Page 10 of TBR: Dead But Well Read

Slinging my legs over the side of the shelf, I stretched.

“How was it?” The sound of Loch’s deep voice had me clutching my chest.

“You’re still here?” I yelped.

He shrugged and flipped another page in the giant tome he was reading.

Curiosity piqued, I drifted to the floor and soundlessly moved to sit beside him. Leaning forward, I skimmed the page he was reading.

“Ancient travel routes and temple locations?” I read aloud, then turned to squint at Loch.

He closed the book and set it on the floor beside him. “There’s a lot of ghost activity in town and we are trying to figure out the cause.”

“The guy from yesterday is with you?” I asked. They were the first two people who were able to see me since my death, so it made sense they would have arrived together.

“Yes. You left quite the impression on Rhodes yesterday.” Loch reached up and tucked a stray piece of hair behind my ear. “And I can see why.”

“Oh?” I breathed as my stomach twisted itself in knots.

My mind was still hazy with romance, and I was finding it difficult to remember my resolution to not get distracted or sucked into guy drama. Especially with this gorgeous man’s scent tickling my nose and his attention focused on me as though I were the most fascinating woman on earth.

It was intoxicating.

I’d finished a book today, and my head needed time to bask in the story before I started my next. So maybe it wasn’t the worst thing to let myself enjoy a bit of human interaction… How much trouble could that get me in?

“I’m sure you meet a lot of interesting people—er, ghosts.”

“We meet a lot of ghosts, but there is something different about you.” Lochlan rested his head against the wall.

His expression was open, allowing me to see the curiosity glinting in the mossy green pools of his eyes.

“Because I’m not hungover?” I asked.

“What?” Loch’s forehead creased.

“You know what I mean! Every ghost I’ve bumped into since I kicked the bucket has seemed like they have the world’s worst hangover. They shuffle around, squinting at the light, mumbling under their breath, shying away from loud noises, and stumblingthrough walls. Aren’t all ghosts like that? Or just the ones I’ve met?”

Loch burst out laughing, and I watched, mesmerized by how every movement he made could be so perfect. Yep, he was definitely book boyfriend material.

“I never thought about it that way, but you’re right. Ghosts do act like they just woke up after a two-day bender. Probably because the moment their bodies die, they begin to lose energy.” Loch playfully squinted at me. “So what makes you different, Axe?”

I shrugged. “This is the first I’ve heard of ghosts losing energy. I was a lightweight when I was alive, so I have no idea why I’m not hungover in death too.”

He rubbed at the five o’clock shadow on his jaw. “How long have you been dead?”

“Three years.” I answered, a little distracted and a whole lot flattered by the way he was giving me his full attention.

How many insta-love stories had I read in the past three years? If I had to guess, probably close to two hundred. And every single time, I wanted to kick the leading female in the butt for not taking the hot man up on what he was offering. This was my chance to be adventurous and just go for it, but here I was doing the same thing as the women who frustrated me in books.

Loch rested his hand on my upper thigh, giving it a playful squeeze. I was pretty sure he meant for the gesture to be teasing, but it was hard convincing my body of that when I hadn’t been with a guy in five years. It didn’t help that I spent every single day reading love stories that stirred my heart and body with all sorts of desires.

I closed my eyes for a moment, soaking in the heat that was radiating from where his palm rested against my thigh. As a ghost, I was always cold. I wasn’t freezing or in pain, but still, it was hard to ignore how comforting it was to feel warm… to feelalmost alive again. It was a struggle not to wonder what it would be like to have more of his body touching mine. Or how amazing it would feel if there were nothing between us.

Whoa. Slow your roll, Axelle!I forced myself to put a stop to the dangerous direction my thoughts were moving in.

“Did you enjoy it?” Loch asked.

Confused, I blinked at him. “Um… what?”

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