The Haunting (Immortals) (8 page)

By the time she arrived home an hour later with a bag of groceries in her arms, she’d forgotten all about Nick Blackwell.

Not only had the trip to the bakery and meat market been necessary in order to have food in the house, but she’d hoped it would be calming. It had been, up until she’d gone to pay for the meat. That was when she’d looked into the face of the cashier and found herself staring at a demon.

No one else seemed alarmed and that’s when she’d realized it was just another hallucination. She’d managed to pay the woman without causing a scene, but the episode had left her shaken. It was another indication that she wasn’t over her post-traumatic stress.

She set her bags down on the dining table and was about to unpack them when a very definite clinking noise came from down the hallway toward her bedroom.

Someone was in her apartment.

She clutched the lightning bolt around her neck, ready to pull it free, and slowly backed toward her front door. What if this wasn’t real, either? Frozen with indecision, she heard the noise get louder.

“Who’s there?” she called, not sure whether she wanted to hear an answer or not.

“Mai? Is that you?” Will stepped into the hallway, using one of her towels to dry his hands. He smiled when he saw her. “I thought I heard the door open.”

“What are you doing here?” Mai asked, irritation replacing her earlier fear.

He gestured into the bathroom. “I remembered that the bathroom faucet drips and I never got around to fixing it before you moved in. So I came up here to work on it.”

Mai tried to remember whether she’d noticed the drip before. “I appreciate it, but I really wish you wouldn’t do that when I’m not at home.”

“Oh, sure. I understand.”

It seemed almost too easy. “Are you done?”

“Just need to get my tools.” Will couldn’t stop the smile from touching his lips as he turned and headed back into the bathroom. He liked that she wanted to be with him while he worked. It would give him a chance to show off for her.

He tossed her towel into the hamper, picked up his toolbox and went out to talk to her. She was standing beside the table, pulling out the contents of her bags, her back to the mirror. From his vantage point, he could see her shapely butt reflected in the mirror. He liked the look of it, could imagine his hands grabbing it.

“Was there something else you wanted?” she asked him, pausing in the middle of reaching into a bag to look at him.

“There’s always something I want,” he replied smoothly. He smiled when he saw her eyes open wide. “What about you? You want me to fix…something?”

“What?” Her voice sounded a little sharp. “What I want is for you…”

Her words faded as Will’s attention was drawn to the reflection in the mirror. He watched her bend forward to lift something out of the bag; saw the back of her skirt rise up her thighs until he knew, beyond any doubt, that she was wearing no panties.

The realization spiked through him, giving him an instant hard-on. The bulge in his pants was too obvious to hide and he didn’t bother trying. He saw her gaze drop to it, saw her eyes widen and a blush stain her cheeks a delicate pink.

You’re moving too fast for her
, he thought to himself.
Picking up his toolbox, he started for the door. He didn’t make it two steps before she moved to stop him, cupping his groin with her hand. Mesmerized by the way she touched him, he couldn’t look away from their reflection in the mirror. Not even when she unzipped his pants and palmed his length could he look away.

The muscles of his legs trembled in anticipation as she knelt before him. When she took him into her mouth, he thought he might spill his seed there and then.

Fighting for control, he barely suppressed the groan rumbling deep in his chest. Part of him wanted to close his eyes so he could focus on the feel of her around him, but knew he didn’t dare.

He placed his hand against the back of her head to hold her in place. “So good,” he moaned.

“I beg your pardon?”

Her clipped tone tore his attention away from the mirror and the illusion the genie was showing him. Will tried to focus on the woman still standing beside the table and recall what she’d been saying during his lapse of attention. “You don’t want me coming into your place when you’re not home,” he summarized. “Got it.”

She nodded and Will, receiving no encouragement to stay, picked up his toolbox and headed for the door.

“I hope you have a great evening,” he said, infusing his voice with warmth and seduction. “And don’t forget to call me if there’s…anything…I can do.”

She gave him a weak smile, no doubt overcome with emotion, and closed the door as soon as he stepped out. He knew that she watched him through the peephole and decided to gift her with a show. Setting down the toolbox, he stretched his arms and back, flexing them the way he’d seen bodybuilders do on TV. Then, not wanting to overdo it, he picked up his toolbox and continued down the hall to the elevator.

He couldn’t help thinking he’d made great progress with her. It wouldn’t be long before there’d be no need for her to hide her interest.

As he walked past apartment 14-A, he remembered getting a call about the broken closet door. He glanced at his watch. Just after four. He’d go see what the problem was. Maybe the door was simply off its tracks, in which case it wouldn’t take long to fix. He hoped the older sister wasn’t home. Whenever he came over to fix anything while she was there, she stood around and glared at him. It made him uneasy.

He knocked on the door and waited. He was pleasantly surprised when Sarah answered.

“Hi, Sarah,” he greeted her warmly, all the while trying to see past her into the room. “How are you?”

“Oh, hi. Did you get our message about the door?”

“Sure did. That’s why I’m here.”

“Oh, right. Well, Jenna’s not home right now. Could you come back later?”

Will glanced at his watch and pretended to consider her request. “Might be a couple of days before I could.” He tried to sound apologetic. “But if you don’t mind waiting…”

He saw Sarah trying to decide whether Jenna would be more upset that she let him in while alone or about having to wait to get the door fixed.

Sarah stepped back, apparently having made her decision. “I guess it would be better if we didn’t have to wait.”

“Whose room?” he asked, stepping inside.

“Jenna’s.”

She led him through the main room, passing the table piled high with her college books. Having never been to college himself, he wondered if the rumors about college women were true. Was Sarah the fast and loose kind of woman who didn’t care who she opened her legs for?

“Sometimes they get stuck open,” she said, breaking
into his thoughts. It took him a second to realize she was talking about the closet doors and not her legs.

“I can fix that,” he said—and he
was
referring to both.

Once inside the room, he walked over to the closet. The doors were closed, so he tried sliding them open. They caught in the carpet and refused to move.

He put a little muscle behind his next attempt and they grudgingly moved. He pulled out his flashlight and played the beam along the top tracks and saw that one of the runners was loose and the door was hanging at an odd angle. “I can fix it. I’ll need to replace the runner,” he told her. “But you’re in luck—I’ve got a spare downstairs. Be right back.”

“Oh, great. Thanks.”

Will left his tools there and hurried down to the storeroom. Soon, he was back in 14-A, hard at work with Sarah looking on. He glanced at her sitting on the edge of the bed, leaning back on her arms, posing for him. He raked his gaze over her appreciatively. “What time does your sister get home?”

He almost laughed when she sat up and crossed her arms. “Any time now.”

She was lying and they both knew it. Perhaps she was being coy. Maybe she wanted him to come to her, toss her on the bed and make love to her. He considered it. But what if he was wrong and she wanted to take things slowly? He didn’t want to frighten her.

For now, he’d focus on fixing the doors. The rest would come later.

He’d barely started when she cleared her throat. “Um, you’re okay here by yourself, right?” she said, standing. “I just remembered that I promised Mai I would take her…something.”

She didn’t even wait for his response before hurrying out of the room.

When he heard the front door open and close, Will laughed quietly to himself. He’d forgotten how young and naive Sarah was—thanks, no doubt, to her older sister’s obsessive protectiveness. He’d obviously excited her—which had made her nervous.

He set about his work, thinking that he’d made the right decision to go slow with this one. He didn’t want to frighten her off before he’d had a chance to enjoy her.

Mai was about to start dinner when there was a knock on her door. Her first thought was that it was her vampire friend Ricco coming to visit as he’d promised when she’d called him to tell him she moved. Then she remembered that he was still out of town at some vampire council meeting. She went to the door and peeked out to see Sarah standing there.

“Hi,” Mai greeted her after opening the door.

“Hi.” Sarah sounded relieved. “I hope I’m not disturbing you.”

“No, of course not. Come in. Is everything all right?”

“Yeah. Everything’s fine,” Sarah hurried to assure her. She offered up an apologetic smile as Mai closed the door. “Actually, Will’s over at my place fixing the closet door and I didn’t want to be there alone with him.”

Mai gave a soft laugh. “I know exactly what you mean. What is it with that guy? I came home and found him in my apartment.”

“That happened to us once. Jenna went nuts. She really chewed him out for it, too.”

“Well, I asked him not to come by when I’m not at home, but judging from the way he acted, I don’t think he was paying too much attention.”

“He’s a dork.”

They shared a laugh and Mai thought again how much she liked Sarah. “I was just fixing myself some dinner. Would you like to join me?”

“Thanks, I’d like that, but maybe I could take a rain check? As soon as Will’s gone, I need to get back to studying. But please, if your food’s ready, don’t let me stop you from eating.”

“Actually, I only just started it. Come talk to me while I work?”

“All right.”

Sarah followed her into the kitchen and leaned against the counter while Mai cut up vegetables.

“So, how are things going?” Mai asked

“Great.” Her tone didn’t match the word.

“Everything all right?”

Sarah sighed. “I’m taking an extra class this semester, which has turned out to be harder than I expected. I’m burned out on school and just want the semester to be over.”

“Will you have your degree then?”

“No. I still have another full year.”

“So you’ll get about a month off before classes start up again? That’ll be nice. Or will you have to work that month?”

“I wish.”

Mai paused in her chopping to look at Sarah. “You want to work?”

She smiled. “I know, call me crazy. The thing is, Jen’s working two jobs just so I can go to college. I know she’s tired, but she doesn’t feel like she can afford to take time off. I’ve offered to help by getting a job of my own, but she refuses to let me. Says I need to focus on getting my degree.”

“Wow.” Mai was impressed. “It’s great that your sister is willing to do that for you.”

“Yeah. She’s been terrific. I was thirteen when we lost our parents and Jenna, who was nineteen, dropped out of school and started working to support us both because she
didn’t want me to end up in foster care. When I graduated from high school, I thought I’d be able to help, but she insisted I go to college.”

That was true devotion, Mai thought. “Your sister really loves you.”

Sarah smiled. “Yeah. I know she does, but I feel bad—like she’s throwing away her life for me.”

Mai finished cutting her broccoli and set down her knife. “Maybe you should talk to her. Tell her how you feel.”

Sarah sighed in frustration. “I’ve tried, but I never seem to say the right thing.”

“I don’t know if you’re interested, but I have several books on negotiation. I bought them when I started writing freelance—for when I talk to editors to help me get the deals I want. I haven’t read them yet, but maybe one of those would help you with your sister—if you’re interested in reading it?”

Her eyes lit up. “Are you sure you don’t mind?”

“Not at all. I think I left them in the bedroom. Let me see if I can find them.”

Sarah nodded. She supposed anything was worth a try.

“I’ll be right back.” Mai wiped her hands on a towel and disappeared down the short hallway.

Left alone, Sarah slowly wandered about the living room while she waited. Several framed photographs and knickknacks were displayed on the bookcase. One picture in particular caught her eye. It was of a stunningly handsome couple with a newborn baby in their arms. She picked it up for a closer look and as she did, a flicker of movement off to the side caught her eye. Thinking that Mai had returned, she looked around—but found she was still alone.

There was another flicker of light. It looked like it was coming from the mirror. Curious, Sarah moved closer.

There was something odd about the mirror. Behind her reflection, a shadow moved across the glass. It was almost like it was
behind
the glass. It was odd and left her feeling uneasy.

“I found it,” Mai hollered from the other room, causing Sarah to turn toward the sound.

She opened her mouth to ask Mai about the mirror, but at that moment, two arms reached out and grabbed her. She sucked in a breath to scream as her world tilted. There was a horrible sucking noise followed by a cold blast of air.

Then she was on the other side of the mirror, staring into Mai’s living room.

“Here you go.” Mai held up two books as she walked back into the living room. “Sarah?” She looked around, but Sarah wasn’t there. Nor was she in the bathroom. A quick search showed Sarah wasn’t anywhere in the apartment.

Maybe she’d gone back to her own place to study. Mai thought it was a little odd that she would disappear without saying good-bye, but then again, maybe Mai simply hadn’t heard her. She considered going to Sarah’s apartment to make sure that Sarah had really gone back and to double-check that Will was gone, but then she decided she was allowing her own paranoia to get the better of her. The last thing Sarah needed was another overprotective big-sister type.