Witching Hour (7 page)

His words sent another shiver down her spine, only this one wasn’t arousing. “I’d rather face the truth than live not knowing.”

Cal nodded, releasing her. Her body swayed, and just like that she was sheltered in his arms again, his hands resting on either side of her back as he held her close. She could feel the strong beat of his heart thudding against her chest, the rhythm only slightly quickened. But it was the hard length pressing into her groin that took her breath away. It was long and thick and just the thought that he might see her as more than Dave’s pain-in-the-ass sister sent a tremble skittering through her body.

“Easy. I think your head is still telling you that you need to rest. Unless you think we should head back to the station…get that doctor to have another look?”

“I’m fine. I just moved too quickly.”

“Nice try, Jordan, but I was the one that released you.”

She swatted at his chest, inhaling sharply at the firm muscles that connected with her hand. “Jackass.”

“So I’ve been told.” He gave her body the once over as he stepped back. “You sure you’re okay?”

“I’m sure.”

“Remember, sweetheart. You promised to be completely honest, and it wouldn’t bode well to start off this truce with a lie.”

She huffed. “Fine. My head feels like there’re a dozen little drummers all playing at once. But other than that, I’m okay.”

He narrowed his eyes but nodded, opening the door and helping her inside, once again ensuring she was buckled before rounding the car and jumping in again. He gave her a sideways look then checked over his shoulder and pulled back onto the road. They continued in silence until he turned into the parking lot, halting the car on the far side of the building.

Cal twisted to face her. “If you give me your key, I’ll go and grab the new ones.”

“I still need to get my stuff and—”

“I had one of the staff move your belongings for you.”

She furrowed her brow. “You had them move my stuff? Why?”

“Because I didn’t want to give you any opportunities to ditch me.”

Jordan’s mouth gaped open before she closed it, a bemused smile shaping her lips. “Were you always this annoyingly observant?”

“Yup. You just didn’t notice.”

Oh she’d noticed—the same way she’d noticed how he scrunched the bridge of his nose when he was trying to puzzle something out. Or how his lips looked more than kissable when he pursed them together in frustration.

She smiled. “So now what?”

“In a perfect world, you’d sit tight while I get the keys.” He gave her body a long, slow sweep. “I’d be happy if you didn’t run off on me.”

“I gave you my word that I wouldn’t.”

“No, you promised not to jump out of the car
while
it was moving. We’re not moving.”

She chuckled. “Fine. How about we go together? Then we can go directly to the room and you can keep me in your sights the entire time. And based on how unsteady I’ve been, I highly doubt I could outrun you.”

“Sweetheart, I have no doubts you could beat the Devil himself while being only half -conscious.” He unbuckled and opened the door, grabbing his bag off the back seat. “Just don’t make me chase you because the spanking you get won’t be pleasurable.”

“Are you sure about that?”

Cal’s head snapped around, his gaze finding hers as she exited the car, staring at him over the roof. His eyes darkened as his breathing quickened, and she didn’t miss the way he scanned her body as she made her way around to the front, his perusal following her every move. He seemed uncharacteristically flustered when she joined him on the other side, taking his hand in hers. He glanced down, a small furrow creasing his brow before he sighed and headed for the building, his fingers firmly grasping hers.

It only took a minute to exchange the keys, but she couldn’t help but notice the way the young woman behind the desk flirted with Cal, glaring at Jordan whenever their gazes clashed. Jordan simply smiled. Cal seemed completely oblivious to the woman’s attempts, nodding his thanks as he took Jordan’s hand again and led the way to the upper floor. Jordan laughed as they climbed the stairs, grinning at Cal when he glanced at her over his shoulder.

“Care to tell me what’s so funny?”

She shook her head. “Just that for a guy who’s so observant, you’re pretty blind when it comes to women.”

He frowned. “Excuse me?”

“That sweet thing behind the desk. If she’d thrown herself at you any harder, she would have had a matching concussion. I thought for sure she was going to stab me in the eye with that letter opener when you grabbed my hand.”

He looked at her as if she’d grown another head. “She was just being nice. It’s her job.”

“Baby, that girl wanted you. End of story.”

Cal looked toward the office then shrugged, continuing down the hallway to the last room on the block. “I asked for something more private. Just in case whatever chased you last night decides to follow you home.”

“What chased me?” She pulled against his hand. “How do you know I was chased?”

“The officers said you were bolting from the house when they were walking up the porch. Caught you with their flashlights just before you fell down the stairs. The Jordan I know doesn’t run from much, so it had to be something…impressive…to make you trip down the stairs.”

Jordan palmed her hips. “For your information, I didn’t trip down the stairs. That creature let go of me, and I fell.”

She gasped as the images slammed into her head. She hadn’t remembered a thing until she’d opened her mouth and the words had tumbled free. She stared down at the walkway, trying to rearrange the memories flashing through her mind as the rest of the world slowly faded into gray. But no matter how hard she tried, the events wouldn’t shuffle right, leaving her more frustrated than ever.

“Jordan!”

She blinked, raising her head to look at Cal. He’d moved closer to her, one hand resting on her shoulder as the other snapped in front of her. The color had drained from his face again, and the skin over his cheekbones looked taut.

She motioned to him. “You okay?”

“I think the real question is, are you? I called your name several times, but it’s like you completely blacked out on me.” He leaned in, grazing his fingers over the bandage on her head. “I’m starting to think that the doctor didn’t spend enough time assessing you.”

Jordan brushed his fingers away, hating the hot feeling his touch sent scorching through her body. Hell, he hadn’t done more than examine her head, yet her libido seemed to think it equated to full-on groping.

She gave him a sharp stare. “For the last time, I’m fine. I thought my memory was coming back, but when I tried to shuffle the images, nothing clicked into place. All I know is that there’s something in that house, and it was responsible for my lack of grace on the stairs.”

Cal studied her as if judging whether to believe her or not, before pushing his fingers through his hair. The act tousled the strands around his face, making him look even more irresistible. “Okay. For now, I’ll believe you.” He shook a finger at her. “But one more trip into la-la land and I’m taking you to the hospital.” He eased his hand down her spine, palming the small of her back. “Let’s get inside where we can talk without me worrying if you’re going to face plant onto the walkway.”

She scoffed but allowed him to guide her to the room, doing her best to ignore how his hand caressed her back, his fingers making small circles along her spine as he followed her in, closing the door behind them. The sound of the lock tumbling into place sent a jolt of desire pulsing through her, and she couldn’t help but wish they were here for something much more intimate than discussing ghosts. Cal dropped his bag beside the wall before maneuvering her to the bed, insisting she sit while he checked out the place. He toed off his boots and shrugged out of his hoodie before settling in the chair opposite the bed. He crossed his feet at the ankles as he leaned back, watching her as if she might suddenly bolt from the room. His muscles tensed with forced patience as he seemed to wait for her to make the next move.

A thousand ideas ran through her mind, but only one pulled at her gut and wouldn’t let go. She relaxed against the headboard, slipping off her shoes and drawing her knees to her chest as she asked the question that had kept her up at night for the past ten years. “What the hell’s inside that house?”

Chapter Five

The words hit Cal like a physical blow, tightening his already taut muscles. After all this time, he still couldn’t think about that night without seeing the ghostly face of the woman hovering in the air as Dave disappeared out the window, the hollow sound of his body hitting the cold ground echoing through the room. He’d never felt so utterly helpless before, and he wasn’t sure he could tell the story without reliving every subtle nuance of that experience.

He gazed at Jordan, trying to keep his emotions in check, but he could see by the way she tilted her head, allowing her gaze to drift up and down his body that his efforts were wasted. He hadn’t hidden anything from her.

He mumbled a curse. She was as irritating as his damn brothers, even disregarding Avery, who didn’t really count with his weird voodoo mind powers. But Cal had yet to keep anything from Blake or Dylan. Though to be fair, they weren’t able to keep secrets from him, either.

Cal released a weary breath, running his fingers through his hair. “Why don’t we start with what you remember from last night?”

“That’s easy. Nothing. Your turn.”

“Honesty, sweetheart.”

She snorted. “I am being honest. I don’t remember any specifics…at least, I don’t think I do. It’s all just a jumbled mass of color and light.”

“Maybe if we go through the evening in sequence, it’ll help you remember? That is, if you’re not afraid of what you might discover.”

“Don’t patronize me, Cal. I’ve been working in this field for years and witnessed more than my fair share of creepy ass ghosts. I’m not afraid of what was in there. I just can’t remember what
it
was.”

“Good. Then start from the beginning.”

Jordan sighed, the huff of air rustling the hairs around her face. The golden strands gleamed in the light from the window, surrounding her skin with a warm glow. He smiled in spite of the circumstances, wishing he felt half as calm as Jordan looked. Other than the incident in the car, she’d taken his presence in stride, never indicating he’d done more than piss her off. He, on the other hand, felt as if he was on the brink of a nervous breakdown.

While he’d realized he’d have residual feelings for her—especially in light of how they’d parted—he never imagined his body would come out of some kind of hibernation, awakening at the first sight of her. And if he’d ever thought that his attraction to her had simply been a byproduct of spending so much time together, that doubt had vanished. Even after years apart, he reacted to her on such a primal level it was impossible to deny that there was just something about her that called to him. That made him want to forget the lingering words of a dead man and take the chance he’d been regretting all this time.

Jordan pursed her lips, looking incredibly delicious as she tried to work out what she was going to tell him, or at least, how much. He knew her far too well to believe she wouldn’t leave out certain details, whether consciously or not. But either way, at least he’d have a place to start. Perhaps another piece of the puzzle surrounding that house. All these years and he’d yet to unearth anything more useful than what they’d gathered before the incident. But then, he’d never been able to bring himself to go back.

Her gaze met his as she pushed her fingers through her hair. “The beginning. That’s ten years ago where that house is concerned.”

He cringed at the hurt tone to her voice. He knew how close she’d been to her brother, which was why he’d never made a play for her before getting the nerve to ask Dave. Of course, Dave’s response hadn’t helped.

He nodded. “Why don’t we start with what time you arrived at the farm?”

“I got there around ten, I guess. Nigel was supposed to meet me, and we’d planned to be long gone before midnight.”

“But he didn’t show.”

It wasn’t a question, and she simply shook her head. “Bastard finally answered my damn texts at eleven thirty. Said he’d gotten
tied up
. That he couldn’t make it after all.” She snorted. “He hadn’t wanted to go there from the start. I should’ve guessed he’d blow me off like that.”

“Did he say why?”

“He didn’t need to. Why do you think it took me that long to finally visit the damn place? I never could get a friend to agree to go, let alone a colleague. Then it took forever to get the management company to actually say yes. They’ve been overly restrictive for the past several years, only granting the odd permit. Everyone seems to think that house is evil. Hell, maybe it is.”

“It’s definitely harboring something that’s capable of evil.”

“Such as?”

“Let’s just stick with your story.” He uncrossed his legs and leaned forward. “So Nigel tells you he’s not coming, but you decide to go in anyway, right?”

She glared at him, taking to her feet as she paced across the room, leaning against the wall as she stared out the window. “I wasn’t about to let what might have been my only opportunity go to waste. Not after getting this far. So yeah, I went in. It’s not like I haven’t investigated on my own before. I put in years hunting alone before anyone would take me seriously.”

“I’m more than aware of how hard you had to work to make a name for yourself. I wasn’t judging—”

She cut him off with a hard stare.

“Okay, so maybe I was judging. But not in the way you think. It’s just after everything that has happened in that house…that’s still happening…I thought you might err on the side of caution.”

“Caution doesn’t solve mysteries.”

“No. But it ensures you’re still alive to tell the world the answer.”

She huffed and looked away. Cal sighed. What was it about her that immediately put him on the defensive? He needed to remember that he was the one who’d left town. Who hadn’t had the balls to go back to that damn house and figure out what was tormenting people. Why Dave hadn’t been able to shake its presence.