***
Josie tore outof the room, a sheet wrapped around her, the gaze of the man she’d caught staring at her through her window hot on her spine.
Smack!
“Oh my god!”she shrieked.
The firm grip on her arms was familiar.Quin’s scent filled her nostrils.
“What happened?”His demand came out on a quake.
She blinked but her eyes took their time to adjust to the dark.“Someone was in my backyard.Lightning struck and I saw him just—just standing there.”She gripped the sheet at her breasts.God, had the creep seen her naked?He might have been too far away.And it was dark.No.Surely he hadn’t.
Her stomach dropped.The flashlight had been on when they’d had sex.
“Stay here.”
He eased her against the wall and crept toward the bedroom.Her pulse beat in her ears, the sound as loud as a turbojet.She closed her eyes.The insides of her eyelids were just as dark as the hallway.She tightened her hand on her phone but didn’t dare turn on the flashlight and alert the creep outside.
Quin rushed out of the bedroom.“Where’s your flashlight?”
“I’ll get it.”She flicked on her screen, giving her just enough light to see what was in front of her and not set off a beam that would be visible from outside.She made her way to the mudroom.Moving kept her heart from beating out of her chest.
Quin stayed close behind her.In the mudroom, she put her phone on the washing machine and pulled out the stool she kept folded near the dryer.Then she reached into the cupboard, being careful to keep the sheet wrapped around her.She retrieved Liam’s heavy-duty, waterproof flashlight and held it out to Quin.
He grabbed her hips, and his fingertips bit through the sheet-dress.She gasped and seized his shoulder with her free hand.
“Stay here, dammit,” he said, his jaw tight and his eyes softer than his tone.“Whoever is out there wants you hurt for some reason.I’m going to find the sonofabitch, but I need to know you’re safe.”
“We should just call the sheriff.”
Quin shook his head sharply.“He won’t get here in time.And we probably don’t have reception.”He snagged the flashlight and tucked his phone into his pocket.“Is there still a gun in the closet?”
She nodded.
“Stay put.”
Even in the dim lighting, she could see that his eyes had shifted, making them as hard as granite.He snaked his arm around her waist.Standing on the stool, she was almost the same height as he was.
“I mean it, Jos.Stay put.”He planted a kiss on her lips.
His five-o’clock shadow abraded her mouth, but warmth spread through her as he moved his lips softly against hers, teasing her with the tip of his tongue.Her legs went weak.She gripped his shoulder tighter for support.
He broke away, his breath fast and hot on her face.“I’ll be quick.”
She scooped up her phone and made her way to the bedroom, where she pulled on her pants and sweater.There was no way she was going to relax or calm the anxiety in her chest, but some sage or incense might help a little.Anything to take away the crawling sensation of being stared at.The man had been wearing a hood, and everything had happened too fast to place his face in the dark.Keeping her phone poised in front of her, she went to the altar in her living room.
She opened the wooden box etched with the seven moon phases and placed her phone on the top of the table.Then she retrieved some white sage incense, pushed it into the holder, and lit the end.It wasn’t much, but if she could take the edge off her nerves, she might be able to think straight enough to figure out who was after her.And maybe even analyse what the devil was going on between her and Quin.
No, that’s the last thing she needed to figure out, because nothing should be going on.At least not yet.Except a whole lot of sex.Nothing wasgoing ongoing on.People had sex with no strings all the time.She’d never been that person, but maybe she was now.
But would it be so weird to be with Quin?
She inhaled deeply, letting the herby scented smoke surround her.Pressing her fingers to her chest, she touched the uneven edge of her citrine crystal and exhaled.
She didn’t believe in connecting with the dead.Sure, some clairvoyants did, but that wasn’t her area or cup of tea.But she could align herself with Liam’s energy, with the tether that kept them eternally bound.The link between her spirit and Liam’s was so strong that she could sometimes still feel, smell, and sense him when she wanted.
She closed her eyes and remembered the feeling of him lying in bed next to her.The warmth emanating from his body, even when they weren’t touching.The circuit of energy that circled his body like a bubble, syncing with her heart center.Seconds ticked by, but no connection came.Only an insurmountable sensation of guilt.She sniffed and dashed the tears from the corners of her eyes.Liam was gone.But Quin was very much still here.
