannah must be hiding, deep in her mind amongst her worst fears, where Karey didn’t want to go.

  He smoothed his hands over her back, savoring the incredible sexiness of thin silk covering warm skin. When she drew back a little she was smiling, still Karey, so he gave in to temptation and kissed her again. She pushing at his shoulders and still deep in the kiss, he helped her to remove his shirt, releasing her long enough to toss it aside, then returned to his caressing, only pausing to unclip her bra. She smiled against his mouth. It felt wonderful, like coming home.

  When he pressed tiny kisses to her full lips, her eyelids and her forehead she was still smiling. “You’ve turned into a smooth operator, Arcenaux.”

  “You’ve turned into a sexy tease.” He dropped a kiss on the end of her nose, then returned to her mouth to feast. He kissed her mouth repeatedly, knowing he would never get enough before he slid her slip up her body, releasing her only long enough to drag the garment over her head.

  She emerged from the folds with eyes glowing, mouth open slightly, cheeks flushed with passion. And still Karey. Irresistible.

  As he watched, Susannah took over, and her expression grew more calculated. Jordan was so attuned to Karey now that he felt the change. He let it happen, and pretended not to notice.

  He knew how to call Karey back now; by asking something only she would know, thus forcing Susannah to allow Karey to answer. He traced her features with the tip of one finger. It prevented more intimate exploration, but continued the loving. He hoped Karey could feel it. Now he’d committed himself to loving her again, to letting her know it, his libido was rising quickly, ferociously, urging him to take her.

  He entered her mind, looking for patterns. He found Susannah, but felt the jerk when she withdrew, realizing what he was about. He welcomed Karey back with a smile and leaned forward for a kiss, cupping the full warmth of her breasts in his palms. She shivered and moved closer. For the first time in six months, he nestled her skin against his, and realized he’d missed her even more than he’d allowed himself to admit. The shock made him pause.

  He wanted her, he needed her. Didiane was a wasteland compared to this, for all her skill and her lascivious ways. Putting his vampire lover—his ex-vampire lover—firmly from his mind, Jordan leaned over, pushed Karey against the soft bed and waited until she relaxed under him.

  He kissed his way to her breasts and took his time exploring, learning anew her soft skin, her delicious taste. Her nipples grew stiff, so he allowed himself the indulgence of tracing the indentations and crinkles with his tongue, ending by closing his mouth around one nipple, sucking hard before releasing it to begin again. As he nuzzled her breasts, the blood fever struck with lethal accuracy. Summoning all his strength, he pushed it aside. This was for Karey, and only for her.

  Fuck, she tasted wonderful. Unable to resist, he continued down her body, lingering at her navel and the soft skin inside her hips, where he knew she was sensitive.

  Her panties were delectable, teasing him, mere triangles of silk fastened with tiny strings at her hips. His birthday had come early, wrapped better than any present he’d ever received before. Jordan tugged the strings and lifted the front, opening her to his gaze. Burnished curls begged for his touch, and he ran his fingers through them. Heat and wetness poured through his senses, the depths of her femininity.

  “I’ve missed you so much,” he murmured before he lowered his head, her responding gasp only making him thirstier for a taste of her. She drew up her knees, framing the upper half of his body, surrounding him with Karey. Blissful.

  Her taste flooded over his tongue, tangy and essentially Karey, driving him to delve further, taste deeper. He sucked her clit, drawing it into his mouth to caress and tease it with his tongue.

  Karey moaned low in her throat and arched up from the bed, giving him greater access. It was when he pushed a finger inside her that he felt the change. Then he tasted something different, a sweeter, more cloying flavor.

  Susannah.

  His desire wilted and died.

  He lifted his head, and gazed up at her. She pushed herself up on her elbows, closer to him.

  Jordan found his voice. “Do you remember when we first did this?” She didn’t respond. “Tell me, Karey,” he urged, forcing her to respond.

  “No! Oh please don’t stop, don’t stop!” Her pleading rang around the room.

  “When you tell me. Do you remember, Karey?”

  Her breasts rose and fell as she heaved a deep breath. “We never did this before,” Karey said.

  He bent and licked her crease, opening to clit, savoring the taste that was essentially Karey. “We never did. But we will now. Lean back, mon
minet. Enjoy.” He returned to the fray, gently tugging her clit with his teeth and teasing it with his tongue. When he finally drove his tongue inside her, she screamed her release and a fresh wave of moisture washed over his lips. He gulped it down, as delicious, as necessary as the blood he ingested each night. How had he lived without this?

  Shuddering, she came, her pussy contracting around his mouth and tongue. So good, so fucking good.

  Jordan came up the bed to her, crawling like a predatory beast. He rid himself of his remaining clothes with one shove, kicking them free of his feet, never taking his eyes off her. He lay over her. “Open your eyes, mon trésor.”

  Her eyes flickered open, and she smiled up at him. Jordan’s heart turned over at the trust he saw there. “Last chance for sanity. Do you want this, Karey? I still can’t promise you anything. No future, just this.” He needed to know, needed her to tell him.

  She understood, he saw the tinge of sadness and felt it in his very soul. “Yes, Jordan. Yes, I understand, and yes I want this.”

  All Karey. All his. He positioned himself with one hand and found her opening, seating the flared tip of his cock inside before he thrust deeply into her.

  Jordan didn’t lose his senses, as he so longed to do but knew he didn’t dare to allow. He held on, waiting for Susannah’s attack, so she didn’t take him by surprise when she acted.

  A psychic push, aimed at blinding his senses, and a surge of energy, meant to fake an orgasm to make him weak, hopefully make him come and then she’d strike.

  When he opened his eyes, he saw Susannah. Buried deeply in her body, he had no choice but to pull out, but mere withdrawal wouldn’t solve the problem forever. She slapped her hands on his ass and pushed him back, but he wouldn’t enter her again, slid intimately against her, but refused to return. “Stay, lover, where do you think you’re going?” she crooned.

  He closed his eyes and entered her mind, feeling for the differences. Triumph surged through him when he found it. Susannah had become careless in her lust. She had released Karey, pushed her right back, but she’d left a gap, someplace he could slide between and he could separate the two entities occupying the same body.

  Gathering Karey’s essence close, he drove between the two women, erecting an unbreakable shield between them. Susannah shrieked in anger, the sound erupting from Karey’s lips, but not part of her.

  Switching his psychic hold, he grabbed Susannah and dragged her out of Karey’s body, sheltering Karey as much as he could, hearing her cry of pain with deep sorrow. He could do nothing to help her, not yet.

  He pulled out of Karey’s body, dragging Susannah to him, reversing the mental position of a moment ago. Getting to his feet, he strode to the door and opened it. “You’re not welcome here,” he said firmly, making his words a command, a compulsion nobody, alive or dead, could reject. “Leave us. Don’t try this again, Susannah.”

  Her scream of rage reverberated up and down the corridor outside, but Jordan ignored her. After sealing the door the way he’d learned, guarding her against evil, he turned and went back to Karey.

  Chapter Eight

  Karey watched Jordan stride across the room rampantly, erotically naked, his cock still wet from her body. She shook in anger and terror, mingled in equal measure with the remnants of her desire and the earth-shattering orgasm he’d given her. Weakness invaded her every pore. “Jordan, what is this?”

  He lay down and reached for her, but she drew back, ignoring the way her body clamored for his.

  Jordan sighed and pressed his thumbs to the inner corners of his eyes in a gesture Karey knew of old meant weariness. Once he’d used it all the time. Now she realized it was the first time she remembered him using it since he’d come back. “You were possessed. Think, Karey.”

  The memories came back to her in a rush. Susannah taunting her, hurling insults at her. From inside her own head. “Oh, God. It’s real, isn’t it?”

  “It’s real, ma chaton.” His little cat. She’d loved him to call her that.

  “Jordan, we always thought it was scientific.”

  “It is, in a way.”

  She rolled over on to her back, covering her eyes with her arm. “I can’t take this.” She couldn’t hide the tremor in her voice. “I never imagined...”

  He touched her arm, gently but firmly moving it away to expose her face once more. “Look at me, Karey. You’re going to think I’m mad, but please trust me and what I’m about to tell you.”

  “Why should I?” She didn’t wipe away her tears, but let them run down her face, course around the rims of her ears and disappear into her hair.

  Jordan lifted her and held her close. Her breath gusted back at her, reflected off his chest. She burrowed in, unable to fight her fear any more. He didn’t try to talk, only made crooning noises and she gave in to her feelings, letting them burst forth in a torrent of angry tears.

  “We’ll have to start again. None of our research matters, nothing we’ve done means anything.”

  “No, no, don’t think that! It’s not true. At least, I’m no nearer knowing it now than I was before.”

  She tilted her head back to look at him. He stared at her, his eyes fathomlessly needy, aching for her. “You don’t understand, Jordan. I’m not despairing. I’m overjoyed! I’ll ask Auguste if I can stay here, do more investigation. This is fantastic, Jordan.” Now the worst of her fear had passed, she’d begun to analyse what had happened to her. She’d had a being inside her body, someone dead for a hundred and fifty years. Oh fuck, this was amazing. The report would make her name, would make Hosts to Ghosts inviolate.

  “Oh God!” He drew her close and rocked her, until she wasn’t sure who was comforting whom. “You were possessed, Karey. It took everything I had to separate you and push her out.”

  “I can learn to control it.”

  She felt his hand under her chin, caressing the sensitive skin of her throat. “No you can’t. Listen to me, Karey. Susannah wants your body, and if she ever finds her way in again, she’ll take complete control. Unless you want to spend the rest of your life locked in your body like somebody in a coma, you won’t invite her in again.”

  She stared at him. Yes, that was what had happened. He’d dragged the entity out of her, and expelled it with a power she’d never suspected he possessed. “Then what did you do? How could you begin to fight power like that?”

  His gaze softened, but the edge of danger, of the unknown, remained. Fear tinged her thoughts, even though she’d never felt that way with Jordan before. “New truths have forced themselves into my life.” His voice murmured over her, bathing her in need. His beautiful body, still naked, gleamed in the low bedside lights.

  “You’re going to tell me something terrible, aren’t you?” The expression in his eyes told her; a bleakness she’d never seen in him before and the lines bracketing his mouth were deep with sadness. He gazed at her, affirming her fears without words.

  The remnants of her arousal returned, and she lifted a hand to curl around his neck and tease the fine hairs there. He’d always liked that. “Then let’s finish what we started first, before we do anything else.” She couldn’t bear another moment without him inside her. He’d entered her bareback, but he could hardly have stopped to sheathe himself in the circumstances. They’d done it now, and they might as well finish.

  When she gazed at him, so beautiful, so strong, with the shades of tenderness in his fingers, she couldn’t bear another moment without him. She wanted him now, everything he would give her she would take.

  Amazement, then comprehension filled his eyes, followed by the warmth she was reflecting back at him. He lowered her to the bed, followed her down to lie over her, between her legs, his cock hard once more. “Are you sure?”

  She nodded and felt him probe her entrance, settling just inside. “Please, Jordan.”

  He closed his eyes and thrust deeply into her. Her body opened before the force of his, blossoming for him. She had missed him so much! His sh
arp “Ah!” expressed her own feelings perfectly, and when he slid his hands under her to pull her closer, she responded by sliding her hands over his ass and holding on.

  She wanted him as deep as it was possible for him to be, deep and close. He released her only to slide his hands down to her knees. “Lift your legs, darling. Put them around my waist.”

  With the tears still drying on her face, Karey chuckled deep in her throat, and she slid her legs up, then lifted them to grip his waist between her thighs. She felt his penetration grow impossibly deep, and he lifted himself on his hands, thrusting hard, withdrawing almost out of her and then driving in again with a power she could hardly bear.

  Her orgasm came so quickly she never felt it build. She just arrived there, on the pinnacle, and then launched into space. She opened her mouth and shrieked, hearing his gasp of pleasure. She thought he was about to come, but he held on and continued driving in and out of her, pushing her higher, giving her no respite. One climax turned into two, the second fast on the heels of the first, and she arched her back in instinctive response.

  Karey hadn’t realized heights like this existed. Jordan had given her orgasm before, but he’d never pushed her higher still, past orgasm. She fought to keep her eyes open, to use every sense she owned in what might be her last encounter with the man she loved, the man she would always love. This lovemaking would have to last her a long time; perhaps the rest of her life. She’d seen it in his eyes; the promise of separation, his determination to leave her, despite all they meant to each other, now and forever.

  “Come with me,” he whispered, his breath hot on her mouth.

  “Always,” she whispered back before her body tightened in another peak of ecstasy. She no longer questioned, but accepted what was happening to her as her right.

  He took her mouth in a savage, possessive kiss. She felt the prick of his eye teeth on her lower lip, then the pressure went, but she didn’t question it. He would never hurt her, she knew that. His tongue delved into her mouth, exploring, inviting, caressing. She responded, giving him access to everything he wanted to take. All she was, all she did was his. Pride and anger disintegrated in a burst of joy, fireworks exploding in her head.