“That is weird.” At his eyebrows rose, I snorted. “Yes, weirder than you taking over her body in the first place.” I blinked in total disbelief, shifting uneasily against the mattress. “But okay, so you found nothing?”
A slow smile reached his face. “I didn’t say I found nothing, only that I didn’t find the Lux.”
My mouth parted to demand an answer when suddenly, an icy coldness washed over my skin. On a gasp, I scanned around the room and maybe now, more connected with the Netherworld, it heighted my gifts. I’d never been so aware a ghost approached before. “Hold that thought. Someone is coming.”
Gretchen jumped off the mattress, rushing in front of the bed next to Alexander, looking around frantically. “Who?”
My first instinct was to get my hackles up because if a ghostly stranger came into this room, I would lose it. Still, the sensation seemed stronger now and I knew, without a doubt, a ghost would soon arrive. The goose bumps trailing over my skin and the hitch of my breath had always been a sure indicator.
With my lungs crying out for air, I released my breath on a loud rush when the ghost winked into existence. It didn’t shock me a spirit had arrived in the room since I had totally expected it, but the who standing at the end of the bed sure-as-shit stunned me stupid.
I finally found my voice. “Err…Kipp?”
Chapter Twenty
Standing at the end of the bed, Kipp surveyed the room in a slow sweep before he glanced at me with a dazed look. “Where are we right now?”
I peered over the room again, then looked at Gretchen, who stared at me perplexed. I even glimpsed Alexander, who stared at Kipp in surprise. “Am I dreaming?” I asked. When Alexander shook his head, I turned to Kipp. “In the real world.”
He seemed genuinely surprised with wide eyes. “How am I here?”
“I have no idea,” I snipped.
“What’s going on?” Gretchen demanded.
Alexander finally snapped out of his apparent shock, blinking rapidly and looking Kipp over from head-to-toe. “Who are you?”
My hunky ghost studied Alexander with a suspicious glance for a long moment, and then his eyebrow arched at me over top of his icy blue eye. “What have you done to Caley?”
Without a doubt, ghosts could see ghosts even if they possessed a body since those two acknowledged each other. For the moment, I remained stuck on Kipp’s appearance, and repeated, “What are you doing here?” Not that I wasn’t happy to see him and the little flickers of pleasure dancing like butterflies in my belly declared that well enough, but what the hell?
“Tess, what’s going on?” Gretchen pressed, more earnest now.
I gestured toward Kipp, who had folded his arms, giving his cautious-cop-look. “Kipp is standing at the end of the bed next to Alexander.”
“He’s back?” Her eyebrows practically hit her hairline. She left her spot on the other side of Alexander, coming closer to where Kipp stood and staring at what I assumed to be a shift in the energy only she could see. “Why are you back?”
“Yes, exactly.” I happened to wonder the same thing myself. When Kipp looked away from Caley and settled his gaze on me, my breath hitched. My heart clenched and I wanted desperately to run into his arms, but knew in this world, I couldn’t. I gripped the duvet beneath me to stay put. “Why are you back?”
“I don’t know.” He shook his head, slow and measured. “I didn’t want to be here.” At my obvious scowl, he winked, giving me that sexy smile that could drop my heart into my stomach. “Not like that, beautiful. Of course, I wanted to be here with you. But I’ve been waiting for you to come back and tell me it’s safe to return.”
“Is this your ghost?” Alexander asked.
I nodded, my chest tightening with the need to go to Kipp overwhelming me. He must have seen it because he took a step toward me before he stopped, his expression taut as he clenched his fists, then he stretched his fingers out.
Right now, the distance between us was more painful than anything I’d ever experienced in my life. I had a taste of how it felt to be in his arms and I craved for him to protect me from it all. But the reality was we remained in the same position—torn in a fate we couldn’t control.
Kipp drew in a long breath, glancing at the hardwood floors. When he raised his head, the heartache had vanished from his eyes and he slid back into all-business mode. “Now then, who is that?” He pointed at Alexander. “Because I know that’s not Caley.”
Taking his lead, I released the blanket from my fingers and forced myself to hold it together. We needed me strong, not breaking to pieces. Besides, I tried to picture what Kipp saw now. Did he see Alexander or Caley? Instead of mulling it over, I got right to it. “How do you know it’s not her?”
He cocked his head and he examined Caley in a slow sweep. “Her…energy. It’s not the same.”
Peculiar! “Yes, well, it’s Alexander, the ghost I’m helping. Caley agreed to let him possess her so we could talk to him because he had this weird condition going on.”
At Kipp’s further arch of his brow, I moved along since we had more pressing matters than his surprise over what I’d done to my best friend. “But more importantly, you have no idea why you came back?”
He strode around the foot of the bed, taking the few steps to reach me, settling in beside me. Warmth slid all around me, pooling down low in my body, remembering what happened the last time I saw him, regardless of the seriousness of the moment. “Did you call me back here?”