Page 42 of Adored by the Grumpy Ghost (Mapletown Monster Mates #1)

My cleavage looks bomb in this dress, so the ogling just makes me smile.

“You look…” He doesn’t finish his sentence, just extends his hand and waits for me to take it. “May I have this dance?”

I remember Lindsay’s presence, and when I lock eyes with her, she looks like she’s on the verge of squealing.

“I can take a hint,” she says, turning to leave. Before she goes, she says, “Have fun, you two.”

Winston chuckles, and I’m so caught off guard by the warmth he exudes while watching Lindsay leave that I let him guide me onto the dance floor and settle into the strength of his embrace.

We remain quiet for a while. Maybe too long. Neither of us knowing who should go first. I take the leap. “I have a lot of questions.”

He nods, that boyish look lighting up his face. “I believe I have answers.”

“Did you make this dance floor?”

He nods, the blood rushing to his cheeks.

I move on to the one that’s clawing up my throat, the most desperate to be asked. “Why am I here, Winston? I thought you didn’t want me anymore.”

He lets out a pained grunt. “There has never been a second when I didn’t want you, sweetheart. Not since the moment I became aware that you existed.”

“So then…”

His gaze softens as he looks over my shoulder, toward the forest, as if gathering his thoughts.

“Those things I said, that last day… I didn’t mean any of them.

Well,” he amends, “I did mean that I don’t deserve you, and never could.

But the shit I said about our relationship being about sex and on the verge of something more––that was a lie. ”

“Why was it a lie?”

“Because it already was about more than sex.” He chuckles, shaking his head in awe. “From the very first time I touched you, I knew I could never live without you.”

“Then why would you end it?” I ask, my skin growing hot despite the chill in the air. “Why were you acting like such a heartless asshole that day? Reminding me of my lowest point with Kyle. Couldn’t you sense that it was about more than sex for me too?”

His green eyes dart back and forth between mine, searching for the truth, maybe.

“Fuck,” he says under his breath. “I’m sorry about that.

All of it. I only played that card because I knew it would hurt you enough to get you to leave, and I was afraid that if you remained next to me for another heartbeat, my resolve would weaken, and I’d beg you to stay. ”

I hate that he’s right. It worked like a charm.

“Yeah, I could tell you felt the same about me,” he continues, “but I was too afraid that I was wrong to believe it was real. I think about the life I lived, who I was before I died, and…”

“And what?”

“You do deserve someone better than me, Natalie. You’re beautiful, and kind, and you love so fiercely and trust with your whole body. I’ve never seen anything like it. I’ve never been on the receiving end of love like this. It didn’t feel real. You seemed too good to be true.”

“That’s bullshit!” I shout, surprising him with the volume and firmness of my voice, no doubt.

“You cook my meals, you clean the house––the house that you built, by the way––you rub my shoulders when they’re sore, you take care of me when I’m sick, you braid my fucking hair.

” I chuckle softly, still amazed that I landed this man, and annoyed that he can’t see his worth.

“And all of that is without mentioning how incredible you are in bed.”

His cheeks flush, and he averts his eyes, as if embarrassed.

“When I say incredible , I want you to understand what that means, because there are a lot of men who don’t know how little they’d have to do in bed to be considered incredible, so this is very important. Are you listening?”

He nods, his gaze dropping to my lips.

“You seek consent, you check in with me regularly, you put my pleasure before your own. You pay attention. It’s so overlooked and underestimated, but it goes such a long way.”

His chin is lifting, clearly enjoying my praise. “What else?”

“I can’t speak for others, but my favorite thing, what means the most to me, is what happens after.

When both of us have come and our bodies are at their most relaxed.

Most sated.” I stroke a finger along his jaw.

“You clean me up with a gentle touch, and then you hold me like I’m a rare jewel, delicate and beautiful and unlike anything you’ve ever encountered. ”

He gives me an odd look, like I’m missing something. Like it should be as clear as the night sky above our heads. “Because you are, Natalie.”

I close the distance between us until his forehead rests against mine.

“Sweetheart,” he says, voice thick with emotion.

“This is it for me. My life didn’t begin until you came into it.

Dead over a hundred and twenty years, and you were the one who made me feel alive.

I fucked up by letting you go. I shouldn’t have.

But if you give me the chance, I will spend the rest of our days killing spiders for you, cleaning up your crumbs, stocking the study with bookmarks, and braiding your hair.

” Then a whisper, a plea. “Please, Natalie. Let me show you that I can love you better than anyone ever could.”

I want to say yes. I want to forget about the last month we were apart and go back to how things were. But nothing about our situation has changed. How can we move forward with so much still stacked against us? “It’s still Lindsay’s house. How can we–”

“No, it isn’t.”

I pull back to look at him. “What do you mean?”

He smiles. “I traded the house for the last of my worldly possessions from when I was alive. Nothing that mattered to me, just stuff that my father-in-law thought was valuable, and gave to us as wedding presents.”

I’m having trouble forming words. Or coherent thoughts. “What did you trade?”

“Susanna’s wedding ring, as well as mine, some jewelry of hers, and a painting her father won at an auction. He was a big art collector and was always adding pieces he thought were a good investment.”

“Holy shit. And Lindsay sold them for you?”

He nods. “Yeah, friends of hers from Boston who connected her with a jewelry dealer and an art dealer. I didn’t expect them to be worth much, if anything.”

“And?”

His grin is so wide I can practically see all his teeth. “Ended up being five hundred thousand, give or take.”

I push out of his arms unintentionally, shocked and bewildered and having no clue how to process this news.

“So Lindsay sold the house to you?”

He shakes his head. “To us. Your name is on the deed too.”

I launch myself at him, in utter disbelief that the thing that’s been hanging over both of us, following us from room to room inside that house, is finally gone. He spins me around, laughing as I squeal with excitement.

When he sets me on my feet, I lean into him. The solid wall of his chest keeps me steady, calming my nerves. He’s home. Here, in his arms, I have everything I need.

I want to kiss him, shove him to the ground, and ride his cock on the dance floor in the middle of the forest, but…the future. There are still questions that need answering.

“What if I die and my ghost doesn’t come back here?” I ask, articulating a fear that was shoved down so deep beneath all the other shit that I didn’t realize how strong it was. “What if we aren’t reunited in death?”

He presses a soft kiss to my cheek, tucking a lock of hair behind my ear. “Then I will pay every last cent I have to the witch who swears to bring you back to me, in my arms, where you belong.”

He makes it sound so easy. I wish I felt as sure as he does.

“If that doesn’t work?”

“Sweetheart, it will,” he says, cupping my cheek. “Do you know how I know?”

“How?”

“Because I won’t stop searching for you until I find you. It doesn’t matter how long it takes. Until the sun burns out and the world is bathed in darkness.

“Luckily, it won’t take that long. We will find each other again just like we did this time, because this is how our stories were always supposed to end. You and me. I’m keeping you for the rest of time, Natalie. I will not accept anything less.”

The reverence in his gaze, the tenderness in his touch, I let them draw me in until our lips meet.

It begins softer than it ever has, with feather-light kisses, quick pecks and brushes of our mouths together.

His embrace is cold, but it doesn’t matter because I’ve never felt warmer or more at ease.

It’s like our bodies recognize, at the same exact moment, when we decide that there will be no more hiding our feelings.

His tongue swipes against the seam of my lips, seeking entry, but also forgiveness, trust, and faith that I’ll give it all right back to him. And I do.

Hunger grows as our grip on each other tightens, and soon, my chest is heaving against his, my pulse racing, and my tongue dipping into the deepest parts of his mouth, learning him unlike anyone ever has, or ever will. It’s filthy and passionate and I’m desperate to get him naked.

“Winston,” I whimper into his mouth.

“Yes?” he asks, panting. His fingers are tangled in my hair, and his other hand is on my belly, a loving squeeze that sends a jolt of heat down my spine and directly into my clit.

“I love you,” I say, my eyes filling with tears. “I love you so much.”

His eyes grow wet as he rubs the tip of his nose against mine. “I love you, too, Natalie. My perfect, beautiful miracle.”

We slow dance through another two songs. “Like Real People Do” by Hozier and “Simply the Best” by Billianne.

Winston laces his fingers through mine and presses a kiss to my hand. “Come on. Let’s go home.”

Fireflies blink around us, providing enough of a glow to safely make our way through the forest back to Caraway Manor. All is quiet as we cross the yard. He guides me through the side door, and upstairs, a sly grin tugging at his lips as we reach my old room.

“What’s that look for?”

“You’ll see,” he says in a low rumble. He opens the door and puts a hand over my eyes. I feel his hard chest against my back as he walks me deeper into the room. “Okay, I need you to lie down, and keep those eyes closed.”

“Okay,” I say, giggling with excitement.

He keeps his hand over my eyes, but loosely, as I sit on the edge of the bed and lie back.

“Don’t open them yet.” I hear his boots shuffle around the bed, and the mattress dipping under his weight as he lies down beside me. His finger brushes against the back of my hand before our fingers lace together. “Okay,” he whispers, “open your eyes.”

I suck in a breath at the sight of millions of stars filling the sky just above my bed. “A…” I stammer. “A skylight? You installed a skylight?”

His response is proud laughter.

“Why?” I ask. “If you didn’t know I’d ever come back, why bother?”

He sighs heavily, all traces of humor now gone from his voice.

“I knew you might not forgive me, or want to be with me after what happened, but once I started clearing the spot where I wanted to install it, I knew it was the right decision whether you came back or not.” He uses his free hand to rub his chest, right where his heart beats.

Or used to, that is. “I figured, this way, I’d still get to stare up at the same stars as you.

That, if this was all I had left of you,”––he turns, his gaze locking onto mine––“it would be enough.”

I pull him in for a kiss, savoring the coolness of his skin and the safety within his arms. When we untangle ourselves, panting slightly, I lean my head on his bicep as his arm curls around me.

We lie silently together, gazing through the glass to the heavens above.

It’s as if we’re the last two people in the universe.

Who knows. Maybe someday we will be. When that day comes, I might not even notice.

As long as I have Winston, nothing else matters.