Masque (20 page)

“What?”

Her surprise cut into him like a knife. He had to go
upstairs, outside, now. The need to escape was too strong. He dematerialized
and floated upward, straight through to the battlements above. Once there, he re-formed.

The cool ocean breeze and warmth of the sun did much to calm
his soul, but nothing could tame the riot of his thoughts. He tried to focus.
The release of his friends’ spirits was paramount. His suffering afterward, his
relationship with Rena, his forever existence was of no consequence.

He stalked to the wall that overlooked the graveyard. As he
tried to focus on the neat rows, his night with Rena intruded. Her moans of
pleasure floated through his head. The warmth of her body against his while her
face buried against his chest. The intelligence of her observations about Eric.
Her burgeoning confidence in her sexual inclinations. He wanted all of it. He
wanted her, forever.

Synn leaned over the battlement, his head falling between
his shoulders as he let his breath leave his lungs. His eyes misted. He wanted
what he could never have.

* * * * *

Rena stared at the spot where Synn had been. His admission
to being stuck in the Abbey reaffirmed her suspicions that he was cursed in
connection with the building. Her heart ached at the thought. Shit! And she was
in love with him. She hadn’t wanted to fall in love, but he’d seeped beneath
her defenses. She pressed her hand to her chest, tears forming in her eyes. She
was in love with a man cursed to exist for all time, if he remained within the
Abbey walls.

Damn it. Striding through the dining room and kitchen, she
nodded at whatever Valerie said, and waved at Jamie and Matt, who were running
conduit piping. Once she reached the chapel, she didn’t hesitate and pushed
open the wooden door.

Inside she slowed, the peaceful setting taking the edge off
her anxiety as she’d hoped. She made her way to the altar and touched it. The
vibration she’d felt last time once again slid through her arm and into her
heart, easing it more. Relieved, she walked to the front pew and slumped down.

The scent of incense wafted through the area. The sun’s
light glowed a pale yellow with streaks of red upon the stone floor as it
shined through the stained glass window. She sighed and sat back. What was she
going to do? She loved Synn. She could have him as long as she wanted, if he
felt the same way, but what kind of life would that be? A pleasurable one, a
little voice inside her whispered. She agreed, but to never share a walk on the
beach, go grocery shopping together, or attend a play at the community theater.
None of those were deal-breakers, but all of them normal.

Her love for Synn was an accident, an aberration. Who the
hell fell in love with a one-hundred-eighty-three-year-old man?

She did.

He was supposed to be a rebound lover. That was it. That
hadn’t worked. She played with the edge of her green t-shirt. What about Synn?
He enjoyed sex with her, rather he loved sex with her, he supported her, and he
protected her, but he pulled away anytime they started to become intimate. “Oh
God, what am I supposed to do?”

“What feels right to your heart.”

At the soothing voice behind her, she spun in her seat. A
priest dressed in robes strolled up the center aisle. “Father Richard?”

He smiled wide. “Oh, so the guttersnipe thought to mention
me.”

“Guttersnipe?”

The priest sat next to her and took her hand. A lovely peace
descended. “That’s my nickname for all my imperfect charges.”

He seemed nice. He had short cropped hair, a wide mouth,
small nose, and eyes that reminded her of a happy squirrel. Large dark pupils
made it impossible to see the color, but the grooves around his mouth proved he
smiled a lot.

He let go of her hand and settled his robes. “So, my child.
Why have you sought the solace of the chapel?”

“I’m torn, confused. I don’t know.” She hesitated. Oh, why
not, he was a priest. “I’m in love with Synn.” Saying it out loud brought
conviction and relief.

Father Richard crossed his legs. “That is the plan.”

She squinted her eyes at him. There was a plan? “What plan?
How can there be a plan? It’s not like Synn is normal. Heaven forbid I should
fall for an average Joe.”

Father Richard’s eyes grew intense, as if he wished to see
into her soul. She shifted her gaze to the altar, uncomfortable beneath his
searching stare.

“What is the problem?” His voice was soothing.

“It’s complicated. I want him in my life, but that’s crazy,
isn’t it?” She looked back at the priest who had a cocky grin on his face. “I
mean, I can’t have a life with a cursed one-hundred-eighty-three-year-old man
who can’t leave the building.”

Father Richard leaned his arms on the back of the pew. “Synn
is no more cursed than I am. Just as neither of us are ghosts.”

“But…” She stared at him, trying to determine what he was.
If he wasn’t a ghost, what was he? Father Richard let his head fall back
against the back of the pew and stared at the ceiling. “Did you know Synn
designed this chapel and built it in spite of the prince’s wishes?”

She looked up too. “He did?”

“Yes, because he has a good sense of what is right and what
is wrong.”

She stared at the smiling archangel painted on the ceiling.
Was the father trying to tell her something? She returned her gaze to him. “So,
is there a way to lift the… To enable him to live normally? Maybe relieve him
of his guilt?”

He shrugged as he contemplated the angel above. “That
depends.”

Pulling information from this man was harder than boring a
hole in the stone walls of the Abbey. “On what?”

“On you.”

He finally looked at her and stared again with that intense
gaze that made her shirk away. “Me? How?”

He returned his attention to the ceiling. “You say you love
him. Would you do whatever was needed to release him?”

Her heart froze at the question. Did she love him that much?
What might it take? “I guess it would depend on if that love was returned. If
Synn loved me, not just loved that I like to, uh, that I’m adventurous, I
would.”

“Does he love you?” The father appeared nonchalant as he
adjusted his robes, but she could feel his intensity.

She looked away, defeat settling in. “I don’t think so. I
don’t know if he can love, he is so riddled with guilt.” The hopelessness and
pain returned to her heart.

Father Richard stood and put his hand on her shoulder. The
ache in her chest lessened and she calmed. What was it about this man or ghost
or whatever he was?

“Feel better?”

She nodded.

“Good.” He removed his hand. “Have faith, child. It will end
as it’s supposed to. For both of you.”

He grinned again and then walked to the main aisle.

End? What end? They were both going to be at the Abbey for a
very long time.

She turned to watch the priest from her pew as he floated
toward the door, slowly fading until he vanished. And he claimed not to be a
ghost?

* * * * *

Rena threw the extra-large “I’m Crabby” t-shirt over her
head. It matched her mood exactly. She hadn’t seen Synn since the morning and
it irritated her. They needed to talk. Plus, when she had come back to her
room, she’d found the sex journal missing. Why would Synn take the journal
back? So yeah, she was feeling a bit crabby at the moment, but a good night’s
sleep should take care of that. Since Synn had returned, she hadn’t had a
single sexual dream. It had to be because he satisfied her in so many ways.

She pulled the quilt back and climbed into bed. Her spirits
rose. Yes, she had Synn to thank for her newfound acceptance of sexual
exploration. He’d been right on every point, not only showing her what she
liked, but also what she didn’t. Bryce’s admission of his own needs had been
the icing on the cake.

Reaching over to turn out the lantern, she caught movement
near the fireplace. Eric? She pulled the quilt up to her chin, but relaxed as
Synn unfolded himself from the chair. When had he entered? “Synn?”

He walked to her bed, extended his hand and grinned, but it
didn’t reach his eyes. “Are you ready for the Black Room?”

The idea of being tied up with Synn as her lover sent a rush
of excitement down to her pussy. The fact she had no immediate guilt about her
interest reaffirmed her contentment with herself. What she wanted more than
exploring the bondage scenario now, was to have an intimate night with Synn.

“Actually, could we stay here in my bed tonight?”

He raised a brow. “I thought you wanted to be tied up?”

“Oh, I do. Can’t we do it here? This is a four-poster bed.”

Dropping his hand, he looked away. “But all the apparatus is
in the Black Room.”

“So bring it up here.” She smiled encouragingly. Certainly
he could break out of the mold for one night. The Black Room would always be
there.

He appeared agitated. “I thought you wanted to complete the
Masque? You said you wanted to make it through to the end.”

As he walked across the room, she could see he was truly
upset. She sat on the edge of the bed. “Synn, it’s just that I want you to
myself tonight. Is that so bad?”

He turned toward her and smirked. “I can be sure that we are
alone in the Black Room. Trent and Darby are on Eric’s trail, so I can promise
he won’t—”

“No, Synn.” She stood and walked over to him. She laid her
hands on his chest. “I just want a night together in my bed. That’s all. For us
to be close. Doesn’t that appeal to you?” Her heart pounded at the importance
of his answer.

His gaze flew over her face and she recognized a great
yearning in his eyes, but he shook his head. “Not before the Black Room.”

She stepped back, pieces of information falling into place.
“Why not? Why must we do the Black Room first?”

He rubbed the back of his neck as he turned away. “Rena,
please.”

As his unwillingness to tell her became clear, her hurt
grew. “Synn, tell me why we must have sex in the Black Room first?”

He faced her then and she witnessed what she’d seen in the
Orgy Room the night Eric had made Synn disappear, complete capitulation. “I
need you to experience the Black Room so the Masque can be completed.”

Her gut tightened, afraid of what was at the end of the
Masque. Would he cease to exist? She had to know. “What happens when we finish
the Masque?”

He looked at her and the torture of years of guilt was
reflected in his gaze, causing her to catch her breath at the depth of the pain
he revealed. “When we complete the Black Room, the ghosts will be able to cross
over. They will be free.”

Rena tried to wrap her mind around his words, but they were
so opposite of what she’d expected that it took her a moment to understand.
“How does completing the Masque help the spirits? I thought people’s souls
failed to cross over when they had unfinished business. What does that have to
do with me, us? Or is that a wrong assumption?”

Synn began to pace. “We tried that. We had everyone complete
the Masque who had planned to, but nothing happened. That’s when we deduced
that since they were all alive at the time of the Masque, we needed a living
person to complete the Masque in order to free them. The prince was the only
one to cross over upon his death.”

It did make sense in a strange way. She moved to the bed and
sat. “But you know there is more to this abbey than souls with unfinished
business, right?” She glanced up in time to see his surprise, but was
disappointed when his face revealed no further emotion.

“What do you mean?” His guardedness disappointed her.

“What I mean is, none of these ghosts fit the profile of
ghosts found anywhere else in the world. What I mean is your existence cannot
be explained. What I mean is none of the furnishings in this house have
deteriorated in over a century.”

He stopped pacing. “I did not know other ghosts existed or
that they were different, but if that’s the case, then you are right. There is
something else happening here.”

Her brain weeded through the logic of the issue before it
came to rest on why Synn had not wanted to tell her. The burn in her stomach
started on low. “So why did Eric constantly try to keep us apart? It wasn’t
just because he was jealous, right?”

Synn remained motionless. “According to Father Richard, Eric
doesn’t want to cross over because where he is going is not a pleasant place.”

The heat inside her grew. “So basically, what you are saying
is that you and I were supposed to complete the Black Room tonight and then all
the ghosts would cross over to whatever side was appropriate?”

He nodded, his face impassive.

“And then I would have woken up tomorrow morning to find
that all the ghosts had gone.”

He nodded again.

The heat burst into flames. “So my haunted bed-and-breakfast
would never open because there would no longer be any ghosts. You would have
duped me into helping you and your damn guilt, knowing how much this place
meant to me! You would have taken my dream away, but not only that, I would
have participated in undermining my own success. How dare you?”

Synn crossed the space in two strides and grasped her
shoulders. “It has been over a hundred and fifty years! That’s why. I had to do
it. You are their only hope. Don’t you see?”

She stared into his desperate eyes and wondered how she
could have thought him so intelligent, so caring. “I see that you could have
told me. You could have let me make my own decision, but instead you planned to
leave me in the dark.” She pushed him away and moved to the other side of the
bed, away from him. Her heart tightening so hard in her chest that she covered
it with her hand as if she could protect it.

“So all that talk about how it’s okay to explore my sexual
curiosity was just part of getting me to complete the Masque. Just a bunch of
bullshit to manipulate me, like Bryce did.”