Aftermath

by Bailey Bradford

  Lee’s eyes had a hazy, unfocused look to them, wide and unseeing. His cheeks were ruddy and a sheen of sweat made his skin glisten. Lee’s mouth was open like an offering, his pink tongue darting out repeatedly to wet his chapped lips. His hair was a tangled mess from Lee tossing his head.

  “You are beautiful, perfect,” Darren gritted out as his cock slid deeper into Lee’s hole. Darren groaned as tight hot muscles gripped and massaged his rod. His hips jerked as pleasure shot from his balls and spread up his spine. “And you’re mine.” Darren thrust and sank his cock in deep, his balls slapping against Lee’s butt. Lee shouted, his back arching as he let go of his legs and reached for Darren.

  Darren dropped down on top of Lee, catching himself on his elbows at Lee’s sides while Lee wound his strong legs around Darren’s hips. He took Lee’s mouth again and began pummeling his cock into Lee, forcing a grunt from Lee each time Darren’s cock lodged deep inside him.

  It couldn’t last long, or Darren knew he couldn’t last long, not with the way Lee’s walls contracted around his dick, pulling and pushing until Darren couldn’t do anything other than give in to his body’s demand. Darren snarled like a wild beast as he grasped Lee’s jaw and plundered his mouth with the same ferocity he was plundering Lee’s hole.

  Lee jerked and writhed and clutched at Darren as wet heat spread between their bellies. Darren’s dick was gripped so tight he had to lift his lips from Lee’s and scream as ecstasy racked his body. He ground his hips against Lee, mindless with the intensity of his orgasm.

  Sometime later he became aware of being sticky and sweaty. Darren opened his eyes only to discover Lee snoring softly under him. He knew his grin was a smug one—it had to be as he looked at his lover, worn out and marked with love bites that Darren wanted to keep on that tanned skin.

  Despite feeling weak and drained, Darren reached down and grabbed the base of his cock, holding onto the rubber as his dick slid from Lee’s pucker. Lee grumbled and tried to pull Darren close but Darren resisted long enough to remove the condom and tie it off before tossing it on the floor.

  Darren pushed aside his fears about Lee leaving him and slid onto his stomach beside Lee. He refused to believe this was all he’d have with this man, and as Darren closed his eyes he vowed to do everything he could to make Lee want to stay with him in McKinton.

  Chapter Nine

  “You think there was a ghost in the motel room?” Lee said impassively as he watched Darren. The familiar bright swatches of color bloomed on Darren’s fair cheeks as he nodded.

  “You said yourself there was nothing holding the sheets up, but something was.” Darren leaned forward and gave Lee a pleading look. “Is it easier to believe the sheets just became animated and spontaneously attacked? Is it really too impossible for you to believe that people’s spirits might be able to linger even after the body dies?”

  “I don’t know what to believe. If I can touch it, see it, hear it, even smell it, then I know it’s real, but this…” Lee shook his head.

  “But it happened, you know it did. Let me call Severo, maybe he can explain it better.”

  And there was another creepy thing, a man people claimed could speak to spirits, or hear them, whatever. The very thought of it made Lee want to shudder and run from this town like his ass was on fire.

  Darren reached across the table and held Lee’s hand in his. One glance at those sweet brown eyes and Lee caved. He didn’t want to leave McKinton—specifically, he didn’t want to leave Darren. Whatever they had going on was strong and addictive and Lee didn’t want to fight it. He nodded once and Darren leaped up from his seat, letting Lee’s hand go so he could run around the table and hug Lee so hard he couldn’t breathe.

  “Thank you,” Darren mumbled.

  Lee didn’t know what he was being thanked for, but Darren followed it up with a tender kiss that rocked Lee to his toes. He was even a little stunned, especially after Darren had been so commanding earlier, taking Lee with all the skills of an experienced lover. No one had ever made Lee feel like that, as if he could—and he had, hadn’t he?—hand himself over completely and trust his lover to know what he needed. Darren had said Lee was his, and he was right. For however long this lasted, Darren had him, however Darren wanted him.

  “I’ll be right back.” Darren kissed Lee’s forehead then sprinted out of the kitchen. Lee heard the low murmur of Darren’s voice and knew his lover was calling Severo. Lee decided he’d try to keep his mind open no matter how bizarre all this was. It was obvious Darren believed, and maybe—although Lee was afraid to hope for it—if spirits did exist, maybe Stefan was among them. Lee immediately felt guilty for the thought. If there was some way for people to hang around after they died, how did he know if it was better than them just…going wherever people went once they passed?

  “Severo and Laine will be here in an hour.”

  Lee glanced over at Darren standing in the kitchen doorway. He was wringing his hands and looking everywhere but at Lee. Lee couldn’t stand seeing Darren so worried.

  “Come here.” Lee scooted his chair back and patted his lap. Darren hesitated briefly then came over and sat right where Lee wanted him to. Lee hooked his arms around Darren and rubbed his forehead against Darren’s chest. “I can’t promise you I’ll believe whatever Severo says, but I do promise you I’ll listen.”

  Darren wrapped his arms around Lee’s shoulders. “That’s all I’m asking you to do.”

  Lee was listening. Stefan was so excited he wanted to do something, ruffle Lee’s hair or just wrap around him.

  “You’ll scare the crap outta him.”

  Of course Conner had to burst Stefan’s happy bubble. Stefan gave the equivalent of a huff as he pouted. Sure, it was fine for Conner to scare the shit out of Lee and Darren—that sheet trick had been neat, and Conner had been right, it had kept Darren from going home alone and kept Lee from letting him. Maybe Conner shouldn’t have interfered but it’d been so obvious that the two men didn’t want to be apart from each other.

  “See? I had a good reason. See how they can’t hardly look away from each other? And Lee has held Darren’s hand this entire time. So me scaring them was good. If you scare them now, especially Lee, since he still isn’t convinced spirits exist, who knows what Lee will do.”

  Fine. He’d just hover here and be good, but he still wanted to let Lee know he was here.

  “Don’t even think about it.”

  God, if Stefan had eyes he’d roll them at Conner. The guy could be such a stick in the mud.

  “Trust me, Stefan. Darren needs to know you didn’t kill yourself, and he and Lee both need to know the truth. Just have a little patience.”

  What other choice did he have? Stefan made himself even smaller and settled in to wait.

  * * * *

  Darren’s skin kept flaring with chill bumps. Ever since Severo and Laine had come over, Darren had experienced the creepy sensation of being watched. He wondered if Lee felt it, too. He glanced at Lee’s arm. Little bumps prickled his skin and the dark blond hairs were standing almost straight up. That was pretty much a positive answer, wasn’t it?

  Lee set down the paper he’d been reading, another official accounting of Severo’s abilities being used to help the Austin Police Department solve a murder. Darren was so glad Laine had thought to grab the file he said he’d put together on Severo when he’d shown up in McKinton. Lee said he could believe in what he could see, so maybe all the documents attesting to Severo’s…talent, would count as something seen.

  Lee sighed and rubbed at his forehead, his other hand still holding onto Darren. “Okay, so Conner, who was your lover”—Lee stopped rubbing his head and pointed at Laine before dropping his hand onto the stack of papers—“is a spirit. And Severo can, as hard as it is for me to believe—but I have to, reading these—can commune with spirits. Conner came here and helped you two figure out who killed him and why, and saved a couple of people while he did it. And he’s still here.”

&n
bsp; Laine nodded. Lee pointed at Severo. “And you’re telling me Conner is the spirit who decided to play bondage with our sheets last night at the motel. Why would he do that?”

  Severo shrugged, his pale eyes focused on something behind Darren and Lee. “I don’t know, he’s being coy, the jerk. Maybe you did something to piss him off, or—and this is a guess, mind you, since Conner’s being an asshole—you said Darren was leaving. Did you want him to go?”

  Darren looked at Lee, who didn’t hesitate to answer. “No, but I didn’t think he’d like me inviting myself to spend the night at his place.”

  “There you go.” Severo shrugged again as if that explained Conner’s actions.

  Lee frowned and glanced at Darren before looking at Severo again. “What? Conner was playing matchmaker? He was my wingman? He wasn’t bright enough to come up with a better plan than scaring the sh—crap out of us? I thought Darren was going to be suffocated or strangled or—uh.”

  The temperature in the room plummeted. Darren started to get up, intending to drag Lee out of there. Lee wasn’t having it, jerking hard on Darren’s hand until he had no choice but to tumble onto Lee’s lap. Lee wrapped his arms around Darren’s waist and snarled, “What the fuck is happening now?”

  Severo and Laine both smiled as the papers on the table rose into the air, floating in front of Darren and Lee. Lee’s gasp was almost as loud as Darren’s.

  “Enough, Conner,” Laine snapped, his smile vanishing as he watched them. The papers shot up to the ceiling then sailed back down into a sloppy stack on the table.

  “Conner can be temperamental,” Severo explained. “And yeah, I can call him names because I know him, but you irritated him by implying he wasn’t very smart.”

  The room warmed back up as quickly as it had cooled. Darren didn’t relax, exactly, but his heart quit trying to climb up his throat. “So that was Conner the Vengeful Ghost,” Darren blurted, silly with relief at not being turned into a Popsicle.

  “Spirit,” Severo corrected before laughing softly.

  Lee tightened his hold around Darren’s waist and grumbled, “Severo had it right when he called Conner an asshole.” Lee sagged against Darren’s back. “Jesus Christ, there’s really spirits wandering around.”

  There was something in Severo’s expression, a flicker of uncertainty, maybe, that had Darren tensing as if for another attack. “He’s not the only one here, is he?” The answer dawned in Darren’s mind so clearly he felt dizzy as he stuttered, “Stefan?” Whether he was asking Severo or Stefan, he hadn’t a clue. Severo nodded.

  Lee went tense behind him, squeezing Darren so hard he squeaked. “No, you can’t…why would you say that?” Lee demanded, releasing Darren and nudging him to get up.

  “Lee,” Darren began, not sure letting Lee up was a good thing. He’d sounded very angry. Another push at his butt and Darren stood.

  “It’s true, that’s why.” Severo didn’t seem concerned about Lee’s temper at all, but Laine was slowly rising from his seat, his icy gaze locked on Lee. Darren reached for Lee’s arm only to be shoved back into his chair by… Darren blinked as Lee gaped at him.

  “Dar, what—” Lee’s hair lifted, thick clumps of strand separated by an invisible touch. “Oh God.” The color leached from Lee’s skin as a breeze kicked up around him and Darren both. Unlike the scary cold presence earlier, this one was warm, gentle, like constant caresses bestowed on someone much loved.

  Stefan. Darren knew, even as Severo said the name. Darren relaxed into the comfort of his friend’s embrace and watched as Lee spread his arms, his eyes wide with wonder and shimmering with tears that quickly streamed down his cheeks. Darren swiped at his own cheeks, rubbing the moisture away as he received more warm touches before, with a final lift of Lee’s long hair, the touches ended.

  Lee collapsed in his chair and reached for Darren’s hand. Darren took it for an invitation and settled back on Lee’s lap. He thumbed away the last of Lee’s tears from his cheeks then kissed him softly.

  “I’m okay,” Lee whispered, which was what Darren had wanted to know. “Are you?”

  “Yes, a little freaked, but it’s…” Darren sucked on his bottom lip then let it pop free. “I don’t know how you feel about it, but if Stefan’s still here, still with us, that makes me happy, and he—his spirit seemed loving and happy, too.” Darren cut a glance at Severo. “Not that I’m claiming I can do what you do, but it was like Stefan, my best friend who I’d known for years, surrounded me completely in his, uh, joy?” It sounded stupid, but that’s what it had felt like.

  “That’s exactly what it felt like,” Lee said unsteadily, “exactly like one full-body hug from Stefan. He was always so happy, just glowed with it almost all the time when I saw him. I could even hear it in his voice when I’d call.”

  “He sounds very special. Conner thinks so, too. Does that make Conner any less of an asshole in your opinion?”

  “Yes,” Darren answered before Lee could speak and possibly set Conner off again. “Even if Lee doesn’t think so now, he will.”

  Lee huffed, his warm breath wafting on the back of Darren’s neck. “You just don’t want me to make him mad again.”

  “Exactly. I preferred the warm, comforting spirit to the cold, ball-freezing one, thank you very much.”

  “He grows on you.”

  Darren raised his eyebrows at Laine. “Whether you want him to or not?”

  “Yeah, although if I’d known it was Conner fucking with me when he first started I wouldn’t have been so mad about him doing it.” Laine shrugged. “Or maybe I’d have checked myself in at the state hospital.”

  Lee slid his hand up to Darren’s chest and pushed until Darren leaned back on him. Looking at Severo, he asked, “Can Stefan talk to you?”

  “Ah, well, here’s the thing,” Severo said as he stood up and stretched his back. “Each spirit is different, pretty much like living people, so the way they communicate varies. Conner is the only one I can actually hear in complete sentences, and that wasn’t always true. When he first came to me he was as vague and difficult to understand as any other spirit I’d worked with.”

  “What do you mean?”

  Severo walked to the refrigerator and opened it, helping himself to a cold soda. “Anyone else want one? No? Okay.” He shut the fridge door then popped the tab on the can and took a long, noisy drink. “Sorry. Anyway, what I mean is, spirits don’t vocalize like we do, hence the tales of moans and groans and such. It’s hard to explain, but there’s this buzzing in my head when one tries to get my attention.

  “Usually I can understand bits and pieces, a word or two, maybe a sentence if I’m lucky—or they’re lucky. Either way, it’s like most spirits are incapable of getting more than a few words to me at a time. Stefan’s like that, very chaotic thoughts and images shoot from him to me. Conner’s been trying to help Stefan, so maybe he’ll help us communicate, too.”

  Lee hoped so. He’d even apologize to Conner if necessary—and feel like a complete idiot while he did so. Still, if it was what he had to do to find out if Stefan had fallen or been the victim of someone he trusted, Lee would drop to his knees and beg Conner’s forgiveness. Lee wavered, trying to put his thoughts into words.

  Severo came over to him and studied him for a moment before looking at Darren and giving him a thumbs-up that made Lee scowl and Darren snicker. Then Severo glanced at him and something in the man’s pale eyes made Lee’s stomach flutter. “Is there something specific you’re needing to know?”

  It might have been a common thing Severo asked of anyone whose deceased loved one Severo was communicating with, but Lee felt like the man had peered right into his mind. It was unsettling. He cleared his throat, which had gone dry the instant Severo had settled his gaze on Lee’s. “I have questions about Stefan’s death. He was scared of heights, and like I told you, he was found in Mercer’s Ravine. I can’t figure out why he would have been anywhere near a ledge.”

  “And there was the new
friend he made,” Darren added.

  “Yeah, I’d really like to know who the guy was. That’s why I tried to find Darren for so long.” But it wasn’t why he was so very happy to have found him. Lee tipped his head down and looked at the man in his arms. “And I’m so lucky to have found you.”

  Darren smiled but glanced away. “But I wasn’t any help at all, I—”

  Lee kissed Darren, shutting off his protest. He had seen the guilt seeping into Darren’s expression, heard it in his voice. Even though he didn’t care for an audience, Lee brought his lips to Darren’s and kissed him until Darren went limp in his arms, a soft whimper slipping from his mouth into Lee’s.

  Severo cleared his throat, then said, “We’re going to go, but I’ll see what I can find out.”

  “Thanks,” Lee murmured, too caught by the affection in Darren’s gaze to look away. “Lock the door, would you?”

  He didn’t wait to hear the reply, instead melding his mouth to Darren’s again and losing himself in the treasure in his arms.

  Darren was melting from the inside out, pleasure heating him slowly at first as Lee kissed him tenderly, then ratcheting up several degrees to scorching hot as the kiss turned fierce and Lee palmed Darren’s cock through his jeans.

  Lee sucked on Darren’s lower lip as his jeans were unfastened then Lee’s hand was on him, fisting Darren’s rod with strokes so perfect Darren’s eyes opened and crossed.

  “Feels good, doesn’t it, baby?” Lee asked as he ended the kiss. “You’re already so close, your dick is dripping. I bet your balls are already hard and tight. Let’s see.” Lee shoved his other hand in Darren’s jeans and hummed as he cupped Darren’s sac. “Yeah, nice and snug.”

  Lee did something that had Darren’s back bowing and his hands searching for something to hold onto. He settled for clutching at Lee’s thighs as Lee laughed. “Hm. You liked my nails scratching you.” He did it again, leaving a stinging trial over Darren’s balls that kicked his climax into gear.