Naked and hot, we took in our fill of each other. I always thought I'd be embarrassed or shy the first time with him but there was no room in all the excitement for that. As my eyes hungrily devoured him, appreciating everything I saw, Kade was doing the same. When his hot gaze once again met mine, my stomach tightened and the breath whooshed from my lungs. He was perfect and he was mine. I slid my hands up the smooth sinew contours of his chest and around his neck, pulling him down until his body nestled fully against mine. Nothing ever felt so right.
"Love me, Kade."
"Oh I'm going to. Very, very thoroughly."
After that it became an experience in sensual delight and impatient exploration. We showed each other just how much in love we were and it transcended anything I had ever experienced before. With Kade everything felt right. Nothing was wrong with the world. Nothing that couldn't be righted anyway, for with him nothing was unconquerable. Fear had no place to dwell within the love flaring high and hot and deep within us. When Kade and I finally came together, it was as if that was exactly why I was born ... to be one with him. I felt invincible and powerful and totally exhilarated.
Our mutual climax was quite earth shattering and afterwards, when we finally settled to some semblance of normalcy, we reveled in the feeling of togetherness, feeling complete and at peace. Kade's body relaxed against me though he rested a majority of his weight on his forearms. His head had settled next to mine in the aftermath of our lovemaking but now he lifted his head to look at me. Our eyes met and held and words just didn't seem necessary. We communicated our love for each other in those quiet moments. And then, as if our souls were satisfied for now with the state of things between us, he pressed a kiss to my mouth and pushed off me, rolling onto his back and pulling me with him until I lay half sprawled across him.
"That was incredible, Tess. What took us so long to do that?"
Smiling contentedly, I caressed his chest lightly, loving the feel of his chest hair tickling my fingertips. "We've been missing out, I agree. Sorry it took me so long to come around."
"Well you did that, didn't you?" He turned his head to give me a grin, raising his eyebrows in remembrance, "A couple times in fact."
My face burning again though I couldn't think why after all we had just shared, I gave him a small pinch on the shoulder. "Behave and stop gloating."
Kade laughed, the sound deep and rumbling, and I smiled in appreciation. We were in such a good place I hated the idea of anything spoiling it. But as my eyes swept around the room, I knew we were at the beginning of a very difficult phase in our lives. Maybe mind-blowing sex would give us something to anchor to as we weathered through the coming storm of spiritual unrest.
"What's going on in your head right now? I felt you get tense all of a sudden?"
"I'm just thinking we need to get ourselves into bed and I'm hoping the sage cleansing and prayers will ensure a quiet night."
Kade heaved a silent sigh and his arms tightened around me. "We'll be fine. Look how well we did at Sea Willow Haven? Nothing can be as bad as that tunnel disaster we managed to live through." After a slight pause, he added, his voice tense, "Or the fact that you nearly plunged to your death."
"But you saved me and it couldn't have all been for naught. Tomorrow we'll go find this Robin person at that metaphysical shop you mentioned. Maybe she'll have a few ideas for combating this thing and maybe we should give Rid a call. He might know something that could help us figure out who is haunting this place and why."
"Sounds like we have a plan." Kade ended on a yawn and then reluctantly pulled away from me to sit up. "Let's give the bed a try and pray we don't get another ride." He shook his head as we stood up and began to clean up our mess. "What exactly was the appeal of vibrating beds? I've never figured that out. I can tell you, I found the whole thing very disrupting and not at all pleasant."
"Which is why you don't find vibrating beds anymore I imagine!" We laughed together and headed for the bed. Now my body was no longer heated with sensual excitement, I was looking forward to the warmth of the bed covers. The room was getting chilly for the fire had died down considerably.
Kade saw me shiver and walked over to the radiator located under one of the windows. He turned it up then put his hand out to see if it was working properly and nodded with satisfaction when he felt the heat level increase. "That should help."
I opened the top drawer of my dresser and pulled out an oversized flannel shirt. "Just the same, I think I'll add another layer."
Kade slipped into bed and opened the blankets on my side, patting the mattress in invitation. "Don't think that will stop me if I get all hot and bothered again."
I slid in next to him and snuggled close. "Promises, promises."
Smiling, Kade kissed me and settled down on his pillow. "You've worn me out you know."
"The feeling is quite mutual, I assure you." I barely managed to get the words out from the huge yawn that followed. Suddenly I was very tired and could barely keep my eyes open. "Goodnight, Kade. I love you."
Kade's hand found mine under the blankets. "I love you too."
And just like that, we were asleep.
Chapter 6
Sometime during the night, the fire went out, the radiator went off and the downy comforter beneath which we snuggled so warmly ended up on the floor. I woke with a start when Kade's warm body moved away from mine and a cool draft almost instantly chilled my skin.
"Well this is going to get old really fast." Kade's annoyed voice made me open my eyes though I did so reluctantly. The lack of the thick comforter and the cold room told me I was going to greet a day that meant the night didn't go off without any further glitches.
"What's happened?"
Kade spread the comforter back on the bed and I immediately snuggled beneath it. Although I had the foresight to put something on last night, Kade did not. He was butt naked and though I appreciated the view, I could see his skin was all broke out in goose bumps.
"The radiator was off and I've just now turned it back on." He padded over to his duffle bag and pulled out a gray flannel shirt and gray sweatpants. Once he was dressed, he came back to the bed and leaned over me, placing his hands on either side of my pillow. "You are beautiful in the morning, Tess."
Worried about morning breath, I covered my mouth with the blankets and let him kiss my temple. "That's kind of you to say, Kade. You look rather yummy yourself."
"Yummy? You do like that word."
At first I was confused and then I remembered using that description for the rug last night. "Well, you have to admit, that alpaca rug felt yummy to your skin when we were rolling all over it."
"I was paying too much attention to you to notice." He pushed himself upright and headed for the bathroom. "Since you don't seem all that much in a hurry to crawl out of bed, I'll shower first and see about coffee."
A few minutes later, he was whistling in the shower and I lay listening to it with a ridiculous smile on my face. I didn't have to look in the mirror to know it was ridiculous but since no one was around to see it, I figured it didn't matter. Stretching lazily, I took note of the various parts of my body that was a bit sore this morning and felt a flutter of sensual heat stir in my belly as memories of last night flooded through my mind. It amazed me that we came to bed and fell asleep so quickly. In romance books, it seemed the couples made love all night long when they finally got around to doing it. But, my life was no romance book in the making. It was real life and it included a wonderful house that was haunted by several spirits and one Big Bad as Kade called it. Although the comforter had somehow ended up on the floor and the radiator was turned off, the bed didn't shake and nothing woke us during the night. That was something at least.
Kade came out of the bathroom and I looked him over with slow visual appreciation. He was wearing the sweatpants again but the flannel shirt was replaced by a black t-shirt that stretched over his muscles quite nicely. Kade's eyes met mine and for a moment I couldn't catch my
breath. He had to be the sexiest man I'd ever laid eyes on and my body was beginning to hum with need again.
"You keep looking at me like that, Tess, and we won't get anything done today. Much as that shouldn't matter, I don't relish the idea of having another bumper ride on the bed tonight. At least, not by anyone or anything but you." He gave me a wink and headed for the door. "We need to figure out how to get rid of that ... thing ... and get this house in order so that we may then focus on each other without interruption. But first things first and coffee is in order."
Disappointed that he didn't rush across the room and jump my bones and yet glad as well that he didn't because I really felt in need of a shower, I slid out of bed and hurried to complete my toilette. The bathroom mirrors were steamed from Kade's shower and he'd turned on the wall heater so it was toasty warm. I noted that he'd neatly arranged his toiletries on the double sink vanity and I had to smile with satisfaction to see them there. His and her sinks. Mine was next to the wall where a deep inset window was located. After brushing my teeth and taking care of nature's call, I turned on the steam shower with anticipation. Last night I hadn't used the steam feature because I was in a hurry. This morning, though, I wanted to pamper myself a bit. The Baker kids put in lots of features and modern fixtures in the hopes of making a quick sale and it had worked. On me anyway. Though in all fairness to my modest vanity, I'd made up my mind to buy the place before I even knew about all the remodeling they'd done inside.
The steam shower was heavenly and I was enjoying it so much that I closed my eyes and imagined myself in a tropical rainforest under a steaming waterfall. The fantasy was quite nice until the water went off. I opened my eyes with trepidation and saw at once that I was no longer alone.
Darn it all anyway. Couldn't they just leave me in peace for a few hours?
Although the shower stall’s glass door was heavily steamed up and hindering my view, I could easily see the shadow of someone moving about. Since the shower controls were behind me and at some distance from the door, there was no way anyone could have reached in and turned them off. I knew without asking that it wasn't Kade out there. He'd have surely said something by now. Although I wanted to call out and confront whatever it was standing outside my shower door, I found my voice incapable of making sound. Fear slithered along my spine, making my scalp tingle with unease. With do haste, I imagined myself bathed in light and prayed for help.
The shadow stopped moving and stood totally still. I knew it was facing me and wondered what it planned to do. Who was it? I didn't get a sense that it was the Big Bad and that relaxed me to some degree. Closing my eyes because it was unnerving me to see the shadow of a person I knew wasn't physically present, I pushed back my fear and sent out my psychic feelers in an attempt to communicate. The entity was a female. I detected a sense of sadness about her and before I knew what I was doing, I lifted my hand and pressed it to the shower door. I didn't open my eyes but I knew, I just knew she did the same.
"I'm going to help you. I swear it." I whispered the words I felt she wanted to hear and then she was gone. I opened my eyes and the steam had evaporated enough to give me a clear view of the bathroom. No shadows. Nothing. But Kade's things ... his toothbrush, his deodorant, body spray and shaving cream were neatly lined up on the floor. Oh dear.
Fifteen minutes later, I walked into the kitchen and found Kade sitting on a stool next to the kitchen island looking off into space and lost in deep thought. He glanced up when I walked in and came to me immediately, pulling me into his embrace and kissing me thoroughly.
"Took you long enough. I missed you."
I hugged him tight and then spied the coffee pot over his shoulder and pulled away. "Coffee. Great. Were you waiting for me?"
When I picked up the full pot, Kade brought me his empty mug. "I drank the first pot. This is the second one."
"Wow. I didn't remember you being a coffee junky." I stirred in some sugar then took a cautious sip. Nothing like a hot cup of coffee first thing in the morning.
"Normally I don't drink it down like that but I figure I'm going to need the caffeine kick since we have so much to accomplish today." He sipped his coffee and eyed me over the rim of his cup, his gaze narrowing in question. "What's happened?"
I turned away to open the bag of bagels sitting on the counter next to the toaster. "What do you mean?"
Kade put his hand over mine, stilling my efforts to put the bagel in the toaster. "Something else has happened. Hasn't it?"
Not wanting to lie to him and yet worried that everything that was happening would end up driving him away, I turned around and rested my head against his chest. It was so nice to have someone to lean on, to confide in and to feel safe with.
"Someone was in the bathroom with me. It wasn't the Big Bad. It was a woman. She's really quite sad and I think she wants my help. I can't shake the feeling that maybe the Big Bad is bothering her somehow."
I decided not to tell him about his things being lined up on the floor. I didn't want him to think what I suspected ... that the spirits didn't want him here. Well too bad. There was someone at Sea Willow Haven that didn't want me there either and I didn't let that chase me away! No way was I going to let anything chase Kade off. We were a team, he and I, and not to be separated under any circumstance.
"I should have stayed upstairs with you. Until we can get this house cleared of ghosts, we probably should try to stay close by each other." He pulled back so that I'd lift my head and look at him. "I won't leave you alone again." He kissed me to seal the deal and though I kissed him back and put my arms around his neck to prolong the delicious contact as much as possible, I was quick to correct his concern.
"It wasn't bad, Kade. She was reaching out to me. I'm a medium, spirits do that. I don't want you to think you have to be by my side every minute of the day."
Kade let me slide out of his arms and continue with my bagel toasting preparations. "Well, just the same, we should stick near each other until the Big Bad is gone at least."
Once the bagel was toasting, I turned and looked at him curiously. "Did something happen to you too?"
Kade turned away and resettled on the stool. "No."
Why did I get the distinct feeling he wasn't being honest with me? To say that disturbed me a little is putting it mildly. I didn't want Kade and me hiding things from each other. And yet, wasn't I doing that by not telling him about his things being put on the bathroom floor?
"We need to tell each other everything that happens in this house, Kade. And I'll begin." Worried that he'd wonder why I didn't mention it right away, I went on with the truth anyway. "As I said, something was in the bathroom with me while I was in the shower. For whatever reason, it put all your toiletries on the floor."
Kade looked at me for a long quiet moment then let out a sigh. "You wasn't going to tell me that was you?"
Although I had come clean with my omission, I couldn't shake the feeling that I'd let him down big time. "No. I didn't want you to think you are being singled out by it."
"By the big bad spirit you mean?"
I nodded and continued to watch him with concern, unsure of his mood or what he was thinking. "I'm sorry I even thought for a moment not to tell you."
"And you did so only because you think I am hiding something and you can't stand that."
The condemnation in his eyes caused a little stab of pain to pierce my heart. Surely we weren't going to fight the very day after we finally found so much joyous pleasure in each other's arms? "It made me realize that if we are going to fight this thing we both need to be completely honest. Secrets often lead to misunderstandings and much greater pain."
Kade ran a hand up through his hair, ruffling it up adorably, and turned away from my gaze. He stared off into space for a few seconds then let out a breath and relaxed his stance. Turning back to me, he smiled and held out his arms. "Come here."
I went to him as fast as I could, nearly tripping over the pile of cookbooks stacked on the floor
and waiting for us to find them a permanent resting place. "I'm sorry, Kade. I love you so much and I guess I have this fear that you will go away someday. That all this ... this strange stuff will get old and tiresome."
Kade cupped my chin and gently tilted my head back. My eyes, swimming in emotional tears, met his and then the tears fell and cleared away. I saw solid conviction in his gaze. He wouldn't leave me.
"Listen to me. Life will never, and I must repeat that word ... never ... be old and tiresome with you in it. I think it is quite an impossibility in any case. I love you and nothing will ever change that. Nothing. No matter what." He kissed me gently and then with increasing pressure when I wrapped my arms around his neck and clung for dear life. I was not ever going to let this man go. Never.
As our kisses grew more heated, Kade backed me toward the kitchen's center island and when I was close enough, he lifted me up and sat me on its marbled surface. Now that I was slightly higher than him, his hot mouth began to roam down my neck. He moved the neckline of my oversized sweater out of the way and kissed along my collarbone to my very sensitive shoulder. Shivers of pleasure raced through me and just like that I wanted him again. Now.
"Oh God, Kade! I think we are going to turn into sexual deviants or something." I laughed when he made a low growling noise and nuzzled down further so he could kiss along the tops of my breasts. His hands slid under my sweater and glided sensually across my belly, making the muscles there tighten with excitement and anticipation. They came to a lingering stop just below my breasts, making them ache for his touch and I suddenly wished I hadn't put on that stupid bra. As preoccupied as I was with his hands, his mouth had returned to claim mine and now I was focused on the delicious tangle of our tongues.
Kade gave a rumbling groan and slid his hands around to my backside, pulling me close against him and leaving me in no doubt as to his state of arousal. I wrapped my legs around his hips and wished there was an easy way to rid ourselves of our clothes.
Vanquishing Ghosts (Tess Schafer-Medium) Page 8