The Haunting (5 page)

   The producer and two other men entered the room with a stack of papers in their hands. They walked to the desk at the front of the room and slammed the piles on the table. The producer hopped up on top of the table while his assistants sat in the chairs next to a writing board behind the desk.

     "Welcome everyone. You will be the first ever contestants on The Supernatural Network’s new reality game show called The Haunting. Before I continue let me introduce myself. My name is Alec Sanders and I am the producer and the host of the show. I will only be in the house with you for the first few minutes of your twenty-four hours.  

    "I wanted to go over a few things with all of you. I know I spoke briefly to you over the phone, but there are some more details we should discuss. If you agree to all the rules and still want to be on the show, I have your contracts here for you to sign. Any questions so far? No. Okay."

     "The object of the show is for one person to win one million tax free dollars by spending one day and one night in a haunted house. Well, it's a bit bigger than a house. Let me give you a little history of the place before any of you make your final decision. It's actually quite huge, a mansion in fact. Waverly Manor was built in the 1890's and was abandoned in 1972 by John and Caroline Waverly. John inherited the estate when his father Theodore passed away in 1961."  

     "John and Caroline lived there for 10 years before abandoning the house. In a later interview with John, he spoke of many supernatural occurrences that had taken place, things like hearing voices and seeing figures. Doors would slam in the middle of the night. They even had an infestation of house flies in one room they couldn't get rid of."  

   "Caroline went insane and was eventually committed to an insane asylum due to all that was going on in their home. Many years later when paranormal activity become popular and high quality equipment was made, the so called ‘experts’ in the field started investigating these allegations. Nothing was found or any instances documented."  

   "This, of course, hasn't stopped the many stories that have been told about the old home. Rumors have also circulated about people disappearing when visiting the estate. Most of you are from the area and have probably read the articles in the newspapers and heard them on the news on television. For example, there was a landscaper who disappeared fifteen years ago. He was sent over by the bank to spruce up the place in order to sell it, he was never seen again. Same with a young couple who were hired to appraise the estate. And the saddest story of all- was about the ten year boy who disappeared around ten years ago while playing near the house."  

   Kelly watched Alec Sanders speak with such pride and excitement about the mansion. He talked as if it were his own. He was a little bit too enthusiastic for her taste. She listened to him speak for fifteen minutes straight before Jace spoke up.     

      "Look Mr. Sanders, I'm really not here for the history lesson. I just want to sign my contract so we can get on with it already."   

   Alec Sanders' happy demeanor quickly subsided when he looked at Jace. His smile was replaced by an evil glare. If looks could kill Jace would have disintegrated on the spot. He shuffled through the papers on the table and then spoke to Jace through gritted teeth. Kelly was a little frightened at the producer's reaction. He wasn’t professional at all.  

   "The Flame, is it? Look, Mr. Flame why don't you just let me do my job. I don't come to your
hood
and tell you how to sell drugs on the street corner. Now do I?"  

    Jace lunged at Sanders with lightning speed and grabbed him by the collar of his crisp white button down shirt. "Let me make this perfectly clear. I may be desperate enough to come on this fucking show, but don't think for one damned second that you can talk to me however you want. If you disrespect me like that again I will break your fucking jaw and you will never be able to talk again."    

  The room fell silent. Everyone held their breath waiting to see how this turn of events would pan out. The two on the couch sitting next to Jace had scrambled to the other side of the room where they cowered in the corner.  

    Alec's assistants had jumped up to intervene but Alec waved them off. He didn't even flinch. He gave Jace a threatening look of his own. "Is that a threat Mr. Dalton?"  

    "No, that’s a promise."   

   Kelly quickly walked to the front of the room and place her hand on Jace's delectable hard muscled arm. "Jace, don't."

     Jace turned to her and then back to the man he had in his grip. "Just give me my contract to sign." Jace let go of Mr. Sanders and was given the contract and a pen.     

     Kelly removed her hand and stepped back to give Jace some room.
Why did she interfere?
That could have been her chance at winning. Jace would have been thrown off the show and been replaced with someone else. She could have won that money so easily.   

   Jace signed the contract and walked around Kelly. He didn't make eye contact with her as he left the room. Kelly was left standing in the middle of the room looking like an ass.   

   She looked over to Alec Sanders who was straightening his shirt and tie. His hair was disheveled from having been shaken around by Jace. He ran his hands through his short brown hair and motioned for her to sit.

    For some reason she wanted to go after Jace, but her better judgment told her it wouldn't have been a good idea. She sat on the empty couch thinking about what Sanders had called Jace.
The
Flame.
...
Why did that name sound so familiar?
She had a gnawing feeling in the pit of her stomach that she knew or had seen Jace before.     

    Sanders waited until she was seated and then continued. "I guess now would be a good time for everyone to sign your contracts since most of you are just itching to be on the show." He peered over at the woman next to the window who was still scratching at her skin.

   
What an asshole!
Who the hell was he to judge other people? Kelly never drank or did drugs, but she sure wasn't going to condemn someone for their bad decisions. Who did he think he was?  She was getting annoyed with Sanders. Thank goodness he wouldn't be staying in the house with them because she surely wouldn't take much more of him.  She should have let Jace ring his neck.   

   One by one they all signed their contracts. Kelly was anxious for the whole thing to be over. Even if she didn't win the money, it would be an experience she would never forget.                                                        

Chapter Five

    Jace stormed out of the studio. He had to get out of there as soon as he possibly could. It wasn't Sanders that bothered him. It would have been great fun to be able to beat him to a fucking bloody pulp. His problem was Kelly. When he saw her sitting in the back of the room his stomach felt like it had hit the floor. No one was told the identity of the other contestants so he had no idea she would be here.   

    He thought after the bus ride he would never see her again. There would be no more distractions between him and winning that money. Now she would be in the house with him all day and all night, he couldn't possibly ignore her. He could only hope the mansion would be big enough for him find a secluded corner where he could be by himself.   

   Her presence was bad enough, but then she had to go and touch him. Her soft skin against his sent a burning desire through his body landing directly in his cock. He couldn't even look her in the eye. The feeling he was experiencing was one he’d never felt before. A desperate need to have her, possess her and be inside of her.

     He’d never been desperate in his life. There were always plenty of women throwing themselves at him. That secretary at the studio was proof of that. Women in his neighborhood knew who he worked for and his power was what interested them the most. They thought since he had power, he had lots of money to go with it. Little did they know he was flat broke.   

   His mother's illness had taken up not only most of his time, but all of the money he earned from Cesar. Winning this reality game show would be the difference of his mother living comfortably for the remainder of her life, or having her suffer until her last dying breath. There was no way he would allow his mother to suffer. Ever. She had worked too hard to take care of her sons. Sometimes working two and three jobs at a time so her children could have what they needed.     

    Many times he would listen to his mother crying behind a closed door. He felt useless and he was heartbroken that he couldn't do anything to help her. When he got old enough to hold a job, he went right out and found one. Making less than minimum wage at a fast food restaurant was not the ideal place to make the big bucks. That's when he started to work for Cesar. The money was too good to pass up and after his mother got sick it was the only thing he could do to take care of her medical bills.  

    He then thought of his deadbeat father.
How could he just leave his wife and two small boys to be with another woman?
For many years Jace felt his father abandoning them was what caused his mother's sickness and he hated him for it. As he got older his hatred for his father became a part of who he was. Every chance he got to beat up on some low life that owed Cesar money, he embraced. It was in some way his therapy. He would think that person was his father and could inflict pain on the one person who had ruined his life.  

   He had to be breadwinner and caretaker for his little brother and his mother, and he would do anything to protect them. But, a wrench had been thrown into his plan of coming home with more money than he could ever hope for. That beautiful wrench was called Kelly. How could he concentrate on winning the money if he couldn't control his emotions around her?    

   The only reason he went after Sanders was because his frustration of being in the same room with Kelly, without touching her, was killing him. He needed to release that tension out on someone, and that fucking arrogant producer happened to be that unfortunate victim.

     Jace laid on the bed of his hotel room with the lights off. The moonlight shining through window was relaxing, but having Kelly on his mind was preventing him from getting any sleep. The feel of her ass on his lap would be forever burned in his memory. He was getting hard at the thought of what it would feel like to have her on top of him. Her bare legs wrapped around his waist and grinding her hips in rhythm with his.    

     Jace bolted up and headed for the bathroom. Maybe if he slammed his dick in the door it would take his mind off Kelly. Or, maybe a cold shower would suffice.     

Chapter Six

    Kelly got dressed and went down to the dining area of the hotel. Halfway through her breakfast she looked up and saw the one person she really didn't want anything to do with. The network had set her up with a hotel room so she assumed they had done the same for the other contestants. Well, there was no way she was going to get up and leave. He didn't deserve the satisfaction of knowing he got under her skin. She was going to sit and finish every bit of her meal. She would just ignore him.    

     Her plan was going well until he approached her table. Still she didn't look at him, but continued eating. He attempted to get her attention by clearing his throat. Pretending he wasn't there was proving to be a very hard task since his manhood was at her eye level.

       She glanced at it and tried her best not to notice how big he was. He looked delicious in a pair of jeans. Kelly licked her lips and wondered what he would taste like. She wanted to slide her mouth over every inch of him, and then lick him from head to toe. Liquid heat flowed between her thighs and she shifted in her seat. This was turning into an uncomfortable situation and she hadn't even looked him in the face. But, then she didn't have to, did she?

     All she had to do was recall how his hard cock felt under her. That had been the single most erotic sensation she had ever experienced. Taking off her clothes and dancing in front of men who clearly wanted her didn't come close.     

     Jace cleared his throat again. Persistent wasn't he? Why didn't he just go away? He obviously wasn't interested in talking to her since the bus trip together. In fact, he made it a point to completely ignore her.
Well, two can play that game
.