Theirs to Keep

I nodded like I was an expert in the field. “They fucking love the guy.”

“Pretty sure they didn’t have Stephen King back in the nineteenth century.”

I wrinkled my nose. “They’re ghosts, Bryce. They transcend time. They move through walls and shit.”

“You sure seem to know a lot about them,” he admitted.

I got lost for a moment, looking him over. Letting my eyes wander that shredded sea of perfect abdominals, that not even his workout shirt could contain. Bryce was always doing sit-ups, constantly doing crunches. Wherever we were, whatever we were doing, it wasn’t out of the ordinary for him to drop into a ball and tear off a hundred of them, just to keep them polished.

And wow, was it ever working for him.

“Maybe you’ll take me on a midnight tour of this place,” I found myself saying. “Point out some of the history. Scare up a few spirits.”

His already-friendly smile twisted into something a little bit more. “You mean like ghost-hunting?”

Holy shit, had I really said it? It was too late now.

“Yeah. Something like that.”

His light brown eyes found mine, and my heart started pounding. Did I just ask the boss on a ghost-date? Or was it nothing more than—

“Sure. I’d love to.”

He took two steps forward, and I realized I was partially blocking the doorway. Rather than move, I stayed exactly where I was.

“Tonight?” I squeaked.

Bryce took another step, twisting himself sideways through the archway. Our bodies ended up a foot apart, and I could feel the heat coming off him. His scent was all work and exercise. Musky and strong, yet somehow sweet.

“Any night you want,” he half-smiled.

His eyes dropped for a split-second, sizing me up. They crawled down and up my body in all the time it took to blink, before once again locking on mine.

“You know where I sleep,” he breathed huskily. “Right?”

I tried to speak, but I could barely swallow. Eventually the word dropped out. “Sure.”

I was so close I swore I could feel his heart beating in his powerful chest. Low. Slow. Steady.

“Wait until midnight one night…” Bryce winked, before turning away. “Then come get me.”

Five

KARISSA

Three hours later I was tired but awake. Physically exhausted, but still mentally charged up from my encounter with Bryce, which I kept running again and again through my head.

Is this really such a good idea?

The voice of reason in the back of my mind was nagging and annoying, but it was also right. I was about

to go off with one of my three hot employers, to parts of the manor that would be silent and secluded. Alone. At midnight.

Holy shit.

Of course, I could just as soon crash until morning. Sleep on the whole idea, and not have to worry about what might or might not happen. Seeing things in the light of day might bring some much-needed clarification to this important decision. It might talk me off the ledge. Keep me from making a potential mistake.

Or you could stop being a coward and just see what happens.