Authors: Mlyn Hurn
“Ah ha!” Kerry spotted the letter opener a moment later.
Grabbing it from the perfectly matched desk set, she ran back to the wall. Her
fingers quickly found the slight depression beneath the paper. Without much
forethought, or concern about consequences, Kerry stabbed the letter opener
into the wallpaper. With all of her strength, she began dragging the opener
through the paper, moving it down the wall.
It didn’t take long at all before Kerry had two ragged,
parallel lines running down the wall. They extended up as high as Kerry could
reach, but not across the top. She hesitated to stand on one of the antique
chairs so she could find the line across the top. She had peeled back the edges
on the right side and found a hole in what she was now positive was a door.
Kerry guessed that at one time there would have been a doorknob to enable a
person to open this small door.
Kerry had considered putting her fingers into the hole and
just pulling. She wasn’t sure how much this was going to damage the paper. Of
course, stepping back now, and looking at the outline and what she had torn away
already, Kerry admitted she was going to have to pay a small fortune to replace
this paper. “Damn,” she muttered as she slapped the flat edge of the opener
against her thigh.
“I was going to choose something a little stronger, Kerry.”
Kerry spun around and saw Broderick standing in the doorway.
He was grinning. She rushed into an explanation and hoped he would sense that
she was sincere. “I’m sorry. Before I really thought it through, I was looking
for a door. I should have waited and talked to you first.”
Broderick crossed the room to stand beside her, his arms
folded across his T-shirt clad chest. Kerry felt a little shiver of desire
chase through her body as she looked at the way his shirt outlined his muscular
chest and arms. This man really was the stuff that dreams are made of, she
thought, fully capable of taking her breath away!
Broderick reached out and took the letter opener from
Kerry’s hand. He stepped forward and without another word found the indentation
that followed across the top of the two parallel lines. He quickly sliced
through the paper across the top, and then down to meet Kerry’s two lines.
Tucking the opener into his back pocket, he slipped his fingers into the small
hole Kerry had discovered. With a firm pull on the outlined panel, Broderick
jerked the door open. Immediately beyond the door, they saw a short hallway,
which appeared to descend into a staircase.
Kerry shivered suddenly as she stood in front of Broderick
while they leaned through the doorway and peered down the small hallway. A
moment later she felt Broderick’s warm hands gently close on her upper arms. As
his hands rubbed up and down her arms, Kerry felt the goose bumps relax and
fade away. She turned her head slowly, looking over her shoulder at the
handsome man.
“I
am
going to pay for the wallpaper.”
Kerry didn’t resist as the strong hands turned her around
until they faced one another. The smile that curved Broderick’s lips upward
sent butterflies fluttering madly against the walls of her stomach. His deep
voice sent the shivers up her spine again, but for a totally different reason
this time.
“I can’t say that I wouldn’t have done the same damned
thing. Something about ghosts, or maybe it is just this particular ghost hunter
that has my adrenaline surging.” His head lowered toward her parted lips. “Just
one question remains,” Broderick whispered less than an inch away from what was
promising to be a very heated kiss.
Kerry’s hands were already inching around his waist as she
forced herself to respond to his comment. “What is that?”
“Do I ravish you like my ghostly relative might do upon
finding such a lusty wench destroying his property before we go down those
stairs or after?”
Kerry sighed softly as his mouth covered hers finally. Any
thought of really answering was lost as his tongue delved into the warm, moist
seduction of her mouth. Leaning into his chest, Kerry finished encircling his
waist and pulled him closer to her body. Perched on her toes, returning his
kiss and following his tongue eagerly, she leaned into his strong chest. When
his hands slid down and cupped her ass cheeks, Kerry yelped in surprise.
“Hmm, we’ve gone this far, but I’ll leave it up to you, my
sweet.” Broderick stepped back a foot or so.
Kerry met Broderick’s blue-eyed gaze, not completely sure whether
he meant their mutual seduction or the ghost hunt. Inhaling deeply, Kerry
decided she was going to do what she wanted to do, and if he had a different
opinion…well, he had a voice, right?
Kerry reached her right hand across the short distance between
their bodies and curled her hand over his hard cock, covered by his jeans
zipper. Watching Broderick’s face she saw the surprise in his eyes, which
deepened into desire as she added softly, “I say the master of the house has
his wicked way with the naughty lass…now!”
Kerry had already taken a few steps toward the bed, but the
final steps were covered in a rush as Broderick moved them both onto the bed.
Kerry was dimly aware of hearing the wall panel shut and some things landing on
the floor, and she had a moment’s trepidation that they wouldn’t survive the
fall. But then she remembered the thick carpeting and stopped caring, or
thinking about anything but the man in her bed.
She felt Broderick’s large hands easing her shirt upward and
then gently pulling her shorts down, past her thighs. She kicked one leg free
as her hands moved to his shirt. Her fingers tried to work the three buttons at
the top of his shirt, but it seemed as if her fingers had suddenly become all
thumbs. Cursing softly, she paused as Broderick’s mouth enclosed her right
nipple, lavishing it with wet licks and light suckling. It was such a sweet and
intoxicating feeling that she started to let her hands fall away from their
task.
In the quiet of the room, the sound of Broderick’s zipper seemed
loud. To Kerry it reminded her that she wanted to caress his naked chest and
press her breasts to his warm flesh. A moment later, she curled her fingers
into the fabric of his shirt and pulled, hard. One button flew off, but the
rest held tight. Broderick looked up into her face and he seemed very intent
all of a sudden, but not on sex. Kerry stopped pulling as he started to speak.
“Kerry, darling, at this rate I am going to have to buy a
lot of new shirts or you will have to learn how to sew on buttons.” He reached
down and pulled his shirt up over his head and off. Coming back to rest against
her nearly naked body, he smiled gently.
Kerry licked her lips, silently thanking God for letting her
meet this man. “That will work. Or I’ll make sure they are pullover shirts like
this, snip the top two buttons off and make it easier on us both!”
Kerry smiled as he chuckled softly. A second later she felt
his hot cock pressing against her wet flesh. Without a word she lifted her
thighs and encircled his hips eagerly. As he entered her smooth flesh, Kerry
whispered. “Yes! Please! I want you in me…now!”
* * * * *
Broderick pulled back, reaching down to find a foil packet
from his pocket. Kerry’s forwardness and her playful attitude had aroused him
hard and fast. His fingers didn’t fumble at all and a moment later he was
thrusting upward into Kerry’s tight, hot flesh.
He stopped to let their bodies adjust. For a long moment he
watched Kerry’s face—her eyes were closed and lips slightly parted. Lowering
his head, he kissed her lips, lightly. Before she could deepen the kiss, his
mouth was sliding down the side of her neck. For just a moment, he carefully
sucked and licked a spot that should be hidden by her clothes. Her skin was
sensitive and easily marked, as he’d learned, so he didn’t want to stay too
long in one spot.
Soon though, his body began demanding more. Reluctantly
rising up, he began slowly thrusting into her body, sliding back from her
flesh, which seemed to tighten around him, slowing his movement. Each thrust
into her hot, tight sheath was sexy and erotic. But each movement of easing
away was even more arousing. If anyone had ever suggested he would be so
unprofessional to fall for a guest at his bed and breakfast, or a woman who
wasn’t really his “type” at all, he would have scoffed at him or her.
Yet, right now, looking down at Kerry, Broderick admitted he
was more than…his brain shuddered for a moment. Thrusting back into her body
again, delaying his withdrawal, Broderick acknowledged that this was a lot more
than just fooling around. Several times he found himself thinking about next
month and next year, and each time Kerry was there.
“Oh God!” he cried out suddenly. He felt Kerry’s body
tightening and trying to hold him inside her heat. He moved one hand between
their bodies, and using her wetness he began a soft exploration and arousal of
her pleasure point.
* * * * *
Kerry wiggled eagerly in response to Broderick’s questing
finger. She began squeezing and clenching her muscles more tightly around his manhood.
Sensing she had only a moment or two—too late…Kerry’s body exploded in
reaction. Conscious control was gone and she was at the mercy of her body’s
climactic contractions.
* * * * *
Broderick didn’t pause because he had run out of endurance
as well. The feeling of Kerry’s contractions was pushing him over the edge. His
mind wanted to preserve the moment, the hot and powerful intensity of being
inside Kerry’s body. It was different on so many levels than anything he’d
experienced before. Quickly he thrust forward again, once more and the next
moment he was climaxing as deeply as Kerry. He groaned loudly, and then cried
out her name.
Over and over, one male and one female body contracted and
reacted physically to the other. The same act since time began. Bringing two
people as close as possible. Still, neither was completely ready to admit that
this was anything more than mind-blowing physical lust—or at least, not yet.
Chapter Ten
Kerry didn’t want to leave the warm cocoon of sleep she was
in. She pushed away the intruder and huddled closer into the warmth. Frowning,
she realized the warmth was flesh, but not hers, and felt very masculine.
Opening one eye, she looked up from her burrowed position. They had gotten
under the covers, most likely thanks to him, not her.
“I want to stay here! It’s warm, cozy…”
“I know, Kerry. My stomach is demanding food, though.”
Kerry moved away slightly, looking up at Broderick’s
handsome face on the pillow. He had the shadow of a beard starting and she
couldn’t resist lifting her hand to caress the side of his face. Without really
thinking, she started speaking.
“I like this…” she told him quietly, continuing to rub, or
rather pet the beard growing on his cheek. “It’s a little soft if you rub one
way, and a little rough when you go the other way.”
“Sounds like life, honey.”
Kerry smiled, nodding her head and continuing to rub. “And
it is very, very sexy—the unshaven, tousled hair thing.”
“Possibly, but the ‘needs a tooth brushing’ mouth is not.”
Kerry sat up suddenly, covering her mouth. “Oh my God! I’m
sorry.”
“I was referring to myself, Kerry, not you. I hadn’t gotten
close enough to check you out. But I’ve got that feeling in my mouth—”
Kerry smiled, lowering her hand. “I know and I’ve got it
also. How about one quick, closed-mouth kiss and then we each adjourn to our
bathrooms and meet downstairs for food?”
Broderick nodded and leaned forward. He kissed her mouth
with his closed, but even with that he had a sexy way of little kisses that
would drive a woman crazy. When he finally released her mouth, Kerry eased out
of her side of the bed. She looked back over her shoulder and saw that
Broderick was grinning at her. Quickly, she realized that she was definitely
sans
trousers. Tugging at her shirt, she turned towards the covers, wondering where
her shorts had ended up.
“I think the last place I saw them was flying over my
shoulder,” Broderick offered helpfully. Kerry’s glare told him he wasn’t being
that
helpful. Rounding the bottom of the bed, she caught sight of her shorts, but no
panties. Picking them up, she sat on the bench and pulled them on. Without
another word, she walked into the bathroom. Turning the water on, she pushed
the door until it was nearly closed.
Sitting on the toilet, Kerry started to pee. With her eyes
closed, she began to comb through her tangled hair with her fingers. After a
huge yawn, something made her look towards the door. Broderick was watching
her, grinning. He quickly put his hands up protectively.
“I’m going…I promise. Meet me in the kitchen.”
Kerry dropped her face into her hands. Nothing about this
whole encounter with Broderick could be classified as romantic. Bad breath,
being watched when you aren’t exactly at your best, and of course, a ghost—she
was beginning to wonder what else could possibly happen to make this trip
anymore unusual! Good thing she didn’t use real life for a story because no one
would believe this, let alone consider it erotic. A moment later, Kerry
stripped her clothes off and climbed into the old-fashioned bathtub. Closing
the shower curtain, she turned the water on and showered rapidly. The least she
could do was to at least smell nice, besides improving her breath.
* * * * *
They had finished eating a short time earlier and moved to
the Commons room to continue relaxing and enjoy their wine. Dinner had been put
on the table and was waiting for her by the time she had come to the kitchen.
True to his word, Broderick had brought home Chinese, putting it in the
refrigerator, when Kerry hadn’t responded to his calling her name the third
time. While they ate, they had agreed to delay any “ghost talk” until they
finished dinner.
Broderick leaned forward and leisurely poured them each some
more wine. After he passed Kerry her glass, he settled back into the
comfortable sofa beside her. “I’m going to guess that you had a much more
exciting day than I did, Kerry.”
Kerry coughed and sputtered at his comment. “I hadn’t
thought of it like that, but I guess you’re right.” She quickly bent the leg
closest to Broderick, and turned sideways so she could face him. “You probably
aren’t going to like this, but you’ve got two ghosts, not one.”
“Oh, hell!” Broderick quickly took a gulp of wine.
“I’m sorry.” Kerry reached out and covered the hand resting
on his nearest thigh. “I asked him if he was haunting you because of the bed
and breakfast, but he didn’t know what I was talking about. In fact, old
Broderick seems to be as surprised as we are.”
Broderick smiled, ruefully shaking his head. “What does he
want? As much as I might wish it weren’t so, I am assuming that you talked to
him.”
Kerry nodded her head, unable to stop the smile, which
curved her mouth upward. Poor Broderick, she thought. Somehow she felt it was
easier for her to accept the whole “ghost concept” since she’d been writing about
paranormal occurrences and the like in her books. “Now, don’t go getting an
attitude. He’s confused also, but he mentioned Jenny. I think that is the
spirit I felt in my room yesterday and today. She is the answer to all of this,
I think.”
Broderick set his wine glass down, and then took Kerry’s
from her hand. “Let’s go get new batteries for the flashlights and check this
out. I think I should face this with as clear a head as possible.”
Kerry anxiously started for the kitchen with Broderick close
behind, when the phone rang suddenly, coming from his office at the rear of the
house.
“Damn!” Broderick cursed under his breath. “I need to take
this call, Kerry, if it’s who I think it is. Go on up, since I know you are
dying to get started, but wait for me. That hallway and staircase could be
treacherous. Who knows when the last time it was opened.”
Kerry hid her disappointment, reaching out to curl her
fingers just inside his jeans and belt. “Okay.” Instead of leaving immediately,
she jerked her arms backward and pulled Broderick toward her by catching him
off guard. Tilting her head back, she demanded sternly. “Kiss me once, before I
go into withdrawal.”
Starting as a short, quick and playful kiss on her mouth, it
spiraled into an erotic foray of lips and tongues. Soon one of Broderick’s
hands slid under her shirt and upward to cup her right breast. Kerry couldn’t
find the strength to end the kiss, but he did as the phone kept ringing.
“Wait for me, Kerry.”
Kerry nodded again and waited until he was around the corner
before she turned to run up the stairs. In her room, she quickly checked the
batteries on the four flashlights she now had. Sitting on the bed once again,
Kerry grabbed her purse from the bench, along with the Bible. She pulled the
two smaller books and the puzzle box from her bag. Unable to resist its lure,
she fiddled with the box for a few minutes.
Frustrated, Kerry picked up one of the small books and saw
that it was love poems. Inside the cover was an inscription, which appeared to
be written by a masculine hand. Kerry lightly traced over the words with her
index finger while she read the two hundred-year-old words.
“To my sweet Jenny…these phrases express my love for you
much better than I can say the words.”
It was signed with only a capital “B.” Kerry was tempted to
read some of the poems, but she didn’t want to start crying. Setting that book
down, she picked up the last of the books she’d brought from the attic.
Immediately Kerry noted that this was different from the others.
Kerry ran her fingers lightly over the plain leather. There
were no etched letters on the cover, or on the binding. Opening the book
slowly, she saw the first page contained handwriting, instead of the printing
press style she had half expected. Reading the first line softly, she knew
without a doubt that the owner of this book was Jenny.
“My dearest Broderick, I miss you so very much. Even though
it is only one day since you left, my heart is so heavy for not telling you the
truth sooner.” Kerry had to swallow hard before she could read more. She
carefully thumbed through the pages, moving forward more than six months.
“General Washington was here today. I didn’t need to hear
his words to know you were gone, my love. I have felt your loss for some time,
yet I tried so desperately to pretend it wasn’t true.” She stopped abruptly as
she noted the words were blurring from the tears in her eyes. Rubbing at her
cheeks, she barely caught a tear before it joined Jenny’s long dried tears
already smearing some of the words.
Hurriedly, Kerry set the leather journal on the bed beside
her to avoid damaging it. Twisting on the bed, she grabbed a handful of
tissues. After she blotted her cheeks and eyes, she blew her nose loudly. Still
sniffing, unsure about reading more, she saw the lace handkerchief that was
lying on the bed. It had obviously been folded and pressed into the book by the
creases she could still see on the delicate woman’s hankie. There was a large,
monogrammed blue letter “J” in the corner.
Quickly, Kerry blew her nose again. Then she carefully
picked the intricate lace up with two fingers. It opened completely, revealing
its precious treasure. Resting on her bed was a simple, narrow gold band. She
couldn’t resist its lure and held it in the palm of her free hand. Tilting her
hand, there appeared to be writing on the inside of the band. It was too small
to read by the light in her room. She paused, considering whether to continue
reading the journal or rush downstairs to show Broderick what she had
discovered.
Deciding to share her exciting find with him, Kerry slipped
off the bed. That’s when she first heard the noise. It was faint, but she was
sure it was coming from behind the wall, in the newly discovered hallway. For a
moment she remembered her promise to wait…she shrugged and pushed the ring into
her pants pocket. Grabbing two flashlights, the small one that fit in her
pocket, and the other that had fresh batteries, she walked over and reopened
the door. Pausing, she noticed that there was no coldness this time, so she
stepped inside the narrow hallway.
Using her flashlight, Kerry skimmed it quickly over the
floor to make sure there were no waiting boards to trip them up. Taking a deep
breath, she took one step down the hallway. Broderick’s words again flashed in
her head for a moment, but she wasn’t going down the stairs, just checking the
hall out for safety. Nodding her head in agreement with her rationale, she took
two more steps.
Kerry paused to let the flashlight roam over the walls and
ceiling. She didn’t want to find any mice or walk into any grandiose spider
webs that were centuries old. She moved forward a couple more steps and found
herself at the first stair leading down. Speaking softly, Kerry voiced her
thoughts.
“It’s probably better for me to check the stairs out. I do
weigh less than he does—all right! It’s slightly less, but he wouldn’t sit down
on the top step like this.”
Kerry gently tucked the handkerchief into her waistband
before she sat down, and then cautiously swung her feet around to rest on the
second step down. She pushed hard with her feet, and then stomped them a few
times before she eased her butt onto that stair and checked out the third. Her
feet hit the fifth step before her butt had checked out the fourth, but
logically she justified her actions.
“It only makes sense to do it this way. And besides, in the
movies it is always the last step or so that gives way.” She worked her way
down until her butt was on the fourth step from the bottom. From here, Kerry
could see the far wall only. Resolving that it was safe after stomping her feet
on the next stair, Kerry walked down the last two. She flashed the light
around. Quickly recounting the stairs, Kerry knew that she’d only gone down one
flight. But she couldn’t visualize in her head where she might be. Turning to
the right, there was another hallway; only this one appeared to be a series of
twists and turns instead of straight.
“Please, God, don’t let me get lost in here,” Kerry prayed
for a moment, and then started down the hallway. She lost track after the third
turn in the hall. On the History Channel, she remembered a special about old
houses and secret passageways. There had been a mansion on there where suddenly
a door would open to the outside, but it was on the second or third story. To
the unwary, or if you just didn’t pay attention, that first step could break
your neck, or just a leg at best.
The noise had become less distinct as she made her way along
the dark halls. Kerry stopped, having come to a door for the first time along
the hallway. Reaching out, she curled her fingers around the old-fashioned
tarnished handle. Immediately she noticed the coldness in the metal, followed
by the sound inside the room.
“Go on, damn it! Ghosts can’t hurt you, and you’ve already
been chatting to one!” Kerry paused as she considered once again the
possibility that it really hadn’t been her modern-day Broderick that first time
in his bed. Why that thought suddenly popped into her head she couldn’t say for
sure. Unless she didn’t want to come across an irate ghostly Jenny, now bent on
revenge against her for sleeping with Colonial Broderick! She had not wanted to
think about it, to be honest. Reluctantly she acknowledged something she had
come across during her research. “I guess it is probable that you could have
sex with a ghost…if the spirit inhabited your body.”
Stiffening her spine, Kerry twisted the handle and stepped
into the room. She stopped abruptly, dropping her flashlight. In the rolling
light she saw a misty figure of a woman seated at a small writing desk. The
woman was dressed similarly to Kerry with the gown she had tried on the other
day, but her hair streamed down to her waist. While her hand moved across an
old piece of paper, Kerry realized the sounds she had heard were of this woman,
or spirit, crying.