by Danni Price
The hint of pressure and coolness struck a familiar chord. She backed into Jake’s broad chest, as warm as the ghost’s touch was cold. “You?”
Quinn waggled his eyebrows.
Hands on her shoulders, Jake turned her to face him. “What the hell is going on? Tell me, or I’m dragging you out of this room until you do.”
“You brought me here to see if your friend was haunting the room. Well, he is. And he haunted me last night.”
“Oh.” Jake’s hands dropped as he stepped away from her. A resigned air surrounded him. “Where is he?”
She jabbed a thumb toward the bed.
Quinn waved. “Hey.”
“Oh, stop it. He can’t see you.” Her attention shifted between the two men before settling on Jake. “Can you?”
Jake shook his head, but squinted at the bed as if he might see something if he tried hard enough. He stepped forward and waved a hand over the bed.
Quinn rolled his eyes and held up his thumb and forefinger. “Remind him I’m naked, and he’s this close to touching my wang.”
“Jake, he’s naked.”
As expected, Jake yanked back his hand. “Eww.”
“Yeah, well, I wouldn’t have chosen to spend eternity like this…” Quinn motioned toward his erection. “But I’m dealing with it.”
“He can’t hear you.” A pounding sensation started at the base of her skull.
“What did he say?” Jake backed away until he stood by the far wall. She wasn’t sure if he was more bothered by the idea of a nude ghost or the reality of there being a ghost at all.
“Jake. When a person dies and becomes a ghost, they linger in the same form as when they died. Since Quinn was having sex when he died --”
“Oh God. No more. I need to think. I’ll be back.” The door of the room slammed shut as he left her alone. Sort of.
“That went well.” Quinn smirked at the door.
She wished a person could actually hit a ghost because this one needed a good hard smack. “Be nice. I don’t think he really believed you would be here.” She took a seat opposite the bed in a blue chair that might once have contained stuffing, but those days were long gone. “Why are you here anyway?”
He flipped onto his back and folded his hands behind his head. “I don’t know. I loved my life.”
She forced herself to look away from his cock. “You must have had some unresolved issue.”
He sent her a lopsided grin. “Did you read that on a cereal box? Come on, you can do better.”
She groaned. “Listen, I’m not much of a medium. I don’t like it, but considering I can hear and now see dead people…”
He slid onto his side, head propped up on one hand, making it that much harder to ignore the giant erection in the room. “Well, that’s fascinating, but like it or not you’re here.”
“Okay, let me think. Do you like being dead?” She toyed with a bit of paper peeling off the top of the particleboard table.
“No.”
“Is there something you needed to tell someone before you died?” She slammed her hand down on the table to get his attention, but he only yawned. “Is there anything at all that you still give a shit about since you died?”
His eyes focused on her with an almost disturbing level of intensity. “Actually, yes. I always want to have sex. I mean even now with you desperately trying to keep your eyes off my dick. All I want to do is screw you every which way known to man, and then invent some for good measure.”
She pursed her lips and crossed her legs, trying to convey a displeasure she didn’t feel. Her pussy rather liked the idea. “Well, you died with an erection. So I guess that makes sense.”
“No, it’s more than that. I’m horny. That’s true. But when people have sex or even sexual thoughts around me, I feel a little alive.”
She scooted farther back into her chair. “Is that why you touched me last night?”
“You felt it?” His eyes lit up.
“I thought I was dreaming, but yes.”
“Last night something called to me, and there you were. When I possess someone, I end up feeling weaker and black out. But after you…” His gaze dropped to her lips. “I want to touch you again. I want to feel you come like you did last night, but for me.”
She bit the inside of her cheek. “Your unresolved issue might be that you died… Unsatisfied.”
Quinn broke out into loud guffaws, but after a few minutes his laughter died. He sat up cross-legged and faced her. “You know. That isn’t so crazy.”
“Thanks for the confidence.”
“You’re welcome, but we still have one problem.” He pointed at her with a dramatic pause. “I can’t touch myself even to jerk off, much less have sex with a woman. So, how am I supposed to resolve my…” He sent a pointed look to his cock. “Problem.”
She sucked in her bottom lip and dropped her gaze. “Well, I might have an idea, but we would need Jake’s help.”
Chapter Five
Virginia hurried out of the shower at the knock on the door and wrapped a towel around herself. Yeah, Jake was in a sulk when he left, but would he knock?
“Give me a minute.” She threw on a top and a pair of jeans. Her palms grew damp at the thought of what she planned to ask him. Quinn grumbled as she walked past the television. Apparently, death had given him a hunger for reality television as well as sex. With a scowl in Quinn’s direction, she opened the door.
Daphne, blonde hair pulled back in a perfect chignon, slouched against the wall beside the door. “Hey.” A smirk appeared on her perfectly bow-shaped lips. “I brought the research materials you asked for.” The tiny purse Daphne carried couldn’t hold more than a pamphlet, and her hands were empty.
Virginia frowned. “Where?”
“You’re such a dinosaur.” Daphne dug into the pocket of her white Capri pants and pulled out a bright pink thumb drive. The small piece of plastic dangled from her thumb and forefinger. Virginia snaked out a hand to grab the drive, but Daphne pulled back at the last moment. “No way. Not until you tell me why you need books about sex magick.”
Quinn’s head jerked up.
“Shh.” Virginia lifted a hand and gripped her friend’s elbow to lead her out of the room.
Daphne’s heels dug into the worn blue carpeting. “Are you trying to live out your teenage wet dreams for Quinn? Because no matter how erect and mammoth, ghost penis is kinda creepy.”
The horny ghost in question floated between them with a near manic expression. “I can have sex?” Eyes heavenward, Virginia groaned.
“What? It’s a legitimate question where you’re concerned. What if you got knocked up by Casper? Who wants to give birth to the devil?”
Virginia wanted to scream at her friend, but managed to keep her voice even. “What?”
“Ugh, don’t you watch horror movies?”
“Daphne, please stop.” Virginia motioned toward Quinn with her eyes and tilted her chin in his direction. “And close the door.”
“Oh oh oh. Is he here? Where is he?” Daphne bounced in excitement as the door closed behind her.
“Yes. He just sat down on the bed.”
“Oh, that’s amazing.” Her nose crinkled. “Could you really have sex with him?”
“Sort of. But it’s not what you think. Most members of the occult agree that sexual relations between two consenting adults is powerful. In fact, some speculate it creates a special kind of energy. There isn’t much known about how this energy impacts the spirit world, but based on what Quinn told me, I think it makes him stronger and able to exercise a greater degree of influence on his environment.”
Quinn no longer watched them, but stared past Virginia with unfocused eyes.
“That’s all well and good, but how’s it going to help?”
“He died in a state of extreme sexual arousal. I’m pretty sure he needs to satisfy himself to move on to the next plane of existence.”
“So in normal people speak, what you’re
saying is he needs to come?”
Virginia nodded. “Yeah, I think an orgasm would do it.”
“And he can’t wrestle the one-eyed trouser snake all by his lonesome?” Daphne pumped her fisted hand.
A muffled groan came from the vicinity of the bed.
“No, he can’t touch himself.”
Daphne’s lips twisted, and she nodded. “That would make things tough.”
“Here’s what I think. If he absorbs enough energy, he could possibly become substantial enough to…” The smirk returned to Daphne’s face, and Quinn’s attention was once again focused on the two women. Virginia squared her shoulders. “To come. There’s a special ceremony that may generate enough energy.”
“Ah, come on. I have to watch you have sex with Jake again?”
Daphne beamed at Virginia. “Ah-ha, this is a ploy to sex up Jake. Nice. I bet there is a wild man under that nerd disguise he has going on.”
“Why don’t you tell your friend that you already ‘sexed’ my friend up plenty last night?” Quinn walked away with a scowl.
Heat rose to Virginia’s cheeks.
“You’re blushing.” Daphne pointed at Virginia. “You already slept with him. Didn’t you?”
She nodded.
“Oh, tell me more. Is he big all over? I bet he has a lovely ass under all that khaki.”
“Yeah, his body was a-ma-zing, and his cock…” Virginia licked her lips, unable to think of a word that did that particular part of his anatomy justice.
Quinn tried to slam his hands over his ears but they passed through his skull.
Daphne fell to the bed with a dreamy sigh. “I knew it. It’s always the quiet ones. So, what’s the problem? You don’t look like a woman who spent the night being pleasured by an indescribable hunk of man meat. No, sweetie, you resemble someone who had their favorite toy taken from them.”
Virginia plopped down on the bed and dropped her forehead onto Daphne’s shoulder. “The sex wasn’t the problem. It was the morning after.”
Daphne rolled her eyes. “What? Didn’t he want to snuggle?”
“Well, I thought he did. I kind of passed out on top of him. It was when I woke up.” She paused to gauge her friend’s response, but Daphne only stared back. “He crept out of bed while I was asleep. Later, when he came back, he acted like he thought my vagina would attack him.”
Daphne’s eyes narrowed. “He told you he wasn’t interested?”
“Well, no.”
With a dismissive wave of her hand, Daphne stood. “Then, what the hell is your problem? When he gets back, stick your tongue in his mouth. He’ll push you away or onto the bed. Either way you’ll have your answer.”
“No more.” By now Quinn glowered in the corner amongst the discarded linens.
Because the moment wasn’t awkward enough, Jake charged into the room and stopped just shy of crashing into Daphne. With a mumbled sorry, he stared at the two women.
Daphne winked. “Hey, big guy.”
Virginia’s face started to burn, but Jake only blinked twice before rushing past Daphne. He set two bags of yummy-smelling takeout onto the shabby table.
“Well, on that note, I’ve got to go. If you need anything else, let me know.” She pressed the thumb drive into Virginia’s palm and grinned. “Have fun.”
Daphne gone, a frazzled Jake doled out food. How on earth would she be able to talk him into participating in a tantric sex type ritual?
* * *
Three hours of driving around town and Jake still didn’t have a better handle on last night. First, Virginia acted like they never slept together, and then the first thing out of her mouth was about Quinn being involved in whatever she did remember. Even dead, Quinn got all the girls.
“Listen, I think we need to talk about last night.” He pushed one bag across the table and noticed a tablet underneath. Drawn in a neat hand, a figure labeled Quinn was encircled in light wavy lines. On the opposite side, Virginia had drawn a picture of two nude figures embracing. Much darker lines were drawn in waves that surrounded the couple. The caption underneath contained both his and her names along with the words shiva and shakti.
Before he could read the bulleted lists below the anatomically correct drawings, she swept the tablet away. “What about last night?”
He scrubbed his hand against his chin. A light stubble had already formed. “What’s that?” She stared down at the tablet. The paper crinkled under her grip. “Well, I’m waiting.”
“Can I sit down?” she asked. He threw himself down into the blue chair positioned against the far wall. “It’s simple really.” She perched on the edge of her own chair and placed the notebook in front of him. “I know what happened to your friend.”
“What do you mean? He died. That was never in question.” He reached into the bag and pulled out a container of Mongolian beef.
“Yes, I know he passed away. I mean after. The reason his spirit is lingering in this awful room.” She glanced toward the bed and scowled.
“Go on.” Jake suppressed the urge to ask what else disgusted her besides the room, but he’d brought her here to help Quinn. It was time to put his feelings aside about last night and get down to business.
“When he died, Quinn had unresolved business.”
Jake pointed to the drawings. “Unresolved business that involves us sleeping together again?” She winced and near guilt hit him. “Listen, I didn’t --”
“No, no, I understand. This is a very strange situation. I know last night didn’t mean anything.”
A coldness spread over him. He pushed his untouched food away.
With a groan, she swatted the empty air to her left. “Stop it. I’m getting to it.”
“I presume Quinn is here?”
“Yes, he’s been here the whole time.”
“The whole time.” He nodded and fought back queasiness at that little revelation. Quinn laughing at him over his clueless way with girls, like always. “Okay. So what do we need to do?” At least this would give him closure.
“I need to research a little more, but the bare bones version is that we need to combine our energies via a sexual ritual based on Tantra teachings. This should allow Quinn’s physical form to become dense enough to permit him to address his unresolved issue.”
“In English, please.”
“You and I need to have sex for as long as possible to generate sufficient energy for him to become solid enough to have an orgasm.”
“Excuse me?” Jake’s mouth gaped.
“He died, unsatisfied.” Virginia cringed against the back of her chair.
“Ah. So, my dead best friend is going to watch us fuck until he comes?” And his day somehow got worse.
She bit her bottom lip and frowned. “Pretty much.”
Thumb tapping against his lips, he blew out a big breath. “When?’”
“I can be ready by tonight.”
“Anything you need from me before then?”
“I have some things you could read. Techniques for prolonging the sex act. It’s okay if I come, but you can’t.”
He closed his eyes and drew in a deep breath. Not only had last night meant nothing to her, but it was so bad she thought he needed to read a book before they did it again. He opened his eyes and surveyed the room. Was his friend really here? He shivered. The whole situation gave him the heebie-jeebies, but if it helped Quinn, he would do it. Worst case, he got to have sex all night with a beautiful woman. “Okay, I’m game.”
Chapter Six
Virginia had spent the day reading about different theories and practices related to sex magick. While nothing she found explained what had happened last night, the thought of Jake naked and hers for an entire evening gave her the shivers. She wanted more of him.
An hour ago, she’d sent him out to buy candles and other supplies. There was no real need for any of the items, other than the fact that the poor man had wound himself into such a bundle of nerves, he needed something to do.
&nb
sp; Quinn remained quiet after his friend left the room. Almost thirty minutes later, he asked, “Do you really think this will work?”
“How did you feel after last night?” She closed her laptop and turned to face the spirit who sat on the edge of the bed tapping his fingers against the side of his legs.
His eyes narrowed. “What do you mean?”
“Did you feel weaker, like after you possessed those couples, or stronger?”
“I don’t know if I would say stronger. It was different, electric, but it didn’t leave me weaker.”
“Good. I want you to keep close to me and Jake tonight. Okay?”
“Do I have to?” The whine in his voice grated on her nerves. She’d probably freaked out and ruined her chances with Jake, the first man to interest her in over a year, and Quinn was being pouty. Men could be such babies.
With all the patience she could muster, she explained in a low tone, “When a man and a woman have sex their unique energies join and sometimes a new type of energy is generated. That’s what I believe gave you the ‘electric’ feeling.”
His lips twisted. “I guess.”
“Listen. I am no expert, but whatever happened to you wasn’t normal. By all rights, it shouldn’t have happened at all.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I don’t practice magic, and Jake wouldn’t know the difference between a cauldron and a Crock-Pot, but we did something that most people have to work years to achieve. I’ve been all through these books and there’s no explanation for it.” She stood and moved toward where he rested on the bed. “We shouldn’t have affected you any more than the other couples who stayed in this room.”
Quinn angled his body in her direction. “So, you can’t help me?”
“We can try, but I won’t promise anything. Last night may have been a fluke.”
They stared at each other wearing matching frowns.
A knock sounded at the door, and Quinn shook his head and backed away. Seconds later, Jake entered the room carrying a canvas grocery bag. “Hey.” He set the bag down on the table and scanned the room.
She stepped in front of him. “Is everything okay?”