“We have to talk.”
He’d been waiting to have this conversation since he’d returned from Mona’s house.
“We can’t talk about it here,” she said, finally taking a bite.
They ate in silence, although the pleasure of the food had been muted. Jane gulped down several glasses of wine as she ate, looking up at him with a crinkled brow. He wished he could alleviate her worries, but there was nothing he could do until she told him what was wrong.
The waiter came to offer them dessert, but they both declined. He looked disappointed and put the bill at the end of the table. Nathanial placed cash in the black leather booklet and stood to leave. Jane slid from the booth, wrapped the scarf around her shoulders, and informed him she would be right back.
He waited for her in the booth, and she came back moments later. They left the restaurant. Nathanial’s stomach dropped as he watched her walk to the car with her arms crossed tightly over her chest. He hurried to let her inside and walked around to the driver’s seat.
“I know a place where we can talk; it’s on the way home.”
She nodded in the dark cabin of his Range Rover. He drove toward home, wishing dinner had gone better. Whatever it was she wanted to tell him, it was important to her. It could be the information he needed to break his curse. He drove up the mountain until they made it to the crest. There was a turnout, off the highway that led to an overlook.
He parked the car, and she hopped out before he could open her door. She stepped toward the ledge in her high-heel little boots. In the dark, it was hard to see the valley. There were no streetlights this far out into the wilderness. The only light was a distant glow on the opposite hillside.
Above the stars shone like twinkling, crushed glass spilled over a smooth black table. He gazed up as he moved in next to her, taking in the night. The moon was a half disk that hovered just above the mountain. Two weeks had gone by so fast.
“What did you need to tell me?”
“I don’t know how to say this. But if I’m right, you’ll understand.”
“I think I will.”
She turned to him, her face open, her bright, hazel eyes reflecting the starlight. She placed her hands on his chest, moving into him, and her mouth hung slightly open, as she seemed to ponder her words.
“Nathanial, we’ve known each other before.”
“I know.”
Her breath caught, and her bosom pressed into his chest. He put his hands around her waist and pulled her closer, trapping her hands against him. The beast inside wanted to pull her short skirt above her waist, but instead he waited for her to speak.
“What do you know?” she asked.
“I know that I’ve been named Nathanial Ellis before.”
She exhaled and tilted her face down to rest in his chest. She let him hold her there, and they stood silently under the stars.
“What else did you want to tell me?” He rubbed her back.
“My name was Melody Miller. I was your fiancé,” she spoke into the lapel of his jacket. Her words would have been inaudible if not for the stillness of the air. “You had a brother named Owen.”
“I know.”
“I… I don’t understand why I did it. I mean. I do understand. But still...”
“What happened?”
“Owen wanted me. He lived on my father’s land in that little hut we saw the other day.” She took another deep breath and sighed, tilting her face back up to look at him. “I wanted you to make love to me, but you wouldn’t. You didn’t want to dishonor me or something. But Owen, he wanted to have me. I think he was obsessed.
“One day, he took me to his hut, and we made love. But I don’t know exactly what happened. I think he raped me using some kind of black magic. After that, Owen made his intentions clear to you. There was a rift. You confronted me and left. My father kicked Owen off our land.
“By then the spell had been broken, and I knew I’d made a mistake. I didn’t want to make love to him. I was powerless to stop it. I was so distraught. I took a horse in the middle of the night and galloped as fast as I could to your ranch. But my horse lost it’s footing on a ridge and threw me off. I died, before I could tell you I was sorry.”
“He raped you?”
“I’m not sure. I dreamed it. I saw it again, at dinner. It was clearer this time. He had some kind of spell over me. I didn’t exactly fight him. But I knew I didn’t really want to.”
“There is nothing to be sorry about. He hurt you. I won’t let you be hurt again.”
He ran his hands over her hips, up her arms, and over her shoulders until he held her face in his hands. Leaning down, he pressed his lips against hers. Passion surged through his stomach and loins. He pulled her closer, grabbing her around the waist, still holding her cheeks in his hands. Their tongues entwined in a frantic dance, leaving them breathless.
Her arms fell passively to her sides, but she lifted them to hold his biceps. His hands ran down her body, gripped the fullness of her ass, and he pressed his demanding erection against her. A soft gasp escaped her mouth under his deep kiss. He moved his hand over her breast and squeezed.
He wanted to rip her clothes off and rip her apart. The beast demanded flesh, and he could feel himself on the edge of control. He had to get her somewhere covered, contained, somewhere he felt more in control of himself. He pulled back from their kiss and gently let her go.
“We should get back to the house.”
“I don’t want to go yet,” she breathed into his ear.
“We can continue this at the house.”
“But…”
“Shhh. I won’t deny you again, my dear.” He took her hand, kissed it, and led her back to the car.
Chapter 13
By the time we made it back to the ranch, all the windows were dark. We snuck in the front door, and tiptoed upstairs. Nathanial guided me to his third-floor bedroom and locked the door behind us.
My body ached with anticipation. I’d been waiting more than a century for this. He turned to me in the dark room and lifted my hand to his mouth, caressing the backs of my knuckles with his lips. His dark eyes, gazed down at me, intense, hungry. I heard a rumbling in his throat, waiting for him to take me and make me his.
I felt locked in his gaze like a fawn under a lion’s magnetism. He led me to the sliding glass door that overlooked the lake and stood with me under the moonlight. He took both of my hands in his and kissed my palms, then kissed the insides of my wrists. Sensation shot up my arm and throughout my body. His lips moved up my arm and over my shoulder where his mouth lingered on my neck.
I fell into him, gasping gently as his mouth devoured the sensitive flesh below my ear. Moisture tingled into my panties. I ran my fingers down his chest. I wanted to feel his cock in my hand. I wanted possession of it. My fingers hit the buckle on his belt.
He let go of me long enough to unfasten it himself. The invitation it gave him seemed to feed him with passion. He ripped the belt open and ran his hands up my thighs and under my dress to pull my panties down. They fell to the floor over my boots.
Nathanial’s hands gripped my ass and thighs as he breathed into my ear. I could feel his cock, hard against my clit. Cool air ran over my moist folds, and I moaned in anticipation.
He pulled up my skirt, exposing my quivering inner flesh as he sank to the floor. His tongue pressed against my mound, sinking through the cleft of my lips to find my sweetness. I balanced myself, holding his broad, muscled shoulders.
His tongue expertly flicked and pressed at my clit and down inside me. Standing before the window, my passion seemed like a boundless, rising tide. The moon shone on me through the starry sky. I gazed at its half-disk face and placed my palm on the cool window.
Nathanial’s hands gripped my ass as he licked me. I felt he might consume me alive with his intensity. It was almost too much to endure. Gasping breaths heaved my bosom, and moisture flowed from deep inside me.
He stood and walked me back
to the bed, unzipping the back of my dress as we went. The dress fell to the ground, and I fell to the bed. I sat on the edge as he looked down on me. I could see his thick member, hard under his jeans, even the darkness.
I reached out to him, unzipping his pants and pulling down his briefs. His cock sprang out, tall and proud like a rutting elk. He stepped closer. I leaned forward, taking the prize between my lips. He growled as his cock slid down my throat. Nathanial ran his fingers through my hair and gripped the back of my head.
My body was wet and begging to be entered. I could feel him holding back from thrusting deep into my face. The muscles of his hips felt tense and locked. I let his cock slide out of my mouth and leaned back on my elbows, my legs parted, waiting.
He leaned down to hold himself over me. His mouth closed over mine as his hard cock rested on my pussy. I wrapped my legs around his waist and cupped his face with my hands. I wanted his dick inside me more than anything I’d wanted in my life. Melody’s overwhelming desire united with my own.
I felt him move to push his cock inside me. I held my breath, waiting; my hand gripped my swollen breast, under my bra.
A loud moaning wail erupted through the room. Nathanial pulled back just before his cock pressed into my quivering core. I sat up, looking around the room in the darkness. Fear trickled up my arms and legs. The sound was inhuman, disembodied, strange.
I pulled on my dress while Nathanial pulled his pants up. Nathanial switched on a dim table lamp. From behind a dresser, a glowing hand emerged. White spectral flesh inched through the wall until a form stood before us, moaning. It was Owen Ellis. He pointed at me and screamed.
It was not the beautiful boy I had once seen in my dreams; it was a desiccated corpse. His skin was pale and sunken. His lips were purple, and his eyes were dark like dripping oil. Waterweeds tangled around his body and dripped from his shoulders.
I screamed and fell into Nathanial’s arms. Nathanial stood his ground, but said nothing, and did not move.
“She belongs to me, brother,” the ghost sneered.
“Not now or ever,” Nathanial said with only a hint of tremor in his voice.
“Yes. She does. I’ve had her just this last week. She gives herself to me willingly. You will never have her. She will always be mine.”
I was so overcome with fear; I could neither speak nor act. How could Owen dare to claim me? I belonged to no one but myself. But he was right. I had given myself to him in the dream, more than once. Disgust rose and I flushed, pushing my face into Nathanial’s chest.
“Be gone spirit,” Nathanial ordered.
It bellowed a wicked laugh and sank back into the wall.
“This is my land as much as it is yours, brother,” the voice called out from behind the wall. “It will be all mine before the month is through.”
Nathanial took my hand and led me out of the room. As soon as my legs moved, I wanted to run as fast as I could away from there. I started down the stairs, but Nathanial caught me in his arms.
“I need to get out of here!”
“It’s okay. That spirit has been here for a hundred and fifty years. He won’t harm you. We just can’t do what we were about to do until we deal with him.”
“I want to go,” I whispered into his chest.
“We can sleep in the guest bedroom tonight. I will watch out for you. In the morning, we can investigate further.”
He led me into the guest room that was just down the hall from Morgan’s and mine. We walked inside and he clicked on the light. It was set up much like my room, but with fewer frills and lace. I sat on the bed and looked up at him.
“We should get everyone up and get out of here. It isn’t safe.”
“This is my house. I am Nathanial Ellis. I built this house, and made this place what it is. If Owen wants this land, he’ll have to go through me first.”
“I admire your courage, really I do, but you can’t fight the dead.”
“We’ll find a way,” he said, patting my thigh as he sat down.
I undressed and got under the covers. Nathanial clicked off the light and joined me in his briefs.
I turned over and put my hand over Nathanial’s chest. He held my hand to him, and I could feel his heart beating. Soon his breathing slowed, and he fell asleep. I blinked into the darkness.
The last thing I wanted to do was sleep. I’d been dreaming of Owen since I’d arrived. Fragments of the erotic dreams surfaced, and I cringed in disgust. Revulsion sank in my stomach creating a sore, throbbing pit.
I sucked air into my lungs and let it out slowly, hoping the nausea would subside. It didn’t. I swung my legs over the side of the bed and hurried out of the room to the bathroom.
The contents of my stomach erupted into the porcelain bowl. Splashing drops of vomit and water flew toward my face and hair. Some of them hit me. I shuddered, flushed the toilet, and wiped my face with a hand towel.
I sank down the wall in my bra and panties. The smell of vomit clung to my hair. My mind reeled. Sobs welled up from my chest, and I hung my head into my hands. Everything in me wanted to pack up my things and drive away from this place. Pressure compressed my head and my chest. I felt I might break. The sobbing became long low moans, and I collapsed onto the bath mat.
Soon, my energy was gone and all I could do was lie there silently. Darkness finally overtook me. I must have slept because the next thing I knew there was light coming through the bathroom window.
I lifted myself up on my elbow and looked around. My head throbbed. I smelled of stale vomit and my lips were chapped from the dehydration of expelled tears. I had no idea what time it was but knew I didn’t want anyone to see me in this state.
I quickly showered and wrapped a towel around my wet hair and a bathrobe around myself. As I left the bathroom, I found Nathanial in the hallway coming from the guest room. He came to me, put his arms around my shoulders, and I hung in his arms with my head against his chest.
“Are you okay?” he asked pulling back to look in my face.
“No. I’m not.”
Nathanial sighed and rubbed by back, but didn’t speak for long moments.
“I’m going to contact my shaman about the ghost.”
“You have a shaman?”
“Yes. Go get dressed and get something to eat. We can speak in my office when you’re done.”
I was too tired to protest and went to my room to put on the most comfortable outfit I owned. I put on a pair of soft lose yoga pants with a drawstring waist, a black T-shirt and a hoodie. I slipped into my tennis shoes and walked down to the kitchen.
Patty was already up making breakfast for the hunters. She had a huge bin of scrambled eggs and toast. The sight of food made my stomach cramp. All I wanted was coffee. I made myself a cup and watched her as she finished dumping a pan of bacon into a steel bin.
“How was your date?” she asked with a smirk.
“The date was great.”
“You don’t look like you got much sleep last night.”
I took a sip of coffee and looked at her. My mind was so hazy; I had no idea how to reply. Getting the rest of the employees involved in this fiasco probably wouldn’t help.
“Nope,” I said.
Getting the hint from my noncommittal tone, Patty stopped probing. Penny came into the room with a mop and bucket that she let clang on the floor. She sneered at me. Penny’s attitude was the last thing I needed this morning.
“Do you have a problem Penny?” I said with uncharacteristic audacity.
“A girl like you going out on dates with a man like Nathanial Ellis and coming back at all hours of the night. Why would I have a problem with that?”
“A girl like me?”
She stared at me, her face twisting in suppressed rage. “I know your type,” she said pointing at me.
“And what type would that be?”
“The gold digging, slut type.”
“Penny!” Patty burst out.
I laughed and poured myself
another cup of coffee. Penny wasn’t worth my time. She obviously had an axe of her own to grind. Still, her words hurt.
“You have no idea who I am, Penny,” I said stirring cream into my cup. “This place has a festering sore under the surface, and I’m not just talking about bitchy maids.”
“What do you know about Bear Creek Ranch?” Penny hissed.
“I know plenty. What do you know?”
“My family has lived in this valley for three generations.”
“And that means what to me? You don’t have any right to put your nose in Nathanial’s business or mine. We have some serious shit to deal with here, and I’d appreciate it if you stayed out of it.”
“What are you talking about,” asked Patty. She had stopped covering the bins with tin foil to stare at me.
“All I’m saying is that old places have secrets. And this place isn’t an exception. Like it or not, I’m in the middle of it.”
“Wow, a mystery,” said Patty. I could tell she was getting annoyed.
“I’m sorry Patty, but I can’t say anything more. Just know that Nathanial and I have some major issues to deal with, and it would be best to give us our space.”
Penny left the room in a huff carrying a jug of laundry detergent. Patty leaned into me and looked up through her eyelashes.
“You can tell me,” she said quietly.
“I really can’t. I wish I could. But I’m not even sure myself.”
“Okay, have it your way.”
She lifted the bins and took them toward the side door. I ran to help her open it, and she walked out into the cool morning air.
I poured another cup of coffee for Nathanial and myself and walked up to his office. I found him still on the phone when I entered the room. He looked up at me, lifted his finger, and nodded. I sat in the chair across from him and waited. His said is final goodbyes and hung up the phone.
“That was Mona, my shaman.”
“And?”
“I think we should go visit her. She has some ideas about how to protect the house from spirit invasion, but I don't have the tools and don’t know where to find them.”
“Are we going now?”