ColonialGhost (6 page)

* * * * *

Broderick watched as Kerry bent down, looking for her
pajamas. He held them in his hand, but enjoyed the view of Kerry’s naked
bottom. He cleared his throat and Kerry spun back around. Seated in his chair,
he dangled the bottoms from one finger. As she reached for the bottoms, he held
them just out of reach. With his other hand, he pulled her close. Since her top
was still unbuttoned, it was easy to part the edges with his nose. He slowly
took her right nipple into his mouth, and suckled it softly for a few moments.
Releasing it with a loud, wet sucking noise, he lowered his mouth to her left
nipple. This time he sucked lightly, playfully. He tugged, pulled and finally
released the elongated bud.

He allowed a small space between their bodies as he spoke.
“Come upstairs to my bed. I have several more places to kiss, I believe.”

Kerry smiled slowly, and then nodded her head. “All right,
but do I get my pajamas back?”

Broderick turned her and they started walking back toward
the stairs. “Nope,” he told her with a grin. “Waste of effort because I’ll just
be taking them off again.”

Kerry’s blush and accompanying giggle aroused Broderick. He
followed her up the stairs, unable to resist reaching out to caress her right
ass cheek. Her slight yelp caused him to move his hand to her hip instead.

“Before I get distracted again by your sumptuous and
desirable body, what were the candles for?”

* * * * *

“I was calling the ghost who lives here.”

Kerry instantly felt the tensing of Broderick’s hand upon
her hip. She took another step and his hand fell away. Immediately, her skin
felt cold—all over. Shivering, she took a few more steps upward, even though
she was now sure that Broderick was not directly behind her anymore.

At the top of the stairs, she paused for a second, wanting
to turn and see if he had followed her or was still stuck on the same stair
when she’d thrown the ghost thing into his face. She took a deep breath and
continued down the hallway to her room. Her bedroom door was open, but no
lights were on. Stepping into the room, and walking over to the bed, she heard
the door creak behind her. Kerry spun around expecting to see Broderick, but
the door had swung almost completely shut, leaving her in near darkness.

Lifting her hands out in front of her, palms forward, Kerry
took a few steps into the room, wary of knocking her shins on the bench that
sat at the foot of the bed.

“Damn,” Kerry muttered quietly under her breath. Leaning
over, she rubbed the area below her right knee. “Now I know where the bench is
anyway.” Tonight, when she needed the moonlight, it was too cloudy to allow
enough light to seep through so she could avoid any other hazards. Straightening
up once again, Kerry felt a puff of cool air pass her left cheek.

Kerry turned quickly to look over her left shoulder, but she
couldn’t see Broderick, and the door remained nearly closed. Shrugging, she
decided to head for the bathroom. She lifted her hands in front of her again
and took a few more steps. If she remembered correctly, she was now at the end
of the bench. About four feet to the left was the bathroom and to the right was
a small sitting area.

Before she could turn to the left, a rush of cold air seemed
to surround her. Suddenly Kerry felt as if a shroud covered her, except it was
cold. And it was definitely coming from the right side. Her curiosity got the
better of her, despite her state of undress. Slowly she inched forward in
between the chairs until she reached the wall the head of the bed rested
against.

Pressing her hands flat upon the wall, Kerry slid her left
hand away from her body. She wasn’t at all sure what she was doing, but it
seemed like the right thing to do. Her fingers felt a tiny depression in the
wallpaper. Quickly she traced the line down and then back up as high as she
could reach. Meanwhile, her right hand was searching for a matching depression.

“Ahh,” she sighed as her right index finger located it.
Sliding her finger downward, she became aware that the cold seemed to be moving
forward. Kerry decided that it was moving through the wall and she was feeling
warm once again. Quickly, Kerry leaned forward and pressed her left cheek
against the wall, listening carefully. Her whole body and face felt warm,
except her hands and her left cheek, which were pressed tightly to the wall.

* * * * *

Broderick pushed the door open and was scanning the room for
Kerry as he moved his fingers across the wallpaper, feeling for the overhead light
switch. For a moment he thought he saw a white mist, or fog, surrounding Kerry.
As he strained his eyes, squinting to see, his finger finally found the switch
and the light came on. Instantaneously, the mist disappeared. The sight of
Kerry half-leaning forward against the wall, with her nicely rounded ass
sticking out the other direction, reminded him of some rather lustful ideas
he’d had involving Kerry in just that position—

Kerry jumped back from the wall, startled by the light
flooding the room. Blinking her eyes quickly, she tried to focus on Broderick.
He smiled and held her pajama bottoms out to her on the end of his finger. As
she walked back around to the bottom of the bed, he grinned.

“I thought you might be missing these.”

Kerry yanked the cotton shorts from his finger and quickly
pulled them on. Broderick watched as she turned back toward the bed. Deciding
that his bed would be much more comfortable, he reached out and grabbed her
hand.

“Let’s go to my room, okay?”

Without waiting for her to agree, he turned and started for
his room at the far end of the hall. Kerry followed closely, since he still
held her hand. Inside the room, dim light came from the bathroom and it was
easy to avoid any hazards. Pulling the covers back, he gestured for Kerry to
climb in first. Stripping his remaining clothes off, Broderick eased under the
covers next to her. He looked over at her where she was lying with the
comforter pulled up to her chin.

“Shared warmth is a good idea,” Broderick murmured softly.
When her lips curved upward, he grinned in response. Gently, he tugged his
pillow over to hers and plopped onto his back. A few moments later, he heard
her ask him softly, “Would you hold me, please?”

Without pause, Broderick lifted his arm and pulled Kerry
closer until her head rested on his chest. Stroking her soft hair with his
hand, he fell asleep a few minutes after he heard her snore just once, quietly.

Chapter Eight

Broderick awoke to an empty bed and sunlight was streaming
through the arched windows of his room. Groaning loudly, he sat up and swung
his legs around to the side of the bed. So much for the pleasant ending to the
dream he’d been having moments earlier. Cursing his luck for oversleeping,
Broderick made his way into the bathroom. He sped through a shower and left the
day’s growth of whiskers on his face. Dressing in jeans, sneakers and cotton
T-shirt, he was threading his belt through the loops as he started downstairs.

In the hall, he paused. Turning to the right would take him
down the back stairs to the kitchen. By turning instead to the left and
basically going straight down the hallway, it would undoubtedly take him in
front of Kerry’s closed bedroom door. Shaking his head, he ran his hands
through the damp strands of black hair, hopeful that would make him appear a
bit more respectable, or some passable semblance of acceptable. He was still a
little miffed to awaken to an empty bed.

Lifting his hand, he prepared to knock on Kerry’s closed
bedroom door. Before he could rap on the wood, he heard soft noises from within
the room.

Rap…rap….rap…

Tap…tap-tap…tap…

Broderick chose to skip the knock and walk in. It was
appearing obvious to him that something was going on inside the room. As he
turned the knob, he remembered the sight of Kerry leaning against the wall.
Pressed flat to the wallpaper, his eyes had been mostly glued to the delicious
jutting of her nice, firm, full ass cheeks.

Light on her rounded bottom had distracted him from what was
really going on. Her hands and fingers had been exploring the section of wall
in front of her. And now, with better light from the sun filling the room,
Broderick could see that Kerry was outlining what might have been a door at one
time.

“Property values tend to drop with holes in the walls.”

Kerry turned and laughed at Broderick’s observation. She had
arisen quite early and had sat in the kitchen reviewing her research once
again. With what she knew, she could guess why this was all going on here at
this lovely bed and breakfast. Finally, she decided she couldn’t wait any
longer and had started up to her room to check out the cold spot she’d felt for
the first time last evening.

Today, the room was warm until she was right next to the
wall. Turning at Broderick’s words, she grinned back at him.

“I agree, but with a ghost, this place could become very
popular, and quite quickly.”

Broderick crossed the room toward Kerry. She smiled and
turned to face him, her back against the wall. “I do believe we have a real
secret here. I’ve been able to feel plywood on this wall, and it’s not on the
other walls. I think it is hiding something.”

“Are you suggesting tearing down this perfectly matched
paper to look for something when we are not even sure what it is we are hoping
to find?” Broderick crossed his arms across his waist, watching Kerry. Her hair
was pulled up into two ponytails today, and she was dressed in shorts and
T-shirt. He was fully appreciative of the fact that she was obviously braless,
and made a mental note to show her his appreciation quite soon.

Kerry pushed him back onto the bed and then seated herself.
“Last night I could feel a coldness that was overwhelming. And I followed it,
right up to the wall and through it.” Pointing with her hand, she continued,
“Today I can still feel the coldness, but mostly only where I rest my face
against it.”

“Coldness? You mean when you came in here last night you
felt a chill in the room?”

Kerry nodded eagerly, turning sideways on the bed. “Exactly!
I felt this cold come over me near the bed.” She stopped and pointed at the
bench at the foot of the big bed. “Right there, and it sort of came up from the
floor and enveloped me—”

Broderick interrupted her. “Honey, of course you felt cold
moving up. I still had your pajama bottoms.”

Kerry jumped up from the bed, glowering back at Broderick’s
grinning face. “That is not what it was at all. It was something weird and I
followed it to the wall.” Walking over to the wall again, she began lightly
running her finger along the slight indentation beneath the paper. “I bet there
is a door behind this wall and it has been boarded over.”

Broderick sighed heavily. “More ghost stuff?”

“Scoff if you want, but I did find some interesting facts
while I was looking around through the library yesterday.”

“But we’ve never had a ghost here, Kerry.”

“Maybe you did, but your family didn’t tell you about it.”

“That is highly possible. I inherited this from a great-aunt
on my father’s side of the family, but my mother was never one for the whole
Colonial thing. She preferred New York and I remember traveling down here just
once or twice to visit my aunt. Most of the house was boarded up until I began
fixing it up again.”

“Well…I can’t remember it all without my notes, but you had
an ancestor with the same name as yours and he fought in the American Revolution.”

“And that is who you think our ghost is? A revolutionary war
hero? Hmm, I can’t say I like the idea of a ghost, but a revolutionary one
would certainly help business here.” He stood and reached out toward Kerry. She
didn’t resist as he pulled her onto his lap, wrapping his arms around her. And
when he kissed her a moment later, she joined in quite eagerly.

He moved one hand to her breast. “Hmm, now that feels nice,”
he murmured softly while pressing kisses down the side of her neck. “I needed
to confirm my opinion regarding your apparent braless state.”

Kerry shifted on his lap, pressing her breast more fully
into his cupped hand. She’d been busily kissing her way toward his ear.
Catching the lobe with her teeth, she began a sensual nibbling, licking program
that was definitely having the desired effect. She could feel his hardness
pressing against her one leg.

“So you like the no-bra look, huh?” she asked him a few
moments later.

Broderick smiled at her while his hand began massaging her
sensitive flesh. Kerry couldn’t control the wiggle of her bottom in response to
his touch. “Let me clarify, sweet Kerry. I like seeing your boobies bouncing,
but I’m not sure about taking you to a bar for drinks with you dressed like
this.”

Kerry nodded her head. “It was hard letting you sleep this
morning.”

“Sweetheart, it was quite hard when I awoke and found you
missing.”

Kerry felt the heat staining her cheeks. His easy banter and
words warmed her inside, to her soul. Feeling definitely perky, she scooted off
his lap and then gave a shake of her shoulders and shimmy of her hips.
Broderick’s heartfelt groan let her know she wasn’t just being funny.

“I’m hungry for two things, but unfortunately I’m not as
young as I once was. My body demands food first, in order to fuel my demands
upon your flesh. How about you tell me about my ghostly family while I make us
breakfast?”

“Deal!” Kerry laughed as she replied. Her Mama sure didn’t
raise an idiot. How many women could be sexually satiated by an amazingly
attractive man at night, only to have him willing to cook for you the following
morning?

* * * * *

“Your ancestor lived in this house for several years before
the war. His parents stayed primarily in England, but I guess he was eager for
exploration and all. And as tempers flared with the revolution, I imagine he
split with them because of the war and he died quite soon after it started.”

Kerry paused to drink more juice and take a hurried bite of
pancake. Before she could add more, Broderick asked her a question.

“His family continued to live here?”

“He never married, from what I could discover. Yet your
family obviously retained the property. Perhaps his parents or another brother
came over after the war.”

“Unfortunately, Kerry, my parents never stayed in close
contact with my father’s family. Beyond the great-aunt who lived here I don’t
know anything.” He stopped to pour himself more coffee. “What makes you think
this ghost is that guy? I’m sure lots of people have died here.”

Kerry sputtered at his words and hurriedly grabbed the water
he had gotten her when she refused the coffee. “That’s a cheery thought.”

Unable to contain his grin, Broderick shrugged. “Sorry, but
it must be the truth. Now, explain your thought patterns, Ms. Sherlock.”

Wrinkling her nose at him, Kerry nodded. “The dress,
remember? You say it wasn’t you up in the attic with me and he looked like you.
Except for the clothing…it looked revolutionary, colonial-like.” She held up
her hand quickly and added, “I don’t make it a habit to prowl through other people’s
houses. He invited me up there and showed me the trunk.”

“So, I have a male ghost haunting my attic. Could you see
right through him, like they show in the movies?”

“He was quite solid, although I don’t think ghosts are able
to hold that solid form for very long. And the cold spot I felt in my room last
night. Do not remark on my lack of bottoms again.”

Broderick had to smile again at Kerry’s words. “Kerry,
honey, as far as I’m concerned your bottom lacks for nothing.” As she blushed
in embarrassment at his jest, he could no longer contain his laughter. “I’m
sorry, Kerry, but I just couldn’t resist. Now, go on about what you felt in
your room last night.” He quickly lifted his hands in surrender. “One more, and
then you can tell me the rest, please. Personally, I think you felt quite fine
in your bedroom, and will happily volunteer to continue feeling you up on a
regular basis.”

Setting her fork down, Kerry rested her forearms on the
table after pushing her plate back. “Geesh! What a generous guy you are!”

Broderick offered her a bite of pancake on his fork,
dripping syrup. Resisting him was her first inclination. Instead she leaned
forward and let him guide the food over her lips and between her teeth.

The eagerness he saw on her face was unmistakable, but it
was hard to not stare at the entrancing cleavage her simple act of leaning
forward had revealed. Already he was contemplating canceling the only
appointment he had for the day and spending the remaining hours in bed, with
Kerry.

“Well, the room was in darkness and so I started for the
bathroom to turn on the light.”

“Why didn’t you turn the overhead light on as you entered
the room?”

Kerry’s pause and glower warned him about interrupting.
Broderick also assumed she would only answer what she considered important and
intelligent questions from here on out. He smiled, shrugged and gestured for
her to go on.

“So,” Kerry continued with an accepting nod of her head.
Broderick listened as he thought how cute those silly ponytails looked. “I
seemed to step into this cold spot all of a sudden and I felt as if I couldn’t
move while it seemed to be moving up my body.”

“Sounds like I owe my esteemed relative a sock on the jaw
for fondling my girl!”

* * * * *

Shivers chased one another through Kerry’s body at Broderick’s
jesting words. She doubted that he really meant it, yet she couldn’t deny the
warm, fuzzy feeling she had upon hearing him refer to her as “his girl.”
Feminism demanded a protest, but the glow in his eyes and the smile on his face
told her his thoughts were still straying to last night, which wasn’t devoted
entirely to sleep as planned.

“This was different than the wisps of fog I saw before he
appeared. No, this was cool and yet seemed soft somehow. It was not a cold
blast, leaving me chilled. When it moved away, I felt compelled to follow it
even though it disappeared through the wall.” Kerry reached out and covered one
of Broderick’s hands with her own, meeting his intense gaze. Taking a deep
breath to steady her voice, she forced herself to go on.

“I think this is a different ghost, Broderick. It didn’t
feel like…Broderick, uhm…the other Broderick. It felt feminine—”

“Shit, Kerry! One ghost is tourist gold, two are a
headache.” He pushed his chair back and picked their plates up from the table.
Placing them in the sink, he turned and leaned back against the edge of the
countertop. “I have an appointment this afternoon in Richmond.”

Kerry nodded and brought their glasses to the sink as well.
“That’s okay. I could organize my notes from yesterday so you can look over
what I have. Would you mind if I went up in the attic and looked around?”

Broderick pulled her close to his body, lowering his mouth
to meet hers. “Feel free to wander wherever you want. The drawer next to the
refrigerator has several flashlights and extra batteries. Take two, just in
case. Do you have a cell phone with you?”

Kerry nodded. “I brought it, but left it on the charger.”

“Do me a favor and carry it with you. Let’s go into my
office and we’ll exchange numbers so you can call me.”

In the office, Kerry wandered around a little, looking at
the law books. She walked over to the oldest looking bookcase because it
appeared to be built into the wall. This case contained lots of antique volumes
and the former teacher inside her was unable to resist running her fingers
across gold-embossed, leather bound books. Looking at this bookcase, and then
across the room to where there were several windows and Broderick’s desk, with
chairs for clients, she guessed that this had been part of the new additions to
the bed and breakfast.

Broderick made two phone calls and then joined her. “Here is
my number and John’s. You met him when you tried to check in the first night.
He’s a good friend, if you need anything.”

Kerry took the paper and pushed it into her pocket. “I’ll be
fine. I really think your ghosts are not malevolent at all.”

Broderick shrugged. “I’m not worried about ghosts in this
house. I’ve explored about eighty percent of it, but that leaves most of the
attic and parts of the cellar. Unlike others, I don’t really believe in them.
Just be careful.”