“Yes,” Kipp exclaimed.
“I’d love to.” I hoped my tone came out as interested. Playing the part of whore extraordinaire, I added a little swagger to my hips and I followed in behind Mark toward the table.
He pulled out the chair at the head of the table and gestured toward it. “My lady.” He nodded toward Cole. “This is my bud, Cole.”
I smiled flirtatiously and sat down as my jeans dug into places not to be mentioned again. “Nice to meet you, Cole.”
Cole offered a genuine smile. “You as well.”
“Do you come here often?” Mark asked, after he downed the rest of his beer from the frosty mug in one big gulp.
“No, not often,” I told him truthfully. The more I lied, the harder it’d be to keep my story straight.
“And you’re here all alone?” He poured another mug from the pitcher of beer, as well as one for himself, and handed the glass to me.
I grabbed the beer and took a big long sip before I answered, “Alone as I can be.”
Both Cole and Mark laughed and I chuckled with them. They thought I was being sassy and talking about the other people in the bar, when in actuality, Kipp stood behind Mark, which I assumed was to gauge Cole’s reactions.
“Focus in on Cole and show interest in him,” Kipp said.
I did as he asked, but Cole didn’t look like a killer. He looked like a married man who shouldn’t be talking to a scantily dressed woman. “So, Cole, what do you do for a living?”
Mark frowned.
“I’m a cop,” Cole replied.
I leaned back in my chair, crossed my legs and even pushed my chest out a little. I glanced at Mark and noticed the move worked. He zeroed in on my breasts and undressed me with his eyes.
But not Cole.
He appeared uncomfortable and uninterested.
“Tell me, do you enjoy that line of work?” I even added an obvious purr to my tone to entice him.
He pursed his lips at me before he glanced away in a real hurry. “I do.”
Even though this wasn’t real, I began to feel shot down and I had no plans to go in for round three of a cold shoulder. “Would you excuse me?” I pushed my chair back and stood. “I have to go to the ladies’ room.”
Mark raised his glass. “I’ll be here waiting for you to return.”
“Glad to hear it.” I spun on my heels, shaking my ass a little, and headed for the ladies’ room.
Of course, as I approached the bathroom, a lineup of women waited outside, while the men’s had no one. A great idea would be to have two ladies’ rooms while the men went and pissed outside. Why no one ever came up with that solution to the never-ending ladies’ room dilemma was beyond me.
I was about to settle in behind the last woman in line when Kipp said, “Go into the men’s room.”
Not caring one bit who saw, I turned my back on him and held no doubt my face showed my outright refusal of such an idea. “No way.”
Kipp pointed toward the men’s room door with a stern and unwavering expression. “Now.”
I huffed before I surveyed the room. Everyone appeared too absorbed in their own fun to notice me. And the idea of getting out of here sooner was the only reason I caved. “You owe me so-o big for this one.” I shot past him, shoved open the bathroom door and stepped into the stinky men’s room.
Two guys were standing in front of the urinals as I made my sudden appearance. One of them glanced over his shoulder. “What the hell?” he shouted.
“When you gotta go, you gotta go,” I said, unapologetic, and walked toward the largest of the three stalls. Once in, I grabbed some toilet paper, placed it over the top of the door and closed it. “Eww…” Then with the same protection on my hand, I flipped the lock. “Eww.”
I dropped the toilet paper in the can, turned around and met a pissed-off Kipp. “What?” His scowl deepened and I realized my mistake. “Okay, I forgot we’re not alone,” I whispered. “What is it?”
“Why did you leave him?”
“He’s not the one.”
He shook his head, shifting his weight as if to prepare himself for the battle ahead. “You don’t know that.”
“I do and so should you.” If I could have poked him to prove my point, I would’ve. “Cole has zero interest in me and the fact that his friend is practically waving his dick at me, I’d say you have the wrong guy.”
“Get back out there.” Kipp pointed toward the door with his hand, which happened to now disappear through the stall wall. “Try harder.”
“What do you want me to do, hump him?”
He nodded firmly. “If that’s what it takes.”
I had the urge to knock this ghost up to the gates of heaven myself. I swatted at him. “Fine, get out of my way.”
The moment he morphed through the stall door, I unlocked it and slammed it open to find the two men staring at me with blank faces. “What?” I shouted.
“Are you all right?” the man who spoke before asked.
“Yes, I’m perfectly fan-fucking-tastic.” I tore out of the bathroom like a bat out of hell, but I only got a few steps out before I stopped dead in my tracks.
Cole waited for me, leaning against the wall with a grin on his face. “You were in the men’s room?”
I stuffed the anger away and found an alluring smile. “I don’t wait for anything.”
Cole frowned and grabbed me by the arm. I gasped in fear as he dragged me toward the back of the club.
“You’re safe,” Kipp said, stepping in stride with me. “Nothing will happen to you.”
As if that settled my sheer panic. I attempted to yank my arm away, but he had a death grip on it. “What are you doing?” I squeaked.
Cole said nothing until we reached a corner of the club, which was private. He placed me in the corner and gave me a firm look. “Listen, I don’t want to hurt you.”
“Hurt me?” I almost screamed for help right then and there.
“I have a wife and a family who I love deeply.” Cole released his hand from my arm. “I’m flattered by your approach of me, really, you’re a beautiful lady. But I’m loyal to them.”
“Oh…oh.” I regained myself. “Well, that’s a good thing.”
“It is.” He glanced over my attire before he looked back to me. “You seem like a nice woman, so you might want to rethink what you’re wearing. It gives the wrong impression.”
My cheeks burned red hot, but not from humiliation. This came as the result of anger hot enough to send steam from my ears. Not only did I not want to take part in tonight, but I had been rejected and now looked down upon because Kipp made me wear this ridiculous outfit.
“I wish you a good night.” Cole walked away to leave me standing there, alone.
I turned toward Kipp and glared a glare like no other. “You…you…you.”
He held his hands up in surrender. “This is the first time that I’m grateful to be a ghost.”
I stepped forward and all but snarled at him. “And why would that be?”
He backed away, even though he had no reason to fear my wrath. “‘Cause you can’t hit me.”
“You’re damn right I would hit you,” I shouted. “Do you have any idea what I just went through, and for what? Nothing at all. Let me tell you this, Kipp McGowen, you can get someone else to do your dirty work, I’m so fucking done with all of this.” I walked past him, then turned back, not giving a rat’s ass who heard me. “If you know what’s good for you, you won’t say one fucking word to me for…” I tried to come up with a reasonable time. “Forever.”
Kipp arched an eyebrow. “I can’t talk to you ever again?”
“I. Thought. I. Said. You. Couldn’t. Talk.” I stomped away and marched right out of the bar, ignoring Mark calling out my name.
Zach’s truck still waited at the curb, and when I reached it, I plopped down into the seat.
“How’d it go?” Zach asked. I glanced toward him and his eyes widened. “Not good, I’m guessing?”
“Is Kipp here?”
“Yes.” He, in fact, was striding toward us, but I needed space from him. “He’s here—go.”
Zach put the truck in gear and sped away. The drive back to his house was done in silence, except for the five minutes I had to explain what happened. He didn’t offer condolences and apparently knew enough to stay quiet.
By the time we arrived back at the house, my anger had lessened, but all of that changed the second I walked through the front door.
“You didn’t think you would get rid of me that easily, did you?” Kipp said.
I scowled. “How did you get here so fast?” Then I remembered I wasn’t talking to him and I suspected he’d done one of those special tricks ghosts could do that would scare me. “Never mind. I don’t want to know.”
“I thought you said he was with us,” Zach said, but at my scowl, he raised his hand. “I’ve got some leftover pizza in the fridge and you must be hungry.” He hurried to the kitchen and I heard the microwave working.
“Now, Tess…” Kipp said.
“No. I’m ignoring you.” I walked past him, dropped down onto the couch and stared at the coffee table, trying my best to calm down, but my bouncing leg and inability to sit still displayed my annoyance.
Kipp sighed, long and deep.
I had no idea how much time had passed when Zach stuck a plate under my nose. “Come on. Even anger can’t beat hunger.”
Zach placed a napkin in front of me on the table and sat on the matching loveseat, and Kipp had the gall to sit beside me. I glared the deadliest stare I could create, but it didn’t appear to faze him, since he stayed put.
“All right, I get it,” he finally said. “You’re still mad.”
Mad didn’t even cut it. I had enough of him, of the damn case and ghosts in general. I’d never once been asked if I wanted to help, I’d been told and sexually harassed to agree. No one cared that I wasn’t at work, was losing pay, tired, hungry—and yes, the pizza was delicious.
In the past two days, I’d been seduced, made a fool of, had the most erotic dream of my life, stuffed into jeans that were way too tight, been rejected and told I looked like your regular street whore.
Worst of all, none of that compared to how much I cared for the idiot ghost beside me, and the torment of emotions I’d been feeling lately left me spun around. As I took another bite of pizza, the front door flew open and I startled.
“Y’all are in so much trouble!” Caley stood with her hands on her waist, expression as tight as a person eating a sour candy. “No one called me! Y’all go off on this murder mystery, leaving me to worry, and not even one of you calls me to tell me that you’re all right! Every time I come here, no one is here. I even went to the police station and they wouldn’t tell me where you were—you all just upped and vanished.”
So Zach had told her more than I would have. I wasn’t at all surprised she had been on edge. I swallowed my food and wiped my mouth with the napkin. “You know, you aren’t our number one priority.”
Caley frowned. “Well, I should be. I couldn’t even sleep. I’ve been tossing and turning every night. Look—I have bags under my eyes.” She did, in fact, look disheveled. “And your phone is still off.”
I placed my plate on the coffee table and rubbed my hands across my face, feeling so tired. “What do you want, Caley? I’m not in the mood.” I waited for an answer, but I never received one, so I lowered my hands to find Caley studying me. I sighed. “What’s the problem now?”
“What’s wrong?” Caley’s tone sounded serious.
A thousand things, I wanted to say. Instead, I kept it simple. “I’m chasing a murderer and you’re asking me what’s wrong?”
“No, it’s not that.” She waved her hand dismissingly. “Someone has hurt you.” Her glare landed on Zach. “What have you done to her?”
Zach turned to me and glanced at me. “I haven’t done anything to her. Is something the matter?”
“I’m fine.” I hoped Caley would take the hint to shut her mouth.
“Bullshit! Why are you so sad?” Her hands balled into fists. “Tell me right now and I’ll deal with whoever has done this to you.”
Of course she wouldn’t let the matter drop, but I didn’t want to get into it. Caley had always been as protective as any older brother. She would make sure heads would roll. Even if Kipp’s head couldn’t, Caley would find a way to make it happen. In hopes of settling her down, I planted a smile on my face. “It’s nothing, I’m okay. Honestly.”
Her eyes narrowed. “I have known you since you were this high.” She held her hand to her waist. “Not only do I know you’ve been hurt, but I know you’re lying to me now.”
“I’m just tired,” I responded, hopeful this would do the trick. “The past days have just been so exhausting.”
“You don’t look tired,” Caley retorted. “You look heartbroken.”
I inhaled and tried not to let my emotions run wild. “Will you just let it go, Caley? I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Talk about what?” Kipp asked gently.
She knelt down in front of me and placed her hand on my knee in a gesture meant to comfort me. “What’s happened?”
The tender move was unlike her, which meant she understood the gravity of my pain. I jumped to my feet, moved to the other side of the room and glared between her and Kipp. “I said I don’t want to talk about. What of that don’t you all fucking understand?”
Her eyes widened before they lowered to slits. She came nose to nose with me. “You’re going to tell me right now or I’ll tell them what you did on spring break.”
The event she referred to involved bare breasts and a drunk me. As much as I wanted to keep this anger up and not break down, having my best friend with me now, all I wanted to do was run into her arms and cry on her shoulder. I felt torn in a thousand directions and my limit had been reached.
I hadn’t lied about being exhausted either, my eyes burned, and because of it, my control on my emotions plummeted. Before I could stop it, tears welled in my eyes.
Her mouth dropped open, displaying how much of a shock she experienced seeing me cry. “Jesus, Tess, what’s wrong?”
Kipp stared at me with concerned eyes. “Why are you crying?” I shook my head and the movement spilled tears down my cheeks. He stepped toward me. “Tess…”
I raised my hand to stop him and found my voice beneath the sadness. “No, don’t come near me.”
The energy to fight against my emotions had left me and holding back my tears became impossible. I glanced at Caley and then at Kipp. “Please do as I ask and just leave me alone.” Without looking back, I ran toward Kipp’s room, slammed the door behind me and allowed myself the right to wallow in the bottomless pit of self-pity.
Chapter Seven
A cold touch on my face dragged me from my sleep. It didn’t surprise me that after I cried enough to soak the pillow, I’d drifted off to sleep. I opened my eyes to find Kipp kneeling beside the bed as he lightly caressed my cheek.
I shifted away from his touch. “What are you doing in here?”
“I was watching you sleep,” he said without remorse and lowered his hand to rest on the bed.
“Er, why?”
His gaze focused attentively on mine and an emotion I hadn’t seen from him danced through his eyes—one I didn’t understand. He shrugged. “It eases me.”
I’m dreaming again. I slapped my face, which made Kipp chuckle, but as the sting ran up my cheek, I realized I was wide awake. “It eases you to watch me sleep?”
“Very much so.” He leaned in toward me and his cold fingers came as an icy touch along my jaw. “Are you feeling better now?”
“I’m fine.” I shivered from his touch, but the reaction had nothing to do with the coldness of his embrace and more so the yearning for him to continue. “I’m just tired and overwhelmed.” Kipp’s look declared he didn’t believe me. “Honestly, I’m f
ine.”
“You like to run and hide from things, don’t you?”
I snorted. “You don’t know anything about me.”
“I know what I need to.”
Two could play at his game. “All right, tell me what you know.”
“You’re unique, but are not self-absorbed to flaunt it. You’re kind to others, not out of duty, but from a warm heart. You’ve experienced enough sadness in your life that it should leave you broken, although you’re strong enough to push on. You’re beautiful and yet appear to have never been told that. And one thing I know for sure is you’re exactly the type of woman I’d spend the rest of my life trying to make happy.”
I smacked my face again. “I’m dreaming, right?” I glanced around and looked for a unicorn or something out of the ordinary that would confirm I was asleep. “Yes, this is a dream.”
Kipp laughed, a deep rumble. “If you were dreaming, I’d be fucking you.” I blushed up to my hairline. He grazed his fingers along my cheekbone to leave an ice cold trail in its wake. “I do love that I can make you blush.”
I shook my head, so confused. “I’m not dreaming?”
He trailed his finger along my lips, where I licked out at the frigid contact. “No, you’re not.” His eyes filled with deep regret. “I’m sorry that I upset you.”
I sighed. “I don’t even know what upset me.”
“Of course you do,” he countered. “It’s because you’re trying to fight against the feelings you have for me.”
My blush deepened. “I-I…”
He continued to run the frosty tip of his finger along my heated cheeks. “When I saw Zach kiss you,” his eyes became distressed, “it created anger in me I’ve never known.”
“That’s why you’ve been acting the way you have? You were mad about the kiss?”
“Not just because he kissed you, but knowing I never could.” He ran the chill of his finger back to my lips, where he stopped, touching my bottom lip with his gaze focused there. “Because you see, Tess, I’m sure I’ve already fallen in love with you.”
Supernaturally Kissed (Frostbite, Book One) Page 11