“Did you mean it?” she finally whispered after a few minutes of blessed silence.
“That I love you?” He pulled out of her, his cock finally softening, and turned her around so he could look in her eyes. “Of course I meant it. I love you, Jor. I always have.”
She nodded, tears running down her cheeks. “Good, because I meant it, too.”
Chapter 11
Jordan couldn’t believe Halloween was already here. Or rather, for her, All Hallows Eve. As a witch, she should have loved the holiday. It should have been a time where she could embrace what she was and could be caught up in the magic of it all.
But, in reality, it reminded her of what people thought of her and their attitudes. They dressed up as hags, and called themselves witches, and threw things at her.
Jordan didn’t want any of that. She’d rather be at home practicing her magic or just cuddling with Matt.
She fixed the pointy hat on top of her head and grinned. With the black dress and hat, she looked like the very best commercial witch. If she couldn’t beat them, she’d join them. No matter how much she tried helping after school or during the art program, she still hadn’t won over the town. She hated the way people treated her—and continued to treat her, but at least she was taking proactive steps to change it.
Tonight, she’d be going with Abby to the children’s’ Halloween play. Abby had put her whole heart into the event and Jordan would be by her side to make sure everything went off without a hitch. There was still some tension between her friend and Tyler, but Abby was smiling through it, and so would Jordan.
When she’d first come to town, it had been to find herself and clean her grandmother’s house. Yet, as she started to make friends with Abby and Ali, and then the Coopers, she found herself thinking of making Holiday her home again. Could she do it? Ignore the looks and whispers?
Well, she loved Matt, so she would have to.
She wanted him therefore she needed to get over herself and stay.
She could do it.
She had to.
That meant she needed to get the town on her side. Easier said than done, but she could it. All she had to do was laugh at herself and show she could be a contributor to the community. Though she didn’t have a job, she could at least volunteer until she found something she loved. She couldn’t be a PR rep anymore, not in this little town. The only job that could use her experience was that of the Mayor and there was no way she would do that.
Not with Prescott running things and scaring the town.
Jordan stood in her house—no, her grandmother’s house. She had to stop thinking about it as hers. Because the more she did, the harder it would be to leave. She already felt a pull with the place, and it freaked her out. She could already feel the place calling her home. The same way she didn’t want to feel at home in Matt’s arms.
She took a shuddering breath. It hurt to think that Matt could already be dead… No, that wasn’t the case. He was just a part-time spirit. It was odd as hell, almost as if someone had put a spell on him or dosed him with a potion.
By whom or how they’d done it… she didn’t know. When she wasn’t cleaning and polishing the house, she was looking up what she could do to fix things. She had a few ideas, but short of going balls-to-the-wall and praying something worked by just experimenting she didn’t know what to do.
“Jordan? You in here?” Matt’s voice echoed down the hallway, and surprised to find tears on her cheeks, she quickly wiped them away.
“I’m here.” Thankfully, her voice didn’t betray her emotional turmoil, and she walked out of the office and into the living room where Matt stood with a broom in his hand.
Darn it. He still looked sexy.
Why she thought he’d changed in the two hours since she’d seen him was beyond her guess.
Her face brightened up, and a little part of her melted. The traitorous part. She finally looked at him and laughed.
“A flying monkey, really?” He had on fake wings, a partial monkey suit, big ears, and a cute little red top hat.
He shrugged, forcing his wings to bob up and down with him. “Hey, you’re my witch, so I’m your monkey.”
“But I’m not green this time.”
“Good, because now I can taste your skin and not the paint.”
She blushed and laughed. “You ready to get this kiddie play over with?”
He pulled her into his arms and smiled. “I thought you were excited about it.”
Tension crept through her shoulders. “Oh, I am. Just worried as well.”
He frowned and kissed her temple. “I’ll take care of you.”
“You don’t need to. I need to take care of myself.” She had to.
“Then I’ll be by your side.”
She smiled again and they left to go to the play. When they got there, Matt left to go see Tyler and Jordan looked for her friend. Abby was running around in her Little Bo Peep costume, herding the children in their costumes as if they were her sheep.
“Abby,” Jordan called out. “Can I help?”
Her friend gave her a bright smile and sighed. “Yes, thank God you’re here. Can you help Tim and Samantha? They each have little tears in their costumes and I don’t have time to sew them up.”
Jordan nodded and walked toward the little kids. Both had tear-stained cheeks and wide eyes.
“Hey, guys. Let me help, okay?”
Tim nodded, dressed in his vampire costume, his little fake fangs sticking out of his mouth.
“Here’s the sewing kit,” Samantha said as she handed Jordan a small box. She was dressed like a little princess, complete with a sparkly tiara. “Ms. Brewer said she’d back soon, but she’s all alone.” Her little lip quivered and Jordan wanted to hug these two close.
“It’s okay, you guys. I can handle a couple of ripped seams.” They both nodded and Jordan set to work, loving the way she felt needed. Once she was done, they both gave her hugs and Jordan held back tears.
With the kids on their way, Jordan left the backstage area to find Matt and froze.
“Come on, Matt, dump that little witch and get your head on straight,” Stacey whined as she pressed her perky breasts into his arm. She was dressed as a naughty nurse and Jordan wanted to vomit.
He didn’t move back.
Jordan blinked, trying to tone down the hurt crawling through her. Matt hadn’t noticed she’d come in.
“You know you wanted to go to the Halloween party with me, Mattie. It will be a great way to get ready for our wedding.” Stacey fluttered her eyelashes, shimmied against him, then leaned forward and brushed her lips against his.
There wasn’t a hole close enough for Jordan to crawl into and die.
Matt didn’t move.
Rage tore through her, and she forced herself not to use her magic. This time, unlike with Abby, she controlled her magic and didn’t harm Stacey, though she wanted to. The magic scraped at her skin, wanting to burst out, but cooled when Jordan focused.
Matt finally pushed Stacey off, and Jordan wanted to vomit. Really, Matt? Like five minutes after they’d left each other happy, he kisses another woman? Okay, he was the one who had been kissed, but he took a hell of a long time pushing her off him.
“Stacey, stop,” Matt grumbled, and wiped his mouth with his forearm. Score.
“What? Why can’t we profess our love?” Stacey whined.
“Jesus, Stacey. I don’t understand you. We’re not together. We’ve never been together. We’re not ever going to be together. So, stop rubbing yourself on me and creating a scene. You’re only embarrassing yourself.”
Stacey paled then straightened her shoulders. She snarled and pasted a look of revenge on her face. “We’ll see, Matt. We’ll see.” She stormed out, and Matt finally looked up to see Jordan.
“Jordan.”
She stared into his eyes and squared her shoulders, ready to get whatever was going to happen over with as quickly as possible. “Can we talk, Matt?”
&n
bsp; Jordan looked around at the people staring and whispering. Great, she was the center of attention again.
He nodded, a frown on his face. The play had started, so they crept out the side door, not wanting to interrupt more than they already had. She followed him, and he shut the door behind them.
“How the hell could you let Stacey kiss you?”
Matt’s face reddened, whether from anger or embarrassment she didn’t know. She was too pissed off to care.
“Well?”
“I can’t hit a woman. You know that.”
Jordan growled. “So you just stand there and let her lay her pressed-on nails on you?”
“Jealous?” The bastard grinned.
“Fuck you, Matt. She kissed you and let her perky tits touch you. I hated it. And you just stood there!”
“She surprised me with the kiss. As for the pressing of body parts, it was either stand there or choke her to death. I don’t want to go to prison.”
“Then learn the fucking two-step and dance away.”
Matt smiled. “Aww, baby, you care.”
“Of course I fucking care. I love you, you bastard.”
He threw back his head and laughed. “God, I love you.”
“You better.” She cracked a smile, and he kissed her softly, his lips tasting of the coffee he’d drunk that morning.
“I’m sorry I freaked out.”
Matt sighed and pulled them to a chair. He sat down, and she got on his lap, ignoring his erection.
“Tell me why you left all those years ago, Jordan.”
She froze. That hadn’t been what she’d expected.
“You know why,” she said evenly. “I couldn’t take it anymore.”
He shook his head. “I know that, but something had to have triggered it. Tell me.”
She sat on his lap, her back ramrod straight, and her lungs feeling like they would collapse. Could she tell him? After all these years, she didn’t know if she could voice the words caught on her tongue like a heavy film.
“I left because I didn’t feel safe.”
“What happened, Jor?” He rubbed his hand down her spine, and she leaned against him, taking in the comfort he offered.
She took a deep breath. “The night that I was supposed to meet you for our date, Prescott stopped me.”
Matt’s hold tightened, but he didn’t say anything.
“He told me he’d wanted me from the start, and he…” Her voice caught, and she bit her lip so she wouldn’t vomit.
“Did he touch you?” Matt growled, a promise of death on his tone.
“He tried… He got real close. He had my pants around my ankles before I could fight him off.”
Matt cursed and hugged her tighter. “I’m going to kill him.”
“I stopped him, Matt. But I had to use magic to do it. I didn’t hurt him, not really, but I stunned him. If I had listened to my grandmother and actually trained, it wouldn’t have gotten as far as it had.”
“Oh, baby.” He cupped her face and kissed her. She let him comfort her, though inside she wanted to shrivel up and die. No matter how hard she tried to be strong, the feel of Prescott’s hands on her would never go away. It was as if he’d imprinted on her. No amount of bleach or soap would wash it away.
“I hurt him, Matt. At least I stunned him.”
“Good.”
“No, it’s not good. Magic isn’t supposed to hurt. It’s supposed to be good. And I used it to harm him.”
“You did it to protect yourself.”
She shook her head. “That doesn’t make it right.”
“You didn’t have a choice, Jor. It’s not your fault.”
“I don’t know why he isn’t scared of me. I would be.”
“Baby, he probably is, that’s why he’s an ass. But you’re not to blame.”
“But Prescott blamed me for leading him on. He told me I’d hexed him, at least that’s what he says. I didn’t hex him, but he took my small burst of magic and made sure I knew he could hurt me with his words and threats. He said he’d hurt you and your bothers and find a way to make you guys pay for my mistake.”
Matt cursed. “So you left to protect us?”
“I left because I needed to. Yes, to protect you. And myself.”
“Jordan Cross. I love you. I loved you then, and I love you even more now. You don’t get to decide how to protect me as much as I don’t get to decide for you. We’re a team. We need to decide together.”
“I don’t know how to fix it. But I’m not sorry I did it. I mean, I’m not sorry I saved myself. I had to, Matt. Thank you for saying that. It wasn’t my fault.”
“That’s why we need to work together. We’ll figure out how to fix my problem and take care of Prescott.”
“You make it sound easy. Just talking about it doesn’t help anything.”
“But not talking about things just buries them and makes it worse.”
She smiled and kissed his cheek. “Look at you wanting to talk about your feelings.”
He smiled wryly. “Just don’t tell my brothers.”
“I’ll keep your sensitive side a secret. Just make sure you take care of yourself as good as you’re trying to take care of me.”
He kissed her, promises of hope and a future in his hold. “I promise.”
Jordan just hoped she could rely on that. Because if she lost him because of who she was, she might not be able to live with herself, nor would she want to.
Chapter 12
Matt tugged Jordan closer as they walked down the path to the old Marlow place after the play ended. The sun would be setting in about twenty minutes, and they wanted to be securely inside before that happened. Kids started to come out of their homes, dressed as superheroes and princesses, ready to start trick-or-treating.
A full moon on Halloween.
Just what a ghost like him needed.
He hated when the two of them fell on the same day because, more often than not, a group of kids would gain some courage and find a way to break in. Then Matt would have to hide. On occasion, he’d make a noise and try to spook them away.
As long as people thought the place was haunted, they usually left him alone.
Until Prescott had decided to be an ass about it and decided he wanted to tear the house down.
His jaw clenched at the thought of the rat bastard. He’d tried to rape Jordan, and Matt was going to kill him.
Slowly.
“Stop growling. You’re scaring the children.” Jordan elbowed his side, and he kissed the top of her head.
“It’s Halloween. They’re supposed to be scared.”
“Yeah, but not by a guy walking around in plain clothes.”
“Serves them right.” He grinned, and she just shook her head.
“You’re impossible.”
“Yeah, but you still love me.”
“I have no idea why.”
“I think it has something to do with tables.”
She blushed and looked around, though no one was paying them any attention. “Matt…”
“What can I say? I’ll never be able to sit down and think about dinner the same way again.”
“I swear I can’t take you anywhere.”
“And yet, all I want to do is take you.”
She rolled her eyes as they walked inside. “All you think about is sex.”
“Not true. I also think about sports, ghosts, witches, and whether or not Montana will ever have a pro-baseball team. But yes, sex is about ninety percent of my overall thinking.”
“Only ninety?”
“Some days are tougher than others.” He pulled her close, loving the feel of her in his arms.
“Yeah, sure.” She pulled his head down, and their lips met. Gods, he loved the taste of her, like sweet berries and lilac.
He deepened the kiss, their bodies entwining as he lifted her off the floor so she could wrap her legs around his waist. He kneaded her ass as he walked to the wall. She arched against him, her core rubb
ing his cock through their jeans.
He pulled back and rested his forehead on hers. “We need to stop. The sun is about to go down, and I don’t want to drop you. Plus, I don’t think we want to try and make love when I’m a ghost. That might be a little too weird.”
She smiled and kissed his brow while lowering her legs. “We could always try it.”
He laughed. “That’s why I love you.”
“Because, apparently, I have an odd kink?”
“Of course.” A sharp pang shot through him, and he bent over.
“Matt?”
He let out a breath. “It’s okay; I’m just changing.”
“You never told me it would hurt this much.” She knelt before him and rubbed his arms.
Pain rocketed through him, and he closed his eyes. He felt his body grow heavy then light as a feather. He could feel Jordan’s hand on his arm, centering him. Then gradually, her touch faded. He felt his body shift, and he floated toward that cool almost nothingness that had stalked him for all these years.
He opened his eyes and met Jordan’s gaze to see tears running down her cheeks.
“We’ll fix this, Matt.”
“I know, baby.” He was just humoring her. He didn’t believe it for one second. He’d been like this for eleven years, and he didn’t think that would change.
“You’re so cold,” she whispered. “At least the air around you since I can’t actually feel you. I don’t think I’ll ever get used to it.”
He smiled wryly. “I don’t want you to have to.”
“So, what would you like to do this Halloween? Scare children?”
He laughed, letting her change the subject. “Not tonight. Let another haunted house do the scaring.”
Her eyes brightened. “Really? There’s another haunted house in Holiday?”
He let out a breath. “You’re lucky you’re pretty.”
She growled. “You’re lucky I can’t touch you, or I’d kick you in the nuts for that.”
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