by Minard, Tori
He ripped the paper from the coffee table book of football’s greatest...everything. “Wow. This is awesome. Thanks, baby.”
I smiled, relieved that he seemed to like it. My gift didn’t compare to real, precious jewelry. “You’re welcome.”
He set the book on my tiny nightstand before reaching out and snagging my arm. “Now come here. I can’t wait anymore.”
I let him pull me down to the bed. He rolled me beneath him as he captured my mouth in a hard kiss. His hands were all over me, yanking at my clothes and squeezing me everywhere he could reach. He must have missed me a lot more than I’d realized.
I went along with it with my usual good cheer. It felt nice to have his warmth against me again, to have his arms around me, even if I couldn’t get as enthused about it as he was.
Sex had never been a high priority for me. To be honest, I could have lived without it. But it was important to Trent, and I didn’t mind it, so when he reached inside my panties I gave a sigh of pleasure.
He toyed with me until I was wet enough for him. Then he lifted himself over me and fit his cock inside me. It slid in without much resistance.
He groaned as he moved in me, an expression of rapture on his face. I put my arms around him, savoring the pleasure I could bring him. It was over soon anyway, when he shuddered and moaned through his orgasm.
My mind wandered back to Max. That was so wrong. The last thing I should be thinking of during sex with my boyfriend was another guy. I couldn’t get that lazy, almost mocking smile of his out of my head, though. It had the simultaneous affect of making me want to smack him and wrap my arms and legs around him. Make him want me.
Why—how—did he do this to me? I’d only been around him for a few minutes, and I was already fantasizing about him. I hoped I’d never see him again, so this attraction I had for him would fade.
My foolish heart ached at the thought. As Trent disengaged from me, I mourned the loss of a man I didn’t know. Didn’t even want to know. Max was, for all the reasons Trent knew and a few he didn’t, someone I needed to avoid.
Chapter 2
Max
I stared at my stepbrother’s retreating back as he dragged his girlfriend behind him like he thought I was the devil’s minion and I might pull them both down to hell with me. Okay, actually, I stared at her ass. She had a seriously fine ass on her, tight and round and just the way I liked them. Her hair, too, with its wild curls...it made me want to bury my fingers in it. Preferably while I fucked her until she screamed.
My stepbro, it seemed, was the classic college boy, all clean-cut and Boy Scout. Except for the part where he did other people’s classwork for them. Wonder how he justified that? Not that I gave a damn.
Miss Caroline Winters fit right in with Trent’s boy-next-door persona, with her prissy cardigan sweater and tasteful flat shoes, her natural make-up, her look of innocence. Not my type at all. My type was the black-haired witch I’d left behind in Seattle. Selene and I had been pretty hot together, but she wasn’t big on commitment.
Trent was probably about to warn his girlfriend what a degenerate, brother-murdering piece of shit I was. When we’d been in high school—before I dropped out and ran away, that is—he’d made a hobby out of scuttling any relationship I tried to establish with a girl. I’d lost at least three potential girlfriends that way. Not to mention all the other bullying he’d inflicted on me. Asshole.
“Dude, you didn’t tell me you and Trent were related,” Talbot said, sitting down next to me again.
“I didn’t know you two were friends.”
“Seriously?”
If I had, I wouldn’t have shown up at this shindig. My stepbrother had never brought anything but pain and contempt into my life. Take tonight, for example—standing there ordering me to leave town, like he thought he was fucking king of Avery’s Crossing or some shit. Someone needed to take him down.
“Seriously,” I replied. “You never said anything.”
He shrugged. “You have different last names. I never even thought—”
“It’s no big deal.”
“Long as you don’t fight at my parties,” he said, picking up the bong.
“We didn’t fight.” Much. No blows had been exchanged, at least.
“He hates you.” Talbot blew out a stream of smoke and handed me the bong.
“Yep.”
“How come?”
Jealousy. Resentment. Murder. “Lots of things.”
“You gonna leave town?”
“Hell, no.”
He grinned. “This year should be interesting.”
“Uh huh.” I took a long drag on the weed.
“Saw you staring at Caroline. You like her?”
Now it was my turn to shrug. “Don’t know her. Nice ass, though.”
Talbot choked out a laugh. “I know, right? I’d fuck her if I had half a chance.”
I shot him a glare. “She’s taken.”
Talbot’s eyes went round. Then he laughed. “Yeah, by your stepbrother. Not you.”
“Whatever.”
What was wrong with me? I never got possessive over a female, especially one who would never kiss me.
On the other hand, who said she wouldn’t? What better way to get under Trent’s skin, to drive him abso-fucking-lutely nuts, than to take his girlfriend away from him. I smiled to myself. Payback is, in fact, a bitch.
The weather was already chilly at night, but I could sense a more severe chill coming as I left Talbot’s apartment complex. The trees rustled their leaves and whispered above me. I could almost hear what they were saying. The spirits were active tonight, watching me, calling my name just at the edge of my hearing.
It could be only the usual extra-intense Halloween spookiness. Besides, I was too high to listen. The weed and the beer I’d had would interfere with whatever message they were trying to send, so there was no point in paying attention to their mutterings. Maybe tomorrow night we’d have our chat.
***
The old Dutch Colonial style house where I rented a one-bedroom apartment was absolutely silent, which was a little weird considering it was Halloween. No-one had even put out a jack o’lantern. Guess we weren’t getting any trick-or-treaters.
I opened my apartment door. Frederick was standing in the middle of my living room. I jumped and banged my elbow on the doorjamb.
“Jesus, Fred. You could give a guy some warning.”
“My apologies. I didn’t mean to startle you.”
I took off my jacket and hung it on the nail some former tenant had left in the plaster next to the door. “Is everything all right?”
“I just wanted to check in with you.”
He wore the same dark-brown sack suit and derby hat as usual. The handlebar moustache that graced his upper lip always made me think of this old-fashioned ice-cream parlor my parents had taken me to once, when my mom was still alive. He looked like one of the line drawings on their menu, come to life. Or afterlife, as it were.
“The annual Halloween visit?” I said.
He smiled wryly. “How are you doing, Max? It’s been a while.”
“I’m fine. Settling in.”
“Do you like Avery’s Crossing?”
“Sure. It’s okay.” I’d liked it a lot better before I’d run into Trent.
Fred pulled out my desk chair—my only chair—and took a seat. I never understood why he did that. It’s not like he had a real, physical body that needed rest. He was a ghost, for crying out loud.
I shrugged and dropped to the bare wood floor, crossing my legs tailor-style. “What’s going on?”
Fred steepled his hands. “Perhaps you might tell me.”
“Don’t play word games with me tonight. I’m too tired and too high to follow.” I scrubbed my hands over my face. “Dude, I just happened to run into my stepbrother and his girlfriend. This at a party thrown by a guy I never met until today, who happens to be a buddy of Trent’s. You know anything about that?”
&
nbsp; He regarded me thoughtfully. “Not really, no. Just that you came here to be near him.”
“Wrong.”
“You could have gone to school anywhere. But you chose this place.” His dark eyes crinkled at the corners when he smiled, just like he was a live person. “Did you really think it was coincidence?”
“No. But I didn’t come here to see him. I came because it’s a good school and because Brad and Marie are here.”
Fred laughed. “Does it make you feel better to tell yourself that?”
“Yes.”
“You’re a smart fellow, Max. I don’t think you’re fooling yourself as well as you think you are.”
Whatever the hell that meant.
“You like your stepbrother’s girlfriend.”
I sat down cross-legged on the bare wooden floor. “She’s hot, but I wouldn’t say I like her. I don’t even know her. I like Selene.”
“But you find Caroline attractive.”
“Yes. I do. What’s your point?”
He cocked his head. “I’m not sure.”
Right. Fred never did anything without a reason. “Anyway, it doesn’t matter. She’s his girl, not mine.”
“You’re an honorable man.”
I snorted. “No, I’m not.”
“I think you don’t give yourself enough credit.” Fred smiled. “I know you quite well, after all.”
He could think what he liked. He didn’t know my plans regarding Caroline, although he’d figure it out soon enough.
“Caroline isn’t the kind of woman I usually go for,” I said. “She’s too much like Trent.”
“I thought you said you didn’t know her.”
“I don’t. But if she’s dating him, she must be the type I can’t stand.”
“I see.”
“It’s weird, though, about the party. What are the odds I’d run into a friend of Trent’s and get invited to his party? You have anything to do with that?”
“Nothing at all. Pure coincidence.”
“Uh huh.”
“Truly.” He looked sincere. Could I believe him? “I wouldn’t manipulate you like that.”
“I don’t believe in coincidence. Something is going on.”
Fred nodded. “Spirits are stirring, gathering around you.”
That went right along with all the murmuring I’d heard on the way home. My blood was sluggish with alcohol and pot, but I sat up a little straighter as some of the dreamy relaxation left me.
“Why?” I frowned. “What do they want?”
“I’m not sure. Perhaps you should talk to your circle about it.”
“I’ll think about that.” My circle was a group of people with whom I performed occult work—rituals, divinations, that kind of thing. I wasn’t sure I wanted them in on the matter, given my plan to seduce Caroline. They wouldn’t approve.
“Did you ever wonder,” Fred remarked, “why Brad and Marie chose to move down here, knowing your stepbrother was enrolled at Central Willamette State?”
“Nope,” I said flatly. “Marie inherited some property. That’s why they came here.”
“Is it? She could have sold the farm. Could have made a great deal of money on it, in fact, given the way property values are going back up around here.”
“You into real estate, Fred? That’s a funny hobby for a ghost.”
“Any hobby is a funny hobby for a ghost. I’m merely pointing out the fact that Marie wasn’t required to move here.”
“Okay.” I shifted my weight on the hard floor, looking for a position where my ankle bones weren’t grinding against the wood. “She always liked it here; always wanted to live on her grandparents’ farm. She said so. That’s why they didn’t sell.”
“But you didn’t have to follow them.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “Brad and Marie are the closest thing I have to a family. No, I didn’t have to follow, but the fact I did has nothing to do with Trent. Pure coincidence.”
“I thought you didn’t believe in coincidence.”
I groaned. “Give it a rest, Fred. I didn’t come here for Trent. Got it?”
“Sure, Max.” He smiled knowingly at me.
The problem with having a ghost for a friend is they often think they know better than you do. They’ve passed on to the Great Beyond, and that supposedly makes them wiser. Unfortunately, it seems to make some of them busybodies who think it’s their job to monkey around in the lives of those of us who are still mortal.
I loved Brad and Marie. They’d taken me in at a time when I was perched on the edge of disaster, a runaway living on the streets in Seattle, ready to spiral down into hard drugs and God knows what else, maybe even sex for hire. People do desperate things when they’re cold and starving.
They’d saved me, gotten me off the streets and into a GED program. They’d taken me into their home, treated me like a son. When they’d decided to move to Avery’s Crossing, Trent’s presence there was the last thing on my mind. I wanted to be with my family, and the graphic design business I’d started could be run anywhere since most of it took place on-line. Moving here had been a no-brainer. The business program at Central Willamette was a bonus.
“I passed through this town once, back in 1853,” he said meditatively. “I was on my way to Montana.”
“Why go through Oregon?”
“Because I started out in California, obviously.”
Oh. Right.
“The place has changed quite a bit since I was here last,” he said. “Quite a bit.”
“The women wear shorter skirts.”
He laughed. “That they do.”
“Is it fun for you to watch them go by, dressed the way they do?
Fred smiled, but instead of answering, he countered with his own question. “So what are you going to do about Caroline?”
“Do? I’m not going to do anything.”
He still gazed at me like he could read my thoughts. I was pretty sure he couldn’t, but not absolutely positive. Christ, I hoped he couldn’t. He was enough of a pain in the ass with his know-it-all advice; if he could read my mind, he’d never stop telling me what to do.
“She has feelings, too, you know,” he said.
“Alert the media. They’ll want to hear about that for sure.”
Fred sighed. “I can see you don’t want my perspective.”
“Not right now.”
“All right. I’ll be on my way, then.” He stood up and offered me his hand. “Good night, Max.”
We shook. His skin felt warm and alive, and his fingers pressed into mine just like we were exchanging a real handshake. A slick illusion, making him seem completely real. Like he wasn’t a ghost at all.
“Night, Fred.” I smiled at him and he vanished.
I stretched out on my back and stared up at the ceiling. He was right, of course. Caroline had feelings, too, even if she looked like every girl who’d ever snubbed me, every girl who’d ever been too good for a juvenile delinquent like me, and I’d be a jerk to use her just to get at Trent. But that wouldn’t stop me.
Chapter 3
Caroline
I had a girl date with my best friend, Paige, and I was going to be late again. I’d never hear the end of it if I kept her waiting, so I grabbed my bag and ran out the door of my dorm room. In my head I could hear her telling me that if I’d moved into the sorority house with her, like she’d wanted me to, then I wouldn’t be late at all. We’d be walking over to the cafe together.
Lateness was a chronic problem with me. In that way, I took after Aunt Jo. She’d always been late, too, but she used to say it was better to stop and notice the small and beautiful details of life than to be in such a rush that you’re always on time.
I charged down the ugly tan and brown hallway, passing knots of staring freshman girls on the way. No time to talk. I didn’t know any of them yet anyway.
Luckily, the student union was only about a block away from my dorm and I made it in record time. I ran up the steps and in
to the building, then up the broad, sweeping marble stairs that led to the second floor and the huge lounge that always reminded me of a castle’s great hall. The cafe was right across from the lounge.
“Caroline.” The male voice greeting me echoed slightly in the hard, cold stairwell.
I skidded to a stop and turned. Oh, no. Max. He wore a pair of faded jeans and a white t-shirt so tight it showed every muscle in his torso. There were a lot of muscles. My mouth went dry.
Why had he called my name? He knew Trent wanted him to stay away from us.
I watched him stalk up the stairs toward me, something vaguely predatory in the graceful motion of his body. The beaded necklace still hung around his neck, and I still couldn’t see what the pendant on it looked like because it was hidden beneath his t-shirt.
“Um...hi, Max,” I said lamely.
“It’s nice to see someone I recognize around here.” He smiled with a hint of bashfulness.
“Is it?” God, I sounded like an idiot.
“Yeah. I don’t know anyone on campus, really.”
“I thought you knew Talbot,” I said.
“Not well.”
He didn’t know me well, either.
“Um, well, it was nice seeing you.” I edged up one stair step.
“Where are you headed?”
“I’m on my way to meet a friend for coffee.”
He rubbed the back of his neck, looking even more sheepish. “Is it all right if I join you?”
“Uh...” How did I get out of this one? There was no polite way to say no to him. “Sure.”
He smiled. “Thanks. That’s really nice of you.”
Yeah, sure it was. I hadn’t been able to think of a way to get out of it, and he knew it.
“Well, we’re right up here.” I pointed up the stairs.
“Are you a junior like Trent?” he said as we started climbing again.
“Yes.”
He leaned closer to me. His proximity made my heart race and my palms start to sweat. I could almost feel his body heat, he was so near.