Page 14 of Ghostly Touches

As she finishes up icing the last bun, she reaches into the bowl with two fingers and scoops the last of the icing onto her fingers. When her fingers sink into her mouth, my dick does more than stir. It comes to life with such vigor it’s nearly painful.

“I guess that makes sense,” she mutters as she licks her fingers clean, not realizing she’s gained my full attention.

Abruptly, she leans over the kitchen sink, knocks on the small window, and waves. On her tiptoes, her shorts pull up even further. I pull my eyes away from her and look anywhere else to cool the blood in my veins. At the same time, there is a thump from upstairs. Willow pauses to look up at the ceiling.

When no other sounds follow, Willow goes back to work. “How’s our other friend with the tail?”

I open my mouth then shut it. While she may believe the Shadebroode is something other than what it appears, I have my doubts. While the Shadebroode has been strangely compliant and hardly any trouble, I don’t know if that warrants such a belief.

Before I can answer, Kwil opens the side door and enters the kitchen.

“Good morning, Mystery Man,” she says without looking at him. “Go sit at the table, and I’ll bring you two breakfast.”

Kwil hesitates a moment, turning his hooded head in my direction, looking for permission. I wave my hand at the chair beside mine. I suppose we can call an end to patrolling the area for a short time to eat. We are in our own world after all. We should be safe from monsters here. Kwil takes the seat next to mine as Willow turns around and carries over two plates of food. When she sets them in front of us, Kwil whistles.

“Smells and looks great. Thanks, Willow.”

“You monster slayers need all the food you can get. There will be no half-ass meals under my roof,” Willow tells him with a shoulder shaking laugh. I have to avert my gaze as her breasts bounce.

My eyes fall back to the mound of food on each plate. There are two large buns, at least five eggs each, and a pile of bacon so high that it has toppled over onto the grits. There is no way in hell a normal person could eat all of this food.

My stomach grumbles in disagreement. When was the last time I ate a real meal like this?

Decades probably.

“What do you two want to drink? Coffee, tea, or juice?” Willow asks, turning away from us to head towards the refrigerator.

“Tea sounds great, thanks,” Kwil says as he starts to dig in.

Knowing him as well as I do, that plate will be empty before the tea is ready. I also know that he’ll probably go back for seconds. He’s always hungry. Even before his unfortunate run in with a Tangleling.

When I don’t answer her question, Willow looks over her shoulder at me. There must have been some reservation on my face as I look back at her because she asks, “What’s wrong? Don’t like scrambled eggs?”

I shake my head. “No, they’re fine. I just want to know why you’re doing this for us. We broke into your house. You have every right to kick us out of here. Yet you’ve given us beds to sleep in, and now you’re making breakfast for us.”

Willow laughs and moves over to grab a kettle from a cabinet.

“You’re not the first person to break into my house looking for help. You’re just the firstlivingindividuals to do so. Most of the time, there are so many people in here I can hardly hear my thoughts.”

Her answer throws me off guard. Kwil chuckles between bites.

“Do ghosts really bother you all that often?” he asks her.

“The dead actually prefer to be called ‘spirits’ or ‘souls.’ Something about the word ‘ghosts’ seems to be traumatic for them,” she corrects. “Since I sent all the spirits in the area off last night, this is the first time in months that I don’t have a spirit screaming in my ear about one thing or another. The silence iswonderful.”

My eyes flicker to the burn marks around her wrists. “Is it legal for the coven to put a spell on you?”

Willow shakes her head as she piles food onto another plate. “No, but I won’t throw a fit about it. It’s only for a few hours, and since my job here is almost done, I’ll be leaving in the next few weeks. As long as I don’t draw too much attention to myself between now and then, they’ll leave me alone.”

Kwil looks up at her. “What’d you do that made them think they needed to cut off access to your power?”

Good question.

Willow shrugs. “Who knows?”

Liar. I want to smile. If she doesn’t want to tell us, who are we to push? What happens in this realm is none of our concern.

I pick up my fork and begin to eat. It’s delicious. I have to remind myself to chew before swallowing. My manners may be rusty, but I do manage to keep my mouth shut as I eat.

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