Page 18 of Spooked
"What has your panties in a bunch?” he asks, ignoring my dismissal as usual. He hops onto my worktable.
"Nothing," I reply. "I’m fine."
"Howie said you two were looking pretty cozy in the library."
“That little weasel,” I mutter.
“I don’t see what the problem is here, Wolfe.”
"The problem is she's a journalist here to do a job, and I'm the subject of her assignment. That’s all.”
Ghost sighs heavily. "You know, for someone so smart, you can be remarkably dense."
I look up sharply. "Excuse me?"
"I've seen how she looks at you. It’s not just professional interest."
"It's called acting, Ghost. Some people are good at it."
"Isn’t that what you do? Hide behind all kinds of masks," he counters. “Pretending to be something you’re not?”
I slam down the tool I'm holding. "What exactly do you want from me? To believe that a beautiful, talented woman is genuinely interested in this?" I gesture angrily toward my masked face. "To hope that maybe she sees past it to whatever's left of the man underneath? And then what? She takes her photos and leaves. Back to her normal life while I stay here in my monster's lair."
Ghost waits for my outburst to finish, his expression infuriatingly calm. "Are you done?"
I glare at him.
"Good. Because while you're down here throwing your pity party, that woman is nearly coming to blows with Dev for even suggesting that she might be using you for her story."
This stops me cold. "Really?"
"I had to hold Ash back. She was nearly in tears. She said she’d never do that to a war hero and a true artist. That she's never met anyone like you."
I stare at him, unable to process this information.
“Earlier, I tried to rattle her, too, to be fair. She wasn’t having it from me, either.” He jumps off the table. “So you have two choices. Keep hiding behind your masks and your fears. Or see what happens when you let someone in.”
He leaves without another word, the door closing softly behind him.
I sit motionless among my creations.
Could Ash really see beyond the scars, beyond the Beast I've become?
And if she can...am I brave enough to let her?
CHAPTER 5
ASH
I can’t sleep.
The storm still rattles the manor’s bones hours later, but it’s the fever-hot memory of Wolfe’s kiss that keeps me awake. I stare at the canopy above the bed, tracing phantom shapes in the shadows as rain thrums against the windows.
The feeling of Wolfe's mouth on mine replays on an endless loop, his taste lingering on my lips like a spell I can't (or don't want to) break. The way his big hands cradled my face, the hunger…I press my thighs together, trying to ease the ache that's been building since our interrupted moment in the library.
I give up.
I throw off the quilt and slide into my slippers.
