Ghost (The Halloween Boys #1) (87)

“I don’t think he cares about anything but you.” I took her hand in mine and led her to my bike. “What do you say we take a ride?”

Her eyes lit as she bit her lip in a smile. “Are we safe? Last night was scary, to say the least . . .”

I brushed a stray curl behind her ear. “You’re always safe with me. They’re all gone, taken care of. I’m sorry I left you alone like that. I didn’t know what I’d do after we were so . . . intimate. You deserved a break, and I was right behind you—”

“It’s okay. I don’t blame you.” She took the helmet from my handlebars. “But can I ask you something?”

“Anything.” I got onto my bike and cranked the engine.

“Do spirits die?”

She straddled me, and I noticed the edges of her little plaid skirt lift, showing off those soft as fuck thighs. They needed to be stained with my seed between them again. Word had already spread through the forest about willow spirit’s sacrifice. I owed the spirit a great debt for protecting my Claimed. “No, death is a misunderstood concept with your kind. It’s not an end; it’s merely a . . . redistribution. When you blow out a candle, is fire dead?”

Her arms tightened around my ribs. “Don’t hold back.”

“I never do.”





We dismounted next to a dark and gloomy trail, twisting down a rocky path. To my delight, Blythe wasn’t afraid, only intrigued by where I might be taking her. Because her fear was basically my own personal aphrodisiac, it was for her benefit she didn’t feel fear with me. Not at that moment, at least. Not in my human cloak. What looked like scattered stones soon made way into an organized rock path. “I love empty places like this,” she said as I held her hand to help her down the steeper parts of the stairs.

“Like graveyards?” I asked with a sly smirk.

Her blush answered and she bit her lip. “You know I love graveyards. Especially now.”

“I think you’ll like what I’m about to show you. When I was a boy, I spent a lot of time in these woods. My family’s old farm is a few miles west of here. I built these steps, marked this path.”

“Now I’m very intrigued.”

I chuckled. “Here we are.” We stopped outside what looked like two narrow moss-covered boulders. “Ready to follow a monster into the dark?”

Her lip twitched in sweet smile. “You know I am.”

Taking her hand, I showed her the hidden gap between the rocks. We squeezed through, and the space opened into a huge, dark cavern. I called in my smoke, and it snaked ahead of us, glowing blue. “Is it really from Hell?” she whispered. “The blue smoke?”

“Smoke from Hell’s sacred fire. I have direct access to the powers of Hell.”

Her curiosity danced on my tongue. How peculiar a human was so at ease with this wicked side of Heaven and Hell. The sound of rushing water preceded us as I directed our way into a larger dripping cavern. In the center, the small trickle of a waterfall cascaded into a jagged rock-filled pond. “It’s beautiful,” she breathed.

A smile tugged at my lips. “That’s not what I wanted to show you. This is.” My smoke grew brighter, the blue as bright as moonlight. “Look up.”

Her gasp was audible as she held onto my bicep. A giggle floated from her throat, and I could have cried at how much I was becoming addicted to the sound of it. “Bats.” She grinned, pointing to each, counting. “They’re amazing,” she whispered.

“I thought you’d frown upon me making them into an actual bouquet, so this is as close as I could get.”

She let out a breath and leaned against the curved cave wall. “You’re something else, Ames, James, Ghost . . . Which do you prefer?”

“Anything you call me is what I prefer.” I took her hand and pressed it to my lips, the sweet taste of honey flicking against my tongue.

“Do you prefer being like this or like . . . last night.”

I took a step closer, putting a hand on either side of the cave above her. “They both have their advantages. I feel most at home in my demon form, however.”

Her breathing picked up. “Can I see you again like that?”

“You want to?”

“I’m not afraid.”

A growl vibrated from low in my throat. “That’s too bad,” I replied darkly. He wanted out. I wanted out. “I’ve never turned in front of a woman before. I’ve never had sex with a woman like that before either.” She sucked in a breath as I felt my body grow. I rose above her to staggering height. I was a foot taller than her in human form. As a demon . . . she felt even more delicate and small beneath me. My protective instincts roared within me. Mine.

“Can I see your hands?” she asked softly. I held them out for her inspection. Her fingers trailed the exposed bone above the ebony muscle before pressing her palm to mine, lining them together. Her hand was like a pebble in mine.

After inspecting my long fingers, she slid her palms over my forearms. Her tiny grip softly exploring where bone sat atop black ripples of thick muscle. I let her explore, not sure what she was looking for, until finally she looked up. She tilted her head to the side, looking at my face. For the first time in two hundred years, I wondered if my demon form was attractive. How could it be? Ames was an averagely handsome human man. But Ghost . . . I was built to instill terror, fear, and torment. This form wasn’t created to feel the soft and tender touch of a woman. “You’re big,” she whispered after a moment.