Page 34 of Ghost Girl

I caught on, but I was selfishly hesitant to broach such a topic with Rhodes. I liked the fact that he was unaware of my ghostly status. I was enjoying someone believing I was alive. Real. Tangible, even if maintaining the illusion meant avoiding his touch. It would have shifted right through me, regardless. A dead giveaway that I was… well, dead.

I didn’t want to completely crush her hopes, though. I wasn’t that cruel. So, instead, I tried to find some truth that I could tell her without completely destroying my own selfish wants and desires in the process. I had spent far too long when I was alive acting at the expense of myself, constantly putting others before myself. Now, I wasn’t going to do that. But maybe I could dosomething.

‘I’ll see what I can do, but I can’t make any promises. Even if I do manage to get a message to him, there’s no guarantee that he would even be able to help, or live long enough to do so.’

It didn’t upset me that Rhodes was dying. If anything, his impending death was brimming with potential. Maybe, just maybe, I wouldn’t have to be alone anymore.

Shadow man, withstanding.

Speaking of, I wondered where he had run off to. Not that I was complaining about the reprieve from the chilling sensation of his eyes constantly watching me from behind his little magic trick of shadows. That was one treacherous mystery I was sure I could do without, so I decided to continue what I was doing. Ignore him. No one could say I didn’t learn from my mistakes. Maybe he’d get bored and finally leave me alone, and then I wouldn’t have to feel so shitty about the risk I was taking every time I went to see Rhodes.

It was going to head over there again in the morning to try to catch him before he left for work, and hopefully, we would be alone. No shadowy visitors stalking us from the darkness. And certainly no declarations of possession like I was some kindof object to be obtained and kept. Fuck that. I’d married one asshole, I wasn’t about to let another one trap me. Never again.

Chapter 14

Dakota

Gentle fingers threaded through my hair, rousing me slowly from my sleep. I sighed and nuzzled into the familiar warm palm.

‘Good morning, my love,’ Blake whispered against my lips before pressing a soft kiss to them.

‘Mm, good morning,’ I mumbled sleepily, but then my hand landed on the space beside me on the cot, only to find it cool to the touch, and the previous night came rushing back to me. I’d meant to stay awake while I waiting for him to return. I remembered the first rays of light peeking through the trees, so I must have fallen asleep around dawn. Still, had he been out all night?

‘You just got back,’ I accused.

His gaze fell, suddenly more interested in a random spot on the blanket than me, and he bit his lip nervously. ‘I’m sorry, honey. It’s just, the whole thing with Rhodes finding that girl…’

Immediately, my annoyance fled only to be replaced by guilt and concern. And perhaps a dash of jealousy, but I was only human, and it was hard to compete with a ghost. Especially when all I had learned about said ghost made her sound like a genuinely wonderful human being.

‘It reminded you of her.’

He released a heavy sigh, his loss something that I had long since accepted he would never truly get over, no matter if he had moved on. I didn’t doubt his love for me, but I went into this relationship fully aware that his heart would always belong to another, even when he had somehow made room for me. I was okay with it, but that didn’t mean it still didn’t sting sometimes when his grief pushed forward again. It felt like I was in a relationship with her as well, though that feeling was more often found when I tried to talk to Chance. I was glad he was coming around to the idea of me, though this business with Rhode’s mystery girl had certainly put a damper on that progress. He’d been MIA ever since I’d given him and his team the girl’s description.

And so had my husband.

His entire demeanour softened when he looked up. There must have been some sort of expression on my face that showed my true feelings, and he jumped to reassure me. ‘I’m sorry, honey. I didn’t mean to make you feel like my past was more important. I love you, and I’m so happy with you. I swear, I was just caught off guard and needed to process, but I’m here, and I’m not going anywhere.’

I relaxed at his words. I hated that I still needed that reassurance, but it felt nice that he was so willing to give it. Not many men would have been patient enough with my insecurities. I loved him with all my heart, and the gaping chasm that Kali had left behind with her disappearance had been a huge block at the beginning of our relationship, and I could admit that there were some residual feelings about that.

Blake was my husband, however. He had married me and tied our lives together irrevocably. There was something to be said about actions speaking louder than words, and he proved to meevery single day that our love was real and most definitely worth it.

When my eyes darted down to his lips, then travelled further until my gaze landed on the bulge beneath his zipper, he smirked at me knowingly. ‘Does my wife need a reminder that her husband finds her beautiful?’ he asked, leaning in to brush his lips against the corner of my mouth in an almost kiss. ‘That I find her sexy?’ His lips pressed every so gently against my jaw. ‘That I love her so fucking much?’

I released a shuddering breath, and that seemed to be the catalyst for the moment he lost control. His hand, still tangled in my hair, gripped my head to pull me to him, and his lips landed on mine in a bruising kiss. His tongue parted my lips and plunged into my mouth, tangling with mine as we tasted one another. I moaned into his mouth, and he groaned right back, grinding his growing erection into my leg.

‘Fuck, baby. I need you. I need to prove to you how much you mean to me with my cock buried deep inside your warm heat. Let me show you how much I fucking love you.’

I whimpered at his words, my legs already parting for him as a surge of wetness trickled from my core.‘Yes,’I hissed. ‘Show me how much you love me with that big, fat cock of yours.’

Another groan tore from his chest at my words, the sound low and vibrating. ‘Fuck, I love that dirty mouth of yours. You’re such a whore for me, aren’t you baby?’

I tilted my head up and nipped at his chin. ‘Only for you, babe.’

‘That’s right. Only for me. You’reall mine.’

His spare hand traced circles on my hip, then my waist, my ribs, until eventually he cupped my breast, flicking his thumb over my nipple. It perked up, poking through the flimsy fabric of my nightdress. He smirked at my breathy sigh, then bent his head to suck on my other nipple through the material. The sensation of his hot, wet mouth over the fibres on my sensitivebud had me arching my back to get closer to him, eagerly chasing the pleasure that he was withholding from me. He was teasing me, giving me just enough to soak through my panties, but not enough that I was quickly becoming frustrated.

I pulled away, tugging frantically at his clothes. ‘Off. Take them off. I need to feel you, baby.’

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