Unbound Spirits

by Christine Pope

  Yes, that was good news. Maybe now that the Whitcomb-demon had been flushed out, he wasn’t going to bother with Glendora or her house any longer. At least, she could hope for such an outcome, even while she told herself not to get her hopes up too much.

  At last they pulled off the freeway at Hill Avenue and headed toward Michael’s house. And there it was, lamps glowing behind the blinds at the front of the place.

  Audrey cocked an eyebrow at him, and he said briefly, “Timers. My schedule is irregular enough that it’s just safer to have some things automated.”

  That made sense. And also, she was oddly relieved to be coming home to a lighted house. Or maybe there was nothing all that odd about her relief, considering she’d been dodging demons in one form or another for the past few days.

  They got out of the car and took their luggage inside, Audrey carrying much more than she would have if Daniela hadn’t told her to go ahead and take all her wardrobe items home with her. Between those pieces and the items she’d picked up at Walgreen’s, Audrey figured she had enough to keep her going for another three or four days. At that point, she could retrieve some of her things from her house, or go shopping.

  But all that was in the future. For now, it was enough to drop her bags at the foot of the staircase next to Michael’s things, and to have him pull her into his arms and give her a hearty, satisfying kiss, something she’d been wanting for hours.

  “It’s nice to be able to do that without worrying about Colin catching us,” he said, and Audrey snuggled up against him and released a happy sigh.

  “I know. I’ve been thinking about kissing you since Tempe.”

  His mouth twitched. “Only there? I’ve been thinking about it since the moment we pulled out of the driveway at the B&B.”

  She chuckled. “I guess I have more restraint than you do.”

  “Hmm.” He went into the library, where he got a pair of crystal snifters out of the cupboard, along with a decanter of brandy. “I don’t know about you, but I could use some of this.”

  Although she really wasn’t a brandy drinker, that sounded like a great idea. Just a little bit to take the edge off. They’d had such a big meal in Quartzsite that she wasn’t hungry at all, even though that had been almost four hours ago now.

  “Sounds great.”

  She took one of the snifters from him and swirled its contents, the warmth of the amber liquid echoing the golden light given off by the room’s Tiffany lamps. While this wasn’t her home, she still felt safe here, protected by all the wards Michael had set in place to make sure no demons could ever venture within its walls.

  For some reason, they both remained standing. Maybe it was because they’d spent so many hours on the road that the last thing either of them wanted to do was sit back down again.

  The brandy was surprisingly good, not nearly as sharp as a brand she’d tried a few years ago, mellow and smooth. She took another sip, and let its heat travel down her throat to warm her insides.

  “Better?” Michael asked.

  “Yes,” she said. “That is, the car trip was fine. But it feels good to be back, even if I know we’ll have to hit the road again over the weekend.”

  “That drive should be a lot easier. Santa Barbara is less than four hours away.”

  True. But she realized she didn’t want to talk about Santa Barbara, or what might be waiting for them there. They should have a few days’ peace here — well, as long as Colin left them alone — and Audrey knew she needed that, needed the chance to take a breath and put everything that had happened in Colorado behind her.

  She made a noncommittal sound, and Michael seemed to understand, because he was quiet for a moment, standing next to her as they drank their brandy.

  “Do you ever get used it?” she asked abruptly.

  He was quiet for a moment, then gave a small lift of his shoulders. “If you mean, does it ever get easy…well, not exactly. Every situation I’ve encountered has been a little bit different. But also, you need to realize that even for me, this sort of pace isn’t usual. Most of the time, I’ll investigate six or seven cases in the space of a year. They won’t all be crammed together like this. I understand why Colin scheduled it this way, but it can be grueling.” Offering her a smile, he added, “And after we’re done in Santa Barbara, we’ll be halfway there.”

  Well, that was something. Not that the Santa Barbara case sounded like a cakewalk, but as long as they took it one step at a time, they should be all right.

  Hopefully.

  She sipped more of her brandy, let it help smooth out some of the tension in her neck and shoulders, allowed herself to take in deep breaths and try her best to relax. When she was done — and when Michael had swallowed the last sip in his glass as well — he took the empty snifter from her and set it on a side table next to his, and took her by the hand. Bending close, he touched his lips to her cheek, then asked, “How tired are you?”

  “Not that tired,” she replied, knowing the warmth stirring in her belly had only a little bit to do with the brandy she’d consumed.

  His eyes glinted. “I was hoping you would say that.”

  Their ascent up the stairs was very different this time. While they weren’t completely sober, neither were they as stumbling drunk as they’d been the first time they’d done this. Audrey held Michael’s hand as they went, and knew very well what was about to come next. Which was fine, because they’d only been delayed because of those interfering demons, something they certainly wouldn’t have to worry about here.

  The mica-shaded lamp on the bedside table glowed rich amber, giving them just enough light to see what they were doing. She undid the buttons of his shirt, and he slipped off her leather jacket and pulled her T-shirt over her head, tossing it to the floor. Their shoes and jeans were next, and then they were falling to the bed, now only in their underwear, bare skin against bare skin, warm despite the relative coolness of the room.

  That didn’t matter though, because their mouths were seeking one another, tasting the spicy heat of the brandy they’d just drunk. Michael unhooked her bra, his hands closing over her breasts, and she moaned at his touch, her body craving the release she needed so badly right now.

  He seemed to understand, because he removed her bra, then slid his fingers under the elastic of her panties so he could pull those down as well. And he was kissing her, moving from her breast down her stomach, tongue moving slowly over her, languorous yet intense, as she buried her hands in his hair and held on to him as he made love to her with his mouth.

  She didn’t know how long she floated on those cresting waves of pleasure, but she could feel the climax building in her, taking her away from the pain and the worry and the fear of the past forty-eight hours. And when she did come, and cried out, he held on to her for a moment, pressing his face against her stomach before he shifted, moving so he could enter her, so she could feel him hard and ready inside.

  Then they sped up, moving faster as they seemed to realize this was what their bodies needed now — a furious culmination of the need that had been growing in them for more than a day. Michael came first, his groan wrenching through the stillness of the night, but Audrey’s climax hit soon afterward, flooding through her as she clung to him and rode it out, knowing this was exactly what she had needed, this affirmation that they were here for each other, no matter what this world — or the next — might fling at them.

  He held her close afterward, his hand stroking her hair. Neither one of them spoke; Audrey knew what she held in her heart, but she wasn’t sure whether this was the right time to speak the words. It was all new, this closeness they shared, and she didn’t want to risk what they had by being too hasty.

  So she snuggled closer, and let her eyes close, knowing he would be there in the morning.

  He just had to be.

  Chapter 14

  Yes, this was much better than waking up at the Thunderbird B&B, when his body had ached for her and he’d known he couldn’t do anyth
ing until the demons were contained somehow. Now they were dispelled, and he was safely home, with the woman he loved asleep at his side.

  A strange feeling, knowing that he’d come to love her in the brief time they’d spent together, that even now he wasn’t sure what he would do without her. Long ago, he’d resigned himself to a mostly solitary existence, since he knew his vocation was not one that would be appealing to most women. But now, like a miracle, Audrey Barrett was here for him.

  Then again, he had to admit that Audrey Barrett was not “most women.”

  They’d fallen asleep after making love, both of them probably more exhausted by the drive than either of them wanted to admit. His mouth was a little gummy, but overall, he was aware of a soothing sense of well-being, something he hadn’t experienced in a very long time…if ever.

  She stirred, stretched, and then smiled up at him. “Good morning.”

  “Good morning.” He bent and placed a soft kiss on her forehead. “Sleep well?”

  “I did.” Blinking, she sat up, sheet clutched against her bare breasts, and squinted at the clock on the mantel. “Is it really almost eight-thirty?”

  “It is, but since we don’t have any real plans for the day, does it matter that much?”

  A shadow of a frown touched her brow, but then she shrugged. “Well, we do need to go check on my house — ”

  “Which we will,” he assured her. “Let’s go downstairs and get some coffee, and then we’ll get dressed and go for breakfast. Flappy Jack’s again, since we’re headed back to Glendora?”

  “That sounds great.” She slid out from underneath the covers and pulled on her panties, T-shirt, and jeans, but remained barefoot.

  Michael also retrieved his underwear, but didn’t bother with the clothes that lay discarded on the floor, instead getting some sweatpants and a clean T-shirt from his dresser. Belatedly, he realized that Audrey was getting back into her clothes from the day before because all her luggage was still waiting down at the bottom of the staircase.

  Well, they could bring all that up after they’d had their coffee. They made their way downstairs and into the kitchen, where Audrey sent a wary glance toward the window that overlooked the backyard. He lifted an eyebrow, and she gave a not very convincing laugh.

  “Just making sure the ghost of Jeffrey Whitcomb isn’t hanging around out there. If that really even was his ghost.”

  “I think it was,” Michael said as he slipped a filter into his coffeemaker. “I think he was trying to warn us about his dopplegänger, although at that point, neither of us had actually encountered him — it — yet.”

  Audrey sat down in one of the kitchen chairs and tilted her head slightly, as if doing her best to decipher what he’d meant by that statement. “His soul is trapped here because the demon’s in his body?”

  “It’s probably more complicated than that. His human body couldn’t have survived all these years, even with a demon inhabiting it.” After pouring ground coffee into the filter and flipping on the machine, Michael turned back toward her. She was frowning a little, obviously still trying to wrestle with the conundrum of the Whitcomb-demon. “It’s more like…after so many years of inhabiting Jeffrey Whitcomb’s body, it was easy for the demon to take on that shape permanently. They’re not really like us — although demons have what you would call their ‘natural’ form, for lack of a better word, they can change and shift as needed. It wouldn’t require any more effort for this particular entity than it would for you to wear your hair in a different style.”

  “Well, that’s comforting.”

  She looked so perturbed, he couldn’t help going to her so he could bend down and place a kiss on her neck. Her hand reached up to take his, and for a moment they remained like that, fingers twined together, his lips pressed against the smooth flesh of her throat.

  “I know it can be disconcerting to realize they can look like humans if they want to, but it does take some energy. Besides, they can’t come and go from this world at will. They have to be invited.”

  “Or have a friend of theirs open a portal,” Audrey said darkly.

  “Well, that,” he acknowledged. “Still, it’s not something that happens every day. After all, how much of your life did you live before you were confronted by the reality of demons?”

  This question seemed to make her pause, because she sat there quietly for a moment before she gently let go of his hand and he straightened, moving with some reluctance away from her. “Pretty much all of it, I guess,” she replied. “I guess I can see your point. But it’s still not a very comfortable feeling to know they’re out there.”

  “No, it’s not. I’d like to say it gets easier to deal with as time goes on, but I’m not sure about that.”

  The coffeemaker beeped, and Michael went over to fetch a pair of mugs and pour coffee for both of them. He remembered that Audrey took a scant teaspoon of sugar in her coffee, and he doctored it before he handed the mug to her.

  “Thank you.” She wrapped her hands around the mug as though needing its warmth. The kitchen was a comfortable temperature, but he thought he understood why she would still need something to warm her.

  “As for Jeffrey Whitcomb’s ghost,” he went on. “I think he’s probably doing his penance for inviting the demons into this world. I’m not sure what it would take to get him to achieve peace and be able to move on.”

  “Obviously, closing the portal wasn’t enough to do it,” Audrey remarked. “Or else I wouldn’t have met the real Jeffrey on the astral plane.” She paused, then shook her head. “It still feels so strange to even say that out loud. And here I was supposed to be the rational one.”

  “You’re completely rational,” Michael assured her. “You’ve just had some…unusual experiences.”

  A chuckle, and then she sipped some of her coffee. “I guess that’s one way to put it. Awful as it sounds, I’m not going to expend too much effort on figuring out how to allow Jeffrey to forgive himself and move on. It’s his fault we’re in this mess in the first place.”

  Michael didn’t bother to contradict her, because he knew she was mostly correct. If it hadn’t been for Whitcomb’s desire for material wealth and success — and a certain amount of ruthlessness — he would never have explored the dark paths that led him to invite the demon into him. And without the demon controlling his actions, he would never have opened the portal in the Glendora mansion. Forgiveness might be divine, but it also didn’t mean that you had to forget everything a person had done.

  “Well, we’re slowly cleaning it up,” Michael said. “But, just to be sure, after breakfast I want to go to the mansion and make sure it’s all still quiet there. I have no reason to think it won’t be, but I’m ready to splash some more holy water and put up a few wards if necessary. After we’re done at the Whitcomb place, we’ll go to your house and check on it, too. Does that sound all right?”

  Her mouth pursed slightly, but after a moment, she gave a reluctant nod. Clearly, she had no desire to return to the Whitcomb mansion, even as she understood why it was important to make sure that what they’d done hadn’t been only a temporary fix.

  “It’s fine,” she said. “Here’s hoping everything will be okay.”

  Breakfast was good — even on a Wednesday morning, Flappy Jack’s was crowded and noisy, but Audrey didn’t mind. In fact, the restaurant’s relentless ordinariness helped to calm some of the butterflies in her stomach. She honestly didn’t know which prospect worried her more — going to the Whitcomb mansion and possibly getting attacked again, or returning to her house, only to find that it really was still trashed, that the demons had only made it look as though it had been cleaned up.

  But better to face the worst and get it over with, and try to move on from there, no matter what had happened.

  Besides, she was still experiencing some pretty fine afterglow from the sex last night, and that seemed to be helping to smooth out the worst of her anxiety. It wasn’t completely gone, because she still had ple
nty to worry about, but the world didn’t seem like quite as terrible a place when she could look across the table and see Michael sitting there, every smile, every glance an affirmation that he was exactly where he wanted to be. This was definitely not a wham-bam, see-you-later kind of situation.

  Which she knew in its own way was fraught, although honestly, probably the worst repercussions they would face if they were found out would be Colin either doing his best to exploit their relationship to increase the tension on the show, or possibly teasing them without mercy. Never mind that he and Daniela were clearly an item, at least for the duration of the shoot. That wasn’t the same at all.

  No, it wasn’t. Neither Colin nor Daniela showed any signs of being head over heels, but rather amusing themselves for now without any care for what the future might hold. Audrey knew that she wasn’t amusing herself. There wasn’t anything funny about falling hard for someone, which seemed to be what had happened to her.

  Luckily, Michael seemed to have done his share of falling as well.

  If they survived all this — and Audrey still didn’t know if they would — then it would be time for the two of them to have a serious discussion about what was going to come next. For now, though, it was enough to be with him, to know that he was looking out for her. Probably she’d be much more worried about her house if she didn’t have Michael’s place as a fallback. Truth be told, she really had no desire to go home, except to get the things she needed. Otherwise, she was just fine with staying at Michael’s house indefinitely, which she knew signaled a sea change in her feelings. Once upon a time, the house her parents had left her had been nearly the most important thing in her life, the only thing that felt truly permanent.

  They finished their breakfasts, and Michael paid the check. Then it was time to get in the rented Grand Cherokee — he had it for the duration of the shoot, and so was using it to avoid putting more miles on his already ancient Land Cruiser — and drive over to the Whitcomb mansion.