Divine and Dateless (29 page)

I realized too late I'd forgotten to put on shoes as I carefully made my way across the smooth grass, praying I didn't step in an ant pile.

"Jack!" I called into the cool night sky as a shiver stole up my spine. I'd forgotten a robe, too, and I was wearing nothing but my grandma's old-fashioned nightgown, a pale pink thing with frilly sleeves and a hemline all the way to my ankles.

As I neared the edge of the yard, I thought I saw a person among the trees. I shook my head and did a double-take. Sure enough, Basil was standing beneath a pine, craning her neck as she looked for something in the branches. My first thought was that she'd lost her cat, but since pets were rare in Purgatory, I figured she'd just lost her mind.

"Jack," I called again, wondering where he had gone and worrying when I didn't hear so much as a whimper in response.

Right now my sanity was hanging by a fine thread, and I feared I'd teeter over that edge, too, if I lost the one thing that made my stay in Purgatory bearable, especially after losing Grim. I was fairly certain he'd left me for good. He wasn’t the first man who'd walked out on me: first my dad, then Travis, and all those other loser boyfriends in-between. For some reason, Grim's rejection was the hardest.

Despite my fatigue, I'd sat up in bed late last night, clutching my chest, which felt like a meat cleaver had struck it in two, as I tried to figure out why his leaving affected me so much. I was unsure about our relationship, anyway. His departure should have come as a relief.

But it wasn't a relief. Far from it.

So he couldn't be with me because I wanted to be a ghoster? How selfish was that? Disregard the fact that I didn't know if I wanted us to stick together.

Considering how much his rejection hurt, I supposed that meant I cared for him. There was definitely no denying I was sexually attracted to him, but was that enough to sustain a relationship? We didn't just come from two different worlds, there was over a century of differences between us. Would we ever find any common ground other than sex? And if we did manage to work things out, what was going to happen when I finally earned enough credits to ascend? Inés had said Grim didn't plan on ascending. Was he expecting me to stay stuck in this shithole forever? Or would our relationship turn into nothing more than conjugal visit fucks? Guess none of it mattered since he'd walked out on me.

Gah! Why was I rehashing all of this again? These same tumultuous thoughts had kept me up last night. Why couldn't I seem to get off this merry-go-round of rejection, uncertainty, and heartbreak?

I combed the edge of the yard, sweeping the trees beyond for any sign of Jack. I walked over to the corner where Basil was still staring at the tree branch.

"Basil," I whispered loudly, "have you seen my dog?"

"Shhh," she responded while keeping her gaze locked on the tree. "I’m looking for flies."

"At two a.m.?" Okay, this woman wasn't just strange, she was certifiably crazy.

A strong breeze swirled the hem of her white robe around her ankles and whipped scraggly strands of hair across her shoulders. No wonder she made a good ghoster. She was as creepy as fuck.

"This is all a hoax, you know. There’s no such thing as God." Her luminous eyes widened as she waved her arms wildly above her head. "It’s aliens. This is all run by aliens."

Funny, but I didn't recall little green men running around the Penthouse.

"Oh, I didn’t know that." I looked away as I rubbed my hands down my chilled arms. Somehow I got the feeling this strange woman, and not the cool night air, was giving me gooseflesh.

"So what’s your power?"

"My power?" I looked back at Basil to see her eyeing me intently.

"Your supernatural gift," she said accusingly, as if I'd been hiding my ability to shoot laser beams out of my ass.

"I don’t know." I shrugged. "I didn’t realize we were supposed to have them." Well, shit. Nobody told me I'd joined The International Justice League of Superhero Supernaturals. I figured we were just supposed to spook people, not fly faster than speeding bullets and leap over tall buildings.

She turned up her chin and spread her hands before her. "I’m a clairvoyant."

I scrunched my features before calling for Jack. "What’s that?"

"I see dead people."

I gave her a long, hard look, trying to determine if she really was that crazy, or if she was just yanking my chain. "Uh, don’t we all see dead people?"

She held up a finger and paused, "I can also see the future and glow like a ghoul."

"Oh, that’s cool." I scanned the forest for Jack, hoping he'd be finished with his business soon so I could go back to bed. Relief flooded through me when I spotted a wagging tail from behind a nearby bush. I excused myself and got the hell out of Dodge, racing through the grass with Jack by my side, taking the stairs two at a time, and then double-locking the patio door behind me.

Once I was safely inside my room, I decided I might as well do my business, too, so I headed for the bathroom I supposedly shared with Basil, though Boner said in the five years he'd been ghosting, he'd never seen her go into a bathroom. I really didn't want to know the sordid details of her personal hygiene, but I suspected Jack wasn't the only one taking craps behind the bushes.

Flashlight in hand, I padded down the darkened hallway, trying not to get spooked by the creaky floorboards or the really strange antique portraits on the wall. I assumed some of these people were former ghosters, especially the guy missing the whole topside of his head. I imagined people on Earth pretty much shit their pants for the next month after meeting up with him in their attics.

When I finally reached my bathroom at the end of the hall, I saw light spilling from beneath the heavy oak door. I tensed when I heard the sound of running water. Hey! Boner had said this was the girls' bathroom. Whoever was in there was trespassing! Just as I was about to bang on the door and give the violator a piece of my mind, it swung open, light and steam pouring out.

And then, sweet mercy, I'd found a secret portal to Heaven! The muscular and tattooed male standing before me, wearing nothing but a small bath towel draped low across his hips, had to have been a valet. He was too sexy to be anything other than a fantasy fuck. I couldn't help but let my gaze travel the length of his glistening, bronzed body. If at all possible, the metallic, prosthetic leg attached to his knee made him even more attractive.

I knew this had to be Sarge, the Afghanistan war hero Boner told me about. I squeezed my thighs tight as a trill of desire swept through me. I used to think there was nothing hotter than a man in uniform. But seeing this particular soldier out of his uniform set a new standard for stud.

My gaze traveled back up the length of his body, lingering on his corded abs and thick chest before I looked into his large Latin eyes, which were a rich, golden brown framed by thick lashes. It was the intensity beneath those eyes that had my heart going
thumpity thump thump.

"What's up?" He ran a hand across his closely shaven head. "You must be the new recruit. MacLeod, right?"

My mouth hung open so low, I could have caught a fist-f of flies. Good thing Basil said there weren't any in Purgatory. "Yeah."

He went rigid as he spoke with a deep, rhythmical baritone. "Sergeant Santiago Sanchez. You can call me Sarge. They say your aura projects thirteen levels and you just died." He frowned as his gaze fell to the hem of my old lady nightgown and back up to my frizzy roots. Oh, what I wouldn't have given for my silk Victoria's Secret nightie and a bottle of hair gel.

"I guess so," I answered and then mentally kicked myself in the ass. What a lame answer. Why did cute guys always bring out my stupid?

"Hope you don't mind sharing a bathroom with me." He nodded at the shower behind him, the shower where he was just lathering up that glorious naked body. "The men's bathroom always smells like Crow’s hemorrhoid cream. You know how old men are," he said with a wink.

Yeah. I just fucked one last night,
I wanted to answer, and then felt like a ten-pound bucket of dog shit for even thinking it. Grim may have died a long time ago, but he sure as hell didn't have the body, or the stamina, of an old man.

Rather than laugh at Sarge's joke, or do anything remotely flirty or attractive, I gaped at his gleaming muscles, wondering what those few errant water droplets suspended above his naval tasted like.

"Cat got your tongue, MacLeod?"

I sucked in a sharp breath as I forced myself to snap out of my trance. He'd softened his stance and was leaning against the door frame with a mischievous gleam in his eyes.

"No." I bit my bottom lip and shook my head. "It's just, you're naked."

His deep, throaty chuckle reverberated through me like a gong, banging loud and clear on that sweet little bundle of nerves between my thighs.

"Naked? I’m not naked." He peered down at his fingers clutching one bunched-up side of fabric. "Now if I let go of this towel, then I'd be naked."

I watched with fascination as he released two fingers, and then another.

"Please don't let it go."

I knew I should have bolted when I saw the predatory gleam in his eyes, but he’d already placed me under his seductive spell. Taking a step forward, he leaned so close I could feel the heat from his skin. The woodsy scent of his masculine body wash was enough to make me want to rip that towel from him myself.

"What's the matter?" he purred. "Haven't you seen a nude man before?"

"Not one as beautiful as you."
Oh, crap! I said that thought aloud.

I gasped and clamped a hand over my mouth, but it was too late. The words had been spoken. Though my poor achy girl parts were screaming in protest, I took a step back, needing to put some distance between us. Fool that I was, I cared too much about Grim to risk cheating on him, even if we were technically broken up. Too bad, because I was fairly certain my military hero knew some awesome tactical maneuvers in the sack.

But, oh boy! Mr. Hot Stud followed me, the clank of his leg ringing out across the hollow floorboards like a blaring warning siren for me to turn and run. If he thought I was up for a late night romp, he had another thing coming. I only fondled and fucked one sexy immortal at a time.

I took another step back, gasping as he followed. The guy clearly wasn't paying any attention to my body language. Then again, my legs had turned to jelly and my nipples were perky enough to cut diamonds, so maybe he
was
listening to my body language.

By the time he'd backed me up against the wall, I realized resistance was futile. Okay, now was the time to tell him I sort of had a boyfriend. I could hardly manage chewing gum and walking at the same time. There was no way I was about to try juggling two guys.

We were merely a breath apart, close enough that the only things between us were his skimpy towel and the thin fabric of my gown. My heart was beating so rapidly, I feared he could hear it pounding against my ribcage.

"Wait until after PT tomorrow." His heated breath was a low growl in my ear. "We'll see if you still think I'm beautiful." He pulled back and cupped my jaw in his hand before unceremoniously snapping it shut. "Hit the sack, recruit. You've got a long day ahead of you."

And with that he turned and walked back down the hall, his body as rigid as if he was in a military drill. Okay, what the hell was that all about? Did he intentionally make me as horny as hell and then walk away?

Asshole!

He and Grim must have gone to the same Dickwad School For Breaking Girls' Hearts. Why did all the hot guys have to be such jerks, and why did I still want to sleep with them?

After tossing and turning in bed, sorely missing my vibrator and wishing I could have turned back time, pissed outside with Jack and Basil, and steered clear of the bathroom, with the nearly naked, hunky asshole, I finally fell asleep for all of about ten minutes.

And then a blaring siren shot me from my bed so fast, I rolled to the floor in a twist of sheets.

Ouch!

Pain winced up my arm as I came to my knees.

Jack was beside me, whimpering and then licking my cheek. I shielded my eyes against the pulsating red strobe light that just about burned out my corneas. Where had that come from? I didn't remember seeing it yesterday.