Page 42 of Ghost

“You already saw me check both those spots.” I try to hold firm, but she’s making it damn impossible.

“It doesn’t hurt to double-check, right? You’re the one who taught me to be thorough, Ghost.”

“Luna—”

“What about the couch?” she cuts me off, spinning around the pole again.

I can’t fucking think.

Luna is still fully dressed, but blood pumps to all the wrong places with what she’s doing.

She tempts me into wondering why the fuck I’ve been abstinent for so long. Some people assume it’s because I don’t like to fuck, but that couldn’t be farther from the truth. Especially considering what I’d like to do to Luna right now.

It was just safer to keep my distance. After what happened with Paulina, I didn’t want to risk letting anyone close again.

“The couch is fine.” I grind my teeth.

“How do you know? You didn’t check the couch yet, and from what I can tell, you’re walking every inch of the room, aren’t you?” She eyes the couch. “People do all sorts of things on those couches. You should double-check.”

I should unlock the door and call for Venom right now. He could take Luna back to the clubhouse, and I could work in peace. Instead, I humor her by walking over to the couch and sinking down onto the cushions.

“So?” she asks, pausing with her back to the pole again, gripping it behind her.

I glance down at my phone, switching the camera angle to the couch, and see myself sitting on it. “All good.”

“Good.” She hums, her body swaying to the music. “Because now that you’re sitting, I think we should talk.”

“About what?”

“You went against your club for me, Ghost.” Her hands move from the pole to her hips; she trails her fingers under the line of her shirt, teasing the smooth skin of her stomach. “You went againstyour presidentfor me. That’s something big. But you pretend you still don’t care. Why?”

I stretch my arms across the back of the couch, watching her. “I care.”

“Then why not do anything about it?”

“I already told you we can’t.”

“Because you don’t fuck patch bunnies?” She slowly undoes the knot in her T-shirt, playing with the fabric.

“You’re not a patch bunny.”

She shrugs. “Fine. Then because you don’t fuckanyone. Why is that?”

“It’s just better that way.”

“Hmm.” She twists her hips as the music kicks up, tipping her head back. “Are you worried you’re going to hurt me, Ghost? Because trust me, you can’t.”

“You’d like to think that.” My shoulders tense. “But you’re wrong.”

“Then why get me into this mess in the first place?”

Because you’re everything to me, and the idea of leaving you behind made me want to finish what I started on the cliff in Arizona.

I manage to swallow that sentence. She doesn’t need to hear it. It will only make her realize how fucked up Iam. Or worse, she’ll start believing in things that aren’t possible.

When I’m silent for a moment, she frowns. “The least you can do is stop lying to me.”

“I’ve never lied to you.”