Page 8 of Ghost
I glanced at Bryce, noticing he had attempted to look as uninterested as possible. But still, he couldn’t conceal the hopeful spark in his eyes.
I could only imagine what was going through his mind. Probably that he had won the war. But this was far from over—the rivalry between us. I’d never give up.
One day I’d have him groveling at my feet.
Regardless, Damen seemed to know what he was doing. I shrugged. So long as Damen did it, and not I, it was bearable.
Damen glanced back toward Bryce, inclining his head in my direction. “She can see spirits. But her abilities are slightly different than yours, I think. We’re still trying to figure out everything she can do.”
Bryce’s attention shifted back to Damen. He seemed put out that I didn’t want to speak to him, but proceeded as if nothing had happened. “I thought so. In that case, I don’t see anything to be alarmed over. It’s more like…” Bryce trailed off, tilting his head.
“Like?” Damen inserted in a strained voice.
“I’m not certain. I’ve never come across anything like this before. But from what I can tell, I don’t see anything malicious attached to her,” Bryce said confidently. Then his eyes held mine. “All I know is that you’re not at your full strength. The reasons could be many—including not taking care of yourself physically. A medium with strong abilities can easily be brought to exhaustion.”
“Aren’t there other reasons why mediums could be drained? Haven’t you said that you noticed an influx of spiritual activity in the area?” Damen leaned forward and rested his elbows on his thighs.
Bryce scoffed, “That’s not it. I’ve told you, there’s nothing nefarious going on in the area. In fact, the only outstanding incident is poor Mr. Dungworth. Just yesterday, I found him hovering about the ladies locker room again. I had to throw salt at him this time. When are you going to take care of that?”
And just like that, the intense atmosphere in the room dropped.
I hunched in relief. At least two good things had come out of his uncomfortable conversation. First was the fact that I wasn’t cursed, or anything like that. Stupid Bryce for almost causing me to have a heart attack.
And second, I was now being validated. Just three days ago, I thought I had noticed something near the locker rooms, but I hadn’t been certain.
“What do you expect me to do? I can’t usually see the ghosts. And I cannot force one to move on. That isn’t my expertise.” Damen shrugged, looking unconcerned. “There’s only so much that I can take on. This isyourresponsibility.”
“He won’t leave!” Bryce glared at Damen. “And Brayden is busy. You have your shikigami. Why can’t your minion get rid of him? Dungworth has been drawing far too much attention to the area.”
“I’m not going to exorcise a spirit because they are a pervert,” Damen replied. “That is an abuse of power. Besides, you know it doesn’t work that way.”
“I don’t care what you do.” Bryce narrowed his eyes at Damen. “But just do something. We can’t have him—” His words stopped as he suddenly shot me a wary glance. “I know you said that Miss Brosnan is your friend, but should we be talking about this in front of her?”
“Oh…” I longed for him to continue. This was so very fascinating, if not confusing. And Damen didn’t seem to mind that I was listening.
Plus, considering that my arch-nemesis seemed to not want me to hear it suddenly, made me want to drink in every single word. In fact, I had been so engaged I didn’t even realize I, too, had been leaning forward in my seat.
Damen chuckled. I felt him move closer before he wrapped his arm over my shoulders, pulling me closer to his side. Only the arms of the chair separated us now. I couldn’t decide if this was embarrassing or not, especially considering that Bryce’s questioning eyes were on us now.
“I don’t mind.” Damen didn’t seem embarrassed in the least. He actually sounded gleeful. “Anything that shames you brings me the utmost joy. I could sit here and talk about your failures all day.”
Bryce sighed sadly, his focus leaving me once again. “What did I ever do to you?”
“Besides not doing your job and ruining the legacy of an entire generation?” Damen mused, stroking his chin with his free hand. “Perhaps I just don’t like your face. The cleft on your chin appears to be more pronounced every time I see it.”
“I’ll have you know that most women have an affinity for cleft chins,” Bryce growled defensively. But he hid his lower-face under his folded hands regardless. “It is a beauty mark.”
I saw what was happening here. And my heart jerked happily in response. Damen disliked Bryce almost as much as I did!
I glanced at him, seeing him in an entirely new light. No longer was he just the attractive, mysterious, fancy-haired playboy whom I had befriended. He was somethingmorenow. Something beautiful.
I heard friendships based on a mutual dislike of a person or thing were the best. If that was the case, then Damen and I were facing many years of companionship.
“Why is she staring at you like that?” Bryce’s question broke through my inner monologue. “Have you done something weird to her?”
“I’ve done nothing of the sort.” Damen replied, squeezing my arm. “It’s all a part of my natural charm.”
It was then I realized I had, in fact, been staring—and drooling—in Damen’s general direction. Almost like a lovesick fool.
