Divided Interests (Southern Bride 3)

A creaking sound came from behind me. Oh my goodness. The ghost was coming for me! I turned and swung the bat, making contact with something hard.

“Ouch! What in the fuck!”

I dropped the bat, stunned. That wasn’t a woman’s voice. “Lucas?” I said, desperately trying to find the light switch. When I flicked it on, Lucas was bent over, moaning in pain.

“Oh my God! Oh my God! I hit you with the bat! I’m so sorry! Are you bleeding?”

He stood up, his expression dazed and confused. “What’s going on?”

“Wait, did I hit you?”

“No, a cat scratched the living shit out of my chest when you hit the damn doorframe. By the way, you just missed hitting me with that thing, you freak.”

From behind me there was a meow. I turned to find Oreo sitting on the table, cleaning herself. She looked up, and I swore she smirked at Lucas. I was going to really like this cat, I had decided, and hoped she didn’t belong to anyone.

“The cat jumped on you?”

He sighed as he rubbed his chest.

“Yes. You probably scared her.”

His voice sounded like he was talking slower. Like it took him a bit of concentration to speak.

“Why are you walking around in the dark with a baseball bat, Paige?”

“I heard a noise. When I came down here, I saw a shadow in the corner right there. It’s okay, though. I think it was just Mary.”

“Mary? Who the hell is Mary?”

“Mary, the ghost.”

He blinked at me, repeatedly. A blank look on his face. “Wait, you really think the house is haunted?”

I laughed. “I don’t think, I know. William told me it was. Apparently, there was a family who lived in a cabin that was almost in the same exact spot as the house. Their youngest daughter Mary was riding on her horse and tried to jump a small fence. She fell and got hurt. She laid in her room for weeks, not able to wake up. Then she caught a fever and died. William said she can’t cross over because she’s waiting for her fiancé to come back home for her.”

Lucas shook his head and then leaned against the counter, almost like he was exhausted. Then he scrubbed his hands down his face and mumbled something about things not going to be easy now.

“Wait a minute, where were you coming from when the cat clawed you? Did you go out?”

“Yeah. Milo invited me out with a few guys. We were supposed to go out last night but ended up doing it tonight. We grabbed some beer at the brewery and just hung out and talked. Back to the more pressing details, you’re not afraid of the house being haunted?”

I laughed. “No. Why, are you?”

He glared at me. “No.”

His response was quick and sharp. Then he let his gaze wander down my body like he had this morning.

“Son-of-a-bitch, you’re wearing those pajamas again.”

With a quick look down at my clothes, I smiled before peeking back up at him. “Yes, because they are my pajamas, and it’s the middle of the night.”

His eyes looked down my body greedily this time, and it instantly gave me goosebumps. This time I wasn’t scared; I was turned on. The way he was looking at me warmed all the important parts.

I felt my nipples tighten as his gaze heated up. He licked his lips and then smirked as he said, “What about me? Are you afraid of me?”

With a scoff, I replied, “Why would I be afraid of you, Lucas?”

He took a few steps toward me. I took a few away until I was backed up against the counter.

When he stopped in front of me, I smelled a hint of alcohol. His eyes looked clear, but he was certainly acting a bit tipsy.

“How much did you have to drink?” I asked, assuming that’s why he’d been talking slowly a few moments ago.

He smiled, and it made my stomach dip. It was his sexy, carefree smile. The one he didn’t give often, but when he did, it made my insides clench with anticipation. The silky fabric of my shirt rubbed against my hard nipples and I had to force myself not to move.

“A lot.”

“Really?” I asked. But he must have, because sober Lucas wouldn’t be looking at me like this. Sober Lucas wanted me gone, like yesterday.

He looked down at my mouth and licked his lips once again. I swallowed hard and went to speak, but he spoke first. And what he said nearly made my knees give out.

“I want to touch you.”

“Um…”

Yes. That was my response. Um.

What in the living hell?

Then I heard my response, and instantly wanted to swallow myself whole and disappear. “Where?”

Dear Lord. Where? Paige, you are so out of practice. Now is the time to stop this nonsense. He is drunk and probably thinks you’re Bianca.