Hallow Be the Haunt (Krewe of Hunters #22.5)(3)

And he’d been a tall, strapping teenager when they’d first fallen in love.

Her own fear of herself and life and death had come between them, but when murder had occurred at Donegal Plantation, she had seen him again.

He’d become the kind of man who automatically drew attention. Tall and broad-shouldered, perfectly fit. Dark and handsome.

But it wasn’t his appearance that had always called out to Ashley. It was a certain confidence in the way he lived, in the integrity that existed not just in his mind, but in his life and in his deeds.

“Thought you’d slip by me?” he teased.

“I didn’t want to interrupt you and Beth. You were meeting with one of the most beautiful women I know—in your robe.” She was teasing. Beth was beautiful, tall and exotic, from her dark skin to her mammoth eyes—and down to her soul as well. She had been born in Jamaica, and had come to Orleans Parish as a young adult. She’d fallen in love with Donegal Plantation when Ashley’s parents had been looking for someone to work in the house.

They had all fallen equally in love with Beth.

Jake didn’t take her seriously. He grimaced. “I’d showered. She thought you were back already. And I know that I’m almost irresistible in terry.” He smiled roguishly. “But I was waiting for you.” He motioned to the window. “Hot afternoon once I got here; went riding with Cliff to make sure the property was all good—what with Halloween and everything. I saw ads driving out.” He chuckled. “I forgot how crazy Donegal gets at Halloween.”

She grinned. “Taxes, maintenance, keeping the staff. We have to go a little crazy.”

“I know.” He moved to her. “And I love coming out for this. I’m just lucky I’m able to get the time.”

The Krewe of Hunters never ceased to amaze Ashley. She’d been stunned to realize it was possible for the human soul to remain—and that ghosts did exist. Now, after so many years, she took it in stride. She’d wasn’t a part of the Krewe; she’d become a tour guide in Alexandria, a city she had come to love with all her heart as well. That allowed her the freedom to come home as needed.

But she knew the Krewe well, from the original six members to the many who had joined since. And so she was aware that there was a host of people in the world who knew that the spirits of the dead could linger. Sometimes for help, and sometimes waiting because they might be needed. Sometimes, they went on. And sometimes they stayed, because they felt their presence was necessary.

She forgot the Krewe then, because Jake was holding her. She smiled and said softly, “It’s a beautiful night.”

“It is.”

“And… There’s nothing to mar it.”

He grinned at that. “Jackson will only call me if absolutely necessary, and with the Krewe we now have…”

She nodded and stepped away. The drapes were still open.

French doors allowed one to walk out on the wraparound balcony and look over the expanse of the property, all the way out to the graveyard, which boasted some of the finest funerary art in the country. The view offered more—beautiful night skies, the moon, the stars, and the sweet scent of the magnolias and other flowering trees.

She had been there for just a moment before she felt Jake’s presence, and then he was wrapping his arms around her.

She’d known he would follow.

“It’s going to be beautiful,” he whispered, pulling her back against his body.

She turned, looking at him. “I guess it did take us a while,” she whispered. “And… It will be beautiful. It wouldn’t matter though. I’ve known forever that I’d never want to be with anyone else for the rest of my life.”

“I’d have no life without you.”

She grinned. “God, you have quite a way with words.”

He smiled in turn. “So do you.”

He kissed her lips. Softly at first, and then more passionately.

Jake had a way of kissing. Teasing to start. The pressure of his lips gradually increasing. Adding his tongue with a promise of so much else…

He lifted her up into his arms. “I feel like we’ve been married forever.”

“Oh, good Lord, you don’t mean it’s getting old?”

“It’s always brand new for me,” he assured her.

They went back in and he set her down for a moment, hands sliding beneath the shoulders of her silk robe.

She stilled his movement. “Not that I think anyone is lurking around the porch, but…”

He quickly closed the drapes and came back to her, hands on the silk robe again, sliding it to the floor this time.

“You’re beautiful,” he told her.

“Your words are good. Very, very good,” she said, and pulled at the belt of his robe, repeating his action. Silk and terry seemed to tangle on the floor, as if the robes themselves were entwined in passion.

She stepped back a moment and smiled. “You really are beautiful too.”

He laughed, swept her back into his arms, and laid her on the bed, falling beside her. “Brand new,” he whispered. “Like the first time I touched you.” He caressed her cheek. “Except I anticipate it more than ever now.” He stroked down her neck. “Because what might have existed in my imagination for so long can never compare to what I know to be real.”