Page 18 of Claimed By Her Monsters
“If you’re a werewolf and you’re a vampire,” I point to Mick, Alister, then my finger swings over to Caspian. “What’re you?”
Alister’s hand is on my back again, tracing lazy circles. I don’t even think he’s aware he’s doing it. The movement is hypnotic. It makes me want to sink into him, but I need answers first, so I force my spine to straighten, stiff with resolve.
“Show her, Caspian,” Alister commands.
Caspian sends me an apologetic look, then he shimmers and vanishes. Justpoof. He’s gone. My head swivels, searching for him. A whisper of cool air slides under my shirt and travels upward, skimming over my bra to brush against my nipples. Invisible lips place a small, shy kiss on the underside of my jaw.
“Caspian?” My voice is barely a whisper, caught between fear and something far more dangerous. "Do that again so I know it's you."
The air shifts. I feel him, there but not there, circling me like a current. A flick against my wrist. A lingering chill snakes up my inner thigh, fingers, lips, tongue. My eyes flutter shut without meaning to.
The air rustles over me, sliding away and then,poof! Caspian’s back, blushing furiously.
“You’re like what?” I blink, my pulse racing. “An invisible peeping Tom?”
His eyebrows slash together. “I’m a ghost.”
“Oh!” I tap my finger on my lip. “That makes a lot more sense.”
“He’s bound to this house, because he died here,” explains Alister.
I whip my head towards Caspian, my heart clenching. “How?”
Mick drops his voice low and says in a spooky, warbling tone, “Murder.”
I gasp, clutch my chest. “Who killed you?” I ask Caspian.
“Dunno,” he blinks. “One minute I was walking down the stairs, and a hand shoved me. Next thing I know, I’m staring down at my dead body with my neck bent the wrong way.”
“We should solve the crime,” I cry out, wanting to bring justice to whoever hurt him.
“Why?” Caspian asks.
More hesitant now, I say, “So you can rest in peace?”
“I’m already at peace, here in this house, surrounded by the people I love.” He, Mick, and Alister all share a warm look, smiling fondly at one another. I would feel left out, except Alister’s hand is still on my back, tracing what I’m just realizing isn’t random patterns, but rather words. I concentrate, trying to make out what he’s saying, but all I catch is the letter Y.
Yoga? Yurt? Yearning?
Maybe he doesn’t want me to figure it out. Maybe it’s a random assortment of letters. An alphabet soup. Or maybe it could change everything.
Chapter Fourteen
It's All You
The lights flare once, then go dark. The fireplace lights the room enough to see, but still, with all the revelations of the evening my nerves are frayed. I scoot backward into Alister. He rumbles, wraps his arm around my chest, and tugs me close so that I’m half leaning against him.
Caspian looks up at the now dead chandelier that hangs from the ceiling. “I think they’re out for good.”
There’s a boom of thunder and the room stutters in a flash of lightning.
“Sure is a big storm out there,” I observe, feeling more grounded now that I’m in Alister’s arms.
My companions fall silent. The kind loaded with words that aren’t being said.
“What?” I look from one to another.
“Um,” Caspian begins hesitantly. “That’s not a normal storm.”
