“I think you’re making excuses,” he murmured as he backed her against the railing that overlooked the main entry hall.
She glanced over her shoulder nervously at the black-and-white tile floor. Just how sturdy was this railing? She licked her lips and turned back to Noah. His body heat surrounded her, warming her, comforting her. It felt right to be this close to him, and that scared her. Something else that scared her was that at that moment, she was convinced she could feel his desire, his racing heart, his need as well as she could feel her own. How was that possible?
“Noah…” she began.
“I’m not giving in,” he warned. “So don’t even go there.”
Her mouth dropped open, and some of her bravado returned. “Look, bossy. That kind of attitude might work with your men, but don’t you dare—”
A door opened behind Noah as though the wind had blown it, slamming it hard against the wall with a loud bang. Alana squealed, and Noah quickly spun around, keeping her behind him as he turned to stare at the opening.
“What the hell?” he snapped.
Down the hall, they could hear other doors opening and slamming, one after another, over and over, the bangs actually rattling the windows. He rushed forward and into the hall. Alana followed, but he held up his palm indicating she should stay on the landing as the doors continued to open and close on their own.
Chapter Twelve
Aiden leaned against the back of the truck, rolling his eyes toward the sky. He’d wanted to go into the house with them, but he’d given them a few minutes alone. One at a time was probably a better approach anyway at this point.
“Where’s Alana?” Tray asked as he stuck his head around the corner of the truck. “You okay? You look a little green.”
“More like blue,” he mumbled. As in blue balls. That’s how bad they hurt at the moment. “Alana’s with Noah. They’re…talking.”
“Like you and her were talking the other night on the terrace?” Tray asked with amusement.
Aiden narrowed his eyes, but Tray didn’t back down. He continued to watch him with unbridled delight. “Wow, when you look at me like that, you look exactly like your brother. Even more than you usually do.”
Aiden sighed and looked away.
Tray chuckled, but quickly stopped. “Do I need to be concerned about Alana?”
“No.”
“Do you think you love her?”
“I’ve already gone through all this with Lisa, you know.”
“I know, but now you’re going through it with me,” Tray countered, obviously not backing down.
Aiden pursed his lips then relented. “I’m not sure. I believe I could. I believe she’s special, that she’s probably perfect for Noah and me.”
“What if she decides she can’t handle it?”
“Then we let her go…albeit reluctantly.”
“What if she decides she can handle it?” Tray asked.
Aiden smiled. “From your mouth to God’s ears. I don’t know what the future holds, Tray. None of us do. I just want to take this one day at a time and see where it goes.”
“Whoa,” Lisa mumbled from the back of the truck. Aiden and Tray turned to look at her as she stared wide-eyed at the screen. “You two have to see this!”
Tray jumped into the truck, Aiden close behind him.
“Look at what the doors are doing,” Lisa said as she pointed to the screen.
“Holy shit!” Tray exclaimed as he took off out of the truck and headed toward the house.
“Hold up,” Aiden yelled, close on his heels.
* * *
Alana stood back, staring in astonishment at the doors as they closed and opened on their own.
“This is… This can’t be real,” she whispered. “Noah, what the hell’s going on?”
“I don’t know.”
Tray and Aiden came barreling up the stairs just as a young girl’s voice cried out, “Stop him!”
Tray came to an abrupt halt, his eyes wide. As soon as the voice stopped, the doors went still, and they all stared at one another in shock.
Aiden glanced around warily as he pushed past Tray to get to Alana. “Are you okay?” he asked.
His touch was gentle as he pushed her curls away from her face. Alana nodded, but deep inside she still trembled. Through all the years she’d been investigating, she’d never experienced anything like that.
But despite what had happened, she felt safe standing between the twins. It was as if she knew instinctively they would never let anything hurt her. It was comforting and weird as hell.
“That was a heck of a disembodied voice,” Tray said in awe.
Noah turned to look at Tray, a look of pure exasperation on his face. “A disembodied what?”
Aiden tried to explain. “It’s a voice—”
“I know what the hell it is, Aiden!” Noah snapped. “This wasn’t paranormal. A person did this. Human. Period.”
“What the hell are you yelling at me for?” Aiden barked.
Alana quickly raised her hands, putting one on Aiden’s chest, the other on Noah’s shoulder, suddenly feeling the need to play referee. “Guys,” she said with caution. “Let’s settle down. Tray has a camera on this hall, so we’ll be able to see if there was anyone here.”
Noah looked at Tray. “Do they run all day?”
Tray shook his head. “No. We don’t have the battery power for that, nor do we have the manpower. If they’re on, someone needs to be here with them.”
Noah nodded and turned back toward the far end of the hall. “Someone could have set this up while the cameras were off.”
“For what purpose?” Tray demanded. “And what about the voice? It sounded as though it came from all around us.”
Noah looked disgusted. “Speakers.”
“Noah, you’re being pigheaded,” Aiden tried to reason.
“I’m not…” Noah scowled and put his hands on his hips, sighing in resignation. “Fine. I’m being pigheaded, but you can’t seriously believe this was paranormal.”
“I’ll make a deal with you,” Tray offered as he stepped forward. “We both work on this. You can even have Alana, since she’s great at debunking things—”
“Hey,” Alana snapped.
Tray held up his hand, silencing her. “I’ll work on the paranormal end. Surely between the two of us, we’ll figure it out.”
“Where do I go?” Aiden asked with amusement.
Noah glared at him. “Do you really want me to answer that right now?”
“Look, Noah,” Aiden snarled, stepping toward his brother.
Alana quickly stepped between them again, putting a palm on each chest. “I don’t know what your problem is tonight—well, maybe I do, but I’m not playing referee here. I have better things to do with my time, so knock it off. If dating the two of you means I’m constantly stopping fights, I don’t want any part of it.”
Both men stared at her in surprise.
“Guess she told you,” Tray murmured, trying his best not to laugh as he strolled past them.
“Where the hell are you going?” Noah asked.
“I’m going to get the camera,” Tray replied as he kept going, his back to them.
“I promise you, we do not always fight like this,” Aiden said softly.
“Then why now?” she asked, watching Noah as he followed Tray down the hall.
Aiden examined one of the doors, opening and closing it slowly, then running his hand over the edges, feeling anything around the hinges or the frame that would explain what happened.
“I think Noah’s really stressed out,” he replied.
“About what?”
“I think seeing that girl affected him more than he wants to admit. He doesn’t like things he can’t explain, and I think that also includes our reaction to you.”
She stared at him, confused. “What reaction?”
“Just the whole strength of the connection between us. It’s stronger with you. Stronger than i
t’s ever been.”
“My being with him wouldn’t bother you?” she asked.
Aiden shrugged. “No.”
Alana’s lips twisted. “I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or not.”
“Why would it be a bad thing?” he asked, intrigued.
“Well, usually when someone you care about is with someone else, you feel jealous…competitive…something.”
“We’re different.”
“Yeah, I see that,” she said, letting out a tired breath as she watched Noah. She turned back to Aiden. “I’m trying to figure out how to tell the two of you apart. At first, I thought it was a good and bad thing. You were the nicer one, he was the naughty one.”
Aiden grinned. “And now?”
“Now, like right now, I see a naughty side in you just like earlier, I saw a nicer side to Noah.”
“We learned at a young age to make our personalities different. Noah’s more the loner, the skeptic, the bullheaded one.”
“And you’re more the people person,” she added.
“The patient one, more open-minded one. We both have tempers, we can both be unreasonable, but neither of us would ever hurt you, physically or otherwise.”
Alana’s lips thinned as she drifted off into deep thought. Could she really do something like this?
“What’s your opinion of all this?” Aiden asked.
Alana stared at him in confusion, unsure how she should answer. “Opinion of what?” she asked, stalling for time.
He nodded toward the hall. “This.”
She drew in a slow breath of relief he was talking about what happened and not about the three of them. “I don’t know. I’ve never encountered anything like this. I never expected this.” She shook her head. “I think I’m a little out of my league here.”
“No you’re not,” he said with a smile. “Just look at it as you would any other investigation. Where would you start in debunking it?”
“I’d start where Noah’s starting. Looking for anything that didn’t belong.”
“See. Maybe you’re not in over your head as much as you think.”
“Maybe.”
She glanced at her watch. One in the morning. Wow. It was late, but early in their line of work.
“Alana!” Tray yelled from the other end of the hall.
“Yeah?” she asked, dropping her arm and looking toward the end of the dark hall and Tray.
“What do you suppose she meant by ‘stop him’?”
“Good question. What do you say we try to figure that out?”
“I’m game,” he replied, grinning from ear to ear.
* * *
“What the hell was going on up there?” Lisa asked, practically jumping up and down with impatience as Alana made her way toward the truck.
She’d left the three men upstairs, arguing with one another—about what, Alana had no idea and really didn’t care at the moment. She just needed some time alone, some time to think things through, without the two most gorgeous men she’d ever seen watching her.
Alana looked at Lisa’s expectant expression and stopped dead in her tracks. “What on earth…” She bit back a giggle. “You look like a kid at their favorite candy store.”
Lisa rolled her eyes and waved her hand, dismissing Alana’s comment. “I saw the whole thing on the camera. Did those doors really start opening and closing on their own? And what was with that voice? Alana! How can you stand there so calm? I would be jumping clear out of my skin.”
Alana’s smile faded. “I did plenty of jumping up there, believe me. I’m withholding judgment for now. Admit it. Have you ever seen a ghost do that?”
She walked around Lisa and climbed into the back of the truck.
Lisa jumped in behind her. “Does it really matter if we’ve seen it before or not? There is a saying. I’ve heard it. ‘There’s a first time for everything.’”
“True enough,” Alana replied, grinning. “Did you notice anything on the computer screen before it started?”
“No. I actually didn’t notice it until after they’d begun to move.” She was quiet for a second, then asked. “What were you and Noah discussing so intently?”
“Oh God. Don’t ask.” Alana dropped her head into her hand and began to massage her forehead with her fingers. “Lisa. I’m such a weakling. I can’t believe I…”
She dropped her hand and raised her head, scowling at the screen.
“I thought you didn’t want me to ask. You can’t say things like that and not expect me to ask.”
“I know.”
“Well?” Lisa pushed.
“I’ve lost my mind.” Alana cringed. “I want to have sex with Noah…and Aiden.”
Lisa remained silent for a few seconds as though taking it all in. “Well… They’re both gorgeous. Can’t say as I blame you, but is that what you told him? You looked a little pissed.”
“That’s not what I told him. Noah’s bossy attitude is what pissed me off.”Alana turned to look at her friend in surprise. “No lectures? No warnings or concern?”
“I’m not going to tell you what to do, Alana. I love you, but you have to do what you think is right for you.”
“I don’t know what’s right for me.”
“You will. In the meantime, I’m here if you need me.”
“I know,” Alana whispered, giving her friend a small smile.
Lisa nodded toward the computer and changed the subject. “Have you heard that voice before?”
“Tray has a recording of that same voice giving that same warning. I just wish I knew what it meant.”
“Do you know who the girl is?”
“Not yet.” Alana studied her friend. “Since you don’t want to go in the house, do you want to do a little investigating?”
Lisa’s lips lifted into a half smile and for the first time in a couple of days, Alana saw a spark of excitement enter her eyes. Lisa always loved doing investigative work.
“You want me to find out who the girl is?” Lisa asked.
“Yeah, and if possible find out if the guy she’s warning us about is from her time or ours. If it’s hers, it’s residual. If it’s from ours, it’s an intelligent haunting, and I shudder to think what she might be trying to warn us of.”
“You and me both. But how will we be able to tell?”
“I’m not sure yet. We might be able to tell by how she died, if we can even find her.”
“It shouldn’t be too hard.”
“Famous last words.” Alana smiled, but it quickly faded. “Can I get you to do me a favor?”
“Sure. What?”
“Make sure I leave with you and Tray tonight, not them.”
Lisa tried her best to hide the grin that tugged at her lips, but failed miserably. “I’m assuming them means Aiden and Noah.”
“Yep,” Alana said with a sigh. “I think I’ve already proved I have no self-control where they’re concerned.”
“No kidding,” Lisa replied, giggling softly.
Alana dropped her head in her hand, mortified. She just hoped to God the television crew kept this sexual tension stuff out of the show.
Chapter Thirteen
Alana tossed and turned amid the sheets. She could never get used to strange beds, and it was so hot. Sweat covered her limbs, and she kicked off the sheets, seeking relief from the humid air in the room.
Why was it so hot?
Soft lips touched her cheek, and she smiled. Oh, yeah. That’s why it was so hot.
Turning her head, she smiled at Aiden as he gently brushed her curls from her sweaty brow. His eyes stared into hers, caressing her with a look and making her whole body tingle with awareness and growing need. How could he do that? How could he make her react so wildly?
On her other side, the bed sank, and she turned to see Noah place his weight on one knee. Her gaze took in his muscular chest and washboard abs. Strong, thick thighs flexed as he moved, and she reached out, running her fingers through the coarse hair covering his
legs.
She feathered her fingers upward to his long, thick cock. Moisture glistened at the tip, and she licked her lips, anxious for the taste of him on her tongue.
He watched her, silent and tense as she softly trailed her finger along his length, smoothing the flat of her fingertip over the velvety flesh.
Beside her, Aiden cupped her breast, lifting it upward as he dipped his head. His mouth engulfed the aching tip, and she moaned, closing her eyes as the warmth from his mouth settled over her tingling breast. He swirled his tongue around her nipple and gently swiped it over the hard nub. She gasped, arching her back and thrusting her breast farther into his hot mouth.
She opened her eyes, catching Noah’s gaze as he smiled down at her. A smile of pure animal lust that made her heart skip a beat in excitement. He had her exactly where he wanted her, and they both knew it. Sweat coated her flesh, cooling her and making her shiver despite the heat emanating from his eyes.
Was she dreaming? Had Lisa let her down and she’d left with the twins after all?
No. She was dreaming. She had to be dreaming. Right?
Aiden bit at her nipple, and she squealed, giggling as he opened his lips, playfully engulfing almost her entire breast in his mouth. At the moment, she didn’t care if she was dreaming or not. It felt too good to make him stop.
Noah bent forward slightly, and inch by incredibly sensual inch, slid his palm up the inside of her thigh, spreading her legs as he went. Alana let them fall open, welcoming his touch against her throbbing sex. His fingers were gentle yet insistent as he slid them through the juices coating her labia, spreading them over her pussy as he teased and massaged.
The pad of his thumb brushed over her clit, and she gasped, bucking her hips toward his hands. Aiden continued to tease and lick at her breast, driving her insane with his wicked tongue. And Noah’s fingers—his incredibly talented fingers—teased her entrance, making her moan for more.
Two men showering her with affection, touching her body, nibbling at her flesh. It was one of the most erotic, wildest things she’d ever experienced. Bombarded from all sides, she could feel herself falling, shattering into thousands of tiny pieces.
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