He leaned forward, brought his face closer to hers. “Kiss me, Celeste.”
She looked at that sexy mouth, thought of how many times she’d dreamed of kissing him, of tasting him, of exactly how it’d be to tease that sexy smirk with her tongue. Then she eased closer and made her dreams a reality.
The first touch of her mouth on his caused her entire body to shudder with need, a need to continue, to delve deeper for more. She swept her tongue against his lower lip and moaned her contentment when his mouth opened for her perusal. Easing her tongue inside, she couldn’t control the urge to slowly slide her entire body against his as she tasted him. She yanked his shirt out of his jeans, hurriedly undid the remaining buttons and pushed the sides apart. Then she pressed her breasts against his chest, felt the rumbling beat of his heart against them, and was even more excited. She moved her tongue farther inside, stroking his, while her hips moved in direct correlation. Her need grew exponentially.
Dax’s tongue mated with hers, then moved hungrily within her lips. He stroked the top of her mouth, slid over her teeth, then sucked her tongue. Her body began shivering, shaking. She’d never kissed anyone like this. She’d never been kissed like this.
The bulge between his legs grew even harder as she rubbed against it. She wanted him. And she didn’t want to wait.
A low, deep growl rumbled from his throat and vibrated erotically against her tongue and mouth. That growl sent her desire higher still, knowing that Dax was on the edge as well, and she felt the burning inside getting stronger, hotter, pulling her deeper…pulling her…away.
No! her mind screamed when she realized what was happening. No!
“CELESTE!” Dax knew what had happened, but he couldn’t believe that the powers that be would do that to him, to them. “Damn!”
She’d vanished, in the same way he’d seen ghosts fade away before, but none of their disappearances had ripped his heart out in their wake. One moment she’d been here, touching him, kissing him, driving him near mad with desire, and then-gone. And he was left hard, aching and ready. Ready for something that would possibly never happen. Had that been their last chance? Had she crossed over completely this time? And how would he know?
Just the thought of her hands on him, of her mouth on his, had his cock pressing solidly against his jeans. “Damn.” He wanted her, and there was more to it than the physical need that had him hurting; he wanted Celeste, the woman who’d touched his heart in the summer when she stayed behind to help Chloe, and the one who, when she returned, had helped another young ghost before allowing her own needs to be sated. And she did have needs-intense needs.
“I’ve been with a boy, but I’ve never been with a man.”
Well, she was sure as hell with a man tonight, but not nearly as intimately as Dax would have liked. Would they be given another chance?
Hell, both of them had helped Prissy first, in spite of the fact that they’d been two months without seeing each other, and without knowing if they’d ever see each other again, and the powers that be evidently hadn’t taken that into consideration before they’d pulled her away-again.
The front door of the plantation slammed, and he jerked toward the sound. He couldn’t control a swift surge of adrenaline at the possibility that Celeste had returned. But if she had come back, she wouldn’t be using the door. “Who is it?”
“Dax?” Nanette called, then he listened to her footsteps as she headed up the stairs.
He buttoned his shirt, not bothering to tuck it in, since his hard-on was going to take some time to give up the ghost. Literally. “In here.”
“Well, is she here?” Nan asked, entering the sitting room and looking around as though expecting to see someone with him.
“Who?” How would she know about Celeste?
“Your little ghost,” she said, crossing the room and dropping into Adeline Vicknair’s bentwood rocker. “Wait, I’m not sitting on her, right?”
“No,” he said, still not quite believing how close he’d been to finally making love to Celeste only seconds ago. “She’s with her parents, and for the record, Celeste isn’t here either, though she was.”
Nan’s green eyes widened. “Celeste? She came back? How? When? She crossed, didn’t she?”
“No, she didn’t, and she came back with my ghost.” He swallowed thickly. “And now she’s gone again. Only I have no idea where she went. She was here until a few seconds ago, when the powers that be decided, without any forewarning whatsoever, that it was time for them to take her back.”
She frowned. “Oh, Dax, I’m sorry. I know how much you wanted to be with her again.” Nan tucked her legs beneath her. “So, she hasn’t crossed?”
“She hadn’t crossed,” he clarified. “I have no idea if she crossed tonight or not.”
“Surely not,” she said, as though completely certain of the fact.
“What makes you say that?” Granted, he wanted to hear that Celeste was still hovering between the two sides, because obviously that meant he might get to see her again. But how could Nanette be so sure?
“Well, if she didn’t cross before, with Chloe-that was the little girl she stayed behind for, right?”
“Right.”
“Then why would she cross now? I mean, it must be something else that’s keeping her in the middle. Something other than helping another spirit through.”
“Part of me feels like I didn’t cross because I couldn’t leave you.”
Dax really wanted to believe that was it, that she could control her destiny merely by wanting to be with him, but something told him there was more to it than that. And in order to help her stay on this side longer, maybe even permanently, he had to figure out what it was.
“How did she seem?” Nanette asked. “I mean, is she the same way Ryan was, where he chose to stay in the middle because he didn’t want to cross? If memory serves, he rather liked it in the middle.” She giggled. “Leave it to Monique to convince him that he’d rather satisfy one woman for life than tons of them in their dreams.”
Dax blinked, and thought about what she’d said. “Ryan did control whether he crossed or not, didn’t he?”
“That’s what he said.”
“I’m going to take a ride to Monique and Ryan’s new place. I need to talk to my new brother-in-law.” Dax stood from the settee.
Nan nodded, understanding dawning. “You think he can tell you how to keep her on this side.”
“Well, if anyone can, it’s him, and if there’s any way possible, I am going to get her back.”
Dax could feel his blood stir. Ryan had stayed. He’d been a ghost in the middle for over a year when he was assigned to Monique. Now he was living and breathing…and married to Dax’s sister. Surely Ryan would know what was happening with Celeste, and how Dax could get her back to stay.
“He might not have all of the answers, but he’d sure have more than the two of us,” she agreed. “He’s lived in the middle, after all. When are you going to see him?”
“Right now.”
“Well, tell me what you find out in the morning. I’ve got to get some sleep if I’m going to tackle all those ninth-graders first period. And they probably won’t be all that thrilled to see me after I gave them that history assignment.” She grinned. “Hey, I don’t suppose you had a chance to look up any more information about our history tonight, did you?”
Dax shook his head. “Afraid not. From the time you left until just a few moments ago, I was fairly busy helping one ghost find the light…and trying to keep another one from even going near it.”
“No problem,” she said. “There’s always tomorrow.”
“You do realize that I work tomorrow, too,” he said, “and that I’m somewhat preoccupied with getting Celeste back.”