by Adam Charles
Heath never imagined he would believe in ghosts or live in a haunted house, but that was his reality when James came into his life. He expects James to run when he learns about Malcolm, the man who died there decades ago, but instead James is intrigued. And James’s interest leads to a confession from Malcolm that makes Heath question how he really feels about his spectral roommate. As they all move forward, Heath learns a lot of things about love in ways he never thought possible.
Haunt Me Then
(A Ghost Story)
Adam Charles
Laud Love Press Presents
Haunt Me Then
Copyright © 2016 by Adam Charles
Edited by Laney Brown
First E-book Publication: March 2016
Cover design by Poisoned Pixels
All cover art and logo copyright © 2016, Laud Love Press.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission. All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.
DEDICATION
To Eric, the one who actually loves Wuthering Heights.
I’ve read it once because, while we were dating,
I noticed that he had multiple well-loved and worn copies.
He’s read it dozens of times and seen every movie version.
The smile on his face when he read my opening scene
will be with me forever.
Haunt Me Then
By Adam Charles
Copyright © 2016
Chapter One
“Let me in!”
Heath nearly jumped out of his chair and dropped his book when he heard the howling cry and the rattling of the windows. He briefly wondered if it was just his overactive imagination, set off by the storm and Wuthering Heights.
The rattle came again. “It’s so cold. Let me in!”
Heath glanced over at the French door and saw a shadow outlined against the curtain. Was he going to see Cathy’s ghost when he pulled it back? He also had a brief vision in his mind of a wide-eyed Kate Bush turning cartwheels on his lawn, but he shook that away. The voice sounded male.
Picking up his book and setting it aside, Heath rose and opened the curtains to find a soaked young man in water-spattered glasses standing there.
“Come on! Open the door!” the guy said.
Heath obeyed, even though he didn’t recognize the man. He knew it was a bad idea, but this guy was much smaller than he was, plus his handgun was just a few feet away in the bottom desk drawer. He’d also been assured that he’d always be safe in the house, though he’d never had a chance to see any proof of that.
“What is your problem, Alan? Didn’t you hear the doorbell?” the young man said as he rushed in and started shaking water everywhere.
“Well, I’m not Alan, to start with. And my doorbell is broken.”
The young man hastily wiped his glasses and put them back on. “Oh.” He turned red and stood there with his mouth open.
“You mean Alan Hathaway, right? He’s the next turn off from the main road. The one with the big rock by it.”
“Yeah, he’s my brother. My car broke down, and I got turned around in the rain.”
“Did he know you were coming? He’s out of town on some business trip. I’ve been feeding his cat.”
“He’s not there? Shit.”
“What happened to your car?”
“I don’t know. It just quit in the middle of the road. I got it onto the shoulder, just barely, and decided to walk. My phone won’t work.”
“It’s the storm. Reception can be iffy on a sunny day.”
The young man cleared his throat. “I’m James, and I’m sorry about this.”
Heath stuck out his hand. “Heath. Nice to meet you.”
They shook, and James seemed to realize he was leaving a puddle.
“Oh fuck, can I use your bathroom?” James asked.
“Sure.” He led him down the hall, turning back to say, “You know, you scared me half to death. I’m rereading Wuthering Heights right now.”
James didn’t seem to understand. “Is it scary? I thought it was a romance.”
“You never read it?”
James shook his head.
“Saw any of the movies?”
He shook his head again.
“Oh. Well, one character is dead, and her ghost appears at the window, asking to be let in and saying she’s cold. There’s a Kate Bush song, too.”
“Kate who?”
Heath turned the bathroom light on and grabbed a towel for James, looking more closely at him. He realized this had to be a younger brother of Alan’s. Much younger. He looked barely twenty-one.
“Never mind. It doesn’t matter.” That put an end to his next conversational topic, mentioning his mother had named him Heathcliff after the hero of the novel that James knew nothing about.
He’s very handsome, came the voice in Heath’s head.
Heath tried his best not to react even as his gaze took in the wet t-shirt clinging to James’s hard, lean body. Heath refused to admit to a belief in ghosts out loud even though he’d been living in a decidedly haunted house for nearly six months. Malcolm couldn’t be anything other than a ghost since Heath refused to believe in demons and there was no way this guy was an angel. Plus, there was a portrait of the supposed scoundrel in the attic with his name on it, and he’d appeared in Heath’s dreams. Heath couldn’t imagine any other entity with the powers to do such a thing, so Malcolm had to be a ghost.
Malcolm spent most of his time trying to get Heath to either jerk off or find them a “playmate”. Heath had never imagined any living person could be so horny and oversexed, much less a dead person.
Come on, Heath. Let him stay. He’s looking you over, too, Malcolm said.
James was indeed looking Heath up and down, but he averted his eyes when he was caught. “Sorry about this. Could you maybe drive me over to his place? I think I know where the key is, if he uses the fake rock I gave him, and I can show some ID.”
Heath looked out the window at the end of the hallway. “Yeah, it’s in the fake rock by the backdoor, but it’s a mess out there. You can stay here tonight, and in the morning, I can take you into town to get a tow truck and then drop you back at his place.”
James stopped drying his blond hair and stared. “Really? That’s awful nice of you.”
“Alan has mentioned his brothers, plus you do look a bit like him. And you were so surprised you obviously thought you were in the right place. Our houses do have similar exteriors. They were built around the same time. It’s fine.”
James licked his lips. “Thanks. I appreciate it.”
“No problem.”
“I’ve only been out here once. When Alan moved in.”
“Really, it’s fine. It’s pretty dark out there. I haven’t replaced the outside lights recently. Only one works, so I don’t turn them on much.”
“You should. It’s kind of creepy out here.”
“Yeah, especially when ghostly voices come out of the night,” Heath said with a smile.
James smiled, too. “Guess so.”
Needing a distraction, Heath said, “I’ll grab you some dry things.”
“They might be a bit big.”
Heath shrugged. “I’m sure I have something with a drawstring that won’t fall right off you.” On that note, he hurried to his bedroom.
What are you doing? Get back out there and peel him out of those wet clothes.
Heath closed his door and sighed. In a low voice, he said, “M
alcolm, please stop. This is not some date I’ve brought home. This is my neighbor’s brother.”
Then be a gracious host and offer to suck his cock.
“Shut up.”
Heath found a pair of running shorts he’d outgrown and a t-shirt he’d accidentally shrunk when he threw it in the dryer with his jeans. He also grabbed his half full laundry basket.
When he got back to the bathroom, he handed off the dry things and set the basket down. “Here, these should do. Just toss your wet things here. I need to do laundry anyway.” He paused. “But I can start it later if you want to shower.”
James, seemingly not shy in the least, stripped his shirt off and threw it in the basket. “A quick rinse would be great. I feel kind of sticky.”
“It’s the pine trees. Sap gets in the raindrops on the way down.”
“Ah.” James yanked his shoes off and then began on his jeans.
Heath turned away and headed back to his study. “I’ll leave you to it and come grab the basket in a bit.”
“Okay, thanks,” James said.
The door didn’t close for another minute, as if James had finished stripping with it open.
I took a peek into his head. He thinks you’re attractive. You are tall, dark, and handsome, as I keep telling you.
Heath rolled his eyes. “Please don’t do that.”
I’m just saying. He’s thinking about it.
“It?”
Fucking you. Apparently he dumped some asshole who was cheating a few days ago or something along those lines. He was coming here to get out of the city and forget about his problems.
“Leave him alone. He’s a guest. Going into his head is like going through his luggage.”
Heath felt Malcolm sigh, a sensation that had scared him the first time it had happened. It was sort of like a pressure change in the whole house. Heath sat down in his armchair as he heard the rush of water that meant the shower was running. He expected Malcolm to say something else, but nothing happened. When he heard the water stop, he went and grabbed the basket and took it downstairs to the washing machine. After starting the load, he made his way back upstairs and met James in the hallway.
“Would you like coffee? Something else to drink? You hungry?” Heath asked.
“I had some fast food on the way here. You got any alcohol? I’ve had a long week.”
“Sure. There’s beer and whiskey. Which would you prefer?”
James grinned. “Whiskey, if you don’t mind.”
Heath led him back to the study. “So, a very long week then?”
James nodded and sat down gingerly on the couch. “Dumped my cheating boyfriend last Sunday. I thought we’d just drifted apart, but turns out he’d found someone new already.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Thanks, but it was a one-night stand that just kept going. It was all lust. Still hurt, but not in the same way, you know?”
“Yeah. I think I do.”
Heath poured them both generous glasses of whiskey and handed one off to James.
“Thank you,” James said. He took a big sip and then asked, “Sorry I scared you earlier.”
“It’s fine. I have an overactive imagination.”
James sat back. “Really?” He glanced around. “Did the realtor tell you about this place? Alan almost bought it, but the stories freaked him out.”
“The realtor told me there were some fanciful tales, as he put it, about the place, but your brother’s the one who told me there had been a scandal.”
Scandal, Malcolm said in his head. Is that what they call it when a man dies while fucking two other men? Makes sense, I guess.
“I meant the ghost stories. Alan mentioned them, but he didn’t tell me many details. I have an overactive imagination, too.”
“You believe in ghosts?”
James nodded. “I do. People think that’s weird, but I always have.”
“You ever seen one?” Heath hadn’t. Malcolm said it took far too much energy to be worth it.
James shook his head. “But I’ve felt stuff before.”
Heath, he’s begging for it. Let me talk to him.
Heath replied, Please, don’t. Please. I’ll do anything you want after he’s gone.
Malcolm went quiet then.
“You feel anything here?” Heath asked.
James sucked on his lower lip. “Something feels very different.” He took another long sip. “Could just be I think you’re hot.”
Heath raised one eyebrow. “You often confuse those two feelings?”
James laughed. “No, but the feeling I get when I think a ghost might be around is this kind of electric nervousness, if that makes even a little bit of sense. Similar to when you think you have chemistry with someone.” He gave a smile that looked apologetic. “And you can tell me to stop coming on to you any time. It was very nice of you to let me stay, and hitting on you may seem rude.”
“No, not at all. I’m flattered, really.”
James laughed. “Flattered? Why?”
“You’re younger than I am.”
James tilted his head. “I’m twenty-three. How old are you?”
“Thirty-one.”
James gave a shrug. “Not that much older. And being young is overrated.” Cradling his drink in both hands, he asked, “You believe in ghosts? Ever see or feel anything here?”
“Sometimes I feel things. Hear things.”
Tell him! Malcolm practically screamed in his head.
Why? Heath replied.
I want to see you enjoy him, that’s why.
Heath sighed.
Tell him, or I’m possessing him.
Heath cleared his throat. Malcolm had done that once before, and it had very quickly ruined Heath’s chances with a date he’d brought home. “There’s a picture of the guy who’s supposed to haunt the place. You want to see it?”
James’s face lit up. “Sure.” He put his drink down and stood up right away.
Heath led James to the attic and pulled down the stairs that folded into the ceiling. He set them in place and made sure they were secure before grabbing a flashlight. “There’s a light up there, but it’s a few feet away. I’ll go up first and turn it on so you can see where you’re going.”
“Okay.” James fidgeted a little, as if excited, and something about that made Heath excited, too. He’d never told anyone about Malcolm before, even the guy who’d been briefly possessed by him. Heath had driven the guy to the hospital and sat with him all night while he had tests done. Heath had insisted on paying for everything, as he’d felt it was his fault, even though he couldn’t explain the real reason he knew it was his fault.
Heath went up and turned the light on. The attic was finished and could’ve been used as another bedroom, but Heath just used it for storage. He set the flashlight aside and called down for James to come up. He stood there and waited, staring up at Malcolm’s image on the canvas. He’d been a handsome man, if a bit stern and forbidding. He’d had penetrating brown eyes, if the artist’s portrayal was accurate, and thick, lustrous black hair. Heath came up and dusted the portrait every now and then, something Malcolm appreciated.
“Whoa. He looks like the kind who’d bend you over something and spank you,” James said.
Heath could feel Malcolm lingering close by. “You like that kind of thing?”
James smiled. “Why, do you?” He inched over. “I could be persuaded.” He glanced back up at the portrait. “What kind of things have you seen and heard? It definitely feels different up here.” He looked around some more. “It’s a nice, big room. I love converted attics in these older houses.”
“I hear voices at times. I’ve had dreams about this guy.”
James looked back at him with wide eyes. “What kind of dreams?”
“Honestly?”
James nodded.
“Dreams of him fucking me.”
“They just fantasies, or you think it’s real? A real presence, I mean.”
“I’m not quite sure.” He waited for Malcolm to react to that, but he felt nothing, possibly because the man wanted what was happening between Heath and James to keep progressing.
James inched closer again. “You said you were flattered earlier. That mean you think I’m attractive?”
Heath decided to be honest. “Yeah. I do.”
“You don’t like my brother or anything, do you?”
That question threw Heath a little, but he said right away, “He’s straight.”
“Yeah, but do you have a thing for him? That’s happened before. Gay guy wants one of my older brothers and zeroes in on me as a consolation prize, so to speak.”
“We’re just friends. Nothing between us. At all.”
“You clean?”
“Me? Yes, I am. Been single a while. You?”
James nodded. “Yeah. I got tested when I found out about the cheating, and I waited until I got the results to actually break up. I was going to let him have it if he’d given me something because he couldn’t be faithful.”
Heath shifted his stance a little. “Then what are we doing here? You asking me out, or trying to hook up?”
“I took a week off work. We can see what happens.”
Heath moved in until they were almost kissing. “What if there is a ghost here, watching us?”
James ran one hand up Heath’s chest. “That’s kind of hot. Someone watching us fool around.”
“We gonna fool around?”
James tilted his head. “I’d like to. You’re really handsome, and I’d love to see my cock between your lips.”
Malcolm, is this you?
Malcolm laughed. It’s not, but I couldn’t be happier. I swear I’ll leave you alone. Just fuck him good and hard for me. Or let him fuck you. I just want to see you come, Heath.
Heath leaned in and kissed James. He immediately deepened the kiss as James pressed close to him. They somehow made it back downstairs, and Heath closed up the attic hurriedly. James stood there, watching him and panting.