Page 59 of Avelina

“You heard me. Dump your bag out,” she repeated.

“Okay, but let me get dressed first, at least.” I reached down to my pack, which still sat on the floor on my side of the bed, and fumbled for the flashlight. It wasn’t in the little holder where it should be. “Great, now I’ll never find it,” I said.

“What’s wrong?” Aaron asked.

“Sorry, did I wake you?”

He took a breath in and out. “I’m a light sleeper,” he said.

That wasn’t a no.

“I can’t find my flashlight and I don’t have your super night vision. I want to get dressed,” I said.

“Don’t,” he said. “Just come back over here with me.” He leaned over and took my hand, gently tugging me toward him. I connected to him and immediately knew that he was up and ready to try some of those things we’d hastily skipped past the night before.

I seriously considered it. I mean, I was cold, and wouldn’t it be great if I could just lie back and spend the whole day fragging Aaron?

Yeah, I said it. It’s a word now.

Somehow, I resisted his magnetic pull and said, “Aaron, Spirit is here.”

“Oh,” he said, letting go of my hand. I heard the rustle of a blanket and guessed he was covering up a growing problem. I couldn’t see what he was doing, but I could feel movement in the bed, and then that stupid scratchy dress hit me in the face.

“Um, no,” I said. “The only good thing about this dress is how it felt when you ripped it off me. I’m never wearing this thing again.” I threw it back at him and missed.

“Wow, you really can’t see anything, can you?” he said, chuckling.

Instead of responding, I just sighed melodramatically.

“You could go naked,” he continued. “I would be completely fine with that.”

“Ha-ha. Ho-ho,” I said flatly. “I want my clothes. Are you going to help me or not?”

“Lee, you should really stop wearing those. The pants are too tight. It’s indecent.”

“You just said I should go naked,” I countered. “And did you just call me Lee?”

Aaron grunted, as if that were an informative response. I stood up from the bed and crouched next to where I knew my bag sat. I found the zipper and opened it, deciding to blindly feel around for the flashlight. I heard Aaron get up from the bed and saunter over creaky floorboards to where I knew the counter was located.

“They’re still wet,” he said.

I sagged a little. “The naked thing sounds fine, I guess. I’m sure Ward will get used to it.” I continued searching for the flashlight. My hand found something hard and cylindrical. “Oh, is this it?” I felt for the button and clicked the flashlight on.

“Ha!” I said, standing up, then turning to see that Aaron was unexpectedly right behind me, causing me to jump in surprise. “Ak! Aaron, will you stop doing that? I’m going to kill you.”

He laughed quietly, wrapped his arms around me, and pulled me into his warm body. It was like stepping into a sauna after a cold swim. I groaned a little and melted into him.

“Ask Spirit to give us some time,” he said. “I want to lie in bed with you a little longer. Please, Lee.” He emphasized what was apparently my new nickname, then he bent down, kissed my neck, and slid his warm hand from the base of my spine up to the back of my neck like he had the first time we’d kissed. The man remembered everything.

I relented. Something about how hot his mouth was made me want to give him whatever he wanted. “Okay. Spirit, did you hear that?”

“Yes,” she whispered into Aaron’s ear, surprising the crap out of him through our Connection link. He whipped his head around, accidentally pushing me backward. I tripped over my bag and fell onto the bed, laughing.

“Serves you right, you big bully,” I said. “Never mess with the ghost whisperer.”

His link with me broke when I fell, so he couldn’t hear Spirit laughing her head off behind him. She had the cutest little giggly laugh.

“Spirit, will you please give us some time?” I asked. “At least until sunrise. Check the farm for intruders, go check on Ward, then go check on our enemies and report back in a couple hours. Can you do that?”

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