kiss her again. Yes, he would kiss her again because she wanted him to.
And then what? And then what, je t’aime ? Then what? He’s dead. He has no future left. He’s living on borrowed time as it is. Once he finds his body, when he finds it, then what will you do?
Groaning again, J buried her face in her pillow where the groan became a muffled sob.
Downstairs the clock struck the hour of ten. Then eleven. She also heard it when it struck midnight and one o’clock. It was two before she finally was able to fall asleep.
Chapter 2
Tuesday
The night was cool but comfortable. Overhead, the stars peeked between the leaves of the trees that were mere shadows against the darkness.
To his left, a little more than a twenty yards away, was that damn statue the city had commissioned and put up at the entrance of the children’s park. Kiel would bet even money the thing scared more children than entertained them.
The night was very close to being exactly as it had been when he’d awakened here. A touch cooler, but other than that a perfect copy. Squatting down he ran his hand over the spot where he had come to, dead but alive. The grass was still green and long. It hadn’t been mowed in a while, just like it hadn’t been mowed when he had awakened.
He took a deep breath. It was instinctive, automatic. He no longer needed air to survive. Everything he did was out of habit. But everything he smelled, everything he touched, all of that was real. In fact, it was too real. Too much sensation bombarded him from all sides, as if dying had finally given his body the chance to savor the world the way he should have when he lived.
A thickness in his chest gave way to a soft sob. Crap, he couldn’t even cry anymore. Shoving his fingers through his hair, Kiel glanced upward at the heavens.
He almost hadn’t recognized her when she’d opened the door. The pale, swaddled figure he had escorted around today had shed her cocoon, revealing a butterfly of heart-pounding beauty. Her skin had glowed and smelled faintly of something floral he didn’t recognize. Hair the color of caramel hung in a ponytail down her back, giving her the appearance of a teenager.
And, dear God, the body underneath that loose top and short shorts. She was pale, proving she didn’t go out in the sun very often. Or if she did, she was careful to keep her skin well-covered. But there was no way he could miss the full breasts, the slender waist, and firm thighs.
One thing was certain. Kiel knew by the end of the day that he had fallen in love with J Laurent. Tonight only capped his misery.
She didn’t shy away from him. She didn’t withdraw from his touch, or try to keep her distance. She knew his circumstances, but it didn’t seem to matter. What made this whole mess worse was that she seemed to have wanted him to kiss her, and there was no way he could remain in that house once he did. He had to get away, away to think and to curse himself and a deity that would allow him to finally find love for the first time in his life.
And I’m a freakin’ ghost.
He had no future. He had no tomorrow that he could share or even offer to her. A humorless chuckle vibrated in his throat. They both were handicapped. Permanently handicapped.
Closing his hands into fists, he recalled the silkiness of her skin. The top of her head came up to his nose. Her forehead was a canvas for him on which to paint his kisses. He could feel the temptation of her breasts when he’d lightly brushed his knuckles against them, and at that moment he had felt his whole body pull toward her like a magnet drawn to its opposite pole.
She was life. Sweet, irresistible life. Of course she was his opposite. She was everything good in this world—freedom, possibilities, happiness. He had nothing to give her. Absolutely nada .
But how could he give her up when every voice inside him cried out how unfair it was? Without thinking, he
And then what? And then what, je t’aime ? Then what? He’s dead. He has no future left. He’s living on borrowed time as it is. Once he finds his body, when he finds it, then what will you do?
Groaning again, J buried her face in her pillow where the groan became a muffled sob.
Downstairs the clock struck the hour of ten. Then eleven. She also heard it when it struck midnight and one o’clock. It was two before she finally was able to fall asleep.
Chapter 2
Tuesday
The night was cool but comfortable. Overhead, the stars peeked between the leaves of the trees that were mere shadows against the darkness.
To his left, a little more than a twenty yards away, was that damn statue the city had commissioned and put up at the entrance of the children’s park. Kiel would bet even money the thing scared more children than entertained them.
The night was very close to being exactly as it had been when he’d awakened here. A touch cooler, but other than that a perfect copy. Squatting down he ran his hand over the spot where he had come to, dead but alive. The grass was still green and long. It hadn’t been mowed in a while, just like it hadn’t been mowed when he had awakened.
He took a deep breath. It was instinctive, automatic. He no longer needed air to survive. Everything he did was out of habit. But everything he smelled, everything he touched, all of that was real. In fact, it was too real. Too much sensation bombarded him from all sides, as if dying had finally given his body the chance to savor the world the way he should have when he lived.
A thickness in his chest gave way to a soft sob. Crap, he couldn’t even cry anymore. Shoving his fingers through his hair, Kiel glanced upward at the heavens.
He almost hadn’t recognized her when she’d opened the door. The pale, swaddled figure he had escorted around today had shed her cocoon, revealing a butterfly of heart-pounding beauty. Her skin had glowed and smelled faintly of something floral he didn’t recognize. Hair the color of caramel hung in a ponytail down her back, giving her the appearance of a teenager.
And, dear God, the body underneath that loose top and short shorts. She was pale, proving she didn’t go out in the sun very often. Or if she did, she was careful to keep her skin well-covered. But there was no way he could miss the full breasts, the slender waist, and firm thighs.
One thing was certain. Kiel knew by the end of the day that he had fallen in love with J Laurent. Tonight only capped his misery.
She didn’t shy away from him. She didn’t withdraw from his touch, or try to keep her distance. She knew his circumstances, but it didn’t seem to matter. What made this whole mess worse was that she seemed to have wanted him to kiss her, and there was no way he could remain in that house once he did. He had to get away, away to think and to curse himself and a deity that would allow him to finally find love for the first time in his life.
And I’m a freakin’ ghost.
He had no future. He had no tomorrow that he could share or even offer to her. A humorless chuckle vibrated in his throat. They both were handicapped. Permanently handicapped.
Closing his hands into fists, he recalled the silkiness of her skin. The top of her head came up to his nose. Her forehead was a canvas for him on which to paint his kisses. He could feel the temptation of her breasts when he’d lightly brushed his knuckles against them, and at that moment he had felt his whole body pull toward her like a magnet drawn to its opposite pole.
She was life. Sweet, irresistible life. Of course she was his opposite. She was everything good in this world—freedom, possibilities, happiness. He had nothing to give her. Absolutely nada .
But how could he give her up when every voice inside him cried out how unfair it was? Without thinking, he
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