“We’re going to make it official. I’ll tell them I’ve claimed you and you’re my woman now. Everything will be fine,” he said in a low grumbling voice and started stroking my hair.
I loved the sound of his voice and wanted to tell him that. I loved how calm he made me feel.
“I love waking up beside you,” he said, almost like he had read my mind. I blushed again and buried my face into his armpit, breathing in his most masculine scent. It sent my head into a tizzy.
I could feel the warm stickiness between my legs again.
Oh Lord! This man! I would never catch a break. Was I going to have to spend the rest of my life constantly aroused when I was around him?
“I love you…” I blurted before I could check myself. My thoughts had scampered away. I didn’t get a chance to censor what was coming out of my mouth.
Ghost had been stroking my hair but suddenly stopped to stare at me.
Shit. I made a mistake! I shouldn’t have said that! Too soon! Why wasn’t I thinking?
I slipped away from him to the edge of the bed, my heart racing in my chest. I wished I could just take it back but knew it was too late.
“I’m going to…I’m going to make us some breakfast. You can lie in if you want, no problem,” I said hurriedly and got out of bed. I found his shirt on a chair near the wardrobe and I put it on. My panties were on the floor too.
“Mercy!” he finally called out to me just as I was about to step out. I stopped and turned to him, certain that he was going to tell me to put on the brakes on this thing. I was getting way too ahead of myself.
“I’m in love with you, too,” he said with a cheeky smile.
He knew how much I’d been suffering the last few minutes. He had enjoyed watching me suffer like that!
I blushed and spun around and ran out into the kitchen area, too excited. I just wanted to do a little dance out of his view. Ghost was in love with me. I was in love with him. How could things get any better than this? It just wasn’t possible.
* * *
I was literally humming a happy tune as I flipped pancakes in the kitchen. The sun was shining brightly outside the window and everywhere I looked out there, all I saw was greenery and trees and birds. It was beautiful. I made a mental note to ask Ghost later what made him build this cabin out here in the middle of nowhere. It was an excellent call!
I could have walked outside right then in no clothes at all, and wouldn’t have felt a little bit self-conscious at all, with total privacy and the beauty of nature all around.
The coffee was brewed and I found some fresh berries in the fridge which I started to cut into pieces as toppings for the pancakes. There was maple syrup in the cupboard too. Ghost’s kitchen was surprisingly well stocked, but then why was I surprised…he was also a surprisingly good cook!
I started arranging all the food on a big tray on the kitchen counter.
We were going to spend all day here together and had all the time in the world, I reminded myself. Maybe later, he would take me on a hike and get me acquainted with these woods of his. The more I thought about it, the more I couldn’t wait to get fully immersed into Ghost’s world.
I was looking forward to my new job too. Getting to know the rest of the crew, opening myself up to them so they could see the real me. I already had Mary-Beth and Sophie as friends at Fifth Gear. Very soon, I was going to feel like I belonged. Other than with my grandma, I had never experienced that feeling before.
I lifted the tray up and was just about to cross the kitchen so I could go into the bedroom again when the cabin door flew open.
“Ghost!” I heard a man growl and then I saw him staggering in. I shrieked, dropping the tray from my hands so everything went flying everywhere. Plates cracked, coffee mugs split and broke. I froze to the spot as Spike came into the cabin, staring up at me with wild bloodshot eyes.
“Where the fuck is he?” he said and now he was beginning to sound like he was choking.
I looked down at where he was clutching his gut, his shirt soaked in blood. He’d been stabbed. Even from this distance, I could tell by his wound.
I snapped out of it pretty quickly and ran toward him. Spike was twisting his whole body in slow motion, falling to the floor, but I got to him in time, propping him up with all the strength I could muster.
“Ghost!” he cried out and I cried for him too.
I looked through the open cabin door outside, just as I heard the sound of a bike engine. Someone was out there and they rode past in a flash. I didn’t get a chance to actually see but I could have sworn I had seen the man before. He reminded me of one of the guys who used to work at Teasers.
“Ghost!” I screamed for him again, trying my best to drag Spike to the couch. What was taking Ghost so long? Surely, he could hear us. The screeching and shouting, the bike?
I didn’t know Spike at all; in fact, we hadn’t hit it off initially, but now I was the one helping him lie down on the couch. He was still clutching his stab wound while blood spurted through.
“I’m sorry, I have to take a look at this,” I said and gently tried to pry his hands off. He needed something to stop the flow. “Ghost!” I screamed again and this time, I heard thudding footsteps.
Ghost came
