“Okay. So now that you are done with your drink, you can help me.”
“Help you with what?” Great. Not only was I chatting with a ghost at the Ball, he now wanted something from me. This was what I got for wishing I wasn’t alone.
“To talk to Madelina.”
I coughed. “You want me to talk to a vampire princess for you?”
“Yes.”
“Are you kidding?” I searched his face. Ghosts could be just as expressive as their living counterparts.
“Does it look like I am?” He put a hand on his chest. “It’s been a long time since I’ve had a conversation with someone who could see or hear me. Maybe I'm rusty.”
“I’m human. She’s a vampire. And you want me to talk to her?” Was he crazy? Did he think I had a death wish?
“Yes.” He responded quickly and with complete seriousness.
“Yes?” I shook my head. “It’s not happening.”
“Why not?”
I lowered my voice into the smallest possible whisper I could. “Because she’s a vampire.”
“Isn’t that what this party is full of? Vampires and other supernatural creatures?”
“So I’ve been told.”
“So you’ve been told?” He narrowed his eyes. “You don’t know.”
“This invitation was a surprise,” I explained. “And why am I telling you this? I didn’t come here to talk with a ghost. If I wanted to do that, I could do it at home.”
“So you talk to ghosts a lot?” He spoke nonchalantly. “Can you take me with you to meet the other ghosts?”
“It doesn’t work that way.” Great. Time to let down another ghost. It never ended.
“Then how does it work?”
“You are either tied to a place or not.”
“How would I know?” He rubbed the back of his neck.
“Have you been able to leave this building?”
“No.”
“Then you are tied to this building.” Yup. I’d disappointed him.
“Oh.” his face fell. “That bites.”
“It does.” No reason to pretend otherwise.
“But you’ll help me get a message to Madelina?” Excitement returned to his eyes.
“I never said that.” I eyed the bar. I was going to need another drink to get through this evening.
“But you will.”
“Is this guy bothering you?” Mr. Hottie from outside strolled over with another smirk. My stomach did flip-flops. But clearly, I wasn’t the only one who noticed him. Nearly every woman, and more than a few men, visibly ogled him as he walked. At least I wasn’t losing it for thinking he was so attractive.
Then I realized something far more important than how hot he was. “Wait.” I looked between hottie and the 80s ghost. “You can see him?” Was this a joke? Could everyone see ghosts here?
Mr. Hottie smiled, “I can.”
“Can everyone?” I asked, lowering my voice to a whisper.
“I doubt it.” He eyed the ghost. “Were you bothering Gabriella?”
I froze and went over our earlier meeting. I’d never introduced myself. “How do you know my name?”
“I have my ways.” He smiled. “I’m Rexton.”
“Nice to meet you.” I held out my hand even though I was still suspicious that he knew my name. Add that on top of being able to talk to ghosts too - oh, and finding my ticket - and things involving him were just a little bit too strange.
“They can’t see me.” The ghost moved straight through a woman in a long red gown. She giggled, so she must have felt him. But otherwise, she didn’t seem to notice. However she did notice Rexton. She licked her lips as her eyes moved up and down his body. I hoped I didn’t look that ridiculous. I took my eyes off the girl as the ghost continued, “And you never asked, but my name is Adrian.”
“Hi, Adrian.” I was back to studying Rexton. “So you can talk to ghosts, too? I’ve never met anyone else who could.”
“You thought you were the only one?” He raised an eyebrow. “That was mighty presumptuous of you. Thinking you were that special.”
“I don’t think I’m special.” I most frequently viewed myself as cursed.
“Hey, I didn’t say you weren’t special. Don’t put words in my mouth.” He gave me a tooth bared smiled that should have frightened me but instead built up heat everywhere in my body. “You are very, very special. I said that special and was only referring to your gift, not you.”
“Gift?” I parroted his word. “You mean curse.”
“No, darling.” He put a hand under my chin and looked into my eyes. “It’s a gift.”
I shook off his hand after enjoying the warm spark created by his touch for a moment too long. It was a far cry from the icy chills ghosts created. “Maybe for you.”
“For you, too.” He appeared amused by the way I’d brushed him off as if my response had been unexpected.
I took a step back. I didn’t trust myself around him. I was out of my element at this Ball, and I needed to remember it. “You can’t know what it is for me.”
“I can.” His smile grew wider. “Because I know you plenty well.”
“We just met.”
“Yet, I know exactly what you desire. I know exactly how your mind works. And your body.” He took a small step toward me.
I held my ground and tried not to shiver. “Yeah, right.”
“Don’t believe me?”
I shook my head. “No.”
“Let me show you.”
“Yeah, that’s not happening.” What the heck was going on? Why wasn’t I running away from this guy? Stacy and Harriet were right. I needed to get out more.
“Okay, then help me.” Adrian moved in front of Rexton. “We can find Madelina.”
I looked between the two and settled on Rexton. Sure he was creepy, but he wasn’t suggesting I talk to a vampire. “Okay. Show me.”
Chapter Four
My days of making smart decisions appeared to be behind me. Somehow I let Rexton lead me up a rainbow staircase and into the loft. I’d never seen such a colorful and over-the-top warehouse in my life. Then again, I’d never been to a supernatural ball before either.
“This party is crazy.” I looked around the loft. There were lots of guests up there, yet there was still tons of room.
He chuckled. “Says the girl who can see ghosts.”
“Which says it all.” This experience was unreal.
“Ready for me to make my point?”
“You haven’t yet?” I fanned myself with my hand. Why was I so hot?
“Of course not.” He brushed a strand of hair away from my face. “Plus, I saved you from that ghost.” He took my hand and pulled me into what can best be described as a cube. He closed the door.
The only thing in the cube was a tufted bed adorned with colorful pillows. “Uh, what are we doing in here?”
“I’m making my point.”
“In here?” I looked at the closed door. Why wasn’t I running? Because he’s hot. The thought struck me. And I want him. Neither of those excuses were enough to justify why I was standing around with him in a small room filled with a bed. I couldn’t blame it on alcohol. I’d had one drink. I knew I was completely sober, yet resisting Rexton seemed all but impossible.
“It’s soundproof.”
“Uh. Okay. Let’s go.” Logic screamed at me.
He laughed. “Relax. I brought you here to talk.”
“To talk?” I raised an eyebrow. “Right.”
“Yes. There are ears everywhere in this place.”
“Ears that want to hear what exactly?” It’s not that I doubted him. Who knew what kind of hearing these creatures had? But I wasn’t sure how secret our curse, or gift if you wanted to be an optimist, needed to be.
“This.” He leaned in and pressed his lips against mine. Before I knew it, I was opening up, sighing as he pushed his way into my mouth. My hands were in his hair. Well, one hand. The other one was pressed against
his chest, not to push him off but to feel the muscles. His arms were wrapped around me. One of his hands slipped down—.
I snapped out of my daze. “Wait. I thought we were in here to talk.”
He shrugged. “We were, but then you put ideas into my head.”
“I put ideas into your head?” I struggled to get my breathing to return to normal. “Yeah, right.”
“You did. With all that ‘why did you bring me in here’ talk.”
“Oh, yes. That was so provocative.” I was breathing normally, but my heart rate was still elevated. Stacy would have been loving this.
“Thinking about what I really wanted to do with you in here made it impossible to keep my mind on talking.” He put his hand on my hip. Warmth spread through me.
I closed my eyes and savored it for a moment before I came to my senses and opened my eyes. “How does this work?’
“What? The soundproofing? It’s a simple matter of—” He pointed to the ceiling.
I groaned. “No. How you can make me turn into a pathetic lovesick monkey around you?”
“Lovesick monkey?” His lips lifted into a bare hint of a smile. “There is nothing akin to a monkey about you.”
“I didn’t mean an actual monkey.”
“Hey, you are the one who said it.”
“Only because—”
I didn’t get to finish because his lips were on mine again. I wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling him in closer. This time, I was the one who pushed into his mouth. I wanted him. I needed him. A fuzzy cloud of desire settled in around me as his hand moved to my hip. I arched my body against him, wanting nothing more than for our clothing to disappear. I started to tug at his jacket when reality hit me. “Oh my gosh, we have to stop doing that.”
He grinned, and his eyes were lidded and full of promises I really wished I’d get to experience but knew I’d probably never recover from. “Not necessarily. I find it quite enjoyable.”
“Of course you do.” I looked toward the door. I needed to get some space and air. I couldn’t think clearly or even act rationally around him.
“And you don’t?”
“I. Uh. Yeah. But...”
He laughed. “Guess I left you speechless.”
I made myself meet his eyes. “No. I’m just trying to figure out your game.”
“What game?” Adrian asked as he appeared. He was faint at first, but gradually he grew stronger and clearer.
“Can we help you?” Rexton shot an annoyed glance at the ghost.
“Yes, yes you can. Or at least Gabriella can. I don’t necessarily trust you.”
“Can’t say I blame you,” I mumbled.
“Oh yeah?” Rexton nudged his shoulder into mine. “Then why are you still in here with me?”
“I don’t know. But I do know it’s your fault.”
“How can we help you, ghost?” Rexton ignored my comment.
Adrian smiled. “See, this guy gets it.”
“You just said you can’t trust him.”
“I can’t, but at least he’s staying on topic and offering to help.”
“Okay. Let him help. You can leave me out of it.” I headed to the door. It was much easier to resist Rexton with Adrian around.
“Wait. Gabriella,” Adrian called. “No. I need you, not him.”
I spun around. “Why?”
“Because have you looked at him?” He gestured to where Rexton stood.
“Yes. Yes, I have.” And I didn’t need to look at him again for the reminder. Looking at Rexton kept getting me in more and more trouble.
“I don’t want him meeting Madelina.”
“Oh, come on.” Rexton laughed. “I have Gabriella. Why would I bother with your... Madelina, did you call her?”
“I didn’t say you would. She might though.” Adrian sighed. “She always did like to play the field.”
“Wait. I thought she was your girlfriend.” I said. Then Rexton’s words set in. Had me? He was jumping the gun quite a bit there, but he probably said it just to get a rise out of me. I chose to ignore it and focus on Adrian’s issue.
“She was.” Adrian put his hands in his back pockets.
“Then why was she playing the field?” Maybe it was rude to press for answers, but if I was going to be drawn into a dispute with a vampire princess, I needed as much information as I could get. “Weren’t you exclusive?”
Adrian frowned. “I was dating a vampire princess. Do you think I pushed the labels with her?”
“How did you die?” Rexton asked. He was willing to be way more blunt than I was.
“She tried to turn me.” Adrian rubbed his neck. “It didn’t go too well.”
“Are you sure she was actually trying to turn you?” Rexton asked.
I tried to get a look at Adrian’s neck, and I didn’t see any mark or anything.
“What are you inferring?” Adrian’s frown was now a full-fledged scowl.
“You know exactly what I am talking about.” Rexton adjusted his tie. It had been displaced during our latest make-out session.
“Madelina would never hurt me. Never.” Adrian moved his hand back to his neck. “You are wrong.”
“But has she been back?” Rexton was not ready to drop this line of conversation.
“Not until now.” Adrian let his hand fall to his side.
I hoped Rexton wasn’t right, but my gut was telling me he was. “I’m really sorry, Adrian.”
“Nope.” He shook his head. “It was an accident.”
“I doubt it was.” Rexton kept firm and direct eye contact with Adrian. “I’m sorry man, but you need to face the facts.”
“Rexton? Can I talk to you a minute?” I touched his arm to emphasize I was serious.
“Of course.” Rexton nodded. “Adrian, give us a minute, man.”
“Fine. But I will be back.” Adrian disappeared through the wall.
“Couldn’t wait to be alone with me?” Rexton teased.
“No. Stay serious.” I needed him to because I knew my resolve to keep my hands and lips off him wasn’t going to last long. “Why are you being so pushy about this? He’s heartbroken.”
“Why do you think he’s stuck here?” Rexton threaded his fingers through mine. The spark was back and instantaneous. “He’s waiting for her. But she made her choice. He needs to let go of her so he can move on.”
“Move on?” I understood on some level there had to be someplace ghosts were supposed to be, but I’d never seen one “move on” before.
“Wait. You don’t know that’s our job?”
“Our job?” I tried to ignore my urge to run my free hand through his hair. I needed to concentrate. “Huh?”
“Oh my, Gabriella. You are more innocent than I thought.”
“I am not innocent.” I somehow pulled my hand from his grasp. At least his insults made me recoil still.
“Not in all ways.” He waggled an eyebrow. “I know that firsthand now, but in some ways you are. So what have you been doing with the ghosts you meet?”
“Uh, talking to some when I’ve let them know I can see them. A few are my friends.” I thought of Stacy in particular.
“Friends?” His jaw fell open. “You can’t be friends with them. You are breaking one of the cardinal rules.”
“Cardinal rules? You forget I didn’t even know other people could talk to ghosts until I met you.” I played it off, but I was nervous. Was there some sort of punishment for breaking these unknown rules?
“So no one has trained you?” He rubbed his chin. “At all?”
“I just told you I didn’t know others like me existed.” As much as I knew this conversation was important, I wanted Adrian to come back. I was stressed and turned on. It wasn’t a good combination.
“Yes… but you could have been trained by a non-seer. It’s happened before.” He sighed. “Well, babe. It looks like you are going to be stuck with me.”
“Stuck with you?” Why did I like the sound of that? Ugh. I had to ge
t away from him and fast.
“I can’t let an inexperienced ghostie walk around.”
“Ghostie?” Now that was a new term.
“Nickname for those with our gift. Officially, we don’t have a real name in the community. Doesn’t mean we aren’t important though.”
“And you help ghosts?” It was time to learn something. I tried to push away the lustful daze.
“Yes. And help normals, too. Make some cash that way.” He rubbed his fingers together.
“Wait. What?”
“Someone wants a ghost out of the house… the ghost wants to get out of the house. You can do both at once.”
“You make money off your gift?” The very idea of that seemed off to me.
“You say it like it’s a bad thing? And you said ‘gift.’” He smiled. “I’m making progress.”
“Can I come back?” Adrian’s voice flowed in from somewhere.
“You never left.” Rexton sighed. “Don’t lie to the innocent.”
“Fine. I kind of did. You couldn't see me.”
“You mean you’ve been here the whole time?” I asked even though he pretty much answered already. I’d known ghosts who could be invisible yet consciously present, but not many.
“Are you ready to believe me?” Rexton yawned. “That your girlfriend offed you?”
“No.” Adrian appeared again. “It was an accident. “Tell him, Gabriella.”
“Me?” I put a hand on my chest. I still didn’t see why I had to be dragged into this. If I had wanted to be annoyed by a ghost, I might as well have stayed home.
“Yes. You believe in it. You believe in true love.” Adrian’s expression softened.
I laughed. I laughed really, really, loud. “Why would you think that? I don’t even know what love is.”
Rexton’s brows knit together. “Really?”
“How can you think about love when everyone around you thinks you are crazy?” It made it impossible to truly open up to anyone.
“I don’t think you are crazy.” Rexton winked.
“Okay.” Adrian moved across the small room. “That’s sweet and all, but I need your help.”
“I’m not talking to this vampire princess. Especially not if she’s a murderer.” There was a limit to the number of uncomfortable situations I’d put myself in on a single night. Besides, this went beyond uncomfortable. It was straight up a death wish.
The Monster Ball Year 2 Page 50