His heart beat steady in my ears, and I was terrified he was going to fall back asleep, leaving me with that eerie whirling of the wind and the voice that would match the face. It would probably come to me mixed in with the sounds of the storm!
Scarlett…
“E-eff!T-talk t-to m-me, B-Brando.”
He laughed, but when he saw my face, he sobered up. “Give me a topic.”
“Anything!”
“What does eff mean?”
“Effing, Brando!”
“Mm.” He made a resonant noise deep in his throat. His hands started to roam, one big paw slipping under the robe, and the mere nearness of his skin against mine made my legs tremble with anticipation. “Lick you here—”
“That’s n-not what I m-meant—”
Another flash of white shocked the room, followed by a powerful roll of thunder that made the ancient walls tremble. Flinging the covers over my head, I closed my eyes tight. I felt him roll them back, uncovering me.
“Tell me about the weather here. Is it going to come inside and take us out?”
Despite my fear, I laughed. Perhaps I was becoming hysterical. He narrowed his eyes as I continued to howl with laughter, tears streaming down my cheeks. “It f-feels l-like it. It m-might s-slip in, l-like a-a g-g-ghost.”
He nodded once, slowly, and then pulled me up, placing me over his heart again. He tucked me even closer, keeping a firm grip around my hip so that I couldn’t disappear again.
I sighed, the last few trickles of tears dripping onto his skin. A thought had come to me earlier, but I had been too preoccupied to comment on it. The intrusion of the ghostly man below seemed to bring it back to the forefront of my mind. “Earlier you said that loving me rips your heart open and sets your soul free. Is that where you think your soul is? In your heart?”
Silence stretched for a long moment or two, his thoughts loud.She’s curious, being the main one. “Yeah,” he said, finally. “Where else would it be?”
I shook my head, placing my arm over his waist. “When I think aboutwheremy soul is, I think of my womb.”
“Your womb.”
“Yes, right here.” I ran my fingertip along the area it would be on him, if he had a womb.
His body convulsed, a shiver running through him. “Does it make a difference?”
“No,” I answered honestly. “It just stood out to me when you mentioned it. What about death? Do you think that’s how ghosts are made? People refuse to part with their souls?”
“I don’t believe in ghosts.”
That’s probably why he’s not seeing them then…
“I do,” I said, somewhat defensive. “What if you had left something behind? What if your circle couldn’t be completed until you claimed the one thing that made your life worth living? The one thing that you had wanted the most while here?”
After the initial shock had worn low, it seemed to take me with it, and a hard urge to succumb to sleep steadily pulled at my frantically swimming feet.
“Baby,” he said, shaking his head. He became quiet again. The sudden change in him made me sink even lower, not able to keep up. He had become tense, almost on edge. “Tell me.”
“Oh,” I managed. He wanted to know why we were discussing this.
He flipped me on my back, raising my hands, pinning my wrists. He stared down at me, eyes so acute that I had to close mine. “Tell me,” he repeated in Italian.Dimmi.
“Just a thought.” I yawned deeply. Despite his firm hold, I felt safe and tired beyond comprehension, the adrenaline rush leaving me exhausted. “I—” My voice faded. My mind refused to put together any more words to make a complete sentence. I blinked at him a few times, the image of his beautiful face a comfort, and then slipped into a sea of darkness, safe in the feeling that he’d be with me if the water became too frigid and too rough.
* * *
I blinked against the light, slight as it was. I felt like I had been through the rigors of some kind of sickness produced by fear. On the other hand…
