Page 22 of Haunted By the Shadow of Death

“Pips, come—”

“I’m going to just get changed.” I’d grabbed a random dress and moved to leave the room when his arm wrapped around me.

He grabbed the belt at my waist, undoing it.

“It’s better flesh to flesh,” he said. “There’s a certain subtlety to the scent that they’ll notice.”

I couldn’t even make eye contact as he began unbuttoning my shirt. My heart was pounding as he slipped it off my shoulders and it dropped to the floor.

“It’s not worth doing if it’s not going to be believable. There’s a difference in our scents whether we’re aroused or not. I’m just warning you,” he said, his voice growing rougher.

I didn’t stop him, although I still couldn’t manage to make eye contact. I was suddenly struggling to breathe, my pulse thundering in my veins.

His arm pulled me flush to him, his skin warm and hard under my palms.

We stood silently for a minute, just breathing each other in. He put his hand under my chin, forcing my head up. I forced myself to meet his gaze, and the heat in his eyes made something melt inside me. He’d barely touched me and I was already tightly coiled, craving more.

His other arm wrapped around my waist, pulling me up higher, fitting us together until I was standing on tiptoes. I could feel his arousal pressing into me and arched into him without even thinking.

He groaned low before lifting me with one arm and cupping the back of my head with the other. He angled his mouth over mine, and my last coherent thought fled. All I could do after that was feel the intensity of our connection. My back hit the wall as his hips pressed into me, simulating the act of entering me, and I still couldn’t get enough, wrapping my legs around his waist.

I was on the brink of losing all control when Kicks stiffened. He turned with me and I fell backward onto the bed, startled as he headed out of the room and shut the door.

“Hey, Charlie, how were the cupcakes?” Kicks said in the other room.

“Great, but I wanted to get back to my train.”

Chapter Nine

We were walking out of the cabin, on our way to the party, when Charlie said, “He still smells like a boy, but now he smells like you, too.” Then he looked directly at Kicks and added, “Piper asked me if you smelled like a girl. Don’t worry, because I told her you didn’t.”

“I was just trying to understand how different his sense of smell was from mine,” I said.

“Yeah, she wanted to know if everyone smelled different and if boys smelled different than girls.”

Okay, Charlie hadn’t meant to throw me under the bus. I’d have to let him live to see his next birthday.

“And if you ever smelled different, like a girl.”

“Well, thank you for that,” Kicks replied. “It was quite a favor you did me. Can’t imagine how your sister would’ve handled it if I did smell like a girl.”

“Girls aren’t that bad. She probably would’ve been okay with it,” Charlie said.

“I’m not so sure about that, but I guess we don’t have to find out.”

I wanted to crawl under the nearest bush. I would’ve if that wouldn’t make me even more of a spectacle. Still, I was a beacon of flashing red light with my cheeks glowing.

“I think that came out differently than what I asked him,” I said. They’d better have wine at this party.

Charlie faced me with a small look of indignation. “But that’s what you said.”

“Okay, well, it’s not important right now. We have to get ready to go to your party.”

I tried to focus on the gathering hall, the largest building in the community, up ahead. They’d hung glowing lanterns all along the porch, warm and inviting. It had almost a magical appearance.

It wouldn’t matter how beautifully they’d decorated if the place was empty. I couldn’t see a body through the window as we approached, and the only thing I heard was the sound of the river running nearby.

We should’ve had it at the cabin. Why had I agreed to let this be a huge affair? What if no one showed up and Charlie was sitting there in the middle of an empty room? On. His. Birthday. My parenting tally sheet was really going to take a hit with this one.

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