Page 106 of Chasing Your Ghost

Riley didn’t have to think about it. She’d known as soon as their experiment the night before had been revealed as a failure that she wouldn’t be able to keep Ella’s secret a secret for much longer. “Yes, I was already planning to.” She sent him a tight smile. “I just never got the chance to do it properly, but I promise I was going to.”

He smiled back at her, and it held none of the doubt or ambivalence of her own. “I know.” He said it with such certainty, such steely confidence, as though it had never crossed his mind that she would have done anything else. “Is it terrible that I know you would have chosen to tell me over keeping your promise to Ella, and I’m happy about it?”

Her shoulders lifted in a shrug. “Is it terrible that I feel more remorse about keeping it from you for as long as I did than for betraying Ella’s trust?”

Asher mimicked her shrug before taking another step forward. The kitchen counter dug into Riley’s back as he placed his hands on the surface on either side of her, pressing her against it and trapping her in place. If it were anyone else, she would have felt nervous or afraid, but with Asher’s arms surrounding her and his body lined up with hers, she felt only a sense of safety and the growing heat of desire.

He lowered his head until almost nothing separated them. “I don’t think it’s terrible,” he replied, the words ghosting over her lips. “If anything, I like you more for it, even if I shouldn’t.”

Riley swallowed, her eyelids growing heavy enough that she gave in and closed her eyes. “Maybe we’re both terrible.”

One of his arms moved, and she only missed its presence beside her for a moment before she felt the tease of his fingers lightly running over her cheek. She couldn’t suppress the pleasant shiver that ran down her spine, and Asher’s arrogant chuckle told her he’d noticed it.

“We can be terrible together,” he whispered against her lips, the double entendre in his words bringing a mirthful grin to Riley’s face while also fanning the exponentially growing fire in her core.

“Promise?” she asked, her grin turning wicked.

Asher chuckled, the deep sound seeming to vibrate through her body. “Promise.”

“Uh, what are you doing?”

The female voice intruded into the scene as effectively as a bucket of ice water. Riley’s eyes flew open to meet Asher’s similarly panicked gaze, and when he stumbled to the side, her eyes found a narrow-eyed Olivia staring at her from the arch that connected the entrance hall to the kitchen.

“Nothing,” was Riley’s loud and entirely unsmooth and suspicious response.

“Right,” Olivia replied, managing to lengthen the word into epic proportions.

“I was just lost in thought.”

“Must have been one amazing thought,” she muttered.

Asher smothered a laugh, his hand not doing much to hide his amusement from Riley. She sent him a scowl, which upon reflection, probably only made her look more insane to Olivia.

“Right, well, I just came to grab a drink,” Olivia said, walking to the fridge and grabbing a can of soda. “I’ll let you get back to your….thought.” She left the room, sneaking only one bewildered look over her shoulder at Riley on her way out.

Riley muffled her embarrassed groan in her hands, hitting two birds with one stone because she was also covering her eyes so she couldn’t see Asher’s smug expression and laughter-filled eyes.

“It could have been worse,” he reassured her, but the words were too amused to be of much comfort. “She could have walked in after we started kissing.”

The thought alone had the rest of her dignity shrinking into a withered and pathetic heap. “Ugh, it’s no wonder kids in school used to call me a freak.”

“What?” Asher barked. No traces of amusement lingered in his voice, and when he pried her hands away from her face, his fingers were gentle but unrelentingly firm. In contrast to the tone of his question and the grip he still held on her hands, his eyes were soft with concern. “You know that’s bullshit, right?”

“I can see dead people, Asher,” she reminded him. “I’m not exactly normal.”

“And thank God for it,” he replied. “Because what makes you special is the only reason I have a fighting chance.”

Just for the way he emphasized the word special, Riley rose onto her toes and placed a soft and lingering kiss on his lips.

“Olivia could have come back,” Asher pointed out after she’d pulled away.

Riley smiled. “It was worth the risk.”

Though she wanted to stay there and finish what they’d started before Olivia had interrupted them, she managed to turn her focus toward making herself a snack and getting a soda out of the fridge for Chris.

She and Asher walked back to the pool house with their spoils, and this time Riley looked at the gardener to confirm the grimy gaze she felt against her skin wasn’t her imagination. It wasn’t.

Asher pressed a hand against her lower back, and although he wouldn’t be able to do anything to protect her if need be, the touch soothed her nonetheless. She felt even better once she’d closed the pool house door behind her.

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