Page 69 of The Ghost of Ellwood

I squatted beside the fireplace in my room, one that was smaller than the downstairs one, and I tossed some logs into it. The manor had been updated with central heat and air, but I’d learned the fastest way to warm up was the fire. The heater took too long because the house was so big, and there were too many drafts.

“Can I come in?” Theo asked, standing in the doorway.

I lit a match and set fire to the paper, watching it shrivel before the flame reached the logs. Still not speaking to him, I stood up and unfastened my belt, sliding it off. Undressing in front of Theo should’ve made me self-conscious or at least triggered that part of my brain that said it was indecent, but I didn’t care.

Maybe I wanted him to look to see what he was missing.

“Ben.”

“Theo,” I said, mimicking him. I took off my slacks and let them drop to the floor before I climbed into bed, only wearing my boxer-briefs.

One glance at the doorway showed Theo was no longer there, and a part of me felt bad for being such a dick. Before I could dwell on that guilt, however, Theo appeared right beside the bed, and I yelped.

“Christ on a stick, Theo! Stop doing that. You’re going to give me a damn heart attack one day.”

“Well,youstop being so melodramatic,” he countered, his voice stern and his eyes reflecting the fire across from us. “You become angry when I run away during a fight and here you are doing the same. I should start calling you Hypocrite Ben.”

“Hey,” I said, snatching hold of his wrist. “I only acted like that because you’ve been stringing me along and cutting me loose constantly. I’m sick of it. Either you want me or you don’t. I’m done with the back and forth.”

“Very well.” Theo crawled onto the bed and straddled my hips.

“W-what are you doing?” A blanket rested between our bodies, but the pressure of him on me made my head fog.

I ached with desire. The need for Theo went beyond the physical, though. I needed him in every way he’d have me.

“No more games,” Theo said, his dark hair falling forward as his face inched closer to mine. “I want you, Ben Cross, and I’m feeling selfish enough to finally act on it.”

And then he kissed me.

I grunted my surprise. Like the rest of him, his lips were cool to the touch, but as I hooked an arm behind his head and pulled him closer, his skin began to warm. He softly whimpered as I deepened the kiss, and the sound cut through my chest. I kissed him harder, held him tighter, wanting to take away all the pain he’d suffered in his life.

It was only a kiss, yet I’d never felt anything more powerful.

The fire crackled as the flames scorched the wood, the only sound aside from my heavy breathing as Theo grinded on me, our lips moving feverishly together. Needing him even closer, I shoved down the blanket separating us.

He tore from my mouth and stared at my bare torso, gliding his fingertips across my pecs. I recognized the lust in his eyes, for I felt it too.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, lifting a hand to touch his shirt collar. I had every intention of getting him naked as soon as possible.

“I’m stunned as to how you could ever want me,” he whispered, brushing his finger over my nipple.

“What do you mean byhow?” I splayed my hands on his hips, and my cock stiffened. His body shifted and a small smile upturned his mouth. I suspected he felt just how much I wanted him. “Because of the ghost thing?”

Theo made a face. “It’s sort of a bigthing, Ben.”

“Not to me.” I brought him back to my lips.

Theo might be a ghost, but no one had ever felt more real to me.

I knew the discussion was over when he moaned deep in his throat and knotted his fingers in my hair. We kissed for minutes, perhaps longer. Time passed differently with him. Not even something as constant as the passing of time could touch us in that room.

“I wish to feel more of you,” Theo panted against my mouth.

“May I?” I touched the button on his vest.

He nodded then watched as I removed his vest before doing the same to his undershirt. My heart thumped harder when I slid the material off his shoulders and took in his smooth, hairless chest. I grazed my teeth up his neck.

“Oh, Ben.” He held onto me, nuzzling his head to mine.