You Are Always on My Mind

by Sable Hunter

  “I wasn’t thinking of going anywhere,” she quipped, following every move he made with hungry eyes.

  “Don’t want to take any chances.” Settling between her parted thighs, he edged his big body upward until his throbbing cock nestled against her pussy. “Look how we fit.” Supporting his weight with his arms, he bent down and brushed their lips together. Harper writhed beneath him, undulating her femininity against his groin. “God, baby, can’t take much of that.” When she tried it again, he used his best Dom voice. “Stay. Still. Now.” He was rewarded with a whimper, but she obeyed.

  Trailing his lips down her smooth throat and over her collarbone, Revel licked the intriguing indentation. She shivered and he exulted, giving her more, nipping and licking as he blazed a trail north, up her neck to the soft lobe of her ear. “Remember, this isn’t about punishment, it’s about reward.”

  “What am I being rewarded for?” she purred, chewing on her full lower lip.

  Revel could barely answer, he wanted that mouth. “For seeing Lucas, for being here with me…for being so fuckin’ beautiful.” He crashed their lips together and consumed her, stabbing between her lips with his tongue. Revel ate at her mouth, tasting her until she whimpered and angled her head so she could give him more. As she gave, he took—exploring, mapping her mouth with his tongue, relishing every little moan and sigh.

  Harper thought she would combust if he didn’t touch her where she burned. Arching her back, she pushed her nipples into his chest. “Please,” she muttered between kisses. As if granting her wish, he palmed her breasts, tugging at the tender tips, tweaking and rolling her nipples between his fingers. “Fuck, Revel,” she murmured, then hastily added, “Sir!”

  Rising up, he shifted his hips away from her molten core, sliding down her body until he could twirl his tongue around her pearled nipple. When she tugged hard on the ropes that bound her, he smiled against her skin. Revel loved her response to him. “Patience,” he said, weaving their fingers together and spreading her arms out to the side.

  “I’m aching, Sir,” she whispered.

  “Good.” He wanted to push her, give her that edge she needed without inflicting pain. Anticipation could be torture, but it didn’t leave a welt. Returning to his current obsession, he opened his mouth wide and sucked her breast deep inside his mouth, massaging the distended peak with his tongue. Beneath him, he felt her shift, lifting her hips, trying desperately to rub her clit against any part of him she could. Revel slipped his hand between them, brushing his fingers over her wet bare treasure. “You’re so hot, you want me, don’t you?”

  “Desperately, Sir.” Fire was building in her core. She clenched her thighs around his hand, trapping him. Revel groaned as he worked a finger inside her tender folds. When he did, she jerked, almost convulsing. He played with her, rubbing her slit, then circling her clitoris. A magnificent tension wound her tighter and tighter until she cried out. “Revel, I beg…!”

  Before she could finish her supplication, he lifted her hips, placed himself in position and plowed into her. Her keening cry of satisfaction blended with his own. The intense ecstasy of their union almost stole his consciousness. Pulling out, he moaned at the pleasure, then he surged back in.

  Harper strained, lifting herself using the tightness of the ropes. She wanted as close as she could get, she wanted him as deep as he could get. “Fuck me, Sir!”

  Revel couldn’t believe how good it was. Her cream coated his cock, her sheathe hugged him as tight as a glove. She was the most beautiful woman in the world and he wanted nothing more than to be with her. Pumping hard, he filled her up again and again. Her sweet channel milked him, pulling him closer and closer to the erotic storm waiting to consume them. There was no way he could stem the sensations building within him. “Harper, my Harper!”

  “More, harder, Sir!” She was so turned on, she wanted his climax more than she wanted air. She wanted to see his face contort, feel his body tense, see him lose control as his hot cum jetted within her. Bowing her back, she thrust her breasts up, hissing every time his chest slid across them with each thrust.

  Harder. Faster. Revel prided himself on his stamina. He could run, jump, climb—and by God he could fuck his woman as long and hard as she needed. He hammered into her tender sheathe, the soft tight place fit him so well, Harper was created just for him. For his pleasure.

  “Oh, yes! Yes, more! Don’t stop!” Unfathomable bliss lit her up, her arousal burned hotter than she could ever remember. “Revel!” she screamed as everything clamped tight—that one huge moment before her world exploded and the spasms began. “Oh, God!” she cried, her body writhing and thrashing.

  All of his good intentions of fucking her all night long went out the window. When her hot, tender flesh fisted Revel’s cock. He tried desperately to hold on, but it was just too good. With a triumphant shout, he tensed, erupting inside of her. Pulsing. Heart pounding. He collapsed on top of her, refusing to separate them, wanting that connection to last just a little longer.

  “Revel, Revel,” she murmured, kissing his face. Euphoria swamped her, she couldn’t touch him because she was still restrained. “Thank you.”

  Revel chuckled. “If I get to grade your homework, I’m giving you an ‘A’.”

  * * *

  Harper stood at the door, watching Revel stroll across the front yard to greet Patrick and Savannah O’Rourke. The night before while lying in bed, wrapped in one another’s arms, he’d told Harper their whole story. He’d also told her how he’d proposed to Savannah when Patrick had gone missing. She got the impression he told her because he was afraid it would come up in conversation and she’d be jealous.

  Well, he was wrong.

  Knowing that he’d offered to marry this woman when she was pregnant and they thought Patrick had been killed in an explosion in Afghanistan only made her love Revel more. His character was above reproach—unlike hers.

  She rested her head against the warm wood of the door facing, bracing herself to face yet more of Revel’s friends, another perfect couple. And this one knew all her secrets, well—most of them. When she’d been lost to Revel, his friends had helped him mourn her and he in turn had stood by them.

  To an outside observer, it would seem that all was well, all four of them had ridden out the storms in their lives and were destined for sunshine and happiness. The O’Rourkes had a darling little boy and seemed to have the world by the tail. Revel was equally together, he’d rescued Wildwood. And her. The only one of the four whose life was a mess was hers. And ghosts were the least of her problems.

  She was desperately in love with a man who deserved so much more than she could give him.

  Last night, they’d made love and it had been so good. He’d given her just what she’d asked for, exactly what she’d needed. But could she give him what he needed? She knew Revel valued truth, he valued honesty and she was keeping a huge secret from him, one that when it was revealed would drive them apart. No man who knew her history, knew who she’d been, what she’d done could ever love her. And she could never expect him to.

  But for now…for right now, they were together and they were happy and as Clotille used to tell her—live for today, we’re not promised tomorrow and yesterday is gone. For her, this was true, all she had was today. Tomorrow was out of her hands and yesterday was just a nightmare better forgotten.

  When Patrick and Savannah got out of their car to meet Revel, she saw they were without their child, which made sense to Harper. A ghost hunt wasn’t exactly a suitable environment for a toddler. Heck, it wasn’t a suitable environment for her, but she guessed that’s what she was about to do. All morning, she’d been hoping the ghosts were gone. Nothing had happened the night before. She and Revel had slept peacefully, exhausted by a full day and great sex.

  Putting on a big smile, Harper opened the screen door and went to meet them.

  “And here she is.” She heard Revel say. “Harper, this is my good friend, Savannah. Savannah meet Harper
Summers. And of course you know Patrick.”

  “How good to see you,” she greeted them. “I’m so grateful you could come.”

  “I’m thrilled to be here,” the beautiful Savannah said excitedly. “I’ve been wanting to come check this place out for a long time. In fact, the day Revel told us he was turning over heaven and earth to get you back, I told him then I wanted to come to Wildwood to investigate.”

  “Well, I’m glad you’re here.” She was still stuck on the turning over of heaven and earth thing. Revel’s expression didn’t change, but he’d never hid the fact he wanted her back unconditionally. “Patrick, I was so sorry to hear Paddy had passed. He was such a nice man.” Harper let him take her hand.

  “Losing him was hard, but I have Savannah and we have Jeremy now. I’d say I’m a lucky man.” He hugged his wife and Harper felt an intense wave of jealousy. She could have this, she could have this with Revel if only…

  “Lucky man,” Savannah kissed Patrick’s cheek, “why don’t you and Revel hang out here and let me and Harper get acquainted and do a walk through. I’m afraid if I take you two along, the mega levels of testosterone will scare away our female ghost.”

  The two women laughed when the men actually looked a little disappointed. “But what if you two need saving or something?” Revel asked.

  “Yea, who’s going to put the bustin’ in ghost bustin’?” Patrick asked, punching the air a couple of times.

  Savannah laughed. “Just don’t go far, we’ll call if we need you.”

  “Well, at least let me bring the equipment in.” Patrick carried recorders, a video camera and an EMF detector into the hallway.

  “Thanks, love.” Savannah kissed him.

  “We’ll just be outside talking about boring things, like work.” Revel motioned to the porch.

  “Okay, we’ll be fine,” Harper followed Savannah’s example and kissed her man.

  “Come on, before they crash our party.” Savannah laughed, letting Harper lead her to the living room. “Let’s sit down and talk before we begin, shall we?”

  “Sure,” she agreed, wondering where to begin. “If this is a haunting, it’s not new. I’ve heard the baby cry before, and I think my family did too. Unless it was a dream.”

  “Oh, we’ll get to the ghosts soon enough.” Savannah smiled. “First, I want to get to know you.”

  They sat down on the blue sofa in front of the fireplace. Since it was summer, the hearth was a backdrop for a candelabra instead of being filled with wood. “I’m afraid you have me at a disadvantage, I think you know more about me than I do about you,” Harper murmured a bit self-consciously.

  “Why would you think that?” Savannah sat down, so prim and proper in a white linen suit and a pink silk blouse.

  “Well, Patrick knew me before…” she began hesitantly, “and you knew Revel when he stuck by you through Patrick’s funeral.” Harper shook her head. “That sounded funny.”

  Savannah put her hand over her heart. “Believe me, I lived that horrible time. There was nothing funny about it. But Revel was there for me, you’re right. And I did know he had loved and lost you. That was one reason why I never considered accepting his proposal. At the time I thought I had lost the love of my life, but I knew you were still alive and there was no reason for Revel to give up hope. I told him to go find you.”

  “And he did,” Harper acknowledged. “More than once.” She pushed her hair over her shoulder, a bit frustrated. “I guess you know all the mess I’ve been through.”

  Savannah gave her a sympathetic look. “Yes, I do. Patrick is Revel’s best friend. We’ve suffered with him and prayed for you, every step of the way.”

  Harper felt contrite. “How does a good man like Revel hold his head up and declare his love for someone like me?” She knew Savannah would be thinking about the BDSM scene and Ajax, her walking away from him. What they knew of the tragedy and scandal of her parents death only added to the unfortunate mix.

  Savannah crossed her arms over her chest almost defensively. “We all have something in our past we try to hide. I bet you can’t guess what mine was, or has Revel told you already?”

  Harper shook her head. “No, he hasn’t.” She recalled Harley and Dandi’s revelations about their past. “He keeps his friends’ confidence.”

  With a knowing smile, Savannah relaxed. “Yes, I’m sure he does. I’m also sure the two of you have much more important things to talk about other than me and my past.” When Harper blushed, she continued. “I’ll never forget the day Patrick called Revel the day a man broke into my home and attacked me. Revel saved me.” Savannah saw Harper’s startled expression and patted her arm. “I had been talking to Patrick on Skype, he was in the Middle East and I was in St. Martinsville. I was keeping a secret from Patrick, the one thing I thought would make Patrick never want to see me again. A man broke into my house, a man I had rejected. He attacked me in front of the computer monitor and he spilled my secret for me—loud and clear. I wanted to die.”

  Harper leaned forward, listening intently. “He did?”

  “Yes, the professor announced that my parents were from Carville. I was born in Carville.” At Harper’s confused expression, she explained. “My parents were lepers.”

  The disbelief was impossible to contain. “What?” Harper asked.

  “Yes, unbeknownst to most people in the United States and in Louisiana, a leper colony existed on the banks of the Mississippi for over a hundred years. My parents were some of the last who lived there. It finally closed its doors a few years ago and now its home to a military reserve post. Even though they were both lepers, I wasn’t. The disease isn’t passed to a baby at birth, but it can be passed on through nursing. They loved me immeasurably, but babies born in Carville were taken away from their parents immediately. But no matter where I went, what foster family, what school or even job—the fact that I had been exposed to leprosy, born from parents with Hansen’s disease, which is the more correct term, I couldn’t escape the prejudice and the misinformation. Until Patrick…he was the first to see the real me. He was familiar with dealing with the disease and the rumors from his time in the Middle East. My hero wasn’t so easily scared.”

  Would Revel react like that to her bitter truth? The possibility was so impossibly sweet she wanted to cry. “You’re a lucky woman.”

  “Yes, I am and I think you are too, you just may not know it yet.” Settling back on the couch to get comfortable, she turned to Harper all bright eyed and excited. “Now, let’s talk ghosts.”

  Harper began to tell Savannah what she knew. “Whatever this is, it’s been around a long time.” She explained her childhood memories, what her grandmother had written in the diary about Bernadette’s reaction and all of the current episodes they’d encountered, including the crying, the screams, the dreams, the bed-making—even the books and the snake in the shower.”

  Savannah was taking notes on a tablet. “I don’t think the snake is part of it, I’ve never heard or experienced anything like that being part of spirit activity.” She shrugged her shoulders. “I have to tell you, the bed being remade is incredible. I’ve seen furniture move, but nothing so methodical.”

  “How about the books being turned upside down?” Harper asked.

  “That’s possible, although there’s usually a message trying to be conveyed. If a spirit’s just trying to scare you, that’s different than an action meant to communicate.” Savannah reached for the video camera. “So, you have no idea who these spirits might be?”

  “No, none,” Harper said. “I can show you the photo upstairs and there may be records available somewhere, but I haven’t found anything in the house, not yet anyway. I presume she’s someone who lived in this house. I’m ashamed to say that I don’t know the full history of my family.”

  Savannah handed Harper a digital recorder. “Why don’t we walk around and see what we can get?”

  Before she stood, Harper cleared her throat. “Before we begin, I just wan
t to understand this a little more. I know Harley, Beau’s wife is psychic. Are you? What are your qualifications to do this and what gifts do you have?”

  Laying down the camera, Savannah turned to face Harper on the couch, folding her hands in her lap. “Of course. I’m not psychic, at all. I guess you could say I’m sensitive. Mainly, I believe and I look and I listen. It’s been my experience that the dead are desperate to be heard, to be acknowledged. So many of them have unfinished business. Sometimes their deaths are sudden and misinterpreted. Many have messages they want to convey or goodbyes they never got a chance to voice. My work at the culture center, researching Louisiana history and folklore led to my interest in the supernatural.” Lowering her voice, she looked down. “But it wasn’t until I thought I’d lost Patrick forever that I became motivated…more like obsessed, to find him, to make contact with him.” At Harper’s surprise look, Savannah laughed. “And I didn’t, of course. Because Patrick wasn’t lost to me, he wasn’t dead. But in my search for Patrick, I found things I never expected.” She paused, looking Harper straight in the eye. “I found proof of life after death. There is no doubt in my mind that life and love continues beyond the grave.”

  Harper shivered. “Okay, I guess that answers my question.” She glanced apologetically at Savannah. “I wasn’t questioning your legitimacy, I just wanted to understand.”

  “I’m glad you did. We should never accept anything on face value, that’s how we get hurt and hurt others.” Standing, she held out her hand. “Shall we?”

  Rising to join her, Harper led the way. “Most of the activity has been upstairs, but we can do a walkthrough of the entire house if you’d like.” Honestly, she had no idea what to expect. Harper couldn’t help but be a bit nervous.

  “I like that idea. Before we begin, let me show you how to use the digital recorder.” Savannah took the time to go over some simple directions. “Since you’re connected with the house and maybe with the spirits, I think it would be very powerful if you’d ask some of the questions.” At Harper’s surprised expression, she clarified. “Don’t worry, I’ll help you. Our talking to one another won’t hurt a thing.”