Page 59 of Just This Once

“Yeah…” Oaklynn drew out slowly, nodding. “I have to tell Damien too.”

“Ah, Jesus,” I groaned, rolling my eyes toward the ceiling. “Fine. We’ll keep it between thefiveof us. There’s no possible way this kind of secret could ever get out and alarm anyone unnecessarily withthatfew amount of people knowing.”

Both women sent me a dry glower before Faith announced, “It’s really too bad there wasn’t a Dwarf named Sarcastic.”

I shrugged. “Didn’t rhyme with Sleepy, sorry.”

“What didn’t rhyme with me?” Hudson asked, wandering into the kitchen, only to pull up short when he found the group gathered. Narrowing his eyes suspiciously, he asked, “Macking on a pair of taken women, are we, Ohrley?”

I sent him a smirk, only to retort, “Yep. And our threesome just finished.” Slapping him companionably on the shoulder asI started from the kitchen, I added, “You can have yours back now.”

I could feel the air crackle with his bristling over that taunt, and I had to smile to myself as I returned to the living room to find a stream of people still carrying boxes through the front room and up the stairs like a parade of ants.

Keene scowled at me from the end of the line as he passed by. “Where the hell have you been, getting out of all of the work?”

I winked at him. “I’d tell you, but I’m afraid you wouldn’t understand all the big words.”

He harrumphed moodily and carried on up the stairs. Glancing up at him and the others, I waited until they were gone before I moved to the front door.

As luck would have it, Hope was trooping up the steps as the next person to enter the house. And there was no one else around her.

Since her arms were full, I opened the door to let her in. She glanced up in surprise, only to stumble on the last step when she saw me filling the entrance.

“Coming in?” I asked almost in challenge.

Shifting sideways to give her room to squeeze by, I basicallydaredher to enter my space with me.

Step into my parlor, little fly.

Her lips parted and eyes flared with arousal.

I clenched my teeth, trying to ignore my own response. But fuck, I really wanted to reach out and just…grab her. Then crush her to me and kiss the shit out of her before backing her into the nearest wall and stripping her naked.

Her chest heaved, and then her throat worked before she faced forward, ignoring me as she stepped over the threshold.

I closed my eyes and pictured you.

God. She’d thought of me during sex, and I couldn’t get that out of my head.

Leaning close when she started past, I took a big whiff, just to torture myself with her scent. Fucking woman smelled good.

She paused, still facing forward, and growled, “Cut it out.”

I lifted one eyebrow. “Cutwhatout?”

She didn’t answer. A confused expression crossed her features, but then she started off again as if nothing had just happened. As if she hadn’t asked me to have crazy, wild sex with her only six hours ago. As if she’d never wanted me to make her come hard enough to set her world on fire. As if she had no regard for me at all.

“You’re welcome,” I called after her.

All she did was sniff, not even bothering to glance back, so I took that opportunity to glance down at my hand and open my fingers to look at the ghost amulet in my palm.

“The fuck?” I said under my breath, gaping at the cloud of dark, brilliant green that was fogging the glass.

I’d never seen it turn fuckinggreenbefore.

Hearing footsteps approach, I snapped my hand closed around the amulet and looked up, shoving the evidence into my pocket and out of sight as Faith, Oaklynn, and Hudson hurried forward. Behind them, I could see Hope’s legs and then her flip-flops disappear up the steps and into the upper level.

“Well?” Oaklynn demanded with an urgent whisper. “Did it fill with a white cloud?”

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