Page 68 of The Ghost of Ellwood

I had started falling for him weeks ago.

I never stopped.

As I parked the car and moved toward the porch, a light flickered on from inside the house. Theo was welcoming me home.

Chapter Fourteen

Theo waited for me beneath the arch in the entryway. The light from the lamp cast a golden glow on his pale skin and made the faint shadows around his eyes darker. Even still, no one had ever been more beautiful to me.

“Evening,” he said, bowing his head. “How was the signing?”

“Great.” I placed my hands on his biceps and drew him in closer. “Redwood Manor is, uh, interesting.”

“Interesting, indeed,” Theo said, leaning in to brush his lips across my throat. He didn’t linger, though. He instead moved into the parlor and knelt beside the fireplace. “The mansion was said to be haunted even when I was alive.”

“Oh yeah?” I sat in one of the cushioned loveseats, watching Theo start the fire. It was a bit cold out, and the chill in the manor made me shiver. A fire would be nice. “What do you know about it?”

Theo neatly stacked the wood before crumpling up some newspaper and lighting it with a match. “I know the original owner died in the mansion, and supposedly, everyone who steps foot inside is never quite the same after.”

Steps foot inside.

“Wait, I thought only people whoownedthe mansion had strange crap happen.”

“No, Ben.” Theo stood and placed one hand behind his back. “Anyone whoownsit meets a grim fate, yes, but even stepping inside can have consequences. Or so the legends say.”

“And you didn’t think to tell me this before I went?”

He softly smiled and came to sit beside me. The chair only had two cushions, so we sat close together, our thighs touching. “It’s only a silly superstition.”

“Superstition?” I asked, amazed. “Theo, no offense, but you’re a freaking ghost. Superstition went out the window long ago.”

“Perhaps.” He lightly chuckled. “I didn’t get to say it before you left, but you look very handsome, Ben. I fancy you in suits.”

“You fancy me, huh?” I shifted closer, slipping an arm behind his head.

His dark gaze dropped to my mouth before slowly lifting again. He didn’t have to breathe, and yet, his chest rose and fell faster, as if his still heart matched the rhythm of my beating one.

“Ben,” fell from his lips, soft and needy. “I’m so tired of running from you.”

“Then stop running.” I smoothed my fingers along his nape and up the back of his head, combing them through his silky black hair. “God, Theo, you don’t realize how much I like you. I know you think I’ll get bored or whatever, but I won’t. No one haseverappealed to me as much as you do.”

“Only because you see me as an intriguing sideshow,” he said. “As if I’m stuck in a cage at a circus and you’re merely passing by. You’re interested enough to stay for a while, but then you’ll move on to another.”

“Will you stop putting words in my mouth?” I asked, irritated. “I’m not interested in you because you’re a ghost. It’s not some damn superficial fascination. When I’m with you, I feel like I’m home.” A lump wedged in my throat. “I think I’m falling in love with you, Theo.”

He whimpered and shook his head. “You can’t be. We’re not that familiar.”

“Our time together means nothing? Our conversations over games of chess, all the laughs, the mornings and afternoons we spend together…they mean a lot tome.”

“I didn’t say they meant nothing.” His Adam’s apple bobbed in his throat as he swallowed. “I only said it’s not enough for you to think you’re in love with me. We have yet to even kiss, Ben.”

“Oh, so we have to be intimate before I can fall for you?” I asked, going full-on smartass. “I didn’t know that was the rule. My bad.” I sat forward on the cushion. “Know what? I’m too tired to deal with this right now. You promised me we’d talk it out tonight. I thought we were moving forward, but I see now you’re set on staying right where you are.”

I pushed to my feet and left the room.

“Ben,” he called after me.

I kept walking. I reached the stairs and stormed up them, taking the steps two at a time. The glow of the fire from the parlor faded as I reached the second floor, and the manor was thrown into darkness once more. Entering my bedroom, I unbuttoned my suit jacket before shrugging it off and draping it over the chair. I fumbled with my undershirt next, and as I took it off, the chill in the air cut into my bare chest.