Kiss And Dwell (27 page)

“
Yes,
”
she said, and hoped he didn
’
t recognize the semi-lie. She wanted him to
accomplish everything, to cross over, but the thought of him getting to step
five, intimacy, with Celeste didn
’
t sit very well. At all.

“
Okay. Then you won
’
t mind helping me practice a bit.
”

“
I guess not,
”
Monique said.

“
Well, let
’
s see, you and I have accomplished number one and number two. We
’
ve
met, and there is obviously an attraction.
”

“
I
’
ll say.
”

His low laughter rumbled in the air and rippled down her skin.

“
We
’
ve chatted,
”
he continued.

“
Yeah, we have,
”
she agreed.

“
So I guess we
’
re to the step where we talk about past, present and future. If
I
’
m going to do that with Celeste, I could probably use a bit of practice. Do
you want to go first?
”

She swallowed. Practice learning to love. With Ryan. All kinds of alarms were
going off in her head, but none of them were strong enough to make her say no
.

“
What do you want to know?
”

“
When did you learn you were destined to be a medium?
”
he asked, surprising her
with the speed with which he formulated the question. How long had he been
wondering about her past?

Monique remembered the day she
’
d learned about the
Vicknair
heritage.
“
I was six
when
GrandmaAdeline
called me into her sitting room and showed me one of the
assignment letters on the tray. At that time, the spirit sending the assignments
was her grandfather, Jean-Claude
Vicknair
. Like Grandma Adeline, he didn
’
t take
kindly to mediums who kept him waiting. I remember once when my father didn
’
t
respond quickly enough, he made Daddy
’
s skin burn so badly that he had tiny
blisters on his hands by the time he got to that envelope.
”

“
Sounds painful.
”

She shrugged.
“
Daddy was testing the waters, and he learned who was boss. I
’
m
just glad Grandma Adeline doesn
’
t take it that far with me.
”

“
You test the waters, too?
”
Ryan asked.

“
Like father, like daughter, I suppose,
”
Monique said with a smile.

“
When your grandmother told you, is that when you actually started intervening
with ghosts that needed help?
”

“
No. It doesn
’
t work that way,
”
Monique explained.
“
When I was a child, my
father served as medium for our branch of the family. The gift doesn
’
t kick in
until you
’
re eighteen, so
Dax
, Gage and I watched and learned, the same way our
cousins watched and learned from their parents. We all knew what was coming, but
we had a little time to prepare, which was nice. That
’
d be a pretty intense
burden to drop on a six-year-old.
”

“
That
’
s how old Chloe is,
”
Ryan said, reminding her that he
’
d spent his day with
Dax
’
s
current spirit.
“
I can
’
t imagine giving a little girl that age the
responsibility of getting spirits to cross, particularly a stubborn spirit like
me.
”

Monique grinned.
“
Hey, I
’
m twenty-four, and I still don
’
t know if I
’
m ready for
a stubborn spirit like you.
”

“
You
’
re ready for me, Monique,
”
he replied, his voice changing to that husky
version she
’
d heard last night, when he was aroused.

“
Obviously I am, or they wouldn
’
t have given me the assignment,
”
she said,
trying to tamp down the sexual tension until they finished talking about his
crossing.
“
Anything else you want to know?
”

“
Why have you never been in love?
”

The question surprised her, but she surprised herself even more when she
answered. Sharing herself with Ryan simply seemed the thing to do. Besides, in a
week, he
’
d be gone. Unfortunately.
“
I haven
’
t felt close enough to any man to
tell him about what I do, helping the spirits. And I can
’
t give myself
completely to someone who doesn
’
t really know me. If he doesn
’
t know about me
helping spirits, he doesn
’
t know me.
”
She was amazed at the relief flowing
through her with this admission. Internally, she
’
d always known why she held
back, giving her body to men, but refusing to hand over her heart. Now that
she
’
d said it out loud though, she felt intensely relieved, and intensely
vulnerable.

“
I know about you.
”

A simple statement, but it said plenty. Ryan did know about her, about how she
felt regarding the spirits, the family, and about him.

Monique needed to change the subject.
“
Now you have to reciprocate,
”
she said,
trying to sound as though she was still merely talking about the method of
falling in love, instead of actually sensing something happen within her very
soul.
“
After Celeste opens up and talks to you about her past, then you talk to
her about yours.
”

“
Okay,
”
he said.
“
The biggest part of my past, the way I see it, is how I died.
”

Monique jerked her hand up to stop him.
“
No, Ryan. Please. I don
’
t want to hear
how you died.
”

“
But Celeste and I have both stopped living. Don
’
t you think we should discuss
how we both ended up in the middle?
”

“
Yes. Yes, I do. I believe the two of you should discuss it, but you don
’
t have
to practice that part with me. I don
’
t like to learn how spirits die. I don
’
t
want to know. It hurts.
”
She didn
’
t add, and it
’
d hurt way too much to think of
you dying.

“
Then what do you want me to tell you?
”

“
Tell me about your parents,
”
she said, thinking that would be safe ground.

He looked pained for a moment.
“
They died young, very young, in a car accident
.

Dad was forty-four, Mom was forty. They spent their entire lives living for the
future, planning for retirement and never taking advantage of the here-and-now
.

No vacations. They
’
d take them later, when they had more time and money. No
spontaneous purchases. That would happen when it better suited their lifestyle
.

So they lived, they worked and they died.
”

Realization dawned.
“
You didn
’
t want to live that way. You were determined to
try—everything.
”

Ryan nodded.
“
Yeah, but I guess I went overboard. I decided there was nothing I
would miss out on, no matter what. If there was something I wanted to try, I
tried it. If there was something I wanted to buy, I bought it. I liked to live
on the edge, and I particularly liked things that typically scare people, like
being high. And I
’
m not talking about high on drugs, or anything like that. I
mean literally being high, thousands of feet above the ground, in the clouds. I
liked that exhilaration, feeling you were on top of the world, and I planned to
feel it as much as possible. And that, in a sense, cost me my life.
”

What had he done? Monique fought the incredible urge to ask. She didn
’
t want to
know. Really. She couldn
’
t let herself get that close, not to Ryan
Chappelle
nor
to any other spirit. She wouldn
’
t.

“
Ryan.
”

“
Yeah?
”

“
I think you
’
ll do fine sharing your history with Celeste. But right now…
”

“
You want me,
”
he completed.

“
I do.
”

“
Darlin
’
,
”
he said, emphasizing that silky Southern accent,
“
I thought you
’
d
never ask.
”
And then he stood and pulled the T-shirt over his head to display a
beautiful set of ripped abs with a tantalizing thin trail of dark hair down the
center leading to the top of his jeans, which he unbuttoned. Next came black
boots, and they hit the floor with two loud thuds as he tossed them aside. He
moved back to the top of the jeans and eased the zipper down.
“
Come on,
darlin
’
,
”
Ryan encouraged.
“
You don
’
t have any reason to wait. Tonight
’
s for
both of us, remember?
”

Never taking her eyes from his, Monique stood on the opposite side of the bed
and shifted her shoulders so one orange strap fluttered to her elbow. Then she
did the same with the other. The fabric, held up by the thick straps now resting
at her elbows, pooled at her waist. His attention focused on her breasts.

“
You see me, don
’
t you?
”
she asked.

He finished with the zipper and removed his jeans. As usual, he wore nothing
underneath. Her center quivered at the beautiful vision, this incredible man in
all his naked wonder.
“
Yeah, I see you,
”
Ryan said.
“
But I want to see
everything.
”

She let the straps fall, felt the smooth silk shimmy down her legs…and focused
on willing the privacy veil away. From the stormy lust in those black eyes, she
thought it had worked.
“
Still see me? All of me?
”

“
Every exquisite inch.
”

She tried to gather her courage. She wanted to try something, something to let
the two of them experience even more together, but wasn
’
t sure if he
’
d be
willing.

“
Tell me,
”
he instructed.

“
Tell you what?
”
she asked, edging toward the bed and crawling up on her side
.

Monique knew he liked the way she looked on this bed, in the sea of pink and
white, so she let him look. Balancing on her side, she propped her head on her
hand and gently moved her top leg over the lower one, creating a subtle friction
at the juncture between her thighs, and thinking about how good it would feel to
have him there. Right there.

“
Tell me what you
’
re wanting to do tonight,
”
he said.
“
I can sense you want
something different, but I have no idea what. He moved toward the bed, his thick
erection at Monique
’
s eye-level, and she boldly examined it.

“
I want you,
”
she said.
“
Here.
”
She patted the opposite side of the bed.

Ryan
’
s surprise was obvious. He looked at the spot where her hand patted the
other pillow, and then at the short distance that would separate them.
“
Monique,
I said I wouldn
’
t touch you.
”

“
I know, and a ghost can
’
t tell a lie.
”

“
That
’
s what they told me,
”
he agreed.
“
But this would damn well put it to the
test.
”