handheld device. Only a few inches taller than she—and she was tall—he brushed her hair with his ear. Then, as if embarrassed by the inadvertent contact, he drew back. “Is it…um…detecting any energy right now?”
Not the kind I’m detecting, she thought as that brief touch sent her internal temperature spiking.
“Not yet,” she said, and then paused to clear her sudden hoarseness. “Where does the ghost usually appear?”
“I’m told that it moves from the corridor doorway toward the side of the bed nearest the window.”
“And you said it’s not a full manifestation, correct?” She moved on around to the indicated side of the bed. “It’s more a wispy figure than a full one?”
“That’s what they say.”
He followed her. Moonlight fell through the windows, casting their shadows over the pale bedspread. Side by side, the silhouettes of their upper bodies touched like two lovers lying across the wide bed. Dera withheld a sigh of longing that he would see the same image.
“The figure hovers here,” he said, shifting to stand behind her. To her surprise, he settled his hands on her waist and drew her back slightly. “Just…here.”
Her shoulder blades came up against his chest and his hands remained on her waist. The intimate position sent a thrill through her. But it wasn’t quite enough. Eager for that final piece of evidence that his desire for her had survived their years apart, she shifted her weight so that her backside touched the front of his jeans. She felt the long ridge of flesh that pressed against his zipper and heat coursed through her.
Oh yes. He’s definitely still interested.
“What happens next?” she asked, lowering her voice. “I mean…when they see it?”
“The couple on the bed is usually frozen in fear. Then the figure appears to pitch toward them before it suddenly vanishes.” He didn’t move away but he didn’t move closer either. “Then my night clerk gets a terrified phone call and I’m summoned to check out a reported intruder.”
“I…see.” She wanted him to lift his hands from her waist and skim them around to her breasts. Sexual energy sizzled through her body, quickening her heartbeat until she was certain he must hear it in the night.
“Do you, Dera ?” His lips brushed her ear. “Do you see?”
Before she could answer—and her answer would have been to turn and hurl herself against him—the temperature of the room dropped. Alec lifted his head and released a startled oath. At the same moment, Dera spied movement on the other side of the bed, near the corridor door. A gauzy shadow of white drifted toward the bed.
Her thoughts of desire and seduction evaporated as the mist paused and condensed. It shuddered briefly and then the vaporous form whipped around the foot of the bed. Before she could react, Alec yanked Dera backward, his legs tangling with hers as they stumbled toward the moonlit windows. He took the brunt of their weight as he plunked down upon a window seat and Dera landed in his lap.
The mist reached the place where they had stood. The chill in the room intensified. From her peripheral vision, Dera saw that the lights on the K2 meter flashing wildly.
“What the—”
At Alec’s voice, the mist abruptly vanished. The temperature in the room returned to normal and the lights on the K2 meter went dark. It was as if nothing had happened.
Dera stared at the place where she’d seen the apparition. “I take it you’ve never seen that before,” she whispered.
A moment passed before Alec answered in as low a voice, “Never. I only half-believed the people who told me about it.”
“And now?”
“I can’t deny my own eyes, can I?”
He took in a deep breath. She heard it, felt the swelling of his chest against her back, became aware of just how intimately they were joined there on that window seat. His inner thighs embraced her outer ones. One of his hands gripped her arm. His other hand rested across her lap, his
Not the kind I’m detecting, she thought as that brief touch sent her internal temperature spiking.
“Not yet,” she said, and then paused to clear her sudden hoarseness. “Where does the ghost usually appear?”
“I’m told that it moves from the corridor doorway toward the side of the bed nearest the window.”
“And you said it’s not a full manifestation, correct?” She moved on around to the indicated side of the bed. “It’s more a wispy figure than a full one?”
“That’s what they say.”
He followed her. Moonlight fell through the windows, casting their shadows over the pale bedspread. Side by side, the silhouettes of their upper bodies touched like two lovers lying across the wide bed. Dera withheld a sigh of longing that he would see the same image.
“The figure hovers here,” he said, shifting to stand behind her. To her surprise, he settled his hands on her waist and drew her back slightly. “Just…here.”
Her shoulder blades came up against his chest and his hands remained on her waist. The intimate position sent a thrill through her. But it wasn’t quite enough. Eager for that final piece of evidence that his desire for her had survived their years apart, she shifted her weight so that her backside touched the front of his jeans. She felt the long ridge of flesh that pressed against his zipper and heat coursed through her.
Oh yes. He’s definitely still interested.
“What happens next?” she asked, lowering her voice. “I mean…when they see it?”
“The couple on the bed is usually frozen in fear. Then the figure appears to pitch toward them before it suddenly vanishes.” He didn’t move away but he didn’t move closer either. “Then my night clerk gets a terrified phone call and I’m summoned to check out a reported intruder.”
“I…see.” She wanted him to lift his hands from her waist and skim them around to her breasts. Sexual energy sizzled through her body, quickening her heartbeat until she was certain he must hear it in the night.
“Do you, Dera ?” His lips brushed her ear. “Do you see?”
Before she could answer—and her answer would have been to turn and hurl herself against him—the temperature of the room dropped. Alec lifted his head and released a startled oath. At the same moment, Dera spied movement on the other side of the bed, near the corridor door. A gauzy shadow of white drifted toward the bed.
Her thoughts of desire and seduction evaporated as the mist paused and condensed. It shuddered briefly and then the vaporous form whipped around the foot of the bed. Before she could react, Alec yanked Dera backward, his legs tangling with hers as they stumbled toward the moonlit windows. He took the brunt of their weight as he plunked down upon a window seat and Dera landed in his lap.
The mist reached the place where they had stood. The chill in the room intensified. From her peripheral vision, Dera saw that the lights on the K2 meter flashing wildly.
“What the—”
At Alec’s voice, the mist abruptly vanished. The temperature in the room returned to normal and the lights on the K2 meter went dark. It was as if nothing had happened.
Dera stared at the place where she’d seen the apparition. “I take it you’ve never seen that before,” she whispered.
A moment passed before Alec answered in as low a voice, “Never. I only half-believed the people who told me about it.”
“And now?”
“I can’t deny my own eyes, can I?”
He took in a deep breath. She heard it, felt the swelling of his chest against her back, became aware of just how intimately they were joined there on that window seat. His inner thighs embraced her outer ones. One of his hands gripped her arm. His other hand rested across her lap, his
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