Page 45 of Séance

I’ve never been so distracted that I didn’t sense another person enter the room.

It’s disturbing to say the least.

“Sorry,” he says with a sheepish expression, and I immediately feel chagrined.

“No, my fault,” I say, feeling discombobulated and anxious now that the other guys are gone. I inch toward the door, uncertain of my welcome. “I should probably head out too.”

Ellis frowns, tilting his head to the side in a way that says he’s thinking about something a little too hard. “James sent me down here, saying that I was supposed to work on a secret project with you.”

I immediately halt in surprise and suspicion. “He did?”

“You’ll have to forgive James. He often makes plans then forgets to have conversations with people involved before disappearing on some new mission or other.” Ellis runs a hand through his hair, a slightly exasperated expression on his face.

Warmth spreads through me at Jameson’s thoughtfulness, and some of my unease fades. “If you’re sure that I’m not bothering you…”

“No bother at all.” Ellis straightens and tugs at the bottom of his dress shirt. He’s wearing black-rimmed glasses today that give him a cute, nerdy look. When he looks at me, intelligence gleams in his brown eyes, and I’m drawn to the sexy nerd look he exudes. He begins rolling up his sleeves, wry humor twinkling in his eyes, and his lips twist in an inviting half smirk. “Now, what shenanigans did James involve you in?”

I can’t stop the grin that spreads across my face, my gaze flicking up to my hidden stash. “He might have mentioned Gunner has a secret weakness for chocolate, but he rarely indulges. I thought I would bake him a cake in return for cooking lessons.” Feeling a bit presumptuous, I hesitate and wonder if Jameson was messing with me. “Unless he was just playing a trick on me.”

Ellis snorts and saunters toward the counter. “Oh, James loves his pranks, but he would never tell outright lies. Gunner is obsessed with chocolate but never buys it for himself. The man eats healthy and works out religiously to stay in shape. It’s only by sheer willpower that he keeps himself from devouring the chocolate Jameson has stashed in the cupboards.”

Ellis places his hand on the counter, then effortlessly swings his legs up and stands in one smooth move. He’s taller than me and can easily see over the crown molding. Without even batting an eye, he collects my stash. He crouches, then leaps to the floor with no more effort than it takes to turn the page of a book.

All the guys are insanely in shape.

While I haven’t met many people my own age, something tells me that not everyone is so meticulous. I clear my throat as he straightens, doing my best to pretend that I’m not fascinated by each of my new neighbors. “You guys must work out a lot. Is there a gym around here that isn’t too busy?”

I suddenly feel the urge to train, if only to keep up with them, but if my father tries to make a move for me, I want to be prepared as well.

Ellis tilts his head as he studies me, his lips slightly pursed, and I lean over the counter to keep from wandering closer to him. “We have a gym in the basement. We’re usually up pretty early, but I should be able to work out a schedule with the guys…uh, if you want?”

My eyes widen in surprise. While I want to accept his generous offer, I learned caution when I was young. “Are you sure the others won’t mind? I don’t want to intrude.”

He waves away my response. “That’s what the schedule is for. If they don’t like it, they can choose a different time to work out. I’ll ask Gunner to put together a little workout session for you to get started.”

My stomach swirls in excitement at the thought of spending more time with the guys. When Ellis begins taking items out of the bag, I finally allow myself to wander closer. His nose wrinkles at the boxed cake powder, and he shakes his head. “We’ll make it from scratch. It will taste better.”

Trusting his judgment, I nod and watch him work. His approach to cooking is different than Gunner’s. While Gunner roughly guesses measurements with cups and spoons, Ellis takes out a scale. It’s not long before he has me stirring batter while he prepares the pans.

Watching him move so effortlessly is mesmerizing. He’s so comfortable with himself and his body that I’m jealous. I’m so used to watching where I step, how to eat, how to even breathe, that it’s suffocating to remember all the rules.

He scrapes out the bowl, pouring the batter evenly between two pans, then pauses and peers up at me. “Here.”

I take the spoon he offers me, holding it up as I await his next order. A tiny smile curls his lips, and he nudges it toward me. “Taste.”

“Oh.” I hesitantly lick it, and my eyes widen as the rich chocolate flavor bursts across my tongue. “Dis isch delischoz,” I mumble around the spoon in my mouth.

Ellis laughs, and I blush at the spectacle I made of myself, then I shrug and lick my lips, completely unrepentant. “Sorry, it was just that good.”

“You’ve got something here.” He points to my lips.

I reach out, swiping my hand across my mouth, then look at him expectantly.

He laughs again, then shakes his head. “You missed it. I’ve got it.”

Reaching over the counter, he drags his thumb across my bottom lip, sending pure havoc rushing through me. If I were a computer, I would liken it to a virus created to crash the hard drive and spread chaos in its wake. I watch, enthralled, as he shows me his thumb with a smear of chocolate before he brings it to his mouth and licks it clean.

The air suddenly feels electric, and I unconsciously lick my lips. I swear he groans, his eyes locked on my mouth. Just when I lean toward him, he whirls away to gather the discarded bowls, and I deflate in disappointment.

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