Page 81 of The Shape of Night

“I know what Maeve and her friendsclaimit is. But all I saw on that video was a shadow. Nothing solid, nothing identifiable. It could have been—”

“Clouds passing across the moon. Yes, you’ve already said that.”

“All right then, let’s assume, for the sake of argument, that itisa ghost. Let’s say ghosts are real. But they’re not physical beings. How can they hurt you?”

“I’m not afraid of ghosts.”

“Then what are you afraid of?”

“This is something different. Somethingevil.”

“Or so Maeve says. And you believe her?”

“After last night, after what he did to me…” I stop, my cheeks suddenly burning at the memory.

Ben frowns. “He?”

Too ashamed to look at him, I stare down at the floor. Gently he tilts up my face and I can’t avoid his gaze.

“Ava, tell me what’s been happening to you in this house.”

“I can’t.”

“Why not?”

I blink back tears and whisper: “Because I’m ashamed.”

“What on earth do you have to be ashamed of?”

His gaze is too searching, too invasive. I pull away and go to the window. Outside the mist hangs as heavy as a curtain, hiding my view of the sea. “Captain Brodie is real, Ben. I’ve seen him, heard him. I’ve touched him.”

“You touched a ghost?”

“When he appears to me, he’s every bit as real as you are. He’s even left bruises on my arms…” I close my eyes and I picture Captain Brodie standing before me. The memory is so vivid I can see his windblown hair, his unshaven face. I draw in a breath and inhale the scent of brine. Is he here?Has he returned?My eyes snap open and I frantically glance around the room, but all I see is Ben.Where are you?

Ben takes my shoulders. “Ava.”

“He’s here! I know he is.”

“You said he’s as real as I am. What does that mean?”

“I can touch him and he can touch me. Oh, I know what you’re thinking. What you’re imagining. And it’s true, it’s all true! Somehow he knows what I want, what I need. That’s how he traps us here. Not just me, but the women before me. The women who spent their lives in this house, who died in this house. He gives us what no other man can give us.”

Ben steps closer until we’re face-to-face. “I’m real. I’m here. Givemea chance, Ava.” He cradles my face and I close my eyes, but it’s Captain Brodie I see, Captain Brodie I want. My master and my monster. I try to imagine Ben in my bed and what kind of lover he would be. It would be a plain vanilla fuck, like so many others I’ve known with men before him. But unlike Brodie, Ben is real. A man, not a shadow. Not a demon.

He leans close and presses his lips against mine in a warm and lingering kiss. I don’t feel even the faintest tremor of excitement. He kisses me again. This time he cups my face and holds it captive, trapping my mouth against his, his teeth bruising my lips. I lose my balance, and suddenly I’m falling backward and my shoulders collide with the wall. I don’t fight him as he presses against me. I want to feel something,anything. I want him to light the match and set me on fire, to prove that the living can satisfy me the way the dead do, but I feel no stirring of heat, no tingle of desire.

Make me want to fuck you, Ben!

He grabs my wrists and pins them to the wall. Through my jeans I feel the hard evidence of his desire pressed against me. I close my eyes, ready to let this happen, ready to do whatever he wants, whatever he demands.

The deafening bang makes us jerk apart, startled.

We both stare at the bedroom door, which has just slammed shut. None of the bedroom windows are open. No breeze blows through the room. There is no reason at all for the door to have so violently swung shut.

“It’s him,” I say. “Hedid it.”

Now I’m frantic to get out of the house and I waste no more time. I bolt to the closet and rake out the last of my clothes. This is why Charlotte left this house so abruptly. She too must have been frantic, terrified of staying a moment longer. I close and zip my suitcase.

---