Spirit of Seduction Read online

  He dropped his head and a lock of hair fell onto his forehead, strand over glossy strand. “Yeah. Then I saw Becky’s…ghost or whatever. That’s what made me take the visions a lot more seriously.”

  “What were Becky’s exact words?”

  “Heed your vision.”

  Her legs turned to jelly. Ryan hooked her arm and she let him support her. Luckily, they’d arrived at the coffee shop.

  He opened the door and she brushed past him, picking up on his scent again. She wished she didn’t find everything about the man so damn attractive. She wrapped her arms around her body as she approached the counter.

  Ryan held up two fingers for the barista then led Emily to a cafe table and pulled out her chair. When she sat, he squeezed her shoulders and bent to whisper in her ear. “Thanks for coming.”

  His breath gusted warm over her neck and shoulders. A quiver of arousal rolled across her skin. But she had to get over it. Ryan was the last person she should be thinking about that way since he was pressuring her to return to the shadowy world that had frightened her away.

  He went to the counter to pick up their drinks.

  I like my coffee black. She mentally sent him the message to test his psychic intuitiveness.

  He set the coffee on the table and took a seat. “Black?”

  She nodded, unsure if he’d gotten the message or if he’d merely assumed.

  He scooted his chair closer and smiled at her with that sensual mouth.

  Her lips tingled. She yearned for a taste of him but being drawn into anything supernatural was the last thing she wanted.

  “Becky thought so much of you.”

  Her throat thickened with emotion at the mention of her friend. “It was mutual. She was a good person. The police haven’t come up with anything concrete yet?”

  He shook his head heavily. “They’ve just about given up. Her boyfriend was at the top of their list of suspects, but he swears he was home at the time of the murder. They said there wasn’t any evidence to tie him to the scene but Tommy’s uncle happens to be a sergeant for the Kenton Police Department. Pretty convenient, huh? But anyone who knew Becky and Tommy had witnessed the two of them arguing. Shit, I don’t know why they stayed together for so long.”

  His eyes misted but he immediately squared his shoulders and cleared his throat. “Nothing will bring her back but if her killer is caught at least I’ll have some closure, and so will she. I’m hoping you can help with that.”

  She shifted uncomfortably in her chair. “I’m not very experienced with this sort of thing. I was asked to assist the police in finding a missing person. That’s not the case with Becky.”

  “That’s true, but if you’re psychic—”

  “I am, Ryan. There’s more than one kind of psychic power. Most people with what you might call ESP have a mix of two or more gifts.”

  The door opened and a young couple came through. Thankfully, she didn’t know them.

  “What about you? What’s your gift?”

  She wrapped her hands around the cardboard cup. “I can see into the past.” She didn’t want to mention that she’d been able to communicate with spirits that had crossed to the other side or Ryan would surely expect her to try with Becky. That was the part of her power that now frightened her the most. It was what she’d had to do for the last case and it had landed her in danger.

  “What else?”

  “I’m an empath as well. Mostly I sense emotions.” She attempted to tune in to Ryan’s feelings but he seemed to have an impenetrable wall around him or maybe she was rusty. She’d been consciously trying to avoid using her gifts for ten or eleven months now.

  “What was your bad experience with that murder investigation last year?”

  She drank her coffee and recalled the terror she’d felt in the weeks she’d worked with the Raleigh PD. “As soon as my name and photo appeared in the paper, the threatening calls started. The killer began leaving notes on my car and someone broke into my apartment when I wasn’t home.” She took another sip to quench the dryness in her throat before continuing. “They posted a guard outside my door at night but he managed to get around him.” She clasped her hands to keep them from shaking.

  Ryan rubbed the calloused pad of his thumb over her knuckles. “It’s okay. I’m here.”

  “He would have killed me if the officer hadn’t knocked to check on me. When I didn’t answer he broke down the door. The murderer was holding me at knifepoint and the cop had to shoot him.” She shut her eyes but the tears came anyway.

  “I’m so sorry, Emily. I didn’t know. I swear, I’ll never let anything happen to you.”

  Why should she trust him? Becky had thought the world of him. She’d called him the tough guy with the big heart. Said he was a black belt in two martial arts and an expert marksman yet he volunteered at the local animal shelter and rocked drug-addicted babies at one of the hospitals in the area.

  She slid her hand away and forced her concentration to the case rather than the feel of Ryan’s touch.

  “I never believed in any of this stuff but I saw a freaking ghost with my own eyes. I don’t know what the hell is real and what isn’t anymore.” He pinched the bridge of his nose. “Look, would you just come with me to her house? See if you can contact her or pick up on something. Maybe she’ll tell you who killed her.”

  She shook her head. “When spirits pass, their memory is wiped clean of all the negative energy they dealt with in their earthly life. She might know she met an untimely end, but I doubt she can tell us exactly what happened or who was responsible.”

  “Would you try? Maybe she’ll give us a clue.” The pain in his expression broke her heart. “Please. You’re my only hope.”

  How could she turn him down? Becky had been like a guardian angel when Emily first arrived in Raleigh. She’d fed her and even loaned her the money to pay the security deposit on her first place. How could she not help Becky’s brother if there was even a chance he might be able to get justice for her once and for all?

  She sucked in a breath for courage. “Okay. I’ll do it.”

  Ryan lifted his hand to her cheek and she couldn’t help leaning into his tempting touch—a touch that made her feel safe, despite the precarious situation she was walking into. “Thank you.”

  She couldn’t manage to return his smile, not with panic gripping her insides. She prayed this would go better than the last time she’d gotten involved with a murder.

  Chapter Two

  The scenery went from city to suburban to lush rolling hills as Ryan drove north on US 1 toward the bedroom community of Kenton, but the sun had already set and the darker it grew, the more tension tugged at Emily’s shoulders and neck.

  She drifted back in time a year, to the day she’d channeled Nancy Baxter’s spirit. The ghost spoke to her, told her the last place she recalled being. It hadn’t taken the police long to find the body after that. If only Nancy’s ghost had been able to reveal the identity of her killer, Emily might have avoided the most frightening month of her life. But she supposed it was usually a good thing that spirits were always spared such painful memories.

  “You okay, darlin?” Ryan’s voice jarred her back to the present.

  Her cheeks heated at his term of endearment even though she was sure he meant nothing by at. At least he wasn’t calling her a shyster anymore. “Yeah, fine.”

  He rested his right hand on his jeans-clad thigh. His impossibly broad chest rose and fell with a breath and she bit her lip to keep from sighing at his perfection.

  Think about something else.

  “How much farther to Becky’s house?” She’d only been there twice and the last time had been that birthday party, an event she’d tried to block out her mind for so long.

  “Only a few more miles.” Ryan ventured a quick glance at her. “Is it my driving? I might be going over the speed limit, but I’ve been traveling these roads my whole life.”

  She caught another whiff of his manly scent,
which didn’t help her tamp down her desire one bit. “What do you mean?”

  He turned off the main road onto a narrow one that cut through the woods. “If you grip the armrest any tighter you’ll probably rip it right off the door.”

  She looked down at her hand. Her knuckles had turned white. She immediately let go and laced her fingers together in her lap. “I told you, this stuff makes me nervous.” But in truth, her desire for Ryan nearly as unsettling than the prospect of channeling Becky’s spirit.

  She’d crushed on him pretty hard years ago but she was a different person now, an adult, and she couldn’t deny that he seemed more confident now, sexier than he’d been back then.

  They turned left off the paved street onto a narrow dirt road. The truck bumped over the rough terrain up a steep hill. The house came into view when they cleared the woods. It looked just as she remembered, like a white Victorian dollhouse in a pastoral setting.

  Ryan shut off the motor and faced her. “Ready?”

  She shook her head. “I need a minute.” Her heart raced. She didn’t want to let fear control her but she wasn’t sure how to master it.

  He slid across the seat and draped his arm over her shoulder. “I won’t let anything happen to you. Do you believe that?”

  The cops had assured her they’d protect her last time. Why should she think Ryan could do any better? “I guess.”

  “Look, we don’t have to do this. If you want to turn around right now, I’ll take you back to Raleigh, but what if Becky was right and you’re already in danger?”

  She shuddered. “Then I guess we have to proceed.”

  He toyed with a lock of her hair. “You’re a brave woman.”

  She shook her head. “I don’t have much of a choice.”

  “Sure you do, but you’re way too pretty to bury that pretty face in the sand.” His grin took sexy to a whole new level.

  She shifted to a darker spot, out of the moonlight, afraid he’d pick up on the desire that was surely evident in her eyes. “Thanks. We should get this over with.”

  His expression turned serious. “I was an idiot for saying what I did to you two years ago. I’m surprised you’re even speaking to me.”

  She patted his hand. “I’ve already forgiven you.” The heat of his stare turned her into a puddle of a woman.

  “Thanks for coming up here with me. I know it’s asking a lot.”

  She licked her suddenly dry lips. “It’s okay. I like…being with you.” A pleasant ache settled low in her belly.

  “Yeah? Me, too.” He smoothed a hand over her hair and focused on her mouth. Could he be as attracted to her as she’d always been to him?

  Her entire body tingled with awareness. She fought the torrid sensations, a battle she feared she was losing. It was so tempting to give in to the fantasy she’d kept buried for so long.

  He moved closer, brushed his lips over hers, then slid his tongue inside. She stopped her halfhearted resistance and hooked her hands around the back of his neck, twining her fingers into his hair. He tasted like strong coffee with a hint of cinnamon.

  He moaned into her mouth and tightened his fingers possessively against her head.

  How many times had she fantasized about kissing him over the years? Encircled in his arms, she really did feel safe, at least for the moment.

  He backed away and met her stare. “That was nice.”

  Too nice. “But I should focus on Becky now.”

  His brow lifted in surprise. “Right, yeah.”

  He cupped her head and kissed her forehead. “Can we continue this later?”

  She wanted to tell him no, but she couldn’t bring herself to say it. Taking things any further with him would only keep her in the spiritual realm longer than she wanted to be there. She’d have to figure out how to control the powerful attraction sizzling between them, which was way more intense than she’d ever experienced with anyone else.

  Ryan let them inside the house through the back door. Emily walked the kitchen and living room, trolling for spiritual energy, touching Becky’s things—antique furniture, framed photographs, books and the dream catchers Becky had made and sold, which hung in various stages of completion all through the house. She sensed her friend’s presence in everything but there was nothing akin to fear in the lingering energy.

  As she neared the front door the vibes grew suddenly negative and unusually powerful. She grasped the banister to steady herself as remnants of an angry aura appeared. The energy glowed a muddy red then turned almost inky before disintegrating. “She wasn’t far from here when she died.” Fear and dread gripped her as a grainy vision appeared. Becky was furious and fighting someone who meant to hurt her—to kill her. Then the apparition was gone.

  Tears burned in Emily’s eyes for her friend’s terrifying final moments. Foreign emotions filled her head. She closed her eyes and concentrated. “She knew him and she wasn’t afraid of him. That made it easier for the killer to keep her relatively calm until…”

  The blood drained from Ryan’s face. This was harder to hear than he’d imagined. He sank into an antique loveseat. “Her body was found near the lake, about half a mile down the road.”

  Emily opened her eyes and held perfectly still. “She didn’t fear him until very close to the end.” Her voice rang with conviction.

  “Was it Tommy?” He got up and took a step toward her, his brain buzzing with questions and emotion, but he stood back when Emily held up her palm.

  She shook her head, frowning. “I don’t know. I’m not getting anything else. It’s like there’s a force blocking me.”

  “But you did see something.” He was talking to a woman who claimed to be psychic and he actually believed that she was somehow tuned into the spiritual world. Until twenty-four hours ago he’d have laughed off psychic powers and ghosts. What a difference a day made.

  And an experience with a ghost.

  “Yes, there’s definitely energy here.” She closed her eyes again and seemed to mumble.

  He made out his sister’s name but not much else.

  She furrowed her brow and fisted her hands at her sides. After a minute or two she faced him. “Where’s her grave?”

  “Just up the road.” When she questioned him with her eyes, he went on. “The original property has been in the family for three generations but it was a lot bigger back then. Much of the land was sold off over the years but we still own the cemetery, or rather, I do. I’m the only one left.” A stab of grief nudged at him.

  Emily rubbed a gentle hand over his arm, reminding him that he was alive and still capable of feelings other than pain and frustration.

  Staring into her dark eyes, he shoved away the sadness of the past in favor of the beautiful woman standing before him. He’d never seen a complexion similar to hers—perfectly smooth and unblemished, the color of café au lait. He shouldn’t want to kiss her at a time like this but nor could he pretend the emotion wasn’t there.

  Aside from his sister’s funeral, the last time he’d seen her she’d been just a kid, eighteen or nineteen. But holy hell, she’d grown up. What she lacked in height she made up in stacked-to-the-max. Details of the sensual part of his visions flooded his memory and need coiled tightly inside him.

  “Is there anything I can do?” Thick, dark lashes fluttered as she stared up at him.

  He had to remind himself why they were there and that she could be in danger. Tamping down his arousal, he cleared his throat. “Did you want to head over to Becky’s grave?”

  She squared her shoulders. “Not really, but I suppose we should. Maybe I’ll pick up on something more there.”

  After he locked the house up, they got into his truck. He reached across the seat to take her hand and inwardly smiled when she didn’t pull away. They didn’t speak most of the way to the cemetery but as he rubbed his thumb over her hand, he sensed her trying to combat her trepidation. “Sure you’re up for this?”

  She gave him a small smile. “It’s important.
I have to do it.”

  After he parked he tucked his .45 into his belt then climbed out of the cab. He checked the area and found it deserted so he helped her out of the truck, then led her past the graves of his parents and grandparents. He’d let Becky down after he’d vowed to take care of her, to protect her. He wondered if he could ever forgive himself. The reminder that he was the only one left weighed heavily on his heart, but Emily’s presence felt strangely comforting.

  The air shifted when they neared Becky’s grave with its brand new headstone gleaming in the moonlight.

  “Whatever happens, promise me you’ll stay back,” Emily said.

  He tightened his grip on her. “If a ghost grabs you or something, I’m going to fight them off.” He kept his tone light, but he meant what he said.

  A hint of a smile lifted the corners of her mouth. “Fine, but otherwise, just let me be. Seeing a spirit for the first—or second time—can be pretty frightening.” Suddenly she stumbled backward, gasping. She’d have fallen if he hadn’t tightened his grasp on her.

  He checked for a rock or a hidden obstacle on the ground but there was nothing but the flat plane of grass. “What happened?”

  She was trembling. “I don’t know. Felt like someone gave me a shove.”

  “But there’s no one here.”

  “No one we can see, anyway. That doesn’t mean we’re alone. Might have been a spirit or even a live person’s energy. Whatever it was, they know what I’m about to do and they’re not happy about it.”

  Now on alert, his senses sharpened as he scanned the area. “I don’t like this. Let’s get out of here.”

  But she stood her ground. “No, I have to do this.”

  He tucked her under his arm. “Like hell you do. Maybe someone’s trying to tell us something.”

  “I’m fine, Ryan. Come on, we’re already here.”

  He gritted his teeth but acquiesced, comforted by the presence of his loaded weapon.

  At his nod, she disengaged herself then held still as death. She took several deep breaths that she exhaled slowly. Closing her eyes, she lifted her arms as if she supported a child in them.