Shadow dance ghostly sha.., p.1
Shadow Dance (Ghostly Shadows #2), page 1
Shadow Dance
Ghostly Shadows
Alyssa Rose Ivy
Copyright © 2021 by Alyssa Rose Ivy
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
*Cover Design: Cover Couture www.bookcovercouture.com
Created with Vellum
Contents
Prologue
1. Gabriella
2. Rexton
3. Gabriella
4. Rexton
5. Gabriella
6. Rexton
7. Gabriella
8. Rexton
9. Gabriella
10. Rexton
11. Gabriella
12. Rexton
Thank You
Afterword
Winter’s Wolf (A Court of Shifters Chronicles #1)
Wren
Prologue
“This isn’t funny anymore, Jack. Come on out now.” She walked around in the dark, shivering both from the unseasonably cold evening and the growing fear she couldn’t shake. “Please. I know you think it’s fun to tease me, but this is too much.”
She wasn’t sure why she had even agreed to the stop in the first place. Well, other than the reality that she could never say no to Jack. When they were apart she could convince herself she was still wholly independent and could walk away at any moment, but as soon as she saw him all of that disappeared. She was like a moth drawn to a flame. She knew he was dangerous and entirely wrong for her, but all the same, she couldn’t resist.
But this was extreme behavior, even for Jack. To leave her alone in the dark for so long. He was only supposed to be gone a few minutes. He’d promised.
“Jack!” She knew she sounded frantic. Desperate. But she didn’t care. And this was it. She was done being a puppy dog to him. She needed to find a good man. One who would never put her in a situation such as this.
“Mable?” Her name came from the voice of a man who most definitely was not Jack.
“Who is that?” She shivered harder, nearly as bad as when she had been sick with the flu in her teens. Her body felt weak too.
“It’s okay. I’m a friend of Jack’s.”
“Where’s Jack?” She wrapped a hand around the pearls she wore around her neck. They were long and there was a small possibility she could take them off and use them as a weapon. But she wasn’t a fight type of girl. Flight was more her cup of tea.
“He had to leave, but I’m going to take you home.” The voice was new, or so she thought, but theoretically it could have belonged to any of the business associates Jack kept. Still, every internal alarm bell went off. She said nothing in reply, finally grateful for the darkness so she had a chance to slip away. Jack was irresponsible, but he would never ask another man to take her home. She had no idea where she was going, but she knew she had to get away from the stranger.
“Mable?” The voice was closer now.
She picked up her pace, her heart rate accelerating.
“Mable. There is nothing to be afraid of.” The voice was loud, too loud. “I’m not going to hurt you. I’m going to take you home.”
She broke into a run, hating that she was wearing new heels that were hard to move in. She was forever done with bad boys. It would be the nice guys from now on, if she only got the chance.
Gabriella
“Rexton, I’m not saying it again. I’m tired of this conversation.” I sat at the computer in my little back office of Appeal. I didn’t much love working in a bar, but given the nature of our business, one couldn’t really just put up a shingle on a normal storefront. I wasn’t even sure what to call us. Ghost Whispers?
“It’s because of him, isn’t it?” Rexton crossed his arms as we waited in the doorway. “Ronny.”
“Ronny has nothing to do with this.” I spun around so I was looking at Rexton. I hadn’t actually been working, I’d been doing school work, but Rexton never cared what I used my work computer for.
“Oh?” He walked into the small office and closed the door. “Your ghost roommate has nothing to do with you refusing to move in with me?”
“No.” I shook my head. “If I were ready to move in with you, I would. But I’m not. And he’s not my roommate.”
“You spend at least half your nights with me anyway.”
“True, but that doesn't mean I’m ready to move in. I happen to like having the other half of my nights to myself.” That wasn’t entirely true. I missed Rexton those nights, but that didn’t mean I was moving anywhere.
“Because you like to share them with Ronny.”
I groaned. “No. Ronny has nothing to do with it.” I’d grown used to having Ronny around a lot at home, but he wasn’t my roommate, and he absolutely never entered my bedroom.
“How would you feel if I lived with a female ghost?”
“Once again, I don’t live with Ronny. He just shows up a lot. And are you asking how I’d feel if you chose to live with one now? I wouldn’t love it. But that’s entirely different.”
“Enlighten me on how it could possibly be entirely different.” There was a glimmer of something in his eyes. He was challenging me, and he was enjoying it.
“You are you. I am me.”
“Meaning?” He rubbed his chin. His perfectly sculpted and stubble covered chin.
“Meaning you are an incubus. You are a perpetual flirt.” And so darn sexy. At first I worried my attraction to him only came from his powers, but I trusted him. And more importantly I trusted myself. Once my eyes were opened up to the supernatural world beyond ghosts, it became easier to spot magic and otherworldly influences.
“Oh.” He pressed his hands into the arms of my chair. “As compared to you, who never flirts?”
“I flirt with you.” I flirted with him in a way I’d never flirted with anyone. I didn’t hold back. Part of it was because he was the first guy I knew who wouldn’t think I was crazy for seeing ghosts, but most of it was just him. Irresistible him.
“Oh yes. And only with me?” He walked toward me. “Is that right?”
“Don’t we have work to do?” My body warmed.
“We always have work to do.” His eyes zeroed in on me. “So you can’t use that as an excuse to change the subject.”
“I’m human. You are a demon. That makes things different. How many different ways do I need to say it?”
“I don’t love that you have a ghost hanging out in your apartment.”
“Really?” I put a hand to my chest. “I had no idea.”
“Don’t mock me.”
“I’m not.” It was more that I was trying to remind myself of why I was sticking with the plan.
“Gabriella.”
“What? Why would I want to move in with someone if he’s only asking because he’s jealous?” There. I’d said it.
“Jealous?” He raised an eyebrow. “Don’t be ridiculous.”
“If you aren’t jealous, then why do you even care?” I was pushing his buttons, but I couldn’t help it. Maybe it was my stress over my thesis, or my fear of just how hard I’d fallen for him, but I was definitely feeling feisty.
“Because I do. And I want you to live with me.” He looked deep into my eyes, setting every inch of me on fire.
“I will move in with you when you want me to live with you for the right reasons.”
“I want you there for many reasons.” He brushed his lips against my ear. “And you know many of them.”
“Stop.” I moved my head as far from his lips as possible, which wasn’t very far because resisting Rexton was nearly impossible. “Don’t bring sex into this.”
“Why?” He found my lips, brushing his softly against mine. “Why should I keep sex out of it?”
“Because sex is complicated.” I closed my eyes. Why did he have to feel so good?
“Oh yeah?” He nipped at my bottom lip. “Is it now?”
“Very. Especially with you involved.”
“Especially?” His hand settled on the back of my head, making me look at him. “Huh? Because I’m so incredible at it?”
“Because of what you are.”
“I don’t use my powers on you.” He released his hold and stepped back. “You know that.”
“And I trust you. Mostly.”
“Mostly?” He wore a wounded look. “So now you don’t want to move in, and you don’t trust me?” He sighed. “Remind me again why I wanted a committed relationship?”
“Remind yourself that.” I felt a tinge of guilt and regret. I didn’t like upsetting him, but I refused to let him feel like he always had the upper hand, even if he did. “You seem to be the one pushing to make things even more serious.”
“Hey, I seem to recall you having a rather strong opinion on only having sex with me if I wasn’t having sex with anyone else.”
“And I stand by that. You didn’t seem bothered by the request.”
“You are so far superior to anyone else.” His eyes lidded. “So far superior.”
“Uh uh. Not going there now.” I shook my head. I was struggling to keep my wits about me. “Remember work? The thing that pays the bills?”
“I have lots of ways to pay the bills.”
“Well, I don’t. I don’t exactly make much working for Harriet.” It was fine pocket money, but with how few s hifts I worked now, it couldn’t cover my rent.
“I don’t get why you haven’t quit that job yet.”
“I like it there.” There were some things more important than money. I spun so I was looking at the computer again.
“You can’t let go of your ghost friend.” He sat down on the edge of my desk.
“And is there something wrong with that? Is there something wrong with caring about my friend?” I challenged. “You know what? I don’t have to explain myself to you.”
“We’ve been over this so many times. Ghosts can be—”
“Dangerous. Yes. I know.” We’d been down this conversation road over and over. “And I do really appreciate your concern, but I can and will take care of myself.”
“Yes. But being able to take care of yourself does not mean you can’t accept some help.” He scooted over just enough so he was in my field of view. At least his legs were, and those muscular legs attached to a lot more of his sexy self. Incubus powers or not, resisting Rexton was nearly impossible.
“Stacey is my friend. End of story.”
“One day you owe it to her to help her move on. She’s your friend after all.”
“When she’s ready.” I looked in the opposite direction. “She’s not ready.”
“In other words, you are not ready.”
“Work. Let’s focus on work.” I made myself look at him, craning my neck so I could see his face instead of his other regions.
“Okay.” He nodded. I’d worn him down enough. “We have a new client.”
“Always good. Name? Location? Issue?” I’d asked about work not only to change the subject, but because I was hungry for another job.
“David Blake. He has an old house he’s trying to rehab into a bed & breakfast but says no man can get into the cellar.”
“No man?” I wondered if that was a slip of the tongue or not.
“You heard me right. Evidently most women can’t either, but one or two have managed.”
“And no men can enter? I’m confused.”
“It won’t unlock.”
“How did he even figure out it would work for women?”
“He complained to his girlfriend. It didn’t open when she tried with him there. Then she tried it again when he left, and she got in. But she says she will never go down there again. A few of her friends tried, and one other girl was able to get in. Two other girls couldn’t. So, it’s not a perfect system.”
“Does sound like it’s something…”
“I’m sure it is.” Rexton slipped off the desk. “Usually people only come to us out of desperation. They rule out everything else first.”
“And I assume you’ve researched the house?”
“Yes. Built in 1923. House remained in the same family and was sold at auction last year. It had sat empty for a while. I’ve found nothing about deaths or mysterious circumstances, but as we both know, not all deaths are reported.”
“No.” Far too many deaths fell between the cracks. It was horribly sad when you found those ghosts, the ones no one even knew were missing. “And no missing persons attached to it?”
“Nothing directly at least.”
“How soon can we check it out?”
“Eager beaver today, are you?” Rexton grinned. “This wouldn’t be just to avoid our conversation, right? Because we will be returning to that later.”
“You know I get excited about new jobs.” And that wasn’t a lie at all.
“Not this excited.”
“I like the angle.” I spun around in my chair.
“Angle?”
“Okay, angle might not be the right word, but the whole only girls can enter thing. It’s got me very curious.”
“Think it’s a male ghost who only wants attractive women around?”
“Of course that’s what you’d jump to. Any evidence on the attractiveness on the various women who tried?”
“I don’t have that information, but if you ask I’m sure you can get answers.” He adjusted his tie. “What is your guess? If you don’t like my superficial ghost idea.”
“Maybe it’s a woman who hates men and most women.”
“Quite possible.” He rubbed his chin. “But I guess there is only one way to find out. I’ll call the client and see if we can get inside today.”
“Good.”
“And to think you didn’t think you wanted to work with me.”
“It was a lot to consider. A big change.” Mixing business and pleasure had seemed like a horrible idea initially. In the end balancing the two sides hadn’t been as difficult as I expected, but that might all change if we lived together. That was yet another reason for me to wait.
“Sometimes change is good.”
“This had better not refer to the living situation again.”
“No. It refers to nothing at all.” He walked out of the room, and I let out a slow breath. If Rexton had any idea how hard it was for me to resist him I’d be in really big trouble.
Rexton
She loved this stuff. She absolutely loved it. And it wasn’t about the money to her. She loved interacting with the ghosts. That was good for business, but bad for me as the boyfriend. I was running out of ideas to get her to understand just how dangerous ghosts could be. One would think after being nearly killed multiple times now she’d get it, but instead she had the same enthusiastic belief she had when I first met her at the ball: Ghosts were people too, even if they were very much dead.
“Are you sure I can’t stay to help you in any way?” David, our client, asked. Strange. Usually the client couldn’t wait to get away before you dealt with the ghosts.
“No. It’s probably better you aren’t here.” I walked back down the hall toward the front door of the bungalow.
“Why?” David followed.
“Why?” That was a real new one. “Because I cannot guarantee your safety. And because it is much easier for us to communicate without anyone else around.”
“How do I know you won’t damage the house?” He rubbed the back of his neck. “I’m opening myself up to a lot of liability.”
“You don’t.” I went with a straightforward answer. “But what other choice do you have? Know of any others with our gift?”
He shook his head. “No. I don’t. But I don’t enjoy being pushed against the wall.”
“We aren’t trying to do that.” Gabriella returned from the kitchen or the dining room, at least that’s the direction she came from. “But we want to get the job done right. And it is much easier and safer for all involved if it is just us.”
“Will the ghost know?” He watched Gabriella. “Would it know whether you were alone?”
“Depends on the ghost.” Some were more aware than others. Some cared more than others.
“And you two really know what you are doing?” He was either stalling or nervous. Normally I was quite good at reading people, but David was harder than the typical human.
“Yes.” Gabriella clasped her hands in front of her. “We do.”
“Okay.” David nodded. “I like your confidence.”
And what about my confidence? I kept the thought to myself, despite not wanting to. Clients liked Gabriella. She put them far more at ease than I did. The same was true for many of the ghosts.
“We will be in contact. Hopefully this process doesn’t take long, but you can’t rush these things.” Gabriella brushed some hair off her shoulder.
“Okay. I’ll wait for your call.” David opened the front door and left.
I watched him get into his car and drive away. “Finally. I thought he’d never leave.”
“He was very nervous. Funny since this isn’t even the house he lives in. Didn’t he just buy it last year?”
“Yes. It was odd.” And odd feelings should never be ignored. “We should keep that in mind as we move forward.”
* * *
“Yes. Speaking of moving forward, want to do a quick sweep of the house before we try the door?”
“Yes. Want to take the upstairs, and I’ll take the main floor?” If the main ghost activity was in the basement, I wanted her in the safest spot. She had proven time and again she was good at handling herself in intense situations, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t try to protect her as much as possible.
